I nearly overslept and missed the race this morning. After a quick trip to Portland on Thursday and back home Friday I was exhausted this morning. My alarm went off and I went right back to sleep until my wife woke me up and said I was going to miss the run if I didn't leave soon. I seriously debated going. Sleep sounded much more fun.... Jumped in the car and drove to Ashland, ran a couple miles for a warm up and lined up at the starting line. When the gun went off it was nearly 75 degrees which is a good 25-30 degrees warmer than my normal morning temps. Erik Skaggs wasn't running and within the first couple minutes I realized it was going to be a lonely race. The lead bike rider was a nice guy and we talked through most of the race which was nice. The course was the toughest half marathon I've ever ran. Tons of hills. Not rolling hills. Real hills. And zero shade as the temperature crept above 80 degrees. At every aid station I dumped water over my head to cool down which helped. Anyway, splits don't mean a thing on this course so I won't bother putting them. When I crossed the line, Hal (Running store owner, race director) said he guessed the top time would be around 1:17. Again, not a PR by any stretch but it was an honest, brutal course given the numerous hills, hot sun and zero shade. I'm glad I ran though because of the Brooks t-shirt given pre-race and socks awarded post race. Oh yeah, and 75 bucks for winning. The Rogue Valley Runners really know how to host a race. 2 more miles to cool down afterwards, 1 of which was barefoot on the soccer field. Boston (305) Type A (186)
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