I’m so so glad I was able to run this race. I signed up on a whim since registration opened at $5…couldn’t pass it up!

I got in for $30, which is as cheap as it gets for a half marathon. And I think it’s pretty cool to be able to run the inaugural race. 

I didn’t sign up for this race with anyone, so I was running alone, but I convinced my Mom to come along to watch! Always thankful she’ll get up early, take photos, and cheer me on. 

I had no real time goal for this half. I had just PR’ed at my March half, so I didn’t  want to push it and try again less than a month later. I decided to just run at a comfortable pace and have a stress-free, enjoyable race. 

This race was really well organized which is part of the reason I enjoyed it so much. The course was well marked with volunteers and I love when it’s an actual person telling you which way to turn rather than just an arrow (especially since I’ve gone the wrong way in a race before). There were a decent amount of fans on the course and I was able to see my Mom around mile 6. Crowd support makes such a difference. 

  
I hardly glanced at my Garmin during the race. I knew I was running at a good pace, but it felt comfortable. The miles flew by and I didn’t feel very tired. I picked up the pace during the last mile because I had a lot of energy left. It ended up being my fastest mile of the race and I crossed the finish line at 1:40:01. Less than two minutes away from my March PR and this run was fun, felt “easy.” I never would have thought I’d run 7:38 average paced miles for a half marathon and feel like it wasn’t super difficult. My running has improved so much in the past year and I love seeing the hard work pay off during a race. 

This was my post-race feeling: 

  
 The medal was really girly and unlike any medals I have. And I was the 36th woman overall! Beautiful day. Well run race. I’ll definitely be signing up again next year!