Another late post on a race recap, but I thought I'd share a quick word on what I thought was a pretty decent little half marathon...aside from the course miscalculation that turned the race into a 12 miler instead of the full 13.1.
This race was back on November 15, 2015, in Waco, TX, home of Chip and Jo-Jo...for those of you that watch Fixer Upper on HGTV. I ran this course earlier in the year at the Miracle Match Marathon, so I was pretty familiar with the layout, even though this time it was only half the distance. My friend Bobby decided to run this one as well, despite not having trained at all for it since he had been dealing with the struggles of MS. I told him how difficult the course was and to just pace himself through the hills and he'd be fine, and he did exactly that and finished his first ever half that day! Speaking of the hills, this race has them...and steep for a road race! So my plan was to keep an even effort throughout the whole course, and let the downhills speed me up and uphills slow me down. It worked like a charm! I even had some energy at the end to speed up and finish strong, showing once again that half marathons seem to be right in my wheelhouse, having just enough endurance and plenty of speed to keep me in the running for top 10 in my age group at most of the races I sign up for. This day I proved to be top 4 in age group, and 9th male overall. No award for me at this race but I felt great and was proud of how well I ran the race, with the top 3 finishers in my age group finishing in the top 5 overall. In the final mile, I passed a top 2 finisher in the 25-29 AG, which made me feel good about how I closed out the race. It's always fun to reel someone in at the finish, instead of the other way around when you're struggling at the end and people pass you.
The course is beautiful, taking you through Cameron Park in downtown Waco, in and out of some steep hills and beautiful tree lined views and a path along the river. You cross a few bridges as well, with the finish line being on a beautiful pedestrian bridge across the Brazos toward the convention center. As far as downtown parks go, this is one of the best for running that I've come across, and I would recommend running any race put on in Waco, as most of them are centered around this area. I mentioned earlier that the race was a little short, that's because around mile 7 there was an aid station in the middle of an intersection that was sending runners the wrong direction, cutting off a half mile out and back portion of the course. The volunteers at the aid station seemed a little confused as myself and 2 other runners approached flying downhill yelling, 'Which way??'. They just raised their arms and pointed right, so we went right...and after the finish all the runners asked the same question, 'Did your GPS say you only went 12 miles?' and the answer was yes. If it hadn't been for that little mistake, I could have logged a half marathon PR that day as I finished in 1:36 and was speeding up drastically at the end. I probably would've finished around 1:43, but it didn't bother me much, as I was just at the race in particular to have some fun, enjoy the scenery, and cheer on Bobby as he finished his first half.
It was a great day of running, and I'm sure I'll be back in Waco soon to run another!
Race Gear:
Shoes- Altra Torin 2.0
Socks- Features Merino Wool no show
Compression- CEP Calf Sleeves
Shorts- Nike 2 in 1 5"
Shirt- Cowtown Half Tech Finishers Shirt
Watch- Garmin Fenix 3
This race was back on November 15, 2015, in Waco, TX, home of Chip and Jo-Jo...for those of you that watch Fixer Upper on HGTV. I ran this course earlier in the year at the Miracle Match Marathon, so I was pretty familiar with the layout, even though this time it was only half the distance. My friend Bobby decided to run this one as well, despite not having trained at all for it since he had been dealing with the struggles of MS. I told him how difficult the course was and to just pace himself through the hills and he'd be fine, and he did exactly that and finished his first ever half that day! Speaking of the hills, this race has them...and steep for a road race! So my plan was to keep an even effort throughout the whole course, and let the downhills speed me up and uphills slow me down. It worked like a charm! I even had some energy at the end to speed up and finish strong, showing once again that half marathons seem to be right in my wheelhouse, having just enough endurance and plenty of speed to keep me in the running for top 10 in my age group at most of the races I sign up for. This day I proved to be top 4 in age group, and 9th male overall. No award for me at this race but I felt great and was proud of how well I ran the race, with the top 3 finishers in my age group finishing in the top 5 overall. In the final mile, I passed a top 2 finisher in the 25-29 AG, which made me feel good about how I closed out the race. It's always fun to reel someone in at the finish, instead of the other way around when you're struggling at the end and people pass you.
The course is beautiful, taking you through Cameron Park in downtown Waco, in and out of some steep hills and beautiful tree lined views and a path along the river. You cross a few bridges as well, with the finish line being on a beautiful pedestrian bridge across the Brazos toward the convention center. As far as downtown parks go, this is one of the best for running that I've come across, and I would recommend running any race put on in Waco, as most of them are centered around this area. I mentioned earlier that the race was a little short, that's because around mile 7 there was an aid station in the middle of an intersection that was sending runners the wrong direction, cutting off a half mile out and back portion of the course. The volunteers at the aid station seemed a little confused as myself and 2 other runners approached flying downhill yelling, 'Which way??'. They just raised their arms and pointed right, so we went right...and after the finish all the runners asked the same question, 'Did your GPS say you only went 12 miles?' and the answer was yes. If it hadn't been for that little mistake, I could have logged a half marathon PR that day as I finished in 1:36 and was speeding up drastically at the end. I probably would've finished around 1:43, but it didn't bother me much, as I was just at the race in particular to have some fun, enjoy the scenery, and cheer on Bobby as he finished his first half.
It was a great day of running, and I'm sure I'll be back in Waco soon to run another!
Race Gear:
Shoes- Altra Torin 2.0
Socks- Features Merino Wool no show
Compression- CEP Calf Sleeves
Shorts- Nike 2 in 1 5"
Shirt- Cowtown Half Tech Finishers Shirt
Watch- Garmin Fenix 3
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