The first mile is a gentle, almost imperceptible, downhill grade which feels fast as the course heads into the quaint downtown area of San Luis Obispo (aka "SLO"): past the historic Fremont theater, Spanish mission (with bells ringing to celebrate the runners) and down the tree lined main street. A few brave souls were on the streets cheering us on with coffee and signs in hand. At the edge of the downtown district the route turned around and the aforementioned grade was now ever so slightly uphill, slowing my pace just a touch. As the route exited downtown we passed the Chinese garden and fountain with a troupe of drummers and Tiger dancers. Knowing what was coming next this was a nice boost.

Next up was the first major hill and the start of the hilly section of the course. While not a huge hill in comparison with other runs, "Johnson hill" is the longest hill within city limits and has a reputation among local runners. I try to run it a couple times a week so I know how to pace it and breezed right up without trouble. We made our way to the city limits and past a crowd of spectators, it's amazing how a bit of cheering helps motivation! More rolling hills (not quite as green as last year due to lack of rain) were coming and I was feeling so good that when I hit mile 6 I could hardly believe that had gone 6 miles. The only thing slowing me down was the nagging soreness of my foot. After a turn around at about mile 7 it was back up and down the hills and to the city limits. The same crowd was still cheering and motivating as we ran past.

With the hills behind me a spectator holding a sign that said "Just remember where you started!" was a great motivator. The last 3 miles of the route were through a quiet neighborhood with a few more spectators out now that it was a little later in the morning. A group of my friends were among them and I got a "baby high-five" from a running buddy's daughter.

The last mile of every HM I've ran is when I start to feel it the distance and this was no different. Knowing the race is almost over help me push through the soreness in my right foot and the small hot spot on my left foot that felt like a pebble. With just a 1/4 of a mile to the finish there is a small but steep rise that slows a lot of runners to a walk but I kept myself running and crested the hill. The run down to the finish was lined with cheering spectators and I finished as strong as I could.

Not much, good run overall considering my foot issues.

Crossed the finish line and found some members of my tEEm for a group picture and talked about the run. Stretched my legs then went to the first aid area to ice my foot.


Lingering plantar fasciitus issues cut into my training mileage. Ran a bit slower to keep from aggravating it.


As the slogan says, "Small town, big race". Very well organized event and a great race.