Don Scott Trot 5K - at Ohio State Airport

I grew up in the flight path of the Ohio State University Airport aka Don Scott Field. There were always small planes flying over the backyard. But I never had a reason to visit the airport myself - until now. The Don Scott Trot 5K on the Runway was the perfect opportunity.

With Shelly before the start; of course I wore Buckeye colors at the Ohio State University airport!

My friend Shelly had just run her first 5K at the Dublin Irish Festival 5K in August, and this little airport run caught her eye as a candidate for her second. This was a small race which sold out with 300 participants. Parking was easy and so was packet pick-up the morning of the race in the airport's Hangar 7.

Hangar 7 packet pick-up
Small planes outside the hangar
Sun is almost up at the airport

It was a chilly morning and I wore long sleeves. I probably could have done fine with short sleeves, but I appreciated the extra warmth before we got going. While Shelly and I were waiting for the race to start, Iliana found me. I didn't know she would be there. So, now there were two of us representing the Columbus Westside Running Club. Iliana said that this was her first 5K a year ago, so she wanted to return.

With Iliana before the start

When the runners made their way to the starting line, we let Iliana go ahead of us. Shelly and I were planning for an easy pace. My leg was still not 100% recovered from my injury two weeks prior at Air Force Half Marathon. And Shelly was still not sure how committed she was to running (she prefers kick boxing and other forms of exercise), so she was happy to do run/walk intervals with me.

Ready to start

We set out at my easy pace of about 13:00 minute miles, doing 3 minutes of running followed by 1 minute of walking. It felt right for that day. I was happy that the weather was cool, because the sun was bright and on a hot day, the tarmac could have roasted us. We ran back and forth on the runway and taxiways of the airport, which was completely closed to air traffic during the race. We ran past the control tower, the hangars and some of the outer buildings. There wasn't much scenery other than that, but that's about what we expected.


The traffic control tower
Pretty much our view
View from the farthest point

There was one aid station about halfway through the race, which was plenty. I had failed to bring water with me for my drive to the race, so I was happy to take some from the aid station. Shelly and I were toward the back of the pack, but definitely not last. There were some other runners and walkers behind us, including some people with strollers. We passed a few people in the second half of the race. I was just happy that my leg was holding out. It helped to be running on a pancake-flat course.

Our finish pic, in glorious silhouette

We made our way to the finish outside Hangar 7. There were a few folks out there cheering. Shelly and I crossed together and she finished her second 5K faster than her first! There was no fancy finish chute, just a table a few feet away where we picked up our medals. They were really cute - Brutus Buckeye (the Ohio State mascot) wearing an old-school aviator helmet and goggles. We also got water and packs of almonds. There were granola bars and bananas too, but I wanted the almonds.

I love this medal!
Brutus medal and a little plane
The unisex t-shirt

There were several small airplanes parked outside the hangar, so we cooled down while walking around and looking at them, taking a photo here and there. I didn't see Iliana, which probably meant that she had a fast 5K and had already headed home. I was happy for her.

I'd do this race again. It was flat and fast (if you wanted to go fast), a great opportunity to see a small airport and take over its runway, and the t-shirt and medal were nice. It was very well-organized for a small event, and fun! If you put it on your list for next year, don't wait until the last minute to register. It sold out this year and a few people I know missed out.

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