This was one of my personal goals this year. Running a half by the end of the year seemed like a pie in the sky goal not too long ago. Well, after having a fantastic long run earlier in the week- I looked at my training schedule and realized that if I could find a raise near the end of October, my training would have me in really good shape to run a half. So I started looking and found it.
On October 30th, I will taking part in the inaugural running of the Gettysburg Blue and the Grey Half Marathon in Gettysburg, PA. Let me explain why this half sounds like so much fun.
- I'm a huge history dork
- I'm southern
- This isn't your normal half. The race is designed to sort of mimic the nation before, during, and after the civil war. All of the runners will compete under Blue (North) and Gray (South) flags. I love that you get to pick your side. (Before I get any flack about running for the South- I'm not a racist, or a redneck, or "liked" the fact that the South was supportive of slavery. I'm just from the South and thought it would be a fun race.)
- All runners will start and finish together. (I love the symbolism in this) Everyone will run the same half marathon ( that's 13.1 miles) course. At the two mile mark, the two sides will split and run the large eight mile loop in opposite directions, crossing one another at 6.55 miles. Then both sides will rejoin after the ten miles mark and finish the last 5k together.
I do have some reservations but hopefully my training will help me pull through. I'm running the Navy 5 miler a month and a half before the half marathon, and running the Army 10miler just a few weeks before the half. So I should be able to do it. My only real concern is the time frame. They start breaking down the half course right at 3 hrs. My goal is to finish in 2 hrs and 15 minutes or less, so this shouldn't be a problem. So we shall see. GULP.
You. Will. Rock. It!!!
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