Park City, Utah

I ran the Park City Marathon & Half Marathon on Saturday, August 22, 2009. 500 people ran the full marathon, and another 700 ran the half. Race started at 6:45am, and I swear I was going to freeze. The day before the temps had been in the 100's, so I stepped out of my hotel at the race start in shorts and a tank. Duh. I guess I should be used to the mountain weather (really cold in the am, hot during the day), but I hadn't quite processed the whole thing. Went back upstairs, grabbed a jacket, and made it in time for the race. As I waited for the start I struck up a conversation with two girls from Texas in town to run the race. We got to compare some good notes on races (this one: small), chip timing (the race was pretty funny about where to line up....when they started the timing device for the full marathon folks they were running around with a bullhorn telling the half runners not to cross the start or it would trigger their chip. This all while they pulled the large, inflatable start to a different point for us to cross) :-

The race was at 7,000 feet, but wasn't that hilly. Since it was an out and back, the only true hills started a mile before the turnaround. Bad on the way up, but great on the way back. The course was a little strange at first for the half runners. We did a one mile loop around the Newpark Hotel area, then on to the course. The course was really pretty, though, and ran through a nature preserve.

After the race I headed to the Utah Olympic Park across the street with the kids, my sister, and some nieces to go watch the ski jumpers. I can't believe how cool it is to watch them go off the ski jumps into the 750,000 gallon pool with full ski gear on! Had a great time and would go back again in a heartbeat.