Bryce Canyon Half Marathon

So...I'm sort of a runner. Never thought I'd say it, but I think I can safely say that I've run enough to consider myself a member of the club.

My pre-race photo - nerd alert

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My sister Shannon called me last month and convinced me to run the Bryce Canyon Half Marathon with her - I had been thinking about it, but since she was going to be in town, I agreed. Not without some trepidation - my training had been sporadic at best. But it turned out to be a blast, and it was really great to get to spend some quality sister time with Shannon, who lives in Montana. She's like, a REAL runner - she ran the Big Sur Marathon (just about the hardest marathon you can do) earlier this year and she really inspires me.

About a mile into the race, there is a stretch of about 2 miles of steep descent. They call the bottom of the hill "the dump" because it's a killer on most of the runners and they want to die at that point. Luckily Shannon gave me some tips on how to run downhill without injuring myself, so I didn't think it was too bad.

I only had about a mile to go when I saw this sign - if you know me at all, you know it kept me going...

We finished! I was really happy with my time - I shaved almost 22 minutes off my last half marathon time, which in the running world is a whole lot. I felt great!

The scenery was really gorgeous. One more finisher's medal to add to my collection! I think I might try and run one more half marathon this year. Still no real desire to run a full marathon, however. I think 13.1 miles might just be the limit for me...