Last Sunday I ran the 5th Annual Jason's Race for SIDS Awareness 5K in Westlake Village. This is a worthy local event hosted by Katie and Andy Lutz on behalf of their son Jason.

Jason was born on November 7, 2007, a healthy 8 pound, 5 ounces.  Jason was blue eyed, strong, healthy, full of energy and shared his smile with all around him. But on March 11, 2008, the Lutz family was devastated by the sudden passing of Jason during his morning nap.

The Lutz's and relative Kim Erwin set out to do whatever they could to memorialize Jason and raise awareness to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) through a 5K event. Conejo Valley Guide was in its early stages in 2008 when I met with them and saw their pain, yet felt their energy in putting together a 5K...something they had never done before. This past Sunday, Jason's Race reached its 5 year anniversary.

The inaugural Jason's Race was October 12, 2008. I ran that 5K and somehow managed to win the race overall in 18 minutes, 17 seconds. After a 3 year hiatus, I decided last minute to run the 5K again on Sunday. My long runs have been o.k. and with 4 weeks prior to the Malibu Marathon, my thinking was that I needed to work on my speed a bit.

Long story short, I finished the 5th Annual Jason's Race in first place overall again in 18 minutes, 19 seconds; 2 seconds slower than my time 5 years ago. Well ain't that cool! While I felt decent, my only slight disappointment is that I "felt" like I ran under 18 minutes for my effort. Oh well! At least I'm consistent...exactly 3 weeks prior I ran an 18:19 5K in Camarillo.

The Malibu Marathon is November 11th and I'm running another tune-up race this Sunday, the Marla Runyan Half Marathon in Camarillo. The day prior I ran 10 miles. That's not something I would normally do the day before a "competitive" 5K where I want to run refreshed and ready. I felt I needed to get some decent mileage in since my main goal is the marathon coming up.

A rule of thumb I use is to multiply 5K time by 2.1 to get an equivalent 10K time. So a 18:19 5K equals a 38:26 10K. Then I multiply 10K time by another rule of thumb, 4.7, to get an equivalent marathon time. That would be a 3 hour, 38 second marathon. So I'm in the ballpark of a sub-3 hour marathon.

Learn more about Jason's Race and the Jason Lutz SIDS Foundation at www.jasonsrace.com.