Today, I ran my first — and probably not last — 500 Festival Mini Marathon. It was the perfect morning for a run…overcast, cool and dry. I ran with my friend Jaimie, who ran it last year. We got up at 5:45 and were out the door by 6:20 a.m. We quickly found parking at the race and then waited in line at the port-o-johns. If you know anything about running, they are a popular place before a race. We weren’t as early as we could have been, so waiting in the lines made us a bit nervous. But luckily, we were able to make it to our corrall just in time for the start.

Pre-race 500 Festival Mini

Tyler went to the start line to wait for us to make our way up. We started in corral K, which took only about 15 minutes to reach the start. It was estimated that corral Z would take 30 minutes to make it to the start, if that tells you anything. Even with 35,000 runners, the race coordinators find a way to make it a very seamless start.

The race was a blast. I’ve run the Evansville Half Marathon twice, but it is nothing like the Mini Marathon. There were people every step of the race cheering us on as well as musical and dance groups entertaining us. I think I was smiling most of the race. I felt good running, but more than that I was having fun. I decided that having fun was going to be the most important factor for me. In the past, I’ve put too much pressure on myself to do well. It was great to have Jaimie there running with me and keep me pumped.

My goal for the race, other than to have fun, was to run it in less than two hours. I’ve not been able to make that goal the past two races, so I was determined. I felt great and was on pace the entire first half. I started to get a side stitch at mile 11, so that was the only time I stopped to walk. I ended up running it off and was able to continue a good pace. I am happy to report that I made my goal and finished with a time of 1:58:44, or a 9:04-mile pace. I finished 494th in my 20-25 age group, 1947 out of women finishers, and 7425 overall.

Mini Marathon finished

Thanks to everyone, especially Jaimie, who encouraged me for this race. And a HUUUUGE thanks goes out to Tyler, who came all the way from Evansville just to see me race. Well, really he saw me at the starting line and then wait for over two hours until I made it back. He wins Husband of the Year award for sure.