2015 St. Louis Children’s Hospital Make Tracks for the Zoo 5K race

Well, it was that time of the year again this past weekend–time for the 2015 St. Louis Children’s Hospital Make Tracks for the Zoo race! This race is always one of my favourite ones of the year, so I was excited to partake in it. There’s always a great turnout (~3500 this year, I believe, but 1644 chipped for the 5K run), and lots of fun, family-oriented activities. One of the best parts is that there are people of all ages, and walks of life (pun intended) who show up to either walk or run to support the amazing Saint Louis Zoo!


2015 St. Louis Make Tracks for the Zoo pre-race line-up
2015 St. Louis Make Tracks for the Zoo – Pre-race
(click to enlarge)

It started out a little iffy this year because there was some substantial rain. Ultimately, though, the rain cleared and the sun started shining in time for the race. The only downside was that the course was pretty slick due to the rain. Despite the slippery course, I did better than expected in terms of time. My total 5K time was 19’06”, according to the chip-timing provided by Big River Running Company (which is a great local running store here in the Saint Louis area). You can see the full results, and sort by whatever criteria you would like by visiting their ChronoTrack site for this race.


2015 St. Louis Make Tracks for the Zoo results
2015 St. Louis Make Tracks for the Zoo results
(click to enlarge)

There were some great runners this year! My time earned me 13th overall, 11th in overall male, and 3rd in my bracket (which is now Male 30-34 [ugh, can’t believe I turned 30 this month]). Some really outstanding participants (besides the obvious of the overall winners) this year were Zachary Niemeyer, who at 14 finished 15th overall with a great time of 19’10”, and Norman Jamieson, who at age 79 finished in just over 33 minutes! I’ll be lucky to be able to walk at that age! 🙂


2015 St. Louis Make Tracks for the Zoo - Nathan Zachary
Me, tired and sweaty from the humidity, but happy with the experience
(click to enlarge)

So, it was another great year for Make Tracks (especially since it was the 30th year for it), and I’m already looking forward to next year’s race. Hopefully you’ll come and join in a fun time that supports a great establishment!

Cheers,
Zach

P.S. A special thanks to my Pops for not only coming out to support me, but also for snapping the photos above!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.