Sandy Runs

What's this? I'm posting my race report on the same day as the actual race? Must be some kind of record! I still have a couple backlogged blog posts (which are not race reports), but this one jumped to the top of the queue. Today I ran the Emerald City Half Marathon in Dublin, Ohio for the second time. The first time I ran was in 2014 when I walked the first three miles with my mom , who was completing the quarter marathon, before running on to finish my half marathon. Finish pic with medal, wearing the 2014 shirt And this year's shirt, a slightly different shade of blue...and also a singlet I registered for this race months ago and had hoped to attempt a new half marathon PR. Back at the end of May, coming off a successful Medina Half Marathon , I thought that PR was a sure bet. Then I lost some training time in June when I was sick, and more training time in July when I injured my leg. And I never quite got back my training mojo in time to expect a late Augu...

Last week I ran the  Dublin Irish Festival 5K , which kicked off the weekend festival activities. For those of you not in the know, this is the Dublin, OHIO festival. Nope...I wasn't just over in Ireland. This was a Thursday evening race. I drove to Dublin early to pick up my packet and met Shelly, Nikki and Nikki's daughter Elise there. This was going to be Shelly's first 5K. Nikki, Elise, Shelly and me before the race Pre-race selfie The weather was nice for standing or sitting around outside, but it was August, and I knew it would feel hot running. At least the sun wasn't high in the sky. We hung around while the kids dash took place, and then the 5K participants made their way to the start corral. The national anthem was played, and then we were off. Start corral Walking to the starting arch The course was an out and back, mostly on a residential road, and partially on a road with office buildings. We had an equal amount of uphill and downh...

Another catch-up race report is for the Find Me Where the Wild Things Are run (not really a race, as it's completely untimed and unscored). This was the summer solstice run put on by Brokeman's Running Company . Just a little fun with a bronze buck (it's a "wild thing", right?) before the run kicked off  (photo credit: Matt Alley) My friend Matt is out in Colorado now, but comes to Ohio regularly, so he suggested doing this run together on one of his recent trips. It took place on the evening of the summer solstice and was a night event starting at 8:30 PM. Brokeman's promised a route of approximately 4.5 miles, though my Garmin clocked it at slightly less. That didn't really matter as this was a fun run, there were no prizes and we were all just out there to enjoy the summer evening. Runners getting ready at Land Grant Pre-run selfie with Matt Katie makes her announcements before we start  (photo credit: Matt Alley) Runners converg...

Back in June I ran the Shawshank Hustle 7K . How could I say no to a race that was fairly close to home and based on one of my favorite films, The Shawshank Redemption ? The Shawshank Hustle looked fun from the first moment I discovered it. The race takes place in Mansfield, an Ohio town I'd never been to, but it wasn't too far from Columbus; in fact, I drove up race-day morning. The race festival was held at the Ohio State Reformatory , the historic prison where The Shawshank Redemption was filmed. It's a beautiful backdrop, and race participants were able to take a self-guided tour of the building either before or after the race. They played up the theme, routing the course past several local sites where film scenes were shot. The t-shirt and medal also reflect the theme. And this year there were guest appearances from a couple of the minor actors in the film (Renee Blaine who played Andy's wife, and Scott Mann who played her lover). Finish pic with medal, in...