The fall festival half marathon

There’s one Saturday every fall when Fort Wayne feels a little closer to heaven: the annual Fort4Fitness Fall Festival 4-mile, 10k, and half marathon! This was our 14th consecutive year participating. Jane did the 4-mile, and I ran the half marathon. 

This event is special to us for a variety of reasons. This is where I ran my first-ever half marathon, in 2012, and that's what got me hooked on running!! That year I believe there were around 10,000 total participants, and it really did create quite the community-wide buzz. The field has shrunk over the years—just over 3,000 runners this time—but it still feels huge, and it’s ours! This is where we live, and this is the vibe we love!!

Personally, I felt like this year was a little funner than some recent years had been. I mean, I think ALL running events have been down since 2020 (covid). For me, though, this is also the first year in awhile I wasn't merely using this as part of a training run for a marathon. The past several I've either run some before, after, or both while also doing the half marathon. It seemed to coincide with my 18-20 mile run, which would be done at a much slower pace. So it simply lacked some of the usual excitement. This year I only ran the spring marathon, so I could enjoy this half for what it was! It made it much more enjoyable.

Statistically, I ran it in 2:09:35, for a 9:54/mile pace, and finished 470th out of 940 (exactly in the middle of the pack - I should get a prize for that!). I was 8th out of 22 in the 60-64 age group, and the 326th male. My watch said I ran 13.17 miles in 2:09:36 for a 9:51 pace (pretty darn close). Some other random stats from Garmin:

• Ave. heart rate was 152/ max of 175
• Ave. cadence - 166
• Ave. speed 6.1 mph, with max of 6.8
• Slowest mile - 10:18 (I walked for a bit, and there's a story, haha)
• Fastest mile - 9:30 (last one)
• 3 miles were over 10 min./ 10 were under 10 min.

I do have to say... Even though I'd already run a number of half marathons this year, this one kinda took a lot out of me! Earlier this summer I was thinking I'd like to do another one in under 2 hours. After the last half I did (September?) I developed a bit of plantar fasciitis in my right foot... but I was still hoping for something less than my normal 10-min./mile pace. So I went just a tad faster than usual, it was also hotter than I expected, and even though I didn't kill myself... I had to work for it a little bit. In the end, I was happy with a 2:09. I know I can go faster, but this way I could enjoy the traditional post-race beer with my love, and the next day I was no worse for wear!

An added bonus this year was Pinhouse Social at The Fairfield of Fort Wayne hosted an after-party, and they allowed us to park there for the entire event! It made for convenient parking before and after, and a nice place to eat lunch and celebrate with other runners (plus get a free drink)! 

The only real complaint I heard this year was - just like every year - the number of walkers in the shorter races who made it difficult for runners to get through. This was the first year they had the half start at 8am and the 4-mile and 10k both started at 8:30. With everyone finishing on the same route at the stadium it did create a bit of a bottleneck at times. I'm sure there is a way to alleviate that. Although, us half marathoners do need to remember it's not all about us. The walkers are making strides of their own - literally! The point is that we all encourage one another to be active, and I think we can (right??). :) 

All in all, this is kind of a pinnacle point for me every year. Sure, I plan to do one or two more half marathons this year, but this is the BIG EVENT. The post-race letdown will fade soon enough. For now, I will enjoy the fact that the tradition continues... and wait for next year!!!