Yesterday was surreal.
The Huntsville Marathon AKA “The Full Monte” is a beautiful course! I ran the race with my friend Kenzie, Wendy, Kim and her husband Brian.
We loaded on the bus at about 7am. The race has a late start time at 9am. The past two days have been pretty chilly, stormy and my enthusiasm about the race was dropping.. I was worried the race would be cold.. When we got out of the car, I about got back in.. It was pretty chilly and I was glad I was wearing 9372 layers.
The race director came into the bus to welcome us, wish us good luck and tell us a little bit about the course before we headed to the top.
On the bus Kenzie and I both had our breakfast of oatmeal, and made sure to drink plenty of water!
When we got to the top there was nothing but clear skies! Yes, there was snow on the ground and the grass was frozen..but the sun was shining and it looked to be the perfect race day.
They had a tent with a heater in it at the top. It was about 30 ish degrees at the top so we squeezed in with about 600 of my closest friends.
I really had on 4 layers! Inside the tent I was warm and cozy. There was plenty of “honey buckets” up top so I never really had to wait in a long line to go to the bathroom.
Here are all the GPP peeps that ran the full monte!
They gave us a 20 minute warning to go time and we headed out of the warm tent, dropped our drop bags, jumped around to warm up a bit.
The race started a little later then planned.
I wore my zip jacket, gloves with hand warmers for the first 7 ish miles! I was glad to ditch my jacket but I regretted taking off my gloves then. My fingers and toes were cold till about mile 18. I didn’t care to much because the view was AMAZING! The changing leaves with the snow cap mountains in the backround was absolutely breathtaking. I felt like I was running in a picture.
THE COURSE
You can find this video on their website of the Huntsville Marathon in seven minutes!
The Huntsville Course is mostly downhill! It is a significant downhill the first 13 miles and to a gradual downhill at the half way point. Expect gradual small hill at mile 17.The last 6 miles are completely flat.
The Canyon is cool, with a slight headwind. It honestly was perfect race weather. When you get to the last 6 miles you are running past pastures, and homes. The race did a great job by adding, cheerleaders, bands and uplifting signs to help keep your head in the game.
THE AID STATIONS
The aid stations were fun, some were dressed up, some even ripped the top of the GU pack for you and the majority of the aid stations held the gatorade and water out for you. Some aid stations even had vaseline sticks they were handing out. There was also oranges and bananas at some. Towards the end one of the aid stations had swedish fish, pickle juice, fruit, pretzels and I think I even saw bagel pieces. The last aid station ran out of cups.. and at that point I was so thirsty! I was glad I had my water bottle on me and that a guy gave out strawberries in front of his house. The bands and cheerleaders along the last few miles were awesome.
MY EXPERIENCE
A week before this race I had talked myself into maybe not doing it. I have been battling plantar fasciitis for months and it at times is really painful. I knew I wouldn’t do as well as I wanted because of it.
After talking to friends and telling myself,I have done it before and I knew I could do it again. I went for it. I decided to just enjoy the race atmosphere and run the race because I love to run.
I had a goal of 3:45. I was a little ahead of pace according to my race smart bands. The downhill in the first half was perfect, I was able to run a comfortable pace and still keep ahead of schedule. I finished the first half right on pace. At mile 18, my foot started to tighten up and cramp. I slowed down and tried to focus on what was in front of me. At mile 21 I was 10 minutes behind pace and it felt like my foot snapped. I had a sharp pain and came to a complete stop right before an aid station. I walked through the aid station, stretched my foot on a rock and shook it off and kept running. At mile 23 I had fallen even more behind and at this point, I knew I wouldn’t hit my goal and mentally gave up.
In Mile 25 I saw my friends Tara and Nikki, they were yelling and cheering me on. I got all emotional seriously wanted to cry. My foot was killing me and to see them gave me an extra push. They started running with me and reassuring me I was almost there and could do it! {Seriously.. I HAVE THE BEST FRIENDS EVER}
T & B were stretching and ready to run it home with me!
As soon as I saw them, they jumped up and ran out to me.They grabbed onto my hands and run to the finish.
![IMG_7724[1] IMG_7724[1]](../-coSLxfwxZWQ/UkhTsTxYbSI/AAAAAAAAMIY/DowcU_zc77I/IMG_7724_255B1_255D_thumb_255B1_255D.jpg)
Tanner wanted to run through by himself so he let go of my hand and waited till I got across with Bee. I turned around to cheer him through!
![IMG_7722[1] IMG_7722[1]](../-Cq1fewq2NtA/UkhT25gbMrI/AAAAAAAAMI4/TuAaBZR1xyA/IMG_7722_255B1_255D_thumb_255B1_255D.jpg)
He jumped over the finish line and said “MOM! I’m fast like you!” That little guy melts my heart! He even found an old race bib at our house and asked Brent to put it on him for the race.
I didn’t get a PR. It is still in the chase. But I felt great overall besides my dang foot. I am proud of myself for pushing through when I mentally quit when I knew I wouldn’t hit my goal. It’s not about the PR. A marathon is about SO much more then that.
![IMG_7733[1] IMG_7733[1]](../-4P0zJ3x7um4/UkhT6ybQ8AI/AAAAAAAAMJE/PkKg-LSBCn4/IMG_7733_255B1_255D_thumb.jpg)
I have some pretty amazing husband and friends that support me.
![IMG_7715[1] IMG_7715[1]](../-UcILqE9hfxM/UkhUDKW0lNI/AAAAAAAAMJY/8AWgMvnAQa4/IMG_7715_255B1_255D_thumb_255B1_255D.jpg)
![IMG_7720[1] IMG_7720[1]](../-_ZKd89oPTzw/UkhUK9PEHJI/AAAAAAAAMJo/EVIjrDVkyZU/IMG_7720_255B1_255D_thumb_255B1_255D.jpg)
Overall, I had a great experience, I loved the course and feel like I could be back next year with a PR.
I wouldn’t do anything different. I made sure to stay on top of my fuel and hydration, I had no stomach issues and felt great the whole time. Besides my foot, my legs didn’t quite give out till mile 23. And without having many long runs I think that was pretty good.
Both Kenzie and I followed a GPP training plan! Kenzie PR’d by 17 minutes! We both agreed that the plan was perfect for us. The longest run on the plan was 20 miles. (Which I never did because I ran a half marathon that day instead..) We both felt prepared and ready for the race.
I finished in 4:10 placing 11th in my age division.
If you are looking for a well organized race- start to finish, a beautiful course with a rockin’ downhill. This would be a great course for you.
It was one of my favorite courses!
The winner of the marathon finished in 2:19!!!! That is insane. Amazing. Inspiring.
Marathoners: What is your favorite marathon?
What gets you through those last miles (any distance)?