Half Marathon #20 - Roots, Blues, and BBQ
Yesterday I ran the Roots, Blues, and BBQ Festival Half Marathon in Columbia, MO. I had originally had my eye on another September half marathon to be my first of the season but I saw pictures of their 2013 medals and I was less than impressed. I chose this half to be the first race of the fall season. I had paid for this race one to two months ago, yet I allowed too many distractions to come into my life and derail my training. Even the week of the race I was ill for two days yet I did not want to lose the money I had invested, so I was determined to run under-trained and not at 100%. Needless to say I was nervous Friday night and Saturday morning. My stomach was in knots and I hardly slept Friday night. It wasn't until I was at the start line that I got really excited. I told myself that regardless of what happened to my training, I could finish this race. I would walk if I needed to, but I would finish and get that medal at the end.
So here is my rundown of the race:
Pros -
- Amazing weather!
- Columbia is beautiful and the race course takes you through several parks and quaint neighborhoods. Their trail system is quite extensive and the majority of the course is on their trails.
- There is bbq at the finish line.
- The medals are large and heavy.
- You didn't have to worry about traffic because most of the race was on trails.
- Columbia is a nice town to visit for a weekend - home to plenty of quaint shops and restaurants.
Cons -
- This race was the hilliest I have ever run, no joke. I have run in Baltimore, DC, St. Louis, etc. and I really can't remember a race being hillier than this.
- I train on the Katy Trail which is crushed limestone for the most part, but this is the only half marathon I have run primarily on trails. I tend to avoid races that are labeled as trail runs and this one wasn't labeled that way, yet it was primarily on the Columbia trail system. I just wasn't mentally prepared for the soft ground rather than asphalt or pavement.
- Because much of the race was on trails, some parts were VERY narrow to where you could not pass.
- Most of the spectators were at the start/finish only due to the nature of the course.
So today I am sore, very sore but this race has gotten me excited for the fall race season!