The price of this half was by far the cheapest I've seen. $20 plus ten canned goods (the race was for the local food pantry) got you in the race! The race is in its second year and is only about 160 people strong, though up from 80 last year, so it's growing. I also forgot how much I love race day packet pick-up! Parking was a breeze at the local church. It's times like this that I love the small races. The large races are fun with the expo and crowds, but these smaller races have a charm all their own.
Let's get to the race. I had to stretch a lot longer than is the norm for me since this injury hasn't healed completely. I did wear an IT band strap and used some Icy Hot, too. We lined up for the start and before I knew it, we're off!
Miles 1-3- I knew that these could be the most important miles in this race. Would the injury be an issue or not? There was some mild pain but nothing bad. The first mile had plenty of curves as we made our way through town. We made our way into the country, and more straightaways, over the next two miles. My realistic goal for this race was 2:30 since I figured I'd have to take an occasional walk break if the injury became too nagging. It was hard to figure what I was running because there were no clocks on the course and I never wear a watch. I asked someone at mile 3 and she said we were at 29:37. Usually I would try to be around 27:15, but I was very happy with 10 minute miles for this first race back.
Miles 4-6- A nice long straightaway for most of this stretch. I started taking water at each aid station, which was located every two miles. The course was nothing special. Pretty much what I expected from a smaller town. What I loved was the lack of hills on this course. We turned down a little country road about five and a half miles in and hit the mile 6 aid station right before heading back toward town.
Miles 7-9- We finally hit the few hills on the course, but they were actually a nice change of pace. Nothing major, just the rolling variety. The steep climb down the last hill right at mile 7 was a little unpleasant because it was hard to not fly down the hill. We started making our way back to town by running the same country road from earlier. It actually seemed shorter on the way back. At this point I knew I was going to finish this thing and in a much better time than expected. I wasn't even feeling any pain from the IT band, but my legs were feeling heavy due to the lack of training. I started sprinkling in a few one minute walk breaks around mile 9.
Miles 10-12- More country roads until mile 11 when we hit town again. I took a few short walk breaks but still felt pretty good. We hit some different roads in town and winded around quite a bit since a true out and back would have been short of 13.1 miles. There weren't many people outside even though it was gorgeous out. Not much in the way of spectators, but the ones I did see were very enthusiastic and thanked the runners for supporting the town. Around the 12 mile mark I really started feeling like crap. I was getting pretty dehydrated even though I stopped for water at each stop. My one complaint was that there was no Gatorade along the course. But with only one mile left, I toughed it out.
Mile 13-end- I ran very easy over the last mile since I was feeling pretty dehydrated. There really wasn't anyone around me at this point and I just ran easily. No reason to try to improve my time by a few seconds because I knew my time would be slow anyway. Finally hit Stadium Dr. by the high school and finished at the church in 2:09. Got my medal and headed straight for the Gatorade, which I promptly destroyed.
Thoughts- The was a very well managed race for such a small race. I was pleasantly surprised with the goodies we received from a $20 race fee; a classy medal, tech tee, water bottle, and lunch cooler. I've received less at races that cost two to three times more than this one. Each mile was marked and aid stations were plentiful. It's about a two hour drive from Dayton, but it was very well worth it. I see this event growing exponentially in the coming years and wouldn't be surprised if it rivals events like the State to State Half Marathon in size. The most pleasant surprise is that I was able to run most of the course and my IT band is not giving me any problems the morning after the race. I've got a three week break until my next race and am looking to get back into race shape soon.
Next race: Lou Cox 5k- Dayton, OH
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