A half to remember

I just got the flyer yesterday for my favorite half-marathon, the Kentucky Derby Festival Mini-marathon. I've run it the past two years, and can't say enough about how well the race is run, how much fun the course is, and how I have beat my own expectations each year. The course is about perfect for a race -- it starts out with three miles of flat, then gives three miles of rolling hills through a beautiful park, followed by a long downhill and a flat-as-a-pancake trip into downtown Louisville for the finish.

The half-marathon runners share the course with the marathoners for the first 11 miles. (MarathonGuide.com has people's comments about the full marathon.) I am by no means a speed demon, so I get to see some of the more colorful characters along the course, my favorite being the Running Elvi. But, best of all, both years I had the distinct pleasure of being passed at the very end by the eventual winner of the full marathon. Believe it or not, I thought that was way cool.

Unfortunately, I won't be able to run the race in 2006 because I'll be in Paris for my 10th wedding anniversary. I know, a girl's gotta make sacrifices.