This weekend, I did the Hershey Half Marathon. It was one of the smallest races I've done (only 5,000 people). Let me tell you - small races may be the way to go. It was so personal - names on the bibs, easy to get to the starting line, convenient parking, very decongested start line. There were a LOT of spectators, which kind of surprised me, except when you think about it, people bring their whole families to the smaller races. Don't get me wrong, it was no Marine Corps Marathon. But it really was a great race. It was a gorgeous day for it and it went through the beautiful PA countryside AND through Hersheypark. They also had a chocolate aid station, which was wonderful. The schwag was pretty awesome too - a great reusable bag, cool t-shirt, 13.1 bumper sticker, and an insulated lunch box filled with goodies at the finish. I think I just might do this race again next year...
I also managed to improve my time from the Philly half marathon by 13 seconds - so I shaved off one second per mile. So I PR'ed this weekend, which made me ridiculously happy for some reason. I also was in the top 500 finishers in the race (which really only happened because it was a small race).
In other news, a 100 year old man did the Toronto marathon this weekend. FULL marathon. UNBELIEVABLE!! Can you even imagine being 100 years old and doing 26.2 miles? He said he was so happy that it only compared to his wedding day. I told this to my friend and she immediately responded with "that'll be you someday." I think that's what every runner, deep down inside, wants. Yes, we would like to win races and improve our times, but in the end it's about running as long and as much as possible. Keep going till you can't go no more!!!
2 comments:
I pulled up my race photos, and discovered your blog. You're the photogenic woman who stole my photo-op:
http://gtpcorp.smugmug.com/GTP-Event-Photography/Hershey-Half-Marathon/E121231-Photo-ID-IEVH-HM11-3094/19583854_VjRGzB#1534032433_ch4B3H2-L-LB
It's good to see you enjoyed the race, and I see you enjoy writing about running as well. You may have encouraged me to start a blog of my own.
I agree with your comments about Hershey -- I thought the race was great, and I'd do it again. I'm not sure the guys I ran it with will, though. They were barking about the hills! Guess their calfs were barking as well.
Anyway, I (3875) got a kick out of your antics during the race:
http://gtpcorp.smugmug.com/GTP-Event-Photography/Hershey-Half-Marathon/E121231-Photo-ID-IEVH-HM11-3094/19583854_VjRGzB#1534042465_P7wHX9H-L-LB
It's nice to see someone having fun an hour into a long run, instead of treating it as a chore to be survived. Still, that didn't keep me from passing you on that downhill...
Anyway, good luck with your running & writing.
Hi Rich,
Thanks for the comment! Wow, I'm always surprised when I see that someone is actually reading this :) Mostly it's just to keep myself motivated and now it's a pretty nice diary of my past running debacles.
The Hershey race was so fun and I enjoyed reading your blog! Looks like we may see each other at some other East Coast races. Keep me updated on your race plan! We can do a blog post together and maybe next time, I will pass YOU on the downhill!!
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