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Placement: N/A
Results: Here
Race Website: Here
Weather: mid 70s with breeze from the south
Course Map / Garmin Route: Here
Previous Years: [2024]
| Mile | Time | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 9:27 | Into the wind. Man is it warm out! |
| 2 | 9:13 | Got into a tailwind. Still feeling warm, but nice tailwind |
| 3 | 9:21 | |
| 4 | 9:29 | On to a dirt trail |
| 5 | 9:40 | Easy start -- into a pretty good wind. |
| 6 | 9:32 | Seriously debating on quitting at the halfway point |
| 7 | 9:40 | Really working hard. Perhaps I should've stopped |
| 8 | 9:56 | Running on fumes. |
| 9 | 12:17 | Done. |
| 10 | 15:30 | Mostly walking back |
| 11 | 17:07 | Mostly walking |
| Total Miles: 11 - 2:01:35 | ||
Introduction
Last year, I ran the Path to Opioid Prevention 5K -- a charity run supporting ways to avoid the perils of Opioid addiction in beautiful Riverdale UT. After completing the 5K, I was so awed by the course I knew I wanted to come back and run the half marathon.
I normally don't run half marathons in the summer, so stating that I wanted to run the longer edition of the race took some guts. But I figured I may suffer a bit, I could finish it and experience the Weber River Trail.
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| Starting line area |
The Race
The race was held in Riverdale Utah, about an hour from my place. I brought 2 new racers to the event as well -- how could we pass up an affordable race? I think I also sold them on the beautiful course and the race's societal benefits.
They had two bus pickup times, 6 AM and 6:30. We got on the 6:30 AM bus. Everything was well timed and we had plenty of time to make it to the starting line and use the bathrooms. Transportation took about 10 minutes and was on a simple yellow school bus.
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| Dirt trail portion |
There were only about 60 runners for the half marathon (they had quite a showing for the 5K). The race isn't chip timed but we were assembled around 7:00 AM and headed out with little fanfare.
The race headquarters was at an LDS church. They had about 3 porta potties for us, which turned out to be plenty.
Once the race started, we headed into a quick neighborhood run and we were greeted with a bit of a headwind. I knew it was going to be a challenging today on account of the heat, but the wind too? Fortunately, we only had to run about a mile into the wind, which was coming down the canyon.
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After about a mile, we were running along 6600S. It was a lightly trafficked road. Beside us, locomotives ran back and forth. It was kind of cool to be honest and took my mind on how hot the race was. Already, I had worked up a decent sweat and I felt like I was working harder than I should've for a half marathon. By pace was well over 2-hour pace but today it felt hard.
The first 5K or so was along residential street and I rather enjoyed this section. It reminded me of some of the farm roads in Illinois that I used to run along.
At the 5K point, I was right on target where I wanted to run. I had hopes that I was going to run 2 hours but I think that was going to be a stretch given the temperatures -- and I had heard that the course had some dirt sections.
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After hitting the 5K mark, we jumped onto a dirt trail. It was rocky in spots and there were some spots where the Weber River had worn away the banks of the trail, but technically -- it wasn't that technical of a trail at all. The race is small enough where I was never hemmed in on the thin trail and there were other cyclists, runners and dog walkers on it too. It was also beautiful with the river and vegetation.
I was still working hard by the time I reached the 5K race's turn around. They too had started at 7 AM and I only ran into a few walkers at the tail end of the race. It was also the time the race turned into pavement. Finally, a little more bounce from my shoes!
Memories of last's year race came back. The miles were clicking off quickly but I was started to get achy and sore. I had put in a fairly solid training week followed by some work around the house, so my legs were fried from the get go. I had carried my own hydration (as well as getting some hydration, which was offered at about every 2.5 miles), but I still don't think I was drinking enough. And I was still sweating a lot, despite the tree's cover from the rising sun.
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At about mile 6.5 or so, we pass right by the exit to the finish line. I could hear the 5K runners celebrating their accomplishment. I was tempted, though, to call it a day and peel off the course. I knew hard times were coming and mentally I wasn't quite ready for that thought, so early.
I had faced hard races before and things would get difficult, but I could push on. Perhaps the thoughts of quitting were just fears. My pace was still holding okay but I knew I wasn't going to be able to hold it. It was just a matter of when I'd be doing the marathon shuffle, not if.
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I left the noise behind me and proceeded to mile 7. I had run a few miles of this stretch of trail on my cooldown last year and a memory of a Halloween run I had done came back to me as I progressed further northward.
The route also got a little hillier and I remember grabbing water from an aid station, and it was ice cold. And it seemed to hit my gut like a heavy weight. It was awesome, but it just didn't sit well. I had to go up a hill and I wound up walking it -- it was a very short hill -- but one that I just decided to walk up. And once I got to the top, I felt sick and kind of woozy. My pace had already dropped considerably. I looked at my watch and I was about a quarter of a mile from mile 9. By my calculation, I had about another .75 to .9 of a mile to go before the turn around.
Given that the race was so lightly attended, I stood there. Part of me was wanting to walk to the turn around and part of me knowing the race was over and that walking wasn't something really wanted to do.
Perhaps panic set in, I pulled off my bib and started to walk to the finish line. I tried running periodically, but I never could hold any sort of a run longer than a minute or so. I was just drained.
It took about 2 miles to walk to the finish line and I reported myself as a "Did Not Finish".
Conclusion
So this was the 2nd race I've ever not completed; the other being the 2017 Las Vegas Marathon.
In hindsight, I probably panicked over my state. I could've forced myself through the race. A lot of it was ego (I didn't want to be caught in a death march) and part of it was genuine fear that I was not doing well from the heat. I was upset about it, but not overly so; it happens. It was also a painful reminder to respect the distance and response the weather. Also, I came in with a very casual attitude. I was kind of using it as a supported training run to see where I was at for future half marathons.
There were some positives though: I did pace myself pretty well and I did bank 9 miles of solid effort. I just wished I had come in with fresher legs. Also, the course was pretty. Last year's write-up has way more photos.
The race was $35. I heard rumors they had a half price sale as well. I believe the 5K was $25. You really can't beat that in terms of pricing for any race, let alone a half marathon.
They had well stocked aid stations (although, I heard rumors they ran out of cups) that had gels, water and sports drink. We were all a little worried about whether we'd get lost on this course given how small the race was, but the race was easy to figure out and any turns were clearly marked / marshalled.
The race organizers also had nice medals, a jam-packed goodie bag and t-shirt. The t-shirt is a cotton one and was like last year's. There was also food and drink after the race as well.
I highly recommend this race. We all enjoyed it and I think the general consensus was that we'd go back again - even just for the 5K. It looks like this race is slowly getting larger and other runners should give this one a shot.
Upcoming Races
03/26: 2026 Mount Charleston Half Marathon - Las Vegas, NV (Confirmed)
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