Moonlight Half Marathon

Everyone knows Brian is a runner and has run several half marathons. I have enjoyed being there a few times this past year while he ran some of these races and told him one day I'd like to run one with him. Well the city of Mapleton came up with an interesting half marathon that I thought would be fun to try as my first half marathon. Last Friday Brian and I participated in their "moonlight half marathon." Our brother in law Burke (Brian's sister Peggy's husband) drove up from Arizona to run the race with us. The rules were this: you start when you want, time doesn't matter. The first 4 to cross the finish line the closest after midnight are the winners. No timing devices, watches, etc allowed. To prepare for this race I ran a 10K on the 24th of July and then did one 2 hr run with Brian a week before the race. (So I didn't train for it like a person usually does & had no idea how to pace myself or what kind of a minute I can run. But I still set a goal for myself to run the race in 2 hrs.) This meant we needed to leave at 10pm so we could hopefully cross the finish line at midnight. The race started up in Hobble Creek canyon and it was dark (the moon was hiding behind the clouds at the start of the race.) Everyone was decked out in glow sticks, flashing necklaces, headlamps and fun things like that. Because it wasn't a race for time Brian was sweet enough to run the full race with me (since we all know he's much faster than I am. I know I held him back but he never complained.) As we came out of the canyon the moon then appeared and was full and weather for the entire race was great. (I didn't need an IPOD because Brian was such great company the entire time, although I'll admit I finally turned it on around mile 10 because I was getting tired & needed a musical boost.) Around mile 12 my uncle Lyle and aunt Jan came running by and noticed us. I told them I had hoped to run this race in 2 hrs but had no idea what time it was. They told us to stick with them. That last mile felt like the longest mile of my life. I was so relieved when the finish line finally came into view. We had no idea what time it was (because they keep the clock turned away from you when you run across the finish line. Lyle & Jan's daughter cheered us on as we ran across the finish line. As we did we were able to look up at the time - 12:00:34 for Brian and 12:00:35 for me. I ran it in 2 hrs and 35 seconds! We were the 6th and 7th runners to cross after midnight. (Hey, this is the only time we will probably ever be able to say we took 6th and 7th in a half marathon so we are going to enjoy saying that!) My poor uncle Lyle crossed at 11:59:59. Technically he was the closest to midnight but the rules said AFTER midnight which did not put him in the running. My aunt Jan crossed 5th. They are both awesome runners and were just using this race to prepare for the Hobble Creek half in the next couple of weeks. Afterwards we partied with them, Burke & Peggy. We were fed Quizno's subs, FUZE drinks, Sub Zero ice cream, fruit, bagels & other goodies. Everyone received a medal. A great time was had by all. We are definitely planning on running this one again next year. It was a blast and running it with Brian for my first time made it even better! Here are some after pictures of us with Burke, Lyle and Jan. Do we look like we just ran 13.1 miles or what?