She Runs by the Seashore

Follow @vanessajunkin

Well, it turns out I can run as fast in a dress as I can in more conventional running clothes.

Not everyone gets to test this out, but I ran in a dress for the Tacky Prom Free 5K Fun Run in St. Michaels on Sunday, May 15. I was excited to come back to this race after participating in TriCycle and Run’s Tacky Prom last year.

TriCycle and Run hosts free 5Ks every month. Although it’s free, runners can still help the community by donating a certain type of product. For Sunday’s race, participants were asked to donate sunscreen for local watermen, and I brought one to donate.

It didn’t take me long to find that perfect prom dress. I tried on a few at the Goodwill in Salisbury and chose a hot pink one with an interesting sleeve on one side and some rhinestones. The cashier commented that it was bright.

I had certainly planned to wear shorts underneath the dress, which was an absolute necessity. As I ran, I had to keep pulling down the dress, which was riding up. I also wore a sports bra even though it was a one-shoulder dress because I needed that for the run. Since it was Tacky Prom, I figured it wouldn’t be a problem.

TriCycle and Run’s 5Ks take the same course each time (for the ones I have done, at least), with the first part in a neighborhood and then on a paved nature trail, so I was familiar with the course, even though I hadn’t been up for one of the free 5Ks in a while. The runs are also prediction runs, so the winners are those who come in within 10 seconds of their predicted time.

I predicted my time before running the eRACE the Stigma 5K the previous day, where I ran 27:49. My prediction was 27:00.

I ran without a watch, although I did run with my phone because I’d been using it for photos. I wasn’t using it as a timer, though.

My friend Lisa and I ran the first half of the race together and I stopped for a quick drink at the water stop, telling her I’d catch up. I didn’t quite catch up, but that was fine as I certainly didn’t want to hold her back.

I came in with a time of 27:54, just five seconds away from the time I’d run the previous day. As I was coming in toward the finish, I saw that I was extremely close to my eRACE the Stigma time.

After the 5K, my friends and I walked through town in our tacky dresses and had breakfast/brunch at Carpenter Street Saloon.

The next day, I saw that we were on the front page of The Star-Democrat, so of course I had to get some copies. That’s definitely a fun bonus, and I love when newspapers/the media recognize running!

The next free 5K at TriCycle and Run is the Father’s Day Free 5K Fun Run on June 18.

Like She Runs by the Seashore on Facebook here.