This was the second year for Team Run Like The Wind to participate in the Sertoma Duck Waddle 5K. Last year the course was an out and back, flat, easy, and felt fast. I was excited to run the scenic course again. However, the winding road raised safety concerns forcing Ozark Racing Systems to design a new route. The rumors about how the 2017 route would be a “loop-de-loop” sounded like a recipe for confusion. To my pleasant surprise, it was fun!

The directional changes were just enough to move the race along so it didn’t feel long and drawn out. There was still a feeling of quickness to the course and runners like that! It was a little more challenging with more hills and turns to add to the adventure, but they were manageable even if you hadn’t been doing hill repeats on your training runs.

The post race comradery was great. Happy runners wore their finishers medals, gulped cold water, munched pancakes, and some crunched Pickle-Ice. Proceeds benefited Care-To-Learn Ozark, Children’s Smile Center, and Freedom’s Rest. Looking forward to seeing how we all waddle through the event in 2018! ~trvw