Monadnock Half Marathon

The past few running days have been tough. After my 9 and 18 mile runs last weekend, I developed huge blisters on both feet and left hip pain. Every run since then has been a struggle. I don't want to focus on those runs at all; the important thing is that I finished them- now it's time to move on and hope this week is better.

But I did want to blog about the race I did a few weeks back- the Monadnock Half Marathon in New Hampshire. Mt. Monadnock is a very popular hiking mountain- in fact, it is the most-hiked summit in the US. I've hiked to the top a few times, and it's a fun but challenging day hike (3-6 hours). The Monadnock race was in the nearby town of Rindge, NH.

The race was a smaller more low-key affair. Packet pick up was the morning of the race. We got there an hour early, had no problem parking and picking up the race packets, then had to wait around for awhile. There were about 200 runners in the half marathon, definitely the smallest race I've ever done. I was worried that I would be last!

There were no timing chips, just clock time, so I tried to line up somewhat close to the start (without getting ahead of the runners who looked really fast). The race director delayed the start by 10 minutes so that some of the half marathoners could use the porta-potties. I thought that was pretty funny. When everyone was ready, the gun sounded, and we were off!

I was expecting it to be hilly, because it's Monadnock. But the description on the race site said this: "rolling hills (a few challenging), some dirt roads, and inspirational views of the Mt. Monadnock (world-renowned)". Let me tell you, that description totally downplayed the hilliness of this course. I felt like I was going uphill both ways (which is impossible because it was an out-and-back course, but that's what it felt like!) It seemed like there was a lot more "up" than "down"). I would consider those hills more on the steep side then rolling.

The course also contained several dirt roads, which were challenging because a storm had washed out some of the rocks- you had to be careful and watch your step. When the course finally got back on pavement, it was a welcome break from navigating stones/gravel/dirt. Around mile 5, I saw the first runner heading back on the course (he was on mile 9). From then on, it was fun to see the runners returning on the course.

It was even better when I passed the halfway point, and began running back! I could see the runners on the other side of the course, and knew that I was definitely not last, but somewhere in the middle. The hard part about going back was I knew where all the brutal hills were. Every time I ran down a steep section on the way there, I knew I was going to have to go up it on the way back! But, I also knew when I was getting close to the finish line, and the last bit was downhill.

My mom almost didn't get this shot of me near the finish.

I got my medal and discovered my mom had also gotten a medal for running the 5k. And she got a technical shirt! We found out from the race director that if they have enough medals and shirts for the 5k'ers, everyone gets one. The 5k race is small enough that they've been able to do that for the past several years. I told my mom she definitely got more bang for her buck. She got all the same stuff that I did and only had to run 1/4 the distance!

We waited around for them to post the times. My mom said this is exactly how races were done when she was in her 20's. You showed up, got a bib, ran the race, and then they posted your time on a piece of paper. I liked how simple and easy everything was. Obviously this system wouldn't work in a large race, but it was nice to experience a smaller community race. My mom and I both had a lot of fun.

My time: 2:04:20