Carolina's Donut Festival Half Marathon Recap

I don't particularly love the half marathon distance.  I don't know why, it's just not my favorite. I'm somewhat partial to the marathon; but the nice thing about half marathons is when you run long distance all the time, it's a race you never really have to "train" for, unless you want to beat a goal.

A few close friends were signed up to run the Carolina's Donut Festival Half Marathon, Bob to Bob's, on April 21, 2018 from Old Fort, NC to Marion, NC.  I toyed with the idea of running it, but never committed.  Then an opportunity arose and I decided might as well try something new - pace leading.  My friend Morgan, who happens to be the race director, was looking for pace leaders for the race.  You may ask what is a pacer and what is a pace team.   A pace team is a group of runners led by an experienced leader (pacer) who run together during the race. The pace leader runs a steady pace and keeps track of that pace so that the group can achieve their goal of finishing the race at a particular time.  When pacing, you select a time that is slower than what you run, so you can stay on track, be positive, and help others finish.  It seemed like a doable job for me.  I'm pretty consistent when running and thought I could easily pace a 2:45 or 3:00 hour pace group.  My friend Kim was interested and runs slightly faster than me, so I gave her 2:45 and I decided to pace the 3:00 group. I'll let you guys know, I practiced my pacing for several weeks after running the Asheville Marathon. I took the job seriously.  I memorized my split times, tried intervals, drove the course twice, and focused on positive mindset... the rest is a glorious story. 

April 21st rolled around.  I got up around 4 am to start my journey to the race.  Deanne offered to come and get me and I rode up to Marion with her and Kathleen.  It was awesome to catch up with my friends and just chit chat about running, racing, and life. We arrived to Marion by 6 am and were whisked to a shuttle (school bus) to ride up to Old Fort (the starting point of the race).  It was so cold outside.  We were dropped in a parking lot of a business and left. I'll have to admit, I was miserably cold and just trying to stay warm.  We walked circles of the parking lot for the hour before the race.  When Kim showed up, in her husband's truck, Kathleen and I piled into the truck to warm up a little.  John had to leave to get to the 5K back in Marion.  So we all got out of the truck and prepared for the race.  I met a few girls who would eventually fall into my pace group and was introduced to others who wanted to keep me in sight. I was excited! I had a pace sign that I had to carry and one that I had to wear, I felt super official.

The race started.  I tried to fall immediately into pace, but felt like I may like to bank time too, in case anything happened.  No one was rightfully running with me, so it worked in my favor to run ahead.  I still ran slower than my normal pace, which felt amazing.  By the 5th mile I had banked 8 minutes of time.  I needed to be at 1:08 and I was right at an hour.  I was feeling good about my banked time and was making plans to slow down around mile 8 and then walk after mile 10... but then I realized I had made a wrong turn.  How I realized this, I don't know.  It's probably that I had driven the wrong way, during my drives along the course, and now was stuck turning that way mentally... but it just didn't feel right.  Plus I didn't see anyone.  When I turned around and ran back, I had added a whole mile to my journey.  I was 1 mile off!   This meant I was anywhere from 4-5 minutes off of my pace because I had luckily banked 8 miles. I was devastated.  

I started sprinting.  I had to catch up.  I made the 10K by 1:22, which was my pace goal.  But I was just on pace time.  I had catching up to do, to bank a little for the upcoming hills.  By mile 8, I had rocks in my shoes, I was hot, and I was hungry. I had brushed off the first three aid stations because I did not need aid the first 5 miles and then I had to catch up through mile 6.  I took my shoes off and sat down, I put my shoes back on, took off my long-sleeved shirt, drank some Nuun, and committed to get my butt back on track.  And that's when the magic happened.  I came up on the 9 mile aid station and saw some of my pace group. I had the aid station refill my handheld water and I took off.  I was catching back up.  I committed to run as long as I could to get back on track.  I passed two fellows who laughed at my story and encouraged me to go on.  It was so inspiring.  They were happy to see me! They paced me... not me them. Runners are incredible people.  Then came the huge hill at mile 10.5,  I ran a little of it then walked.  I knew once I came to the top the rest of the race would be run-able for me, with some rolling hills, flat, and down portions.  

At the top of the hill there was the final aid station... I jokingly said to the volunteers "that hill will make a tiger out of a kitten," the volunteers laughed.  They offered fuel, but I continued. I had just enough gas in the tank for the final distance. 

The next two miles I ran pretty flat out.  I was right on pace to make the 3:00 mark. I saw the girls I met at the beginning and I sprinted to catch them.  I came in at 3:02:04.  My friends were like "Good job,  you did it, you were on pace!" I laughed, "Actually, I got off course and ran 14 miles today."  Everyone stopped, looked at me awkwardly, and then immediately laughed.  We have all joked about this for days.  The running joke is "Carly always has to run more miles than everyone else."  Thankfully, I'm trained for distance, so it was no big deal.  But still.  Glad no one was following me when I made the wrong turn. 


So what can I say about the race?  The organization of the whole event is remarkable.  I have no idea how Morgan does it, but it will blow your mind how well - oiled the race is.  The course is beautiful, cathartic, and a grand mixture of flat, downhill, rolling, and uphill to fit anyone's desires.  The race medal, race bib, and t-shirt are very cute.  The aid stations are stocked, the volunteers are friendly, and there are even spectators on the course who cheer you along the way.  The race is in conjunction with the Carolina's Donut Festival, so donuts are offered along the course and at the end.  I did not eat a donut, but I heard they were fabulous.  

On Sunday I woke up feeling good.  My arm was a little sore from holding the pace sign, that's it.  I had a nice walk with my dog and kids and practiced some yoga flow later in the afternoon.... it's Monday now,  and I'm ready to run again.  I am now officially off training until the fall and it feels great.  My first experience as a pacer is one I will never forget. I hope to pace more races in the future.  It's an experience of using your running expertise, knowing your body, incorporating positive mindset, and friending others along the way that makes it so incredible... in fact, it's quite fantastic.