The Half Marathon.

I started crying at 20.7km....I was so close to being done, I couldn't help but start crying...it was a mix of pain/relief/joy/pride but what finally pushed me over the crying edge (most of you know i hate that edge) was a big sign at the 20.7km mark that said

"YOU ARE NO LONGER A RUNNER, YOU ARE NOW A MARATHONER"

and i lost it. it was the Oprah ugly cry, which just got worse as I rounded the corner to the finish and was greeted by my wonderful trainer Joanne who ran me up to the finish line and than to see my wonderful husband at the finish!
It was a long run, a gorgeous one, but a half marathon is REALLY long :)
I wanted to finish it in under 3:00 hours but I finished in 3:03:21 (3 hrs, 3 minutes, 21 seconds). And I was happy with that.

I started this whole "half marathon" idea knowing it would be hard, knowing I would struggle, knowing my crooked back would have cause some pretty ugly side effects. But I knew once I decided to go through with this I would finish it, and finish I did.

I ran a strong first 5k, and kept that up fairly good through till 10k, I started to lose momentum around 15km. I did do my fastest 15k yet but after that I was just tired. so tired. I text Stuart the whole way, his encouraging responses always kept me going.

I was told before that the cheering and support on a half marathon courses is way better than a 5k or 10k run. And boy is that right! There were bands, cheerleaders, loud music, bubbles, anything you name it :) I even had friends! At the 19km mark my awesome friend Nicole was at the sidelines running along beside me for a few hundred metres encouraging me to push through!

Throughout all of this training I have been blessed with an amazing group of friends, families and training buddies that have pushed me to complete something I never dreamed I could. I will forever be grateful to them all, and hope they know that none of it went unnoticed.

I finished my run and got the half marathon medal put around my neck, drank water, sat down and removed my shoes to find sore, tired and blistered feet. A true sign of a run well done.

I may have a crooked back, and it may cause me to run uneven, and have squished lungs that make it very hard to breath but that doesn't stop me from completing a half marathon, even if I ran it crooked.

Thank you, from the bottom of my heart.


Barclee Huggins
Marathoner