Vetfest Half Marathon - RunHalf Marathon

This race was special to me because the proceeds were going to build a Veterans's Memorial. My dad was a WWI Vet with three purple hearts so I did this in his memory.

I knew going in the weather was going to be pretty brutal so I set today up to be a mental toughness challenge. I wanted to run a couple beats below LT and leave enoughs legs to pick it up the last 3m. I've just started to refocus on running and am nowhere near my PR shape so this seemed like a reasonable goal.

The first 6m were directly into the wind and the sleet kept hitting in me in the eyes (stung like crazy). I finally resorted to shutting one eye at a time. On the positive side, it was like getting a dermabrasion for free (only girls probably know what that is)! I knew eventually we would make the turn and the wind wouldn't be as much of a factor so I kept on pushing right at LT, up and down the hills. At the 5m mark there was a sign for WWII vets which gave me a boost! Miss you dad.

Once we turned the corner just after 6m, the winds subsided for a bit. Made for much nicer running, so the same effort, produced a slightly faster pace even up the hills.

Hit 10m and was ready to put my foot on the gas "lighlty". There were three other people around me that I wanted to dust. None of them were in my AG and only one was a female. I passed one and then at the 11.5m mark I started feeling the beginnings of a quad cramp. Crud. I backed off slightly and started pounding on it while running...it worked! I passed the other guy, but couldn't catch that 24 year old girl in time. Dang. Next time!

Catch that girl! Seriously, nothing. For my current fitness level, I left it out there.

I was a popsicle so I got my medal, got some water and walked for 5' to cool down so I didn't get in trouble later :)


Fitnes. I was out with an injury and have only been back running 2 months under the guidance of my new coach...he's helping me claw my way back to respectability.

The good news is in small races I can still win my AG and hit the top 10 females. Hoping to do that in a larger race sometime soon.


This is a small, well run event. The course is challenging, but well worth the effort. The volunteers are all local to the community and nice. Having the National Guard and a lot of vets there was a special touch.

It is managed by Race Day Events, a local company and they always do a great job with the music, the announcers and the hoopla.

I'll definitely be back next year.