I ran a half-marathon circa 1994. Started alongside eight Marines with a flag. I think what they were wearing is called the “utility uniform” - basic cameos and boots. I actually kept up with them for 2 miles, faded behind after that and didn’t see them again till the finish line, taking photos with civilans 
Helena330, how big is the event & where is it? Is parking going to be an issue? Do you need to get there early? If you get there early & need to stand around for an hour, do you want a jacket/sweatshirt? What do you do with that during the event when you’re running/walking? Is there a gear check?
We’ve had two events here in the past two weeks, each with tens of thousands of participants. One was today’s breast cancer charity run, held annually on Mother’s Day. I participated in the one last week & wore a throwaway shirt; a shirt I wore to the starting line & then took off & tossed to the side just before the race started. As a bonus, they have a crew that comes along after the start & picks up all of the clothing, launders it, & donates it to a homeless shelter.
You should start in the appropriate corral/wave for your running pace.
You should also start your watch when you cross the line, not when the gun goes off for the elite runners up front. If it’s a medium to large event, it will be chip-timed, which means that your time will be from when you cross the line, not when the gun goes off. Not all smaller events are chip-timed, but because they are smaller, even the last people cross the starting line within a few seconds of the first runner. The alternative is to start your GPS tracker from when you get out of your car, just know that when you cross the starting line, you need to subtract .8 miles (or whatever) from your total to figure out where you are on the course.
I guess this thing is turning pretty big as the organizers posted on the Facebook page that they will be emailing us about waves. I’ll just start at the back of mine. I really don’t want to get in anyone’s way even though this is a kids-in-strollers charity-type thing. It starts at a mall, so no problem with parking. It will be cool in the morning and I plan to wear my light jacket the entire race.
One thing is kind of dumb. The race starts at 9:00, now there will be waves, and the speakers start at 9:30 so it seems like most of the participants won’t hear the speakers. I’ve heard our mayor talk a hundred times, but still.
I’ll let you all know how it goes! I’m more than prepared physically. If there were hills I’d kick a lot of peoples’ butts. 
OOps, I was wrong. I thought the actual race started at 9:00. Newbie mistake.
8am- TEAM check in and t shirt distribution
9am-9:30 Individual registrant check in and t shirt distribution
9:30- Speakers from the city, winning teams announced
10am- First groups queue for 5K Start
10:05- Start of 5K
12:30- Raffle drawing
I did it! It went really well. I was in the second wave, the first walking wave after the runners. I started out fast because of the adrenalin and everyone else, but once I settled down I ended up staying with a group of five others who had pretty much the same pace as me. I never listened to music because it would’ve been rude and I was enjoying talking. I forgot to look at the time at the end, but I finished under an hour which was my second goal. My first one was simply finishing.
There were about a thousand people. The organizers were overwhelmed because last year they had 250, but they still did a good job and everything went smoothly.
I may sleep in my t-shirt. I had cancer and a huge surgery last year so this was a major deal. It’s been a long way back from all that. Doing this was more than just walking a 5K, it’s been a life-affirming event.
Again, thank you to everyone for participating in this thread. You helped a lot!
Congrats. The best part is it seems like you had fun! No point in doing this stuff if it isn’t fun.
Congratulations!!!
You did it!
I am glad that you had a great race.
Congrats!!
I just got back from my 10K, at the Marine Corps Historic Half. The two-mile-long hill at mile four is always a challenge, but this year they had half of the hill lined with photos of service members who died overseas, along with their date of death and their age. Very, very motivating. My boyfriend joined me for the last half mile- he was supposed to run the actual half, but skied himself into a tree neck-first in February and hasn’t been cleared to run distance yet. My time was about ten minutes off from last year, so I’m slowly improving. Next up is my first mud run.
Coriolanus, there were several folks running the half in ‘boots and utes’ carrying full-sized flags who passed me. I never even tried to keep up with them.
Congrats! Glad to hear it went well.
bobkitty, that sounds like a very meaningful race. I’m already looking for my next one and I’m finding that’s important, too.
I was looking at pictures on Facebook page of yesterday’s event and found that one of my walking buddies, a goofy guy named David who knew everyone, is the principal of one of the city’s high schools.
Hi Helena,
Well done! Have you heard of parkrun - petty well every local park in London has a parkrun every Saturday morning? It’s a 5k social run for the whole community.
Thee are like 650 around the world but the US just isn’t picking up on it - it’s up to local people to volunteer … just letting you know it’s out there if you know anyone who’d like to start a parkrun near you:
Glad you had fun!
And now, if I may, a serious question: is walking 5k on a flat surface a challenge for people who don’t do it regularly, but are reasonably healthy?
I ask because that surprises me, but I have no way to judge. RUNNING 5k if you don’t run regularly, sure - even healthy people tend to get pooped pretty fast if they are unaccustomed to running, as I learned when I took it up. But I can’t imagine that any person (unless they are 3 years old, 83 years old, have a twisted ankle, or something) would be more than mildly tired after a 5k walk - assuming the temperature and terrain were both reasonable.
I’ve always enjoyed long walks, which is why I don’t know the answer to this question.
My congrats too! It’s early in the season. There’s gonna be more to try!
Absolutely do-able.
It’s the same with any kind of run/race. You can start with 1.5 K (about a mile) and then, if you like it, you’ll want to do more. I find myself sprinting the most when I want to get to a green light to cross and keep stride
Starting out too fast is a common problem for the reasons that you described.
Most races post their results online, just go to the event website & look up your time if you want to know how you finished. Their results usually include things like overall place, & then sex/age group place.
Reasonably healthy/no serious underlying medical conditions. Sure.
Might be a little sore afterward from: using your muscles, blisters (if not properly fitting footwear), sunburn (figure ± 1 hr to walk 5k/3.1 miles - wear sunscreen)