Like the rest of the Northeast, the day was cold (42 degrees for most of it) and raining. Hopped in the car, picked up two friends who would run the half, too, and headed south to the race. Saw the sun peek out a few times on the trip, but by the time we were at the race, the sun was nowhere to be seen and it rained steadily from that point on.
The race began promptly at 11:00 with 900 runners...another 500 would start a 5K at 11:15. I just love the sound of that many feet hitting the pavement at the same time...just don't hear it in the smaller races I do for the rest of the year!
The course was a muddy one...dirt road, but the whole area has been pretty severely wiped out by Hurricane Irene just a few weeks ago and it's been raining pretty steadily for the last week, adding insult to injury. I didn't mind the dirt road, but couldn't speed down the hills like usual...I missed that because I definitely slow down going up those hills and I can generally make up the time.
My friends and I (there were 6 of us) stayed pretty close together, but never ran together. All of us finished with 7 minutes of each other! What a great crew! I'm wishing I had them going with me to my first marathon in 2 weeks!
Anyway, given the day and conditions, I was pleased with my finish in 2 hours and 4 minutes.
Leaf Peepers Half Marathon in VT
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