The temperatures were in the low 40s as we lined up for the Columbus Marathon (Half) at 7:30 on Sunday October 18. I had on several layers with the plan to shed a few as necessary, along with long pants, gloves and a hat. (Coincidentally, the top layer was an old Columbus Marathon sweatshirt I’ve had for years and tossed and re-found at other races.)

I started with my friends Deb and Elaine. Elaine is faster than Deb and I, so zoomed ahead. Deb and I stuck together for the entire race.

Due to some starting line confusion, we realized we were not in the right spot — we were behind the 5K race entrants. We got around them (many other people were also confused) and the people were moving. We crossed the starting line at 7:44 with a plan to do the first two miles in about 14:30 each. We did the first mile in about 14:45 and tried to pick up the pace. The second mile was about 14:20, closer to where we wanted to be.

Despite the confusion at the start, this course was very nice! We walked up Broad Street then through beautiful Bexley and saw the Governor of Ohio right outside the Governor’s mansion.

Around mile 5, I warmed up quite a bit and took off and tossed the sweatshirt that I wore OVER my jacket. Unfortunately, I wore the wrong wicking shirt as my bottom layer (not very effective at wicking) and I was sweaty under the jacket.

The course then went around the Franklin Park Conservatory, back down Broad Street, then through Olde Town and German Village — two more interesting and pretty neighborhoods. Near Franklin Park we reached and passed the 3:30 half marathon pace group. (Yes, we were way too far back at the start!)

From there we went north on High Street, which was pretty much of a wind tunnel for about 2 miles. (High Street usually is.) From High Street we turned left into the Arena District for the last tenth of a mile and it was lined shoulder-to-shoulder with people cheering on the half marathon and full marathon finishers! It was great!

Though the temperatures did get warmer, and it was much warm in the sun, I never got “warmed up” enough to go fast. My legs were cold and stiff the entire race and I just could not pick up the pace. I tried to duplicate my previous race strategy, (slow for 2 miles, faster for 8 miles, then fast as possible for the final 5K) but my legs just would not cooperate. Instead, I listened to my body and went at the pace it was willing to go — about 14:40. Despite the slower than anticipated pace, it was a good race!

After being handed a great medal and silver blanket, we were surprised to also be handed a great hat. The food area was separated from the exit by a chain link fence which should help guarantee there was enough food for everyone. (I hope there was enough for the full marathon walkers!)

The food available included Krispy Kreme doughnuts, Tim Horton’s bagels, chips, bananas, granola bars and more. The only problem was trying to leave the food area. There is an after-race party for family and friends and the food area exits right to the party area. There were so many people lining the exit waiting for us to leave, we couldn’t get out! I finally had to ask people to let me out to get people to move out of our way.

Our times per mile:
1 14:45
2 14:25
3 14:26
4 14:34
5 14:27
6 14:27
7 14:50
8 14:37
9 14:21
10 14:45
11 14:41
12 14:44
13 14:40
0.1 1:35
Total 3:09

Cool note: TweetMyTime was 1 minute faster than what our official marathon time was. My watch was about 3 seconds off from our official time! How often does that happen?

Weird note: For some reason, the color in these photos was really off. Not sure why it was way too red and way too bright. I probably need to adjust my camera in some way.

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