Henderson County - Pardee Apple Festival 8k - September 2, 2017

Although there is one race results aggregation site that insists I did this race back in the early 2000s, I had no memory of it, so for this county countdown, Henderson County was still unexplored running territory.  That's why I was so glad to get back there over Labor Day weekend and take part (again?) in the Pardee Apple Festival 8k.  As mentioned many times before, food festivals in North Carolina are an excellent way to see the state and run in some very nice races.  Plus, our whole family loves apples, loves the mountains, and loves running, so this was a great way to spend the holiday weekend.

With organization and logistics helped along by Pardee Hospital, parking and packet pickup on race morning were no problem.  There was a good crowd assembling for the 8k race and for the Chamber Challenge 5k.  (228 finishers were listed in the 8k results.)  The low-60s temperatures were going to be great for running, and spirits were high as they gave last minute instructions and organized us out into North Oak Street for the start.  As we took off, there were a quick couple of turns and then we had a long, long straightaway down 5th Avenue out of town.  With the large number of runners, there was actually a good bit of talking initially, but as we got closer to the 1-mile mark, the elevation change kicked in with the first series of good hills, and the runners got quieter.  As the course got more challenging, though, the scenery was very pleasant as we skirted the Rhododendron Lake Nature Park and Laurel Park Lake itself, where there were flowers and trees all over the place.  That part of the run turned out to be very nice.

Fortunately the second and third mile gave back some of the elevation change, and our tired legs got some relief as we headed back into town.  The course was something of a crooked figure-eight, and as we got onto the second loop, we had the unusual experience of running through part of the town cemetery and up and down some of its hills.  After leaving the cemetery, we passed by Hendersonville Middle School (Home of the Bearcats) and then did a very pleasant, quiet loop around Lugana Lake to wrap up the fourth mile.  The last mile was through a very nice residential area where some of the residents cheered on the runners, but others were surprised to see all the competitors jogging down their streets.  All along the course, plenty of helpful volunteers were there to direct runners and traffic and hand out water on what tuned out to be a humid morning.

Post-race, they had some very fun activities and game for the kids, as well as getting the race results assembled quickly.  The hospital and organizers provided plenty of food and drink for the participants, and there was enough music and fun to hang out for a while before going to explore the rest of the Apple Festival activities.  It's a very well-organized, challenging but scenic race in the mountains of western North Carolina, and whether it was my first or second time taking part, I hope we will do it again at some point in the future!  Now let's all have some apples!