I’m actually referring to last Saturday, when I ran the inaugural Richmond Half-Marathon. If I told you that the morning temperature was going to be near 70 degrees and humid, which month of the year would you think I was referring to? Maybe August. But no, this was mid-November, after the color on the leaves had largely turned. It was overcast, and a storm had blown through the night before. But yes — weather conditions were rather warm and humid.
My official time was 1:57:33 (good for 877th overall, and 91st in my age group), but I had 2 stops along the way. One stop was for a true pit stop (too crowded at the start to get in line after sitting in traffic for almost 30 minutes waiting to park), and then later running into Will with my parents at mile 9 and spending some time talking to them (that’s where the picture above is from). My total running time (according to my watch) was 1:53:34, which was about where I had aimed to be. It’s a good thing I took a small break at mile 9, because the last 3 to 4 miles was essentially into a 15+ mph headwind, with stronger gusts. I finished strong and feel pretty good about the result, considering my training wasn’t great.
It’s a nice, very flat course, with a super-fast downhill finish. I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a half-marathon to do. I will probably look forward to doing it again next year.
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