When is a Race Not a Race? When It’s Fun!

This post is brought to you by the makers of MOTRIN®

This past weekend, I joined 10,300 of my closest friends in Ottawa to run a 5K race. Obviously, I don’t really have that many friends, but since running is largely a solitary pursuit, it always feels good to join a community of runners all chasing down a common goal.

I play a lot of head games to motivate myself to keep running, but when I’m in a race I rely on the people I’m with to push me through. Sometimes it’s friends, sometimes it’s strangers, but one thing is for certain, when you’re with a group that large, your cheering squad is awesome.

This year, our good friends from Oakville joined me, my son and my daughter to run. As expected, we didn’t stick together long with everyone at different skill levels but my friend Sharon and I decided to run together (admittedly, she really had to slow her roll to stay at my pace). For us, it wasn’t about beating a personal best. It was about spending time together with each other in real life. That we happened to be spending it doing something we both love, was an added bonus.

At the end of the race, my knees hurt a bit, as did my hip, so I went looking for the MOTRIN® Recovery Zone and was so glad I did. The super bubbly team that met us was exactly what my weary bones were looking for—sympathy, a laugh, some great advice, a congratulations and some stretching.

I was curious about taping and noticed a sign in the JamVan showing an image of it. I spent some time with one of the MOTRIN® Recovery Zone team members finding out more. It seems I could have avoided some of the knee pain I was feeling by properly using tape to secure my patella (kneecap). This valuable piece of info, is likely to keep me running now, since I was beginning to find my knee pain becoming a hindrance.

Before we set out, Sharon and I proudly took our place on the MOTRIN® podium for a picture to mark the occasion. The photo was sent digitally to my phone, but we each received a hard copy to take home. It was the ideal way to capture the memory of a perfect day spent with friends.

The MOTRIN® Recovery Zone is traveling across Canada this summer, cheering on runners and athletes at races and hot spots. It’s the perfect place to seek out for your well-deserved pat on the back and tips for a quicker recovery. Of course, take the 30 seconds to fill out a quick form to receive your trial of MOTRIN® Liquid Gel and grab your free bag and water bottle while you’re at it!

Even if you’re not running a race, take a few seconds to grab this coupon for $3 off MOTRIN® Platinum Muscle & Body.

I’m already planning my next race so I don’t fall off the running bandwagon. Where will you be running next?