14 August 2016 - 7th Annual Camino of St. James 8K/5K and Fun Runs

14 August 2016 - 7th Annual Camino of St. James 5K Race

The local St. James Catholic Church has been sponsoring this race for seven years. I participated for the first time last year and it was such a pleasant experience that I was there again this year (despite the 8:00 am start time!).

The number of runners is far fewer than the Mason State Bank 5K earlier in the year. Perhaps that's part of the charm of this event. The 5K route is mostly on Lansing Street (which runs in front of the St. James Catholic church) and through the Grove Street Cemetary. Towards the end there is a mild uphill stretch on Lansing St. to finish the race, but this is nothing like the brutal uphill finish of the Mason State Bank race. People are friendly and there is an almost party atmosphere as people gather for the start.

Again this year a young man participated in a pancake costume. Anyone who runs a better time receives a prize. This year four runners achieved this goal. The pancake represents the free pancake breakfast all participants far invited to enjoy. You can see me at this breakfast, though as a former diabetic I avoid high carb foods such as pancakes. I had an omlet and glass of milk. I normally use my Olympus digital camera to photograph for these web pages but, as with last year, I avoided the bulk and weight of a camera and just used my iPhone 6 plus. I carried the camera in a light waist belt. I wasn't in great condition for racing but wasn't about to miss this excellent event. I achieved my main goal ... to avoid going slower than my past worst time. I was about three minutes slower than my earlier Mason State Bank time but I was a minute better than my worst time.

All my photos this year were taken with the iPhone 6 Plus.

Click on any photo to see a larger version in a popup window.