If seeing the word Lambpage doesn’t fill you with joy, excitement, and anticipation for race day, then I can only assume you haven’t hung out with us for this awesome 5K yet. I missed the first Lambpage because I was away at school, but I saw pictures and videos so the second somebody mentioned bringing it back I was very happy. I got to work with Madalen for this and thanks to her, planning race day was a beautiful experience. Our first step was to get our incredible Oinkari artist Solenne involved for the t-shirt and poster art. She worked so hard to create those sheep, and when we met up for a cup of coffee Madalen and I fell in love with her curly-Q sheep. Filed with enthusiasm, we charged ahead with marketing in the hopes that other people would share our joy for this event. In my mind I couldn’t understand how anybody could say no to a day dedicated to running along a gorgeous path by the river, eating homemade food, being around people you love, and playing games in the park on a beautiful Spring day. Every time Madalen text me to say somebody signed up I was filled with more and more excitement for race day.

For every bump in the road there was a wonderful person in the community or group who was willing to step up and make everything come together smoothly. It was the first event I got to play a big part planning for the Oinkaris and I was amazed and humbled by how giving and selfless people are. John Boyd and Gerri Achurra stepped up to head the cooking for race day and they couldn’t have been kinder about it. Our race bibs showed up, Joe Lasuen helped us create the shirt of our dreams, Shu’s donated the coolest race clock to help everything feel even more official, and before we knew it race day was here.

On race day I was a bundle of nerves but the Oinkaris stepped up to the plate and worked their culos off to put on a memorable event. It’s always fun to be an Oinkari, but I get a little extra ooey-gooey about it when I see everybody working together to put on events that keep the dream alive. We’re so lucky to be surrounded by a community that embraces us and I’m filled with so much pride to celebrate our culture in this awesome city. As our 170 (you read that correctly, we’re the luckiest) runners and walkers arrived the Oinkaris went to their places along the race route, Ben and Elise danced Agurra, and our cute new girl Emma and Oinkari alumni Lael started the race off with an irrintzi for the record books. Twenty short minutes later our first place champion charged through the finish line (after Erik was kind enough to test the finish line out for her). Lunch and laughter filled Old Timer’s shelter after the race and I was grinning from ear to ear. Josu showed up at the park after his triathlon (no big deal, right?) and got everybody to partner up for the egg toss and other fun games to keep the party going. Unfortunately, like all good things, Lambpage 2018 eventually came to an end, but the dream is to keep this wonderful tradition alive for years to come. Honestly, I couldn’t be happier to be a part of the Oinkari Basque Dancers and to have such a beautiful group of people to come home to after being away for college. Any event that allows that dream to stay alive is wonderful in my book, but Lambpage holds a special place in my heart and I hope more and more people jump on that train with me each year.