Run to End MS 2015 - Half Marathon Race Report

Splits via my Timex and on-course kilometer markers.

There's a reason I didn't wear my Garmin for this race. The km markers are always notoriously somewhat random. I felt I actually ran a fairly even paced race. Yes, the first km was intentionally slow, and yes, maybe the next 2 were a little hasty to catch up, but kms 4,5,6,7,8,18 and 20 are all a little suspect. It did come up to 21k + according to a few other Garmins on the course though. My race strategy was broken down into 5K blocks. My ultimate goal was 1:39, with a negative split. Here's what the plan vs actual looked like:

Split (km)	Plan	Actual	Over by
5	0:23:45.00	0:24:34.78	0:00:49.78
10	0:47:30.00	0:47:56.95	0:00:26.95
15	1:11:00.00	1:11:36.20	0:00:36.20
20	1:34:20.00	1:35:25.83	0:01:05.83
21	1:38:59.90	1:40:07.66	0:01:07.76

I was thinking it might be a possibility at the 10K split. We were running into the wind on the way out, and the tail wind would make it easier on the way back, by 15K, I was only 36 seconds behind.... but then the wheels fell off, and I started doing the math in my head -- ["If I slow down and still run 5 minute kms I'm still in under 1:45 and that's fine for me" I would tell myself].

I got passed exactly at 20K by another runner whom I had passed at 3K, and I just couldn't keep up.

All in all, still pretty pleased with the run, considering the weather conditions, and less than stellar training leading up to the race.


I even got 3rd for my age group.

This is 50 feet from the finish line. I could see the clock still with 1:39:5X on it. Everyone is yelling "SPRINT, SPRINT, SPRINT!!!" But alas, I did not have the suitcase of courage with me on this day.