Running With Hart: Race Recap - Garmin Oz Run 4.16.2016

I know this race recap is a few days past due, but life has been really busy lately, and some things have had to give. Blogging has been one of those things. Fitness, no. Computer time, yes. Oh well, better late than never, right?

Anyway, I paced the 2:55 half marathon group about two weeks ago at the Garmin Oz Run in Olathe, KS. The start time was early - 6:45am - and they had warned of getting to the location early due to expected traffic problems. So, with the race start being less than 10 miles from my house, I was able to roll into the parking lot by 5:15am. The race started at the new Embassy Suites Hotel, so I crowded into the lobby with a ton of other people to stay warm before the gun went off. I chatted with some other races, met up with friends, used the indoor bathrooms!, and waited for the time to pass. About 6:15 I started to make my way to the shoot to line up and see just who would be running with me at the 2:55 pace time.

Pre-race selfie with the ladies of KC Express

The race started, and off we went. I was running my group 2:1 intervals. Meaning run for 2 minutes, walk for 1 minute. It went well, and we cruised along through several miles. At the mile 4 water station I ran into Brandie C. - a fellow KC Express member and good friend. She was volunteering her morning at the water stop, on her birthday no less! After a quick side hug and a jump, I was back on the road with my pace group.

Brandie took this photo at the mile 4 water station

The race course had changed from the previous year - a new start location and a new course. Instead of being "fast and flat" it went to "slow and hilly". My group really started to struggle with the hills, and I worked hard to keep them engaged and still in the race. Usually at mile 6 people start to mentally check out of the race, and wonder why they signed up for such a thing. So, by keeping their focus off that and on the latest tv show or sports game, current news, or just whatever, it helps to keep people moving forward.

Jumping at mile 10.5 with my INKnBURN Robot Capris

My finish jump

I managed to finish up the race and welcome in the runners I started with that just couldn't hold on. My finish time was 2:58 - a few minutes off of my 2:55 pace time, but the minutes were worth it as I was able to help people finish up. After spending some time in the finish shoot and headed to my car and waited in the traffic fiasco to get out of the race area. I'm pretty sure this was the number one complaint the race director received after this race, and I have no doubts that things will be fixed for next year.

And just to make the morning even more special, my oldest son ran the Munchkin Marathon - a 1.2m race for kids. He did really well, and had a lot of fun. This is his 3rd year running it, and I couldn't be more proud.