I awoke bleary-eyed and pretty sleep deprived bright and early. I got ready as quietly as I could in an effort to not wake my sleeping family. Our room didn’t have a microwave in it, so I had to drink my day old Starbucks dark roast cold. At least it was a good dose of caffeine. I made my way down to the lobby to ask to have some hot water heated up so I could have my oatmeal before I walked to the bus pick up. I ended up meeting a guy from Kentucky who happened to be the race director for the Kentucky Bourbon Half Marathon. I told him I’d just run the Derby race and that Louisville was a great place, very enjoyable. Might have to make it back there for his race someday.
I left the hotel and walked along the paved path to the University of Montana campus where the buses were waiting for us. I happened to strike up a conversation with a woman from Florida who was a 50 stater (having already finished her 50 half marathons and a good number of full marathons, too). We had a nice ride out to the starting line together, trading info on races we’d both done and places we’ve enjoyed. She was running Montana in support of a fellow 50 stater who was completing her 50th race in Missoula. For the woman I sat with, Missoula would be her 111th half marathon! What a champion!
We made it out to the starting line area which was out in a rather rural area. It was a large parking lot for (I think) a health & wellness center. There were plenty of runners there, but I didn’t get the sense that this was an overwhelming race in terms of numbers. That’s good. From where we were, I could see the big letter M on the mountain way off in the distance…well, that’s where we needed to get to!
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| View of runners at starting area. The hills in the distance are the finish area and "M" trail. |
Every 30 minutes or so in addition to their race announcements, the race organizers set off some fireworks, which was a different perk. It was a fun way to help count down to the start time. When we finally lined up for the starting command, we were set off with a final round of fireworks. Fun!
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| Fireworks going off in intervals. |
The first two miles of the race were a little crowded, but it thinned out nicely. We were surrounded on both sides of the road by gorgeous forests, including the Blue Mountain Recreation Area of the Lolo National Forest. The road was largely shaded (plus the sun wasn’t very high in the sky yet, and as such we experienced a beautiful sunrise during this portion of the race). We also passed through some river features in this portion of the race. It was really stunning.
As we entered miles 3 and 4, the area was still very rural, but it became less forested and more farm-filled. There were some horse farms and other small farms and houses sprinkled along the way. At one point, we passed a large statue of a cow. I felt pretty good during this stretch, and it was fun to look at the various farm landscapes along the way. I was keeping a pretty strong pace (ahead of the 2 hour pacing group), so that was good.
Miles 5-6 became more populated and more suburban. Houses were growing in numbers and roads were busier and more plentiful. We ran through a tunnel near a neighborhood garden which seemed like a pretty cool spot, but as I entered the 6 mile mark, I began to experience some really painful cramping. I wasn’t sure if it was gas or something I had eaten over the first couple of days in Missoula, but It was really killing me and I wasn’t sure I’d be able to keep running. As luck would have it, an available porta-potty was at the next aid station, and I took advantage.
If you’ve ever had to stop mid-race to use a porta-potty, you know how difficult it is. You are super sweaty, your clothes stick to you, your legs want to keep running and when they stop it becomes harder to restart. The porta-potty has no air circulation, so you begin to sweat profusely while you are in there. You try to get your business done as quickly as possible, but it always seems to take an insufferably long time to do what you need to do and get your clothes back in place. Ugh. I lost a good 4-5 minutes at this little detour, but when I rejoined the race, I did feel a little bit of relief in the gut. The cramping wasn’t all gone, but it was a bit reduced.
My goal for the rest of the race was to just put one foot in front of the other and keep moving. I knew I’d fallen behind the two-hour group while I was in my pit-stop, so I figured I just wanted to finish the best I could, regardless of my time or pace.
From this point on in the race, we were entering the neighborhoods that border the “downtown” area of Missoula. Houses were densely populated and more spectators were along the way. The neighborhoods were really cute with lots of smallish but really adorable homes. There was one house (I think near the 11 mile mark) that had an “aid station” of Tito’s drinks. Ha! I shouted to them as I ran by that I’d stop back later. Too funny!
My crew was waiting for me about a half mile from the finish line. I was feeling pretty fatigued at this point, and I was still cramping up in the middle. The neighborhood I ran through as I approached my family was the most beautiful along the route. It had big gorgeous homes and an incredible park in the middle. That’s where I’d want to live if I lived in Missoula! Anyway, as I exited the park neighborhood, I could see my husband and kids at the end of the street, waiting where I had to make a left turn to head to the finish line. I gave them a wave and told them I’d see them in a few minutes at the finished.
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| Waving to the family as I approach their vantage spot. |
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| Getting closer. |
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| You can probably tell I'm not feeling my best. |
As I made my way to the bridge where the finish line was, I was pleased to see that I was only slightly over the 2 hour mark. Official time was 2:03:39. Considering the discomfort I had for half of the race, I took this as a win. At least I finished and didn’t end up throwing up or pooping myself. That’s always good.
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| Finish line selfie. Glad to be done! |
I met up with Craig and the kids in the park down below street level and recounted for them my experiences along the run. I did some stretching and then we all made our way back to the hotel. I showered and we had breakfast in the hotel restaurant which was fabulous! It is so wonderful to have an awesome breakfast after a hard run!
That afternoon we hung by the pool for a bit and I ended up having a nice chat with a woman we had met the day before at the pool who ran the full marathon—her first one ever. She and her family were from Annapolis, MD and she finished really well in her race. We traded some stories and just reveled in our accomplishments.
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| Happy finisher in the park. |
For dinner that night, we went back to the Tamarack Brewery and had another great dinner, followed by a stop for ice cream and walkabout around the city to look for a charm for my charm bracelet.
It was nice to finally crawl in to bed that night, as my lack of sleep was catching up with me. The Missoula Half was a beautiful run with lots of interesting things to look at along the way. It was well organized and had a terrific spirit of fun about it. The city was a lovely and lively little city in the great wilderness, a gem to visit. Thank you, Montana, for a fantastic experience and family vacation.
The next morning we hit the road to continue the rest of our vacation (a more restful portion for me) in Coeur D’Alene, ID and eventually on to Seattle, WA. We love our family & running adventures!
