charlotte harris

A  “5K at a winery” sounds like fun, right?  An easy 3.1 mile jog with gorgeous views and free wine at the finish line.  Probably little kids and grandmas finishing alike, all decked out in their stiff new race t-shirts.  Spectator friends and family with dogs on leashes, picnic baskets and coolers waiting to be toted off to the vineyard where tired legs will splay out and soak up springtime’s first warm rays.

That was my fantasy when I decided that it was worth the $35 to drive out to the Blue Ridge Mountains on a beautiful 85 degree day with the top off the Jeep, my man and his dog Spot beside me, and a picnic blanket and some snacks for afterwards thrown in the back.  I rallied two girlfriends from the gym, a few acquaintances from the Tri club, and even a couple other friends to come for just the wine-tasting portion of the day. 

Well people, a 5K at a winery is not what it sounds like.  Oh there was wine at the finish line, alright.  And yes it was a beautiful day with spectacular views.  Yes, I did get to mingle with my friends.  But otherwise it was a tough course.  

The first 2.5 miles was a series of frequent switchbacks through the grape vines and adjacent apple orchard.  Like running through a tight maze.  Mile one was back and forth, switching our way down the hill.  The second mile and a half was switchbacks in the uphill / downhill direction, essentially a series of hill repeats.  

This was not merely putting one leg in front of the other.  It was dodging foxholes and rocks and pumping up hills.  I actually had to stop and lower my heart rate and nurse a side cramp a couple times.  It was exhausting work, this deceitful ‘lil race.  

The last half mile was an uphill time trial that every racer except the top two finishers had to walk.  (When I drove the Rubi up to the top, I was in first and second gear.)  When I was “racing” to the top, I was leaning so far forward that I could probably have reached out and done some damn pushups on the ground, because it was THAT STEEP.  It was a 350 foot gain in .5 mile.  I walked the entire thing, taking me nearly 9 minutes, until I got close enough to the winery porch that I could hear people chanting my name, then I picked it up and pranced to the finish line.

But climbing up onto that winery porch with the sweeping views of the valley and the warm breeze was a great reward.  After downing the requisite water and banana, we finally got to the whole point of the day… wine, friends, laughter as we clapped for age group winners in our tiny race field of only 50 runners.   We cracked up when Annette, despite it being her first 5K, actually won her age group because she was the only woman over 50.  And when a 20-something male who finished behind me won his too, because he was the only young man in his 20’s.  In fact, a steady parade of my amateur triathlete pals collected their prizes.   Prizes that would not have been won in a larger race… so it was a special day. 

I think I’ll go back again,  on another a beautiful 85 degree day with the top off the Jeep, my man and his dog Spot beside me, and a picnic blanket and some snacks thrown in the back…. but I’ll probably head directly to the wine at the finish line and skip the run uphill!