Cougar Crawl in Springfield - race #3

   Brutal!  That's all I was thinking running the Cougar Crawl 5K on April 14 in Springfield.  I knew the route would be hill, but I didn't think it would be THAT steep!  Heading out to Springfield High School, it was a beautiful sunny day with temperatures in the mid-50s.  Money raised benefited the Springfield High School Girls Lacrosse Team.  Visit Cougar Crawl to watch video of the race.
     Lining up in the school parking lot, we turned left onto Lownes Lane and then a left at Orchard Road.  The flock of runners thinned out quickly as we made a right on W. Leamy Ave., left on Spring Valley Road before turning right on Kerr Lane and the first big hill of the day.  Taking it slow, I ran down the hill before going back up and making a right on Duncan Lane.  Thinking it would be the toughest hill of the run would later turn out to be true, but there were a first steep climbs which weren't far behind.
     Turning left on Server Lane, I kept thinking how I should really do more hill training.  My friend Jolie, who is planning to run the Philly Marathon this November, regularly runs on Beatty Road to train (something I should probably start doing).  Water station volunteers and race directors did a great job to help us navigate our ways through the neighborhood.  After a right on Williamson Lane, left on Snyder Lane, we did a loop around Locust Ave. before heading back to the high school.  With one more challenging trip down Kerr Lane, we made it back towards Leamy and then one lap around the high school track to the finish line.  I was ok with my finish time of 29:40.  Probably the toughest 5K race I've ever done, but definitely one I would try again.
     Grading on the route, ease and cost of registration, T-shirt appeal and the overall fun factor I give this race four sneakers out of five.
     Next up is the Twilight Run 5K in Havertown.