This was by far the BEST race I have ever been too. J& A Racing's Shamrock is always a ton of fun. The excitement is something that can be physically felt in the air. With over 8,000 running the 8k and over 4,000 running the final mile, how can it not be? Energy like that can only come from lots of happy people. This would be the second time I ran the race and was hoping, but doubting a sub 50 would happen for the 8k. What can I say, I am not a fast runner. But I am getting faster. I cleared 6.9 minutes off last year's time, which is awesome! But that wasn't what made it so great. I had a wonderful running buddy come and cheer me on. Even though she wasn't running it is always amazing to know people are cheering for you. Better yet, my daughter was running her first race that day. That meant I got to share the whole experience with her. I have made some wonderful running friends since I first ran it all by myself last year. Some ran it with me and one stayed with my daughter while I ran since she was doing the half marathon the next day. When I hit mile 4 and realized I had stopped and really I was only frustrated by the walkers getting in the way (can't they hand out etiquette manuals before a race?) I smiled to my self. Last year was hard and I was just glad I didn't quit. this year, I was actually sad it was over so fast and wished for a longer race. It wasn't nearly as hard and I didn't have to walk at all. I even made up time the first few miles running a middle 9 mile (probably slowed me down at the end, but oh well). The rain held off until I finished then my daughter and I dashed for the tent with hot soup and live music. People were mashed in, but the soup was good and the music fun, and better yet, my daughter was smiling. By the time her race rolled around an hour later the rain stopped, the sun came out and the temp had warmed up. Perfect timing. She ran her mile in less then 9 minutes! I was so proud of her and she had so much fun! It truly was the best race I have run to date and I can't wait to do it again. This is why we run.