The Montgomery Half Marathon/5K has gotten bigger and better each year. They have improved their t-shirt design, medals, and overall race "swag". I love it when races offer additional "swag". This year all participants got a fleece blanket and half marathon finishers got a metal yeti style cup with the race logo on it.
I really wanted to run the half marathon, but I knew that I wasn't prepared for it. The last time I ran this half was in 2016. I was registered to run it in 2017, but I was unable to because of my knee injury/ surgery. I made a last minute decision to sign up for the 5K. The 5K runners got all the same perks minus the cup so I thought why not run it.
It was another warm start, 64 degrees with mostly cloudy skies. I saw a lot of my friends at the start line. Unfortunately I neglected to get pictures with any of them. Most of them were running the half which started before the 5K, so they were focused on their pre-race routines. A part of me was a little bummed watching the half marathoners take off, but a part of me was thankful that I didn't have that far to run.
After the half marathoners took off, I made my way to the start line. There were still quite a few runners doing the 5K. I made my way to the middle of the pack where I saw other members of the River Region Runners group. We chatted before the start.
The first mile was mostly uphill which prevented me from going out too fast like I usually do. I ran as much as I could only stopping to walk through the water stations. I settled into a sub-9 pace once the hills leveled out after the first mile. I picked up the pace during the long downhill stretch on Dexter Ave in front of the Capitol building. That's my favorite part of this race. As I made the final turn into the Biscuit's Baseball stadium I could see the clock nearing 28 minutes, so I sprinted to the finish line. I finished in 27:47.
Mile 1- 9:03
Mile 2- 8:30
Mile 3- 8:38
0.18- 8:31 pace
I didn't have big expectations as far as my finish time. Downtown Montgomery is known for its hills, so I knew this race would be a challenge for me. Overall I was really pleased with my performance. Although my time wasn't much faster than the CCAP 5K a month earlier, my splits were more consistent.
When I checked my official result I was really surprised that I placed third out of sixty women in my age group. I guess all the really fast runners ran the half marathon! 😄
I watched the half marathoners finish and visited with some of the River Region Runners while we waited for our awards.
River Region Runners Me, Bridgett, Irene, and Patti with our awards
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