Race Report: Provo City Half Marathon

Distance:  13.1 miles
Time:  1:12:30 (5:32/mi.)
Place:  5

The Provo City Half Marathon is a relatively new race put on by the Run13 event company--I think it has only been around for a couple of years.  This year there was also a marathon option, as well as a 5k and relay option for the half.  I signed up for the race because I had a few weeks in a row with no race and so I decided it would be a good place to throw in a half to help prepare for the Top of Utah Marathon this fall.  It worked out nicely because this same weekend I was in between apartments and was going to go home for a few days until I could move into my new place, so I was already going to be going through Provo.  Additionally, my parents were in Salt Lake City this weekend for an autism conference and were able to share a hotel room in Provo with me and watch the race. While I was at the hotel, I ran into my old track coach from high school who was there with his team for the BYU Invitational.  It was really good to catch up with him for a few minutes.  Small world!

I had to get up at 4:30 AM to drive downtown and catch a bus to the start, which is up the South Fork of Provo Canyon at South Fork Canyon Park.  The final bus was leaving at 5:30 for a 7:00 AM start, which was kind of confusing to me.  But, I suppose better early than late.  My bus arrived at around 5:45 so I had over an hour to wait.  There were a couple of fires at the start to keep people warm but nowhere near enough for the several hundred participants.  So it was a long, chilly wait for the race to start, but luckily it has been a warm spring so temperatures were not too bad as long as you kept your outer clothes on and moved around.  I did get plenty of warming up in.  At about 6:45 I took off my outer layer and put my drop bag on the bus, after which they promptly announced that the half would no longer be starting at 7:00 AM, but would start at 7:15 after the full marathon start.  Would have been nice to know before I dropped my warm clothes.  But, I think the race is only in its second or third year, so the race directors are probably still trying to figure out how to deal with the growth so I can't fault them too much.

At the start line, there were a few fast looking guys.  Seth Wold was there, and I chatted with him for a minute about his Altra shoes, which I'm thinking of purchasing to try out.  After the usual pre-race soapbox by the RD, we got started.  The fast looking guys were indeed fast, and they all took off like there was a house on fire.  I decided not to try and run 4:50s to start so I let them go.  Two of those guys (Teren Jameson, Riley Cook) would go on to run 1:07 for the half, followed by Fritz Van de Camp in 1:08.  Smart of me not to go out with them.  Seth also went with them, but he was not planning on sticking with that pace the entire race so I thought maybe I would be able to catch him later.  I decided to run my own pace and shoot for around 1:12.  Unfortunately, I left my Garmin in my pack at the hotel, so I had no idea of my time, pace, or where I was on the course.  I planned to just rely on the mile markers and run by feel without worrying about what my time was and see how it panned out.  Unfortunately, there were no mile markers that I could see.  I did not see a single one until the 9 mile mark on University Ave.  After that they were visible, but I was confused that I hadn't seen any of the first 8 if there were any.  The aid stations didn't seem to correspond to the mile markers either (e.g. one every two miles) so it was no help to guess by that either.  But it turned out ok as I just ran by feel and enjoyed the race.

The first two miles(ish?) of the course were pretty downhill coming down South Fork, but not a total quad burner.  I was by myself after the first 100 meters when Seth and Co. left me, and there was no one behind me for a ways that I could see.  This was going to be a race against myself.  The marathon runners were out on the course ahead, so it served as good motivation to be constantly passing people, even if they were only going at 4-5 hour pace.  Many of them would cheer me on as well, which was enjoyable.

The Provo River Trail is a pretty gradual and even downhill all the way to the mouth of the canyon.  Perfect for opening up the stride but not steep enough to burn up the quads or calves.  You can hardly tell you're dropping most of the time.  This section was pretty uneventful.  I felt great and was enjoying watching the scenery fly by.  It had been a long time since I felt this relaxed and fast in a race.  Just before we exited the canyon, I saw Sasha Pachev (the mastermind of the Fast Running Blog) and some other guy out for a morning run.  I'm not sure he recognized me, but he definitley recognized the SGRC singlet.  I waved hi as I ran by going the other way.

Once out of the canyon, the course spit us out on University Avenue (or at least a road that turns into University).  This part of the course was as level as the plains of Kansas.  There was one hill to climb as the course turned south into the main part of Provo, but other than that it was perfectly smooth and flat.  I finally began seeing mile markers, and it was also fun to race cars that were slowed down due to the race.  Some of them had to be hating me because I was getting where I was going faster than they were.  I still felt great, although I was starting to feel a little tired.  There were a few people out on the course cheering me on, and there would be large groups at the aid stations.  The few miles I had left just flew by and before I knew it I was counting blocks instead of miles.  I finally saw the finish line ahead and could see Seth less than a minute ahead of me.  He was the first half marathoner I'd seen since I lost sight of the lead guys at the start of the River Trail.  I could make out 1:11 on the clock when he finished and I knew I could make my goal of 1:12.  I surged ahead trying to beat 1:12:30, but just tied it.

This race was really good for me.  It felt great to get out and run a good time and still feel good afterwards.  I went and got a massage but wasn't really sore at all.  I also ate some Magelby's french toast they had for us--great call by the RD.  I haven't felt this good after a race since Sand Hollow last year, or maybe since high school.  I went to watch the high school meet for a couple of hours I checked out of my hotel and was thinking "Man, I feel like I just ran a two mile and I could totally jump in and run the 800.  Put me in, Coach!"  Hopefully I can build on this race and have a great summer and finish strong in the fall at Top of Utah.