I’m not, but while having dinner with a friend of mine, I somehow got suckered into running with her in Sunday’s New York Road Runners Gridiron Classic – 5k. I think the last time I had to run that much was when my soccer coach made me run a few laps around the field for mouthing off – I must have been around 15.

So, I signed up – at least they make that part easy. I registered online and picked up my number and mug at the NYRR’s office on 86th Street the day before the race.

Not being part of the NYRR club, I didn’t think there would be that many people out, but there was a total of 3,935 participants (2,132 men and 1,803 women). The weather was a perfect 45 degrees and we were on our way. We stood in the back by the 10 mile sign – they separate everyone by how long it takes you to run a mile. We would have stood further back, but sadly, 10 is as far as they go. Cool thing is, they give you this yellow radio chip about the size of a quarter that you tie onto your sneaker with a zip tie. The chip is matched up to your name and number and starts recording your time when you pass the start line and stops when you pass the finish line. The information is then uploaded onto their site – where you can check out your stats once you recover.

40 minutes and 12 seconds later, up and down too many hills, we finished. I loved that there were people encouraging you along the way telling you how far you’ve gone. Then, there’s the cheering crowd at the finish line, which helped me get that last burst of energy I needed to cross the finish line. Now I understand why it’s so important to have people cheering you on when you run the marathon.

The race wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be since I did finish. I walked all the way home, a little over 40 blocks, thinking about whether or not I’d run again. 12 hours later, my knees and ankles were still bothering me, but I was able to go online and check my stats. I placed 3,641 overall, 1,614 in my gender, and 623 in my age – HA! Actually, not too shabby for my first race.

If you want to get involved with the New York Road Runners, they have PLENTY of events throughout the year. I’d recommend it. We had a lot of laughs and it was a great experience – even for someone who isn’t fond of running.