On Saturday, along with my family, I participated for the first time in the local Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure. I ran the competitive 5K in 23:53, a time I was pretty happy with. And a little later, the four of us jogged/walked the 5K fun run.

We participated as part of Team KAZ, in memory of Kelln Zimmer, a friend of a friend. She was diagnosed with breast cancer right after graduating from college, when she was 23. She died last year at the age of 29. Way too soon. Kelln was the honorary chairwoman of this year's race and we were proud to compete in her memory.

The Zimmer family owns the local porta-pottie business, so when my friends Emmet, Julie, and I arrived early for the competitive race, we decided to take a photo in front of the ridiculously pink Team KAZ-labeled potties. They matched our shirts, after all. That rarely happens.

A guy stepped out of one right as we took the photo. He was very, very startled. We all had a good laugh, because every man has a right to be startled by flash photography as he exits a pink porta-potty. No idea who this fellow was, but our apologies for the early-morning scare.

Race start. There were 5,000 total participants in the day's events, including (I think) more than 1,000 in the competitive 5K.

The race headed south on Polk Street, through downtown Amarillo.

Emmet and I stayed together the whole time, at about a 7:30/mile pace, which is pretty fast for me. Though I've run a lot of 5Ks at the end of triathlons, I've never run one as a stand-alone event. My triathlon 5K pace is usually around 8:30/mile. But that's after a bunch of other stuff. So I pushed it.

I was going so fast my head exploded when Emmet tried to take this photo:

He tried again, with less solar lighting.

We ran on old brick streets…

…and newer asphalt streets.

Look! It's Larry Hutton, event photographer! I've seen him before.

Emmet pulled ahead at the very end with a strong kick. I didn't.

Then it was time to find our family and friends for another 5K, the fun run/walk. We enjoyed it together, with short burst of intense running (kids aren't always good at jogging) and longer walking segments.

It was a great event, with tons of people, plenty of friends, and an excellent cause. Lots of teams, fun costumes, and clever pink t-shirts about breasts, 2nd base, etc. Good times. We'll do it again next year.