2013 Running With The Bears Half Marathon Race Report... (Read 46 times)

Not my best time (but not my worst either), but I'd have to say that it was one of the most scenic and enjoyable events in the 2 years that I've been running. Plumas County is gorgeous and this venue limits the participant count to 300. Friday night we had a nice pasta feed at the Greenville Community Center with the event sponsors, Mountain Circle, a Foster care program which is right up my alley as I have cared for many, many children from broken homes in the past. Saturday morning proved out to be a gorgeous day in the Northern Cascades and at 7:30AM off we went. The course was a loop around the Indian Valley and was simply stunning. At Mile 5 we all got escorted by a goat that got out from one of the various farms along the way. I felt good through mile 5 and then I got a horrible case of heartburn. I really have to get that in check because it was so severe that I had to slow down while it subsided. Other than the heartburn, the race went well. I felt strong and when it wasn't flaring up, I was running well...better than I have in awhile. Ever since my hernia operation my pace(s) havent really broken 12 minutes/mile and my average on this race despite the periods where I had to walk was 11:06.

At Mile 10 was "Bear Bait Hill" which was the one hill that had a gain of about 250ft over a half mile. Not terribly bad at all. I hammered through that fairly readily. Coming in on the last couple of miles I was still feeling good and I finished with a 2:25....

I hope you repost it on the B&B. Great job and pics.