The Kraken 5k 2025

Seven months after running Nick's first 5k with him, we tackled another, and this time, we set a time goal. Going back to my roots, we agreed on aiming for a sub-30 race.

The nice thing about a 5k is that the preparation the night before is incredibly minimal. I set my clothes out but didn't have to worry about hydration or fuel or anything like that. Our start time was 9:40am so I didn't even have to worry about going to bed particularly early!

Nick and I met in the parking lot where I typically park when I run Greenlake. In my head, it was half a mile walk to the start and would save us from the chaotic parking near the community center, but actually it was a mile. That was okay; it gave us plenty of time to warm up. I took a quick picture with some folks from work who were running the race, then we checked my bag and hung out near the start for our wave.

I am obscured in every photo taken on race day, but here's one of me looking mad at the start line.

We'd put in an anticipated pace of 9:00-10:00 minute miles when we registered. We could tell as waves 1 and 2 went that there were a lot of people running this race who didn't know how to accurately estimate their paces. I know I've said it before on this blog: fun, themed races bring out lots of first-time participants and they often don't know the etiquette. Seeing so many walkers in the faster waves told me we needed to plan to start near the front of our wave so we could run unimpeded.

Nick and half my body at the start.

I warned Nick that my 5k "race strategy" tends to be "run way too fast, burn out around mile 2.5, rely on my earlier banked time to hit my goal anyway." I told him I'd attempt to stick to our 9:30 pace.

I had loaded our race plan onto my watch, but within the first half mile, I knew we were following my typical race strategy. My watch showed paces in the 8:30s and 8:40s. I thought, well, we can stick with this for a mile and then slow down.

Part of the problem of running such a crowded race on an open course is that you're constantly dodging around people. Every time I tried to pull back our pace, I'd find myself trapped behind someone and I'd have to crank it back up to pass them. So, we just kept pushing along, holding that sub-9 pace through mile two.

I'm very familiar with this route, since I run this park multiple times a week and have run 5ks in it a few times. So while my watch was only showing me my current pace (and not our distance),  I could see the bathroom that marks mile 2.5. I was starting to flag and was considering a walk break when Nick said, "I'm struggling." 

The timing was perfect. We took a quick walk, during which time I told Nick we were well ahead of our goal pace and could pull back a little for the final 1k.

But once we started running again, it was impossible to slow down. We took a sharp right turn to leave the inner loop and then turned left to enter the final stretch. The entrance to the finishing chute of this race was narrow and zig-zagged, which was frustrating. I had to dodge handholding couples to the very last step. But Nick and I burst through the finish line together.

We're back there, I swear.

Nick, and my elbow, finishing.

AG 18/174, women 133/1259, OA 458/2344

I was so thrilled with our results! We worked hard for this time, and it's been ages since I've run a 5k in the 27s. Nick's time has improved by four minutes in seven months! Sometimes you have to let your goal go and just do what you're capable of, and this time that meant blowing our goal out of the water.

We took a couple photos and walked around to see the events that were set up. There were a lot; this is definitely a race that caters to families. I was sad we missed our chance to take a photo with the Kraken mascot Buoy at the giant Kraken 5k sign!

This was a fun race, and for the $30 fee I also got four free tickets to a pre-season Kraken game, so I'll probably plan to run it next year, too!

Ali