Fits Do Race Reviews: Ron Daws 25k

This past Saturday, Dustin and I ran the Ron Daws 25k (for your reference, 25k =15.5 miles). We had 16 miles on our training schedule for Flying Pig so this race fit in very nicely. For a price of just $5, its hard to pass up!

The race is small, with registration limited to just 200 runners. I ran it for the first time last year (you can read that review HERE) The race may be small, but most of the people who run it are pretty serious runners. Its very popular for marathoners as a hilly long run for those preparing for Boston in a few weeks. 

The race is extremely low-key, which is to be expected for just $5! There's free parking at the Cross of Glory Baptist Church, where the bib pickup is held inside the church gym. 

We also could take advantage of the heated bathrooms at the church, before a very casual 8 am start of the run. This is not a chip timed race, but rather an old school clock-timed race, where you tear off your number and give it to the volunteers for your finish time.

Dustin waiting inside the church gym to stay warm

The Course  As I mentioned, its a very hilly course. It's also kind of a strange one! The course first takes you around two loops of one area, and then two loops of a second route. Its kind of nice because you pass the sole support stop four times, and you know exactly where the hills will be.  I supposed you could complain that its a little repetitive, but I found it to be a nice change of scenery. 

I ran this race at my long run pace, just to get in some more hills before Flying Pig (which is supposed to be quite hilly). I tried to do some miles at my goal marathon pace, which was tougher than it should have been on those hills! Even so, I had a much better run than I did last year. Last year, I forgot my Garmin, so I had no idea what sort of pace I was going. I ran on effort last year, which you'd think would be a good thing, but apparently, I need a Garmin to keep me from getting too lazy! I also had done a hill workout the Thursday before last year, whereas this year, I was a bit more rested before the hilly Ron Dawes on Saturday. I felt pretty good throughout, and the hills really didn't seem as hard as last year!

coming in for the finish!

Overall, I really this race, and will hopefully do it again in the future. I recommend it to Boston runners, or any runners who are interested in a supported hilly long run. Just be sure to register early, as it does fill up!

So, who is Ron Daws? 

According to this Wikipedia article, Ron Daws was a runner and 1968 Summer Olympics men's marathon athlete. Born in Minneapolis, he also competed at the 1967 Pan-American Games marathon, and finished first in the National AAU marathon also in 1967. He was married to Lorraine Moller in the 1980s, who he later divorced. Daws died of a heart attached in 1992. In honor of his death, in 1993, the MDRA Rons Daws 25k was renamed after him.

Picture of Ron Dawes and Steve Hoag running in Theodore Wirth Park

source

I actually was in front of Ron's stepdaughter in line for the bathroom, who was sharing stories about growing up with Ron, and how she would run a lot of races as a "bandit" with him. She recalled jumping into the Get in Gear and other local races, as she said he was "too cheap" to pay for the races...which I think is part of why MDRA wants to keep this race nice and cheap too. No frills, just like Ron Daws would have wanted!

I give this race an 8/10. For the price, its really awesome, but if you do need crowds or frills, this probably isn't the race for you. There is no crowd support, and there is only the one support stop that you pass four times. However, if you're just looking for a supported long run, I think you'd really enjoy the Ron Dawes! And for just $5, you really can't go wrong. Hope to see you there next year!

FYI...This week is my "peak" week for Flying Pig training, with two workouts and a 22 mile long run on Saturday. Today, I had 10 miles on the schedule, with 5 of those miles at a hard effort. I did a "track" type workout, with 5 one-mile repeats in the middle, with short breaks in between each mile. It was a tough workout for sure, but I felt pretty good. Maybe it was my new lucky Lolë hat?

Featured Fit: The North Loop Boutique Crawl

Saturday night, Dustin and I met up with a couple of friends for dinner at Bachelor Farmer in the North Loop (downtown Minneapolis). I realized as I was getting ready that my first post ever on the Right Fits was an outfit I was wearing to dinner at Bachelor Farmer (Here is that post...)

That was 2.5 years ago, when I first started documenting my adventures in fitness, fashion, and fitness fashion at the Right Fits. When comparing that post's outfit to Saturday's outfit, I realized that my style hasn't actually changed that much...

In 2011, I was wearing a tunic with skinny jeans...

Last night, I wore a tunic with navy skinny sloan pants...

These two pictures demonstrate that I am not a fashion blogger, nor am I trying to be. The Right Fits is best when I stick to fitness and maybe a little fitness fashion. With that said, I'll still share my attempts at fashion with you, with the hope that we can learn together!

The above tunic was an anthropologie clearance rack find. I liked the camel leather pockets in the front, which paired nicely with THESE Jcrew factory sylvia wedges, and my trusty sloan pant from Banana Republic. (Necklace was also clearance from anthropologie)

Anyways, I do have a little fashion information for you, despite my lack of fashion expertise....

Before dinner, on Saturday Dustin and I decided to wander around the North Loop neighborhood a bit, and we were pleased to find out that there was a boutique crawl happening!

North Loop Boutique Crawl: http://www.journalmpls.com/news-feed/north-loop-boutiques-hosting-fashion-crawl-on-april-5

Participating stores included Roe Wolf, Handsome Cycles, Lolë, Statement, D.NOLO & Bumbershute, C'est Chic and Arrow. If you stopped by each store, your name would be entered into a drawing for some pretty cool prizes (including a $500 gift certificate!) We arrived at the boutique crawl towards the tail end of it, but there were still lots of people out and about shopping.

And yes, you read that right- we have a Lolë store in Minneapolis! I didn't even know that we had one, and I was pretty excited to check it out.  

By the way, Lolë stands for Live Out Loud Everyday!

Lolë makes great snowboarding/ski attire, but this time of year, they were carrying lots of yoga and run apparel.  As part of the boutique crawl, they were offering snacks and champagne, and everyone there was really friendly and helpful. I tried on a few things, and really liked them all. I decided to limit myself to just this cozy sweatshirt, with some cute buttons in the back:

..., and then a bright yellow running hat.

As part of the boutique crawl, Lolë was offering 20% of all purchases. Their apparel is really nice and I will definitely be back!

After Lolë, we stopped by a few of the other boutiques, and then made our way to Marvel Bar below the Bachelor Farmer for a pre-dinner cocktail. If you haven't been to Marvel Bar, you should check it out. I really like the vibe there, and they make great drinks.

Anyways, there are a lot of great boutiques in the North Loop neighborhood, and of course I recommend checking out the Lolë store if you are in the area. They even have free designated parking in the lot next door, which is pretty rare for the North Loop.

Have you explored the North Loop neighborhood much? Been to Lole?


Well, I hope you are enjoying the rest of your weekend, I'll be back later this week with a race review of the Ron Daws 25k and a weekly recap.