This year on Halloween I competed in a half marathon that was new to Nashville. It was the Race 13.1 Half Marathon. This race is run in several cities around the Southeast, but this was the first year it was held in Nashville. The race began and ended around the Bicentennial Mall State Park.
My friends Ashley, Gretchen, and I met and rode downtown together to park. Although this wasn’t a huge race like Country Music in April, you never know how traffic or parking will be. (And I’m not the best with directions!) Ashley decided that it would be fun to dress up since it was Halloween. (Loved the idea!) There was a costume contest so we obviously wouldn’t be the only ones dressed up. She suggested we all three be black cats, and I thought that sounded like a fun and perfect plan! There’s a first time for everything, and I can definitely say this was my first time running a marathon in any kind of costume! We dressed in all black, wore cat ears and a tail, and painted our faces. I was worried first of all that the tail would drive me crazy swinging back and forth as I ran and hitting me in the leg. It was pinned to the back of my shorts! I was also worried that my cat make up would run as I began to sweat, and make me look more like a monster than a cat! Much to my surprise however, neither bothered me. My make up was fine, just a little sweaty, and my tail barely bothered me at all. Even more surprising was than that was the fact that my cat ear headband stayed on! It never budged. So all in all the costume part of the race was a success, and it was a lot of fun!
The other fun part of my costume was my new long sleeve Under Armour infrared Cold Gear shirt! (Why is it that new clothes just make you feel so good and excited!?) The shirt was thin, yet kept me very warm, and it’s very soft and flexible. It may be the softest running shirt I have. The Cold Gear Infrared uses a soft thermal-conductive inner coating to help sorb and retain your own body heat. I also loved the exaggerated ribbed cuffs, they allowed for flexibility in the arm length.
The course was flat, a little boring, but the flat part I like. There was definitely not a lot of spectators, but I didn’t expect there to be since it was a smaller race. The weather was so perfect. It was cloudy and gray and about 50. It’s the kind of weather I love. Coming off of the 1:35:38 I had run in Murfreesboro just three weeks prior, I wasn’t sure exactly what to expect. I had some good practice in but I was also a little tired. Once I got down there though I got excited, I had some new music and I got in my groove. I ended up running a 1:35:01, beating my prior time by 37 seconds. I won my age group and was the fourth female to finish overall. I was pleased with it. One thing I have been doing a better job of, is keeping a consistent, fast, and steady pace. Often times I start out way too,fast for the first half, then I slow down too much in the second half.
There were several people dressed up. My two favorite costumes were the girl dressed as Forest Gump and the girl dressed as the blue avatar, her whole body was painted blue! Running a race on Halloween was actually a lot of fun! The race seemed very organized, I would love to see more people there next year.
The race benefited the Best Buddies of Tennessee. If you entered a code at checkout for registration, they donated $10 of your fee to the charity. The Best Buddies program allows students and adults with disabilities to create one on one friendships, which helps them engage in social activities with their peers. I love when races use the platform to raise both awareness and smokey around a charity.
The post race food was good! There were energy bars, Pizza Hut pizza, candy, chocolate milk (a favorite), and of course waters. I loved the medal and am happy with the race shirt. It seems to be slightly better quality than the others I have gotten lately. Overall,the race was good and I would not hesitate to sign up again!
