Running wild

Another day, another guest post about the BreyerFest 5k... Woulda thunk it? This one comes from Sara Bowman of PawPrints Saddlery. Thank you, Sara! 

More Than Not Dying

by Sara Bowman

This picture may just look like a bunch of t-shirts and medals but it is so much more. Each t-shirt represents a memory - some with happiness, others with sadness - all revolving around BreyerFest. 

BreyerFest 2017 was my second ever BreyerFest and on a whim I decided to sign up for the new 5k. The medal was beautiful and I wanted one. I am not much of a runner so I planned on walking it. Joanne Raver and Katie Grantner signed up, and we all agreed to do it together. This became an annual tradition.

Our first "We didn't die" picture

In 2018 we had our biggest group to do the race together. My husband joined us along with Kati and Rachel. It was such a great thing to have so many friends doing something together!

Jake had a hard time keeping his eyes open afterward!

We continued the tradition in 2019. I didn’t know it at the time but this would be the last race with Joanne. Even with cancer, she left Katie and I in the dust. I admired her strength. She passed the following year, and Breyerfest just hasn’t been the same without her. 

2020 brought Covid which sent BreyerFest into the virtual world. I was delighted when they decided to hold a virtual race that I could do from home. Jake and I walked  it around our neighborhood with our puppy. This picture breaks my hear because she would lose her life to cancer five months later.

BreyerFest 2021 was also a virtual year and a virtual race. I was really hoping this one would be in person because I knew that it would have been a color run and I’d always wanted to do one. They did send us a packet of color but I was too hot and sweaty to have Jake throw it on me!! We walked this 5k around our neighborhood too, but this time, with our new puppy, Penny. Looking back at this picture I still can’t believe how small she was!

The 2022 BreyerFest 5k was a solo event for me, and I didn’t get a picture of myself. My friends and I were just reveling in the fact that we were all together again. We were missing Joanne, this being our first BreyerFest without her. This year I did the 5k by myself again. I was more determined than ever to accomplish this task. I’ve gained a lot of weight since 2019 due to a lot of unhappy events in my life. I wanted to prove to myself that I could still do this and not die. I managed to do it under an hour, just like all the other years, and I was so proud of myself.

I will continue to do this 5k every year in honor of those I’ve lost and the memories associated with every race. I think Against All Odds will be a fitting theme for next year’s race because every time I do it, I feel like I’ve overcome some sort of barrier.