Holiday Half Marathon: the race where I tripped and fell
On Sunday I ran the Holiday Half Marathon in Pomona with Monica, Margot, Heather and Reese.
I last ran this race in 2009 or 2010, I can’t remember, but it’s a lot more fun when you’re with friends!
There’s also a 5k and kids’ run the day before and registration opens in January for the 2014 race.
{Reese working it for the camera. Or fixing her sunglasses, whatever.}
The race starts and finishes at the Pomona Fair Plex which is a great location for finish line festivites and all that, but get there early: parking gets backed up since there’s only one open entrance into the fairgrounds. And parking is $10 which is a bummer but there is race day packet pickup, awesome.
We quick grabbed our bibs and hustled to the start line where Monica surprised me with a little gift: a salted caramel GU. I thought it was a seasonal flavor?? Anyways, it’s amazing. Go buy it now and eat it just for a snack, not even for running.
{For those of you who asked about my skirt and the chevron one from yesterday, they’re both from Running Skirts and the code SHARETHELOVE13 is good for 15% off}
I went with my black Wave Rider 16s for this race. Even though I like the extra cushioning on the new WR 17, this is my all-time favorite color combo. I gotta get the new black 17s something fierce.
The race started at 8am with “snow” falling as you crossed the start line. You know I love a themed race and what’s better than a holiday one? Um nothing. This race is fun because they really play up the holiday theme with the snowflake medals, cute red snowflake race shirts, Santa hats that are included in the race registration, etc. I’m a sucker for all that stuff.
I started with Monica and we ran the first 8ish miles together. It’s a hilly course! You run on the Auto Club Raceway track at the beginning and end of the race, but you also run around the Frank G. Bonelli Regional Park and Puddingstone Lake. It’s nice that there’s a lot of change in scenery to keep you from getting bored, but be aware of the rolling hills.
We ran up and across this dam – it was really pretty so I turned around to get an action shot of Monica…
Monica was embarrassed of me so we split up around mile 8 or 9 and I pushed a little harder for the last few miles and finished in 1:45:11.
And then I saw my friends. Heather had a 3 minute PR and double PR’ed this weekend! Girl cray. And Margot ran so fast I didn’t even end up getting a picture of her, plus she was off doing extra miles like a boss.
For me, it was a fun race to end the year on. A lot of people dressed up, it was a perfect weather day for running, there was tons of food and booths and music set up for post-race fun, it’s a good time. I would just recommend getting to the start early to have plenty of time to park and remember that it’s not a totally flat course. And even though it’s December, it can get warm so bring sunglasses, sunscreen, and your Santa bikini.
Thanks to Run Racing for hooking me up with a bib!
