Mill Creek Half Marathon

318 brave souls lined up on the starting line this morning of the Mill Creek Classic Half Marathon in Youngstown Ohio. Jen and I got to the race about an hour before the start. Weather conditions were a bone chilling 22 degrees with a wind chill that made it feel like 17. We both knew it was going to be a tough day. Not only was the cold weather a factor, the announcer on the PA system kept repeating over and over that this course is the hardest half marathon course in Ohio. In addition, there was a talented field of runners there competing for the RRCA Ohio Half Marathon Championship State Title.

The race started at 8:45 this morning and the first mile flew by. There was a pack of about 8 or 9 runners up front so I tried to go with them. I hung tight for about the first mile with a pace just above a 5:40 mile, and quickly realized that I'm in no condition to run at this blistering pace. It was time for me to run my own race keeping in mind that I've been sick the past three days.

The first 10 miles were really consistent for me. Even though a couple more guys passed me I was happy that I was running my own race. I kept my heart rate in the upper 170's, and tried to hold back a little on the hills (which I tell you, there were many).

As I crested the last hill and came across the finish line, the clock read 1:27:28. I was happy because according to my GPS there was just about 3000 feet in elevation change. That's about 230 feet of climbing per mile. Some hills were 1/4 to half mile long. My time unfortunately wasn't good enough for a top 10 finish. I had to settle with 13th. Ironically enough Jen finished 13th Overall Female with a time of 1:44:21.

Overall I was very impressed with how nice the course was. By far some of the most scenic views I've seen in a while!

posted by Chad Holderbaum @ 5:02 PM Comments: 1