I've been receiving lots of great e-mails from Her Times 5K race participants. It always make me happy when I see one of these among all the non-fun work e-mail I get, so I thought I'd share with you:

"Can't thank you enough!! for a Great Race this past Saturday. Marcia, my co-worker, and I had a blast walking in the rain, sleet, and snow. Our finishing time showed that we were pumped and a moving - we were very happy to say the least. Thanks Again Heather! We look forward to next year!" ~ Kim Ferrick

"Congratulation on your first race, what a great turn out. My friends and I had fun even with the bad weather." ~ Teresa Wigham

"I have my ribbon and number posted on my bulletin board at work! AND, my running girlfriends are committed to running at least 2-3 days a week and go for the Turkey Trot….so we will keep it up as best we can. We definitely debated long and hard, sitting in the car that morning watching the rain and then the snow come down. But, we then decided that this is what we had trained for, worked for and looked to accomplish and we ALL are so happy with each other and ourselves for completing what we thought was an impossible feat! Thank you for the plan and for the motivation. We could never have done it without the push," ~ Cyndy Patton

"Just wanted to tell you that the race was so much fun! Despite the rain, snow and sleet- it was so nice to see so many women of all ages participate! It was empowering, inspiring and exactly what I needed! I couldn't help but get emotional as people crossed the finish line. Girls rock! Thank you!" ~ Ainslie

"I just have to send along a big THANK YOU!!! from all of us here at Channellock for putting on the 5K. We have already decided to make it a yearly outing for us.

On a personal note, I wanted to let you know how inspired I was by the event (also a little humbled by the speed of women much older than myself). After my kids read all of the information in my packet, we decided as a family to become members of the Erie Runners Club. My children are athletic already, but I have usually been the one on the sidelines cheering them on. Now, we have something to train for together. We are all very excited about the turkey trot coming up. Wish us luck! My oldest son, who is 15, has his sights set on the 10K that day.

Thanks again for the encouragement--we wouldn't be doing this if you hadn't come up with the idea for this race." ~ Tammy Norwood

"I just wanted to say Thank you for all your hard work for the Women’s 5k. My first ever race and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I didn’t even think the weather was that bad. I was prepared for it so maybe that is why. Being a first timer I want you to know that the instructions were all very clear and easy to follow. Our whole “team’ had such fun and look forward to it next year. I am very proud of Jackie Miller for placing first in her age group and her encouragement to all of us and I love that it benefited Domestic Violence. Congratulations on a job well done." ~ Beth Anderhalt

"Hey there, Heather. just wanted to tell you what a great job you and your team did on the race this weekend My "team" and I had a great weekend together and every one of them said they'd do it again which is really awesome because four of them have never raced before.Thanks again for all of your hard work and know that it was worth it because it helped a lot of women. Weather was just another challenge and women are very good at handling challenges! ~ Jackie Miller

"I just wanted to let you know what a great job you did coordinating for this big event over the weekend!! Because of your welcoming invitation, easy application process and training schedule, I decided to give the race a try! I am so glad I did. I can't wait for the Turkey Trot now...maybe I am hooked! ~ Casey Stoll

"I had a great time despite the weather. I'm still in disbelief that I couldn't run a block 18 weeks ago and I just ran in a 5K. You will see me again, I'm hooked! Thanks so much for the opportunity and for all you do to motivate others. God Bless," ~ Linda Straub