Held on May 20, 2018, the 15th annual Poplar Spring Animal Sanctuary 5k ran through scenic Wheaton Regional Park and Brookside Gardens. It is very vegan-friendly and all about the animals – there are even dogs available for adoption running and walking the course with you!

Proceeds from the run go to the Poplar Spring Animal Sanctuary – a non-profit refuge in Poolesville, MD. Go on their website to meet some of their residents!

The 5k:

Registration for the race is around $30 with the option to donate more to the sanctuary- you can also register day of. Parking and packet pickup are easy and fairly organized -> you get a t-shirt, bib, and safety pins. Next to the registration table are vegan snacks available to take home with you.

We arrived at 8:10am, got our bibs at 8:20am, put our things back in the car and lined up for the start at 8:30am.

This Sunday morning run through the park is very scenic and family friendly. You will see a lot of the Let Me Run boys- I am not sure if this is their end-of-season 5k or if it is just practice, but it is pretty awesome to see those kids run! The course itself felt hilly and scenic. There were ponds, trails, trees, and turtles.

The finish was full of spectators and everyone was excitedly cheering for the runners. It was hot, but the shade from the trees was really nice. We had just had a week of hard rain, so I was grateful that the precipitation stopped for the run.

After the run, there were snacks, coffee, bagels, bananas, and a raffle.

The crowd:

Everyone at the run was incredibly friendly and supportive. Being an event for an animal sanctuary, the run attracted a lot of vegans and animal advocates. I really enjoyed all their shirts and I hope you do too 🙂

My results:

It wasn’t my best 5k, but it also wasn’t my worst. I’m cutting myself a little slack because I took three workout classes yesterday through the Girls on the Run fitness crawl and spent the day on my feet. I woke up this morning feeling drained and a little sore, so I am proud of myself for showing up and trying my best anyway! I am not taking today’s time to heart and will continue to work toward my goal of a 30 minute 5k.

Thank you for visiting!

Overall, this was a fun hangout and a great way to spend my Sunday morning 🙂 I will definitely do it again next year.