12. SALT LAKE HALF MARATHON Apr 18 / 09

OVER 10,000 RUNNERS! My first BIG race where thousands got in my way. However, it turned out there was room for everyone. The race started way out at the U of U campus, where there was absolutely no parking, and ended downtown where there was lots of parking space, so we were all asked to park downtown and were given free rides on the city transit train out to campus.

The fast guys get right up at the start line to be first away after the gun goes off, then the rest of us just shuffle over the start line as space between runners permits. Many of us were still in the portapotty line (like Jared there in the first picture) when the gun went off, but we still made it into the race before the last of the 10,000 did. The timing chips on our shoes recorded when we crossed the start line and again when we crossed the finish line and the difference was our race time, which for us was 2 hrs 34 mins. Average pace on my Garmin 305 was 11.37 min/mi.

The weather was cloudy and cool at first but cleared off and warmed
up nicely towards the end. I started with a jacket which I was able to shed later and wear around my waist.

I was carrying my lil' red camera with me and there was absolutely no problem getting someone to take pictures of us. These fluorescent shirts make it really easy to find one another in a crowd, even in the dark, as illustrated by Jared in the first pic above.

It was very nice to have the streets of downtown Salt Lake all to ourselves, including State Street and South Temple Street. Traffic was either not allowed on streets we were using or restricted to a lane or two along the side. There were hundreds of cops, and an equal number of volunteers all along the route blocking or stopping traffic for us.

We were just getting close to the finish line when the fast marathoners, who had gone a different route, started shwooshing past us doing the whole 26 miles in less time than it took us to do the 13. Mind you, Jared could probably have done as well, but he was sweet enough to stay back with his aging daddy to help him make it.

There were lots of people along the route cheering us on. Some were out playing violins and other musical instruments. There were a couple of two or three man bands, and even a ladies quartet serenading us. One character was giving away cans of free beer, and another was cooking bacon and handing it out. We ran through an older residential area with lots of old folks sitting in their folding chairs watching us. Kinda made me feel guilty, and maybe some the other way around!

I got a SECOND PLACE ribbon for my age group which includes thousands of 70 plus year olds in Salt Lake. Fortunately the very vast majority of them did NOT come out and run, so it was left up to me and one other old guy to fight for the prizes, and I graciously let him have the FIRST PLACE ribbon, since he crossed the finish line about 30 minutes before I did!

All runners that made it to the finish line got a Finishers Metal with the yellow ribbon, then the place winners got a different colored one like my red second place one. There were also money prizes, but neither Jared nor I was inclined to run that fast!