2011 Holiday Half Marathon Race Recap

Date: December 11, 2011
Location: Pomona Fairplex
Start: 8:00am
Finish: 1:47:25 (8:12 pace)
Elevation Chart:

Mile 1 - 8:17                           Mile 8 - 8:13
Mile 2 - 8:02                           Mile 9 - 8:07
Mile 3 - 8:00                           Mile 10 - 8:27
Mile 4 - 7:58                           Mile 11 - 8:35
Mile 5 - 8:06                           Mile 12 - 8:13
Mile 6 - 8:15                           Mile 13 - 7:50
Mile 7 - 8:06

5K - 26:33 (8:33 pace)
7.2 miles - 58:05 (8:04 pace)

I went into this race not really having a goal in mind. This was the last race on my calendar for the year and I honestly can say that I haven't really been training as diligently as I should due to holiday stress. All I knew was that I was going to put in a good effort. Overall, I am pretty happy with my time. As I mentioned in my previous post, this wasn't my best time but it wasn't my worse either. It is actually among one of my top times. My pace was all over the place because this course had quite a few rolling hills. Due to my poor pacing, I started to fade around miles 10 and 11. I ended up picking up some speed at miles 12 and 13 because the course flatten out a bit, it may even have been downward sloping but it was minor so it felt flat. That and I started to hear cheering which meant that the end was near.

In regards to race organization, Run Racing puts on some really good races. The Pomona Fairplex is out in the middle of nowhere but it is huge and even though you have to pay $8 for parking, there is a lot of it. This was a large SRLA (Student Run LA) event but Run Racing did an amazing job at keeping everyone organized by having a separate start time for SRLA. The half marathon started at 8:00am sharp for regular participates and 8:15am for SRLA. I was really in awe of the students who caught up with the 8am start crowd somewhere around mile 3. They are going to be future elites one day.

Fun photo op!

One of the best features about this race was race morning packet pick up. This eliminated the need to drive out to Pomona twice in one weekend. Another point goes to Run Racing! The packet pickup went smoothly with almost no lines at all when I got there around 6:45am.

The shirt is pretty cute and it came in XS.

I found these fun knee socks at the Costume Castle the day before and they were really comfortable and kept me warm.

As soon as I crossed the finish line, student volunteers wrapped me in a space blanket, put a medal around my neck, gave me some water, a banana, a box of cereal and a granola bar. They were like a well oiled machine. I had to leave the Fairplex in a hurry because I had to get ready for a party later on in the afternoon but this race was just so well organized that I was done, made the drive back to the OC from Pomona and showed by 11am. Big props to Run Racing for putting on such a well organized event. I also liked that it wasn't too big but still had all the nice perks...especially the beautiful medal!