Helen Holiday Half Marathon

Last Saturday (December 16th) I ran my first trail half marathon in the GA mountains. It was run by Run Bum and is billed as one of their more fun and "easier" trail runs. It started and ended in Unicoi park in Helen GA. The temperature was right at freezing to start the race at 9 am but it warmed up to the 40's later in the morning. I decided to run in shorts with a long sleeve shirt and it worked out pretty well.

I haven't really been running much long distance and I've certainly never run trails with so much up and down run. Going down the hills was definitely really hard on my legs, particularly towards the end when I was getting tired. At about mile 9 (I think) there was a creek crossing. I guess I should have read about the course ahead of time because I was not prepared for that :).  It was about 15 yards across and about calf deep. It was of course very cold but what bothered me most was how heavy it made my feet and legs feel running afterwards. And of course I didn't have dry socks or shoes to change into...oh well.

Showing off my shirt and medal from the race

I felt really good during most of the race. Running in very cold temperatures always helps me. I was continually trying to find people just a little faster than me to try and keep up with and challenge my self. I was definitely started to suffer the last few miles but I was pretty impressed with how I powered through it. I managed to get 35th (time was about 2 hours even) out of about 250 runners. Not too shabby. And more importantly...a ton of fun. The had a guy playing bagpipes as we rounded the lake early in the course. It sounded really cool. Creature Comforts was at the finish serving us their Tropicalia IPA in our new pint glasses. It is always a great beer but it tasted unbelievable after finishing that race. I hung out for a while, had some snacks, watched others finish, and enjoyed my beer before heading home. Maybe next year I'll bring the family and stay for the post race part at one of the local restaurants. These Run Bum and Yeti trail races are so much fun.