Dismal Swamp Stomp Half Marathon - RunHalf Marathon

The original plan was to treat the race as a fast training run for IM CdA, so there was zero taper or specific rest for the race. I haven't run a stand-alone (non-pacer) half marathon in 14 months, so I wasn't quite sure what to expect for time. I thought based on some of my marathons that sub 1:40 was possible, so that was my only real goal for the day. My plan was straight 7:30 miles until mile 10 and then take it from there. However, the cool weather, overcast skies, lack of wind, and flat course made this an easy PR opportunity.

I positioned myself closer to the front for the start than most races as I was concerned about congestion. Once the gun went off, it only took me 7 seconds to hit the start mat and we were off. Surprisingly, I find some space right from the start and settled into what I thought was a fast, but not sprint pace. I hit mile 1 at just sub 7 flat and I knew I was a little too fast. I also decided to lose the long sleeve shirt just after that time. Miles 2 - 4 were spent trying to slow down to closer to 7:30's, but I kept hitting most of the mile markers at 7:15 - 7:20. That being said, I felt very good. Given the cool weather, hydration also was not a factor so I ran through every water stop. Most miles after that were uneventful and I was just in my little zone.

When I hit the turnaround point, I still felt good and I upped my desired finish time to sub 1:38 (which is my BQ pace) to see how that felt for a half marathon. Miles 7 - 10 started to creep to just below 7:10's and I was passing other runners. When I arrived at mile 10, I realized that sub 1:35 was possible with a strong 5k. At that point, I put my head down and pushed. Miles 11 & 12 were sub 7. However, just after mile 12, I was about done. Fortunately, I started running besides a guy I kind of know from some of these races and we decided to push each other other to the finish. When we hit mile 13, I let him go and I cruised in with what little I had left as I had crushed my time goals for the day.



Nothing - actually a perfect race considering it was never a focus of mine.

The final 5k was 21:40, which is actually a 5k PR, so I know I paced this race just right - started fast, settled in, left some for the finish.

Immediately walked back to my car as I had to get to my daughter's soccer game, so I missed the post-race activities.


Nothing - good race.


Good first year race. Although, I am not sure how they would handle crowds any larger. I will try to do this race again as it is so close to home and a flat, fast track.