My stated goal for 2025 is to run a half-marathon under one hour, and fifty minutes. It's been years and years, but I came close a couple of times in 2024. Am I in that kind of shape today for the Panama City Beach Luau Half-Marathon? It's doubtful, but perhaps I can come close. I would like to at least keep my mile splits close to the 8:30 range.
This race is part of a series put on by US Road Running. It's held monthly at nearby Frank Brown Park, where I learned about it during last month's event. US Road Running puts on hundreds of similar events around the country. There are about forty of us at the start. All but four of us are doing shorter races: 5K, 10K, and 15K. All are multiple out-and-back loops; the Half-Marathon consists of six back-and-forth segments.
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| Pre-race photo |
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| The start around the lake - I am in yellow |
I learn of my competitors during the first segment; there's a man and a woman ahead of me and a woman behind me when we reach the turn-around. But wait. This turning point should have come at around 1.1 miles in order for the course distance to total close to 13.1. But it doesn't; it comes at around 0.9 miles. Doing some quick math, I determine that the entire race is going to be short. Very short. Extremely short.
After a slightly slower first mile, I settle down into a decent pace. After yet another mile or two, my splits begin to dip to around 8:30. Just where I want them. The weather is absolutely perfect: the temperature is rising through the 40s and into the 50s, and it's bright and sunny with not too much wind. I come and go, come and go. Did I mention that the course is going to be way short? I still wonder what's going on.
Debbie, aka the Lady Adventurer, has taken her walk around the park, and I now see her as I complete some of the later segments. She's taking tons of pictures of me running along the lake and the all-purpose trail (known as Gayles Trails) that we run on. It's nice to see her. Eventually, those running the shorter events finish their running.
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| Coming in for one of the final laps |
As much as I try, I don't seem to be able to make up much ground on the two people in front of me. I'm coming in for the completion of my fifth loop as the leader is heading back out. "Good job," I say, "Last one!" "No, two more," he says. This is a little disturbing. As much as I wanted to do a complete half-marathon today, my brain had become wrapped around the idea that I only had only one lap / two miles to go. Never mind that I'm only around nine miles now. I try to confirm everything with the race officials at the start/finish. They tell me that I only have one loop to go.
Now, I don't know what the heck is going on. I guess I should take their word for it. I manage to pick up my pace a tiny bit, and now I close in on the second-place person. I pass her with less than a quarter-mile to go, "Good job," I say. She tells me that her knee is killing her. All I can say is, "Take care."
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| I will call this my finishing-up photo, but it is really somewhere in the middle |
The three of us are done, and the fourth is also approaching. The race officials confirm that that's it. My finish time is 1:33:15 (although for some reason, my official time is 1:36) for exactly 11 miles. Been a REAL long time since I've done a half-marathon that fast. I only wish all my half-marathons could be 11 miles long. Lady A. is there to congratulate me. There's a finish medal, but nothing for second-place male, first old guy, or even last-place male. Oh well.
After gathering myself back together, I run 2.1 more miles in about 18 minutes in order to say that I ran an entire half-marathon today. Adding the two times, I guess my 13.1-mile mark is 1:51.
