I Love Forest Park 5K

This morning I ran the I Love Forest Park 5k with two of my co-workers. I run with one of the co-workers every Saturday at Tower Grove Park and the other co-worker is studying to become a certified yoga instructor and she is also a retired skater from the St. Louis Women's Flat Track Roller Derby.  My step-dad was also in town to get his outfit for our destination wedding in March, so he decided to run too.

We arrived around 6:30 a.m. because I wanted to be able to park in the lot closest to the visitor's center and the start/finish line.  This gave us plenty of time to use the restrooms and participate in the pre-race yoga session.  Pre-race announcements mentioned that there were over 700 runners this year and that today's race is the only race where the proceeds benefit Forest Park.

At 7:30 a.m. we were off and running.  We decided to run easy 3:1 intervals which allowed me some time to take photos along the way.  If you haven't ever been to Forest Park, it is definitely worth a visit.

Our time was not anywhere near a PR, but it was a fun journey.  Post race food included water, wheat rolls, bananas, and coffee.  Lululemon was also on hand for a pop up sale with 40% of their proceeds being donated to Forest Park.

We left the park right around the time that the kids race was getting ready to start.  I wanted to take my mom and stepdad to a restaurant they had never tried, so I took them to Kingside Diner in the Central West End.  This restaurant is located across the street from the World Chess Hall of Fame and adjacent to the Chess Club and it was a very short drive from the start/finish line of the race.

Great for people watching

Multiple tv's for the sports fans

Breakfast burrito

Quinoa Pancakes

Even though I felt absolutely disgusting after the race, there were plenty of other runners at this restaurant so I never felt under-dressed or out of place.  Keep this place in mind for a great post-race meal.

Have a great week!

Remember to post your race reviews on Bib Rave.