Two years ago my cousin JaNae signed me up to run the St George marathon, remember that? Well, anyway we signed up for the runners series for St George to get an automatic entry into the marathon , we had to run two races put on by St George. Well, the first race we picked was the STG half, it is in January, I didn't have a way down but had just started at the gym, there was another lady going down so I reached out of my comfort zone and asked if she wanted a buddy for the road. She said sure so off we went.
I loved the course it was beautiful! It rained crazy but I knew I wanted to eventually do it again. Well this gal was a pacer. She said I should join the group to pace. My ears heard free race entries! Lol. I have been pacing ever since, however my attitude changed quickly. I was really helping people. I LOVED it. I had wanted to do STG half again so as soon as the race was posted I signed up! I also signed up Don to come with me and pace. We were picked to my hearts delight! We have been to hell and back in the past three months and I thought many times about dropping out. I stayed steadfast and we made it to STG and ran. We started out, lots of people saying they would run with us. We had one lady actually start with us and stay, about mile 2 I knew we had another because I had listened to his footsteps and breathing for those two miles. I dropped back a couple feet and started chatting. It ended up being another awesome race. And today I saw this post on Facebook:
Forwarded from the St. George Half Marathon Director:
Hi,
Not sure who to address this with, but It was my first attempt at the 1/2 marathon, and it was a great success and experience. The best thing was the pacers. I was hoping to break 3 hours with a possible 2:45. I LOVED the pacer idea and decided to try and stay with the 2:30 pacers as long as I could. It was a husband and wife team, and they were awesome. Every time we hit a hill, and I started to drop back, the wife or husband would drop back a bit and encourage me, concentrate on the pace. I wanted to thank the organization for such a fun race, and the 2:30 pacers for all of their help. I finally dropped back a bit over the last mile, but was able to finish in 2:31:43. The two pacers waited at the finish line to see how I was.
Anyway, thank you, and please thank the pacers. It made my experience the best ever.
Ron Mortensen
It seriously makes it all worth it! I love pacing! It makes my runs more meaningful!
No comments:
Post a Comment