A Pensacola Tradition: The McGuire's 5K

Bagpipes and Kilts, Oh My!

Every year, the weekend before St Patrick's Day, a local restaurant and pub holds one of the largest prediction runs in the nation. The McGuire's 5K is one of those events that closes down the city for the morning because just about everyone is there. Most of the participants are there to party and some are there to actually run the race. It's a huge St Patrick's celebration and it is loads of fun!

McGuire's is a world famous restaurant and Irish pub that has literally thousands of $1 bills signed and stapled onto various parts of the building. It's a tourist trap of sorts but the food is so good, even the locals eat there on a regular basis. They have been hosting their prediction runs for 35 years!

The Famous McGuire's Double Decker Bus

Last year, there were over 10,000 in attendance. This year there were over 15,000!

With our limited time left here in Pensacola, I decided that we just had to run it. If not for the race, we had to run it for the people watching! The best part of this event are the consumes that people come up with for the costume contest. Just about everyone is dressed in shades of green, but there are those who really dress for the occasion. 

We had a team of guys wearing Hooters uniforms... Classy!

Definitely my favorite! Star Wars Storm Troopers. Yes, they ran the race like that!

The race itself starts and ends at McGuire's. Fortunately McGuire's is downtown so the run itself is very scenic and enjoyable. It was a gorgeous, sunny day. The air was crisp and the temperature was in the mid 60's. That's perfect running weather for me! Warm, but chilly enough to cool the body while running. Hannah, one of our dear friends decided to run with us. It was great to have her with us because although she is not a runner on a regular basis, we kept her motivated enough to run just about the whole thing. I was really proud of her for hanging in there because I absolutely know how it feels to hate running! 

We're so proud of you Hannah!

Me and Matt celebrating our 5K finish!

It makes me a little sad to know that this was the first and most likely the last time we will be able to run this. I don't like to think about doing special things around town just because it may be the only time we get to do or experience these events. I like to think that we are here to live life to the fullest. To enjoy the people around us and cherish the memories we make. I see this clearly now that we are no longer living the life of a military family. We are experiencing things in a different way in that we are not rushing to live life because we have to move to a new duty station, but living life to plant roots. If for some reason we end up planting our roots here in Pensacola (even for just one more year), then rest assured, you will see us running the McGuire's again next year! Making more memories and loving it!