#22 - 3rd annual Beat Beethoven 5K, it was classic!

Beethoven ran!

I always made my children listen to classical music, even before they were born. During the 9 months when they enjoyed solace in my womb, I would read books to them while Mozart played in the background.  I believe that classical music assists brain development,  lowers blood pressure, accelerates growth, and more.  

It seems like all those hours of listening to classical tunes worked because my eldest daughter graduated suma cum laude while my other daughter graduated top 5 of her high school class.  However, I never listened to classical music while running, until after I finished this race.


The 3rd annual Beat Beethoven 5K was held on July 17, 2014 at 6:30 pm. We were blessed with fairly good weather - clear skies and low humidity.  We ran through hilly asphalt roads that went around beautiful green fields interspersed with mansions of the Radley Country Club in West Chester Philadelphia.

Starting line.

Although the location was more than an hour away, I still signed up for 2 reasons.  First,  I got the registration for free as a member of active.com.  Occasionally, active.com would would send an email announcing that in a couple of hours, they'll give away 5 free or discounted registration to an event. I was lucky to be in front of my computer when they offered this event. Actually, I'm in front of my computer all the time mostly because of work.

This is the second time I won a complimentary registration ticket from active.com.  It's fun to get free stuff but I don't always take advantage of offers.  I first do my due diligence: make sure that the location is accessible, study the course, check out race results to see how many participated in past events, etc.  The best way to learn about an event is directly through the organizer's website - usually.  

Read more: My first experience of a race does not happen at the starting line, it begins with the event website

Mile 1.

I found their website to be engaging.  It said, "the object of the race is to finish before Beethoven’s famous 5th Symphony finishes – approximately 32 minutes."  Bring it on! 

I beat Beethoven and finished in 30:15 (minutes:seconds).  However, my GPS showed that the course was 1/10 mile longer than a 5K.  I'm a bit disappointed but I think it's better than a route too short .

Days have gone by and I still thought of Beethoven and his contemporaries. So I created a playlist of classical music and ran 8 miles with it.  The playlist was a little too short for my workout. I'm open to your suggestions. 

I can't tell if the music improved anything but it was surely relaxing. Here's my playlist:

More pictures 174 runners and walkers crossed the finish line. Gathering at the finish line. Sprinklers for tots and participants at race end. Last 1/10 mile. Beethoven on the run. Yes! We're done.

Race Facts Address: 1100 Country Club Road, West Chester PA Cause: Proceeds benefit the Kennett Symphony of Chester County. Course: hilly asphalt road Date and Time: Thursday, July 17, 2014 at 6:30 pm Kids Fun Run: no separate run but kids and walkers participated Parking: Free and plenty Participants: 174 including runners, walkers, dog walkers, stroller joggers, children Post Race Nourishment: water, banana, snack bars Price: $25 (got it for free from active.com) Prizes: cash/gift cards to top 3 men, and 3 women plus pair of drinking glasses to top 3 men, and 3 women of each of the following groups: 14 and Under 15-19 20-29 30-39 40-49 50-59 60+ Results: immediate; Online results were published Monday after the race Restrooms: clubhouse restrooms Shirt: cotton white T-shirt Timing: traditional Water Stations: 3 or 4 stations accessible about every 3/4 mile Website: http://www.kennettsymphony.org Course Map and elevation. Click map to see parking and restrooms. This year's shirt was white cotton and last year's was black polyester.