Ok before I get into the details about running the Fort Atkinson Half Marathon, I want to announce that by running this half marathon, the Madison Half Marathon, and the Parkinson’s Half Marathon within a 90 day time period, I qualified for the Half Fanatics!!!! For those of you who may not know what this is, it is a group for runners who love to run Half Marathons. There are different levels at which you can qualify and once you do you pay a membership fee and can then create a profile on the website. Then you can connect to other Fanatics, look for races, and buy some awesome Fanatics swag!! I cannot wait to purchase my first shirt and wear it to my next half marathon! (Next half is the Madison Mini in August so I’ll have to order soon!) I am so stinking excited to be a part of this group! Half Marathons are literally my all time favorite distance. It is challenging enough and yet I don’t feel like I was hit by a bus when I’m finished! HAHA! But you know me, I love a challenge and marathon training starts next month! Madison Marathon I’m coming for ya in November and I’m coming for a PR with a time of under 5 hours!!
Alright so June 18 I ran in the Fort Atkinson Half Marathon for the 2nd time. This was the first official half marathon I had run in back in 2014. It was then the obsession with longer distances started! I was so proud of myself for completing this distance! I am still amazed that I can run this far. I am amazed that I run this distance for fun when I am not in a race! I know I’m weird!
Anyway, I got my posse up early Saturday morning and we headed to Fort for packet pick up. Pick up was until 6:30 and the race started at 7. We ended up waiting around for a bit but it wasn’t so bad as my MIL came to hang out with Jay and the kids. They ended up going to breakfast while I was racing. I was totally jealous but I do love my alone time while I’m running!
This wasn’t a huge race like the ones I run in Madison but there were still a good number of people there. There was also a 5K race for this event as well so there were a bunch of people racing in that as well. A local gentleman sang The National Anthem which was beautiful ( I always get goosebumps and misty eyed when I hear The National Anthem) and then we were off. The course is beautiful with the route taking us along the bike path that runs by the river, through downtown and then through the neighborhoods of Fort. When I ran this race the first time, the course was one huge loop around and through the city. This time the course was an out and back. I am usually not a huge fan of out and back routes since you end up looking at the same scenery, but this one wasn’t so bad.
Me before the race courtesy of my hubby!
We started out behind JOnes park which is a really nice park with a playground and baseball diamond in the center of town. We then travelled down the road to the bike path. This path took us along the riverwalk as well and then we wove our way through several neighborhoods in town. We travelled through some of the older neighborhoods and some of the newer subdivisions as well. There were many water and gatorade stations throughout the course and some of the neighbors set up sprinklers by the side of the roads so we could run through them to cool off. That was really nice. It was a beautiful day, but even with a start time of 7 am, it was getting pretty toasty by 9:00 The water at the water stations was cold which is something that normally doesn’t happen at a race. It’s usually barely cool or warm towards the end of the race especially. This water was cold throughout and felt great to drink and dump down my back. I have not done that in a race before but it sure felt good during this one. It was getting pretty hot by the end and the sun was shining and there wasn’t a lot of tree cover. But I felt strong for the most part throughout this race, until I got to the Halfway / turnaround point. This point was almost back to the start/finish line!!! It was a little defeating to see the finish line and then realize that you were only halfway done with the race. But I tried not to think about that as I made the turn and tried to focus on the different landmarks I had already passed once, knowing that the next time I passed them, I would be that much closer to the finish line and my medal!! Gotta love the race bling!!
Here I am about halfway through the race. There weren’t too many photographers at the race except for the local newspaper photographers. So this is my only race photo.
The final half of the race was when I really started to feel the heat and I kept praying for sprinklers and the water stations to show up earlier and earlier. It was getting rough, I’m not going to lie! I did have a fleeting thought of not being able to make it, but that quickly passed after a sprinkler run-through! Plus I always tell myself that this is nothing to run 13.1 miles! I’ve run 26.2!! This is a piece of cake!!
I actually passed a few people in the last segment of the race which I’ve done before, but surprises me every time. I think the heat was getting to more people during this race. Coming down the road towards the finish line, I kept it conservative until I saw the banner and my family screaming on the sidewalk!! They always get me to push it at the end of the race! It felt good to have that burst of energy at the end of the race to be able to speed through the finish line.
Pictures courtesy of my hubby, and YES I was racing this lady to the finish line! Just a little extra incentive to get my butt across that line! 
So proud of myself for getting a PB on this race! When I ran it 2 years ago, I finished in 2:25 and today I finished in 2:21. I love how beautiful this medal is! I am so so so sad that this is the last running of this race. Hopefully by some miracle or grace of God, someone else decides to put on this race. FOrt Atkinson is a beautiful city and deserves to be showcased by a beautiful race course like this one! I may be partial, but it truly is a beautiful city to run in! 
I didn’t bonk after this race too badly either. I had powerade in the car that I drank on the way home and I fueled and tried to drink as much water as I could along the course. I did end up with a migraine later on that morning, but after taking my meds, I felt better and was able to make it to the grocery store.
Next race is the Milton Independence Day 10K on July 4. I am excited to run this for the third time this year. It runs on roads right by my house so I have been able to practice on these roads to prepare! I love country running!!
Until next time my running friends!
RUN ON!!
Laura
Comments
Post a Comment