“I would love some coffee!” Dad said before driving me out to the starting line for my very first half-marathon
“Brian? Brian Moon? Is that you?” Mike Russell said to me somewhere between Mile 6 and Mile 7.
“Yay! Go, Brian!” my sister, brother-in-law, niece and girlfriend Lindsey all shouted as I tried to run the last point-one miles inside Hillsboro Stadium.
And 2 hours, 34 minutes and 15 seconds read the clock as I crossed the finish line.
That about covers the important parts. Other, less important parts:
- Once again, the Run With Paula team organized and executed a great race. Lots of happy volunteers, the race started on time, the course was well-marked, and there were lots of water and outhouses out there.
- Not that I needed the water. I wore a Camelbak so I could hydrate any time I wanted to. And I did. And it worked well, I think, even carrying “all that extra weight”, as a friend said to me afterward.
- The weather, which I had been worried about, was perfect: overcast and in the low 60s. It could have been warmer, and it could have been wetter – there was a brief downpour right before the race started. The rain stopped before the starting gun, though, almost as if the weather got it out of its system. But I wouldn’t anthropomorphize a natural phenomenon like that.
- Lindsey got some pictures of me which are here. I really only expect close friends and family to click that link.
- If you finished between 2:20 and 2:40, or know someone who did, check out this set. You may recognize someone in there.
- I celebrated my win with food: the customary Helvetia burger at the finish line, breakfast with dad, my niece and Lindsey at J & M Cafe at SE 6th and Ash (and does not appear to have a website), and later, two Whiffies’ pies. NOM NOM NOM as the LOLcats say.
Yes, I will likely run a marathon this year, too. I mean, at this point, why not?