MK's Top 10 Half Marathon Moments

You may have heard that I recently ran my 50th half marathon.  That is 655 miles of memories over the last 6 and 1/3 years.  It sounds cliche, but I feel as if I just started this journey yesterday.  I thought back over many of them as I was running the Cowtown Half (number 50) and came up with a top 10 list of the most memorable races.  It was hard to narrow it down to just 10 as each race has its own story and is special in its own way.  Here is my Top 10, presented in no particular order.

1. DRC Half November 2008 This is where it all began - my very first half marathon.  I started running in the late spring and summer of 2008 and ran my first 5K on the 4th of July.  I increased my distance to 10K by late August and wondered if I could do a half.  The weather that day was quite warm (around 80 degrees) despite it being November.  The presidential election was days away and I remember seeing all of the Obama and McCain signs in neighboring yards.  I started behind the 2:30 pace group, but caught them and worked really hard to stay ahead of them.  I crossed the finish line in 2:25:21 and really felt like I'd done something! I immediately set a goal to run a sub 2:00 half and spent much of the next year working towards that goal.

First Half Marathon Medal

2.  White Rock Half December 2009 This one will always stand out in my mind as a very special race because it was the first time that I ran a sub 2:00 half - a goal that I had been chasing since I crossed the finish line of my first half marathon.  This race fell in the middle of an exceptionally busy weekend.  I was playing with the Metropolitan Winds in a series of holiday concerts at the Winspear Opera House with the Turtle Creek Chorale.  This meant Tuesday and Thursday evening rehearsals down in Dallas, Friday and Saturday evening concerts, and two concerts on race day.  I went to bed late on Saturday night I woke up on race day feeling tired and just not knowing if that sub 2:00 was in the cards for me that day.  I don't remember a ton about the race, except the stars aligned perfectly and I ran a beautiful 1:57:18 - smashing that sub 2:00 goal!  My celebration was short as it was off to perform in a matinee concert.  I'm still not sure how I did everything that weekend, but it will always be one of my favorite race moments.

Meanwhile, while I wasn't running the White Rock Half....

3. Grasslands Trail Half March 2010 I don't even know where to start with this one - some races are just so terribly awful that they are wonderful!  This was my first trail race ever and we woke up to hear rain pouring on our roof.  The rain continued on the drive out to Decatur and the temperatures were falling into the 30s.  I remember looking at Mr K as if to say "do we really want to do this?" before we lined up at the start line.  I instantly had cold mud up to my ankles and our progress was slow.  At one point I paused and wondered aloud how a person would DNF (quit) a trail race.  Mr K reminded me that I was out of my comfort zone (the whole goal of my running) and encouraged me to keep moving.  Three and a half hours and a lot of whining later we found the finish line.  It was so cold that I had trouble getting my shoes off and changing into dry clothes.  It was snowing before nightfall.  What a day!  At the time, it was one of the hardest things that I'd ever done and I felt so proud of myself.  For the full story, you can read here.

Grasslands - with a river of mud in the middle!

4.  Heels and Hills Half May 2010 My all-time half marathon PR - to this day I am not certain how I did this as I have not come close to this time since.  I give much credit to Mark O, my pacer for the second half of the race.  I met Mark while volunteering at packet pick-up and I knew that he would be pacing the group nearest to my PR at the time.  The course was super flat and the weather was nice and I tried to stay just ahead of Mark and his pace group (1:55), hoping to run a 1:53.  When we got to mile 10, I noticed that the pace group had dropped to a group of one - me.  He asked me what time I was looking for and told me to just run with him until the end.   These were in my pre-Garmin days, so I had no idea what pace I was running - but I knew that it was getting more and more difficult!  I was absolutely beside myself when I checked my watch and saw 1:51:35.  Turns out Mark was speeding up the pace during those last 3 miles - like a good pacer does!  I'm still looking to catch that lightening in a bottle again someday.  Full story here 

On my way to PR greatness

5.  Austin Half  February 14, 2010 One of the main reasons that I wanted to get my base up to the half distance was so that I could travel to other cities for races.  There is hardly a better way to see a city than by foot on race day.  All of the major cities have marathons and they never fail to bring out the best in the city.  Austin was the first of many half marathons that we have traveled to.  It stands out in my mind because it was such a beautiful, sunny, cool Valentine's Day.  Austin is a great city and they really came out to support this race.  It was also my first race as a blogger and you can see my first race report here.

