It has been 4 years since I officially started my running journey. In spite of injuries, financial difficulties and struggles I continued running. My first ever race was the 408k race to the row that happened on march 4th, 2014. It was the third annual Race to the row but much had improved now. Me, my BRF and a running friend decided to do the 408K located in San Jose, California. Why 408K? You see, 408 is the telephone area code of the city of San Jose. This race is the first of three events in the series (408k, 415k and across the bay 12K located in San Francisco, 510k located in the East bay). Running all of this races will give you a medal for a run the bay challenge. At that time, little did I know how much was an 8k in the 408k series (you get the idea) but when I found out the race consisted of 4.97 miles, I thought it was the run of my life and a pretty good race. I mean , what a great race idea of 408K!
The race started at SAP center and finished in Santana Row which is an outdoor beautiful, residential and commercial shopping mall. I loved that this race is 15 min away from my home so running local was a big plus for me. I did not have a problem finding parking. The weather was chilly and it had rained a few hours ago but the race was super organized.
We started at the sharks tank and off we went. The race was beautiful and flat. It had a beautiful meaning behind it. So early in the morning people were cheering for you right outside their homes. Mile 4 is known to be the Memorial Mile. Veterans and active military cheered runners and gave them high five’s. At one point runners were crossing in front of me to shake hands to a veteran. Not too late I found out that a 95-year-old World War II veteran named Joe Bell was dressed in full uniform and was cheering to all of us. I did not have the opportunity but my BRF was able to thank him as he was the oldest veteran we had had at that time. He was 95 years of age. I was emotional during that mile. A year later we had learned that he passed away. The memorial mile became a memory deep in my heart.
The 408k is famous for the mariachi mile. A mile before the finish line in which different mariachi’s bands play songs and cheer you up.
I loved this race. I fell in love with my bling as it represented what pretty much the race is famous for: mariachi’s. You would not be wrong running this race and running the series. They currently have a remote runner if you can’t run this race in San Jose.
The 408k is located in San Jose; the heart of Silicon Valley and it benefits the Pat Tillman Foundation. You can check more here http://run408k.com/
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