Race Report: Zoo Zoom
Marathon training continues. This weekend we ran 18mi on Saturday and then entered the Zoo Zoom 5mi race at the Maryland Zoo in Baltimore on Sunday. Yep, getting ready for the Goofy Challenge is quite some work. :)
Anyway, we ran the Zoo Zoom a few years ago and then it stopped occurring. This was a real shame as both the wife and I really liked this race. It's in Baltimore's Druid Hill Park, where the first three miles are in the park with some hilly areas (this park also hosts the Dreaded Druid Hills run every year, but this course isn't nearly so bad) and then the last two are through the zoo, with the last mile being through exhibits filled with yelling animals. It's quite a fun run. So, when they announced it was coming back, we jumped at the chance to do it again.
One of the best parts of the race is seeing the animals, both in the last mile of the run and beforehand. Some of the Zoo's Animal Ambassadors were out, including these two guys. The Screech Owl was my favorite (his name is Pellet). :)
After visiting the animals, we ran the five miles, which was somewhat hilly, including a huge down-and-up segment right when you actually enter the zoo. Pretty crazy run. When I hit mile four, the lemurs were the first animals I ran by and boy were they loud and cheering everyone on. Very cool. Then, the gorillas. Someone had the bright idea of yelling to them and they did not like that so they jumped, hard, at the glass. Very loud and scary...and cool. After running past some other animals, including a very chill cheetah, I finished the race and then waiting for the wife, who finished a few minutes later. Not a horrid time for five miles, but not great either...considering we ran 18mi the previous day, we both were pretty happy with our times. :) We visited some more animals (including a duck named Ritz...because he's a quacker!), grabbed some basic food, and headed home.
I love this event. The course is hilly but fast. Running through the animal exhibits in the last mile gives you quite a boost right when you need it after all of those hills. Plus, the race provides a long-sleeve t-shirt with a cool design (I have so many short-sleeve tech shirts, I never want another one...), it's cheap ($30 per person), and it benefits a great cause, the Maryland Zoo in Baltimore. I'm very glad to see the Zoo Zoom come back, and I look forward to running it again next year!