My Running Valentine

6.  New Year's Double December 31, 2011 & January 1, 2012 I group these together because running back-to-back half marathons was the entire point of this challenge.  I had run my first marathon earlier in December and I was fascinated by the idea of double half marathons.  I had a blast the first day (2:09:14), and struggled a little more the second day (2:18:52).  The goal was to keep the two times fairly consistent by going out a little easier than usual on the first day.  Those first few miles of the second day were HARD then a blister began to get the best of me.  The best part of the whole experience was spending time the time with friends over the two days.  It was a great experience and I'm so glad that I did it.  Full story here.

Best Way To Start a New Year

7.  Whiskey Row Half May 2012 This race is held in Prescott, AZ and it is like no other race I've ever run - before or since.  The race starts at a mile high (5300 feet) and goes straight up from there!  It is doubly challenging as it climbs 1000 feet in the first 6.5 miles before turing around and descending those same 1000 feet back to the start.  I had no idea what I was getting myself into, but decided early on just to enjoy the experience and the beautiful scenery.  I had hoped to run all the way to the top without walking, but that was just not happening. Mr K and I had a great time taking running and we enjoyed some terrific AZ hospitality courtesy of our buddies Cat and Daniel and their family.  I will never forget this one! Full story here.

Beautiful views in Prescott, AZ

8.  Oklahoma City Half April 2013  We have run the Oklahoma City Half on a couple of occasions and it is always a special race as there is so much meaning attached to the occasion.  The race starts near the Oklahoma City Bombing Memorial and is a beautiful tribute to those who died in the horrible act of terrorism.  I was very much looking forward to the race, then the April 15, 2013 happened - the Boston Marathon bombing.  I think that all runners were rattled a bit by it and felt personally attacked, in a way.  I went into the race with the hopes of breaking through my 1:55 plateau with the plan to run without looking at my watch.  What happened is that I ran with my heart - and with beautiful negative splits and I busted that plateau with a 1:54:55.  It was the fastest half I'd run in a while and it is the fastest I've run since - I consider it my "modern" PR.  I'm proud of this one for so many reasons.  Full story here.

OKC Pre Race Excitement!

9. Dallas Marathon Half December 2014 I went into this race with no goals at all other than to have fun.  I had run the California International Marathon one week before and I knew that my legs would not be recovered enough to run this one at full speed.  I stopped to talk to friends along the way, thanked volunteers, and took pictures with a panda.  It was like a victory lap to a hard season of marathon training - a parade through Dallas!  I can't remember the last time that I had that much fun at a race.  It is days like that when I feel the most grateful that I am able to go out and run 13.1 miles just because I want to.  It is a gift that I never take for granted! Full story here 

This Panda Made My Day!

10. Cowtown Half March 1, 2015 Half number 50 would have been a special race anyway, but the circumstances surrounding it made it even better.  A bunch of ice and snow left the full and ultra marathons cancelled, but thanks to the effort of the race staff, the half was still on for everyone.  It was so cold and there was still snow on the ground - a racing first for me!  Mr K made a special "50th Half" shirt for me and I had a great day talking to my fellow runners on the course.  It was not a record setting race for me, but it was wonderful to be with friends on such a cold and dreary day.  I took a moment to feel proud of myself and I took a moment to be grateful for the relationships running has brought into my life.  I'm not sure where the next 50 will take me, but I wouldn't trade my first 50 for anything!  Full story here.

My running partner in crime.