R and J in the USA

December 14, 2024

Tis the season for kindness. Since the New Mexico Farolito Trail of Lights 5K in Albuquerque was a holiday themed event, it was on-point that an act of kindness enabled us to run the race as planned.

We left Sanders, Arizona, for the two-and-a-half-hour drive to the race site in Albuquerque – and arrived four hours later. Delays on Interstate 40 caused us to land at the starting line a full hour after the race began. Another way to say that is, we were on a fast track to missing the race. But the spirit of holiday generosity and a little seasonal magic were swirling in the air and saved us from needing to rearrange our whole itinerary just to find our way back to New Mexico to get in our New Mexico 5K. This is not a 5Ks in 49 States trip, after all.

When it became clear we were going to be significantly late, Julie crossed her fingers and called the race director, hoping that would somehow bend spacetime to allow us to still be able to run the race. The race began at 5:30. Our GPS said we would arrive at 6:00 PM. Then, there would be parking and getting to the starting line. Julie explained the situation to Stephen, the race director. Rather than saying, “Oh well,” he immediately went into help mode. He told Julie to call him when we arrived and he would see if he could make it work for us to officially run the race. Race directors are busy people. Especially on race day. And Stephen’s hurried tone on the call showed it. But still, he answered the phone and promised to work the problem with us. Just the fact that he was even willing to do that much already seemed like a Christmas miracle.

It got so much better than that.

When we finally arrived at 6:15, we were blown away by how sincerely Stephen had taken to our plea to not miss a 5K in our 5Ks in 50 States adventure. It wasn’t his problem that we didn’t start early enough on our travels to account for the possibilities of unexpected travel events. He was not concerned with that. He had gone out of his way to get us on that course. We arrived at the starting line to find our race numbers and t-shirts waiting for us, the race staff briefed on our situation, and an emergency services vehicle with flashing lights waiting to escort us through the first part of the course. When we met up with Stephen, we heard him calling out to Ian, the gentleman driving the emergency services vehicle and instructing him where and how to escort us through the early part of the race course until we would meet up with the enchanted neighborhood streets lined by farolito lights that, like the shepherds of old, would guide us through the remainder of the course.

We would have been happy to simply be able to get our race numbers and run what had been the course so we could unofficially count it as one of our 5Ks in 50 States. Instead, we got a personal escort and a magical stream of farolito lights to take us to the finish line.

Needless to say, we were grateful. Once we began the race – guided by our very own escort vehicle – our gratitude grew, because this may have been the neatest run experience we’ve had on our trip. For the first mile, as we jogged through the perfect night air and into this remarkable scene, we kept repeating, “I can’t believe they are doing this for us.” What a wonderful welcome to New Mexico.

The flashing blue and red lights of the escort vehicle led us through the first half mile of the evening race and into a twinkling holiday wonderland. Thousands of farolitos (known outside of New Mexico as luminarias) lined the flat course as it ran through neighborhoods with house after house and yard after yard of elaborate holiday light displays. It was like a candlelit run through a snow globe scene (without the snow).

Making it even more magical, we were in a time window where the course was still set up, the roads were still closed to traffic, and there was still some race staff at their posts guiding the way. And we had it all to ourselves. It was as if they set the whole thing up just for us. We had a holiday date night, jogging together in the crisp evening air through a holiday light show, just the two of us.

The fun continued beyond the finish line, where people celebrated, video screens showed race highlights, and volunteers at food tables served up posole. And Stephen wasn’t done showing us the holiday spirit as he grabbed us at the finish line and made sure we got a chance to grab some of this delicious New Mexico treat. Posole is a spicy traditional Mexican stew made with meat, hominy, and other ingredients. And it is goooood.

With starting an hour after everyone else, neither of us finished near the top of our age group. Nor the middle. Nor even the bottom. We were so far behind everyone else that we were able to give back a little by helping out Stephen confirm that, indeed, there was no one else still out on the course. No matter. The experience of how it all unfolded, how great Stephen and his team were in accommodating us, the enchantment of the course, and being able to complete a New Mexico race without having to do an itinerary rewrite – taken together, it was best race result we’ve had all trip.

Even if our competitive curiosity overcame our warm fuzzies and we wanted to see how we would have placed, we couldn’t. In keeping with the holiday spirit of the event, it was not timed. The race organizers do not track results in this last race of their event year. They instead focus on putting on a fun, festive event. They certainly succeeded in that.

They also succeeded in filling us with enthusiasm and gratitude. Had we not been able to run the race, it would have been a logistical challenge to work a New Mexico 5k into our 5Ks in 50 States venture. The next New Mexico 5K we could do would not be until January 11 – four weeks and three states up the road. We were facing the prospect of having to either drive or fly from Oklahoma to Albuquerque and back a month after we left the state in order to complete our New Mexico 5K. Steve’s effort to accommodate us saved us the time, expense, and trip interruption that would have caused.

Stephen’s kindness exemplified the spirit of the season, but we get the sense he would have been that helpful and accommodating any time of the year. This is underscored by RunFit, the Albuquerque nonprofit he founded to curb childhood obesity, build community, and promote running and walking as a safe and positive means toward a healthy lifestyle.

In addition to organizing the Farolito Trail of Lights 5K and dozens of other races throughout the year, RunFit creates and provides free running and walking programs for children at after-school (or before school) programs. RunFit is designed to help youth of all sizes and fitness and ability levels utilize the discipline of running to improve health, build character, and provide opportunities for children to showcase their talents by participating in a number of RunFit sponsored events throughout the community. RunFit programs aim to help keep kids safe and create healthy habits.

Way to go, Stephen, and thank you.

Detailed Race Report for Running Nerds

We arrived. We were tired. We were jacked up on adrenaline. We ran to the start line. We started the race. We ran next to each other the whole time. With adrenaline pulsing through our veins, we felt like we were running so fast. We were running 9:30’s. We crossed the finish line and we were happy. That about covers it!