Garden Spot Village Half Marathon 2014

My coach had me listed for another long run on April 12 so I entered the Garden Spot Village Half Marathon in New Holland, PA.  The race offered race day registration, free parking and it was only 45 minutes from my house.  Runners that also finish the Run Amish Country half marathon in September will receive the coveted Road Apple Award.  April 12 was a work weekend for my team and I only managed to get three hours of sleep before I had to get ready for the race.  I'd like to thank my manager and my team for covering for me so I could run the half marathon.

It was still dark when I left the house but sunrise would soon present me with a warm and sunny day.  After sunrise I could see fog sitting in the low spots of the rolling hills in Lancaster county.  I didn't give any more thought to the rolling hills until I checked in for the race.  The t-shirt I received had an elevation map and the phrase "I conquered the hill."  I asked a couple of other races if they had ever run the race and what the phrase meant but we were all first time racers.

This would be a race like no other in my career.  The Garden Spot Half Marathon made all of my previous races look like they were run on a table top.  

That first hill you see in the course profile was so steep on the run down that it felt like I was leaning backwards at a 45 degree angle.  I was concerned because I couldn't slow down and I was thinking ahead to when I would have to turn around and run up the hill.  My coach had me running hills for a couple of weeks and it really paid off on this half marathon.

I got caught up in the euphoria of the day and I was running this event as a race instead of the training run my coach suggested.  I knew I was running faster than I should but I felt good and I just keep pushing myself.  I finished the day with a new PR at 1:50:50.9  Even with the hills I managed to run a faster half marathon, breaking the PR I set two weeks earlier.  I finished second in my age group, earning myself a custom medal engraved with my name and finishing time.

The Garden Spot Village Half Marathon / Marathon is a race for self motivated individuals.  There were some Amish families along the roads encouraging racers and assisting at the aid stations.  But most of the time you were running by yourself with that little voice telling you to stop running.  If you need a race with thousands of people cheering you on to the finish line I suggest you run the New York City Marathon.