Sunday, May 18, 2008

Geist Half Marathon




I ran the Geist Half Marathon yesterday. This is a new race and I wasn't sure if it was going to go smoothly as it was a point to point race. They did a good job with the shuttles to the start line and from the finish line back to the parking area. There was a minimal wait to catch a ride.

The course was surprisingly hilly, scenic and fun. There is good shade until about 6 miles. The hills return at 7 miles. The support crowds were few and far between but I enjoyed the bands. The finish area was great, with a slight Jimmy Buffett party feel in the air. Too bad that one hour after I finished it clouded up, the wind picked up even more and actually got colder. I think finishers would have stuck around longer if the weather had stayed nice.

How did I do? It took me a long time to feel like I should be running (woke up tired) but I felt better at about 9 miles. I ran a strong last 5 K to finish in the top 10 and win my age group in 1:21:44. I think the hills & wind slowed us all down, but it was a nice day for this inaugural race.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Great job! I can't imagine running a half with lots of hills. I ran a 5k with lots of hills last week and about died! I finished in the top ten in my age group yesterday at a 5K (yeah my age group and by top ten I mean I was 9 of 11!)

Tom Britt said...

Thanks for coming out to run our first race. For a course that circles a reservoir, we do have quite a few hills. Hope you come back next year on May 16, 2009.