Dino Half 2014

The Dino Half was so much fun! I have been so excited to do this race since finding out that the medal was a dinosaur. I can tell you the medal did not disappoint! It was fantastic and definitely my new favorite. What was even better was they gave the kids the same medal for running the 1 mile fun run.  I think the medal has encouraged my 12 year old to take on the challenge of running a half marathon because next year she will be too old for the kids race.

There were a lot of fun stories in this race. Like this guy who ran the entire race in this costume:

And these girls, who ran their first ever half marathon! Milo is 11 and Gabby is 9, Gabby was officially the youngest finisher of the Dino Half. It was their grandmother’s first half marathon as well. And all three of them placed in their age categories! Why did they want to run a half marathon so young? Their dad Kyle has been running half marathons for several years and taking the girls to all his races. Last year he had a goal to run 12 half marathons in the year. These two were tired of watching and wanted to be involved in the fun! What amazing girls all three of them are!

The course on this race is a fantastic mix of downhill and slight inclines. I didn’t think the hills were too bad but I did want a little more downhill. Of course this is coming from a lady who adores the downhill races. It was a well-marked course and even had a half mile section that had a race of it’s own, the Sprint-a-sauras. I have never run a race within a race and it was super fun. It was on mile 6, so I decided not to give it my fastest because I am an old lady and I tire out quickly (and yes I am sticking to that story). It was awesome to see the other runners trucking down this portion of the course. 

There was lots of on course support and tons of aid stations. Just when I was wishing I ran with my water belt, BAM! there was an aid station. 

After race support was great as well. They had my favorite, chocolate milk and tons of water. The food choices were a little thin but it was one of those races for me when you don’t really want to eat after. Maybe I would have changed my mind if they had some better food.

The communication from the race directors prior to the race, at the start, and finish was great. The emails were informative and timely. The race started late however the announcer let us know that it was due to a late bus. Nothing worse than waiting and trying to figure out why. 

The shirts were nice running shirts with a dinosaur on it. I like it and have run in it since. Its comfortable and stylish. Well, maybe stylish isn’t the right word for a race shirt but I like the dinosaur, it gives me someone to talk to when I start to struggle.

Overall I give this race 4 shoes! You can count me in every year for the medal alone.

Aside from the race, I have spent a lot of time thinking about what happened when it was time for awards. I don’t usually stick around for the awards portion because as I mentioned before I am old(ish) and that makes me really slow (or it could be my training, diet, and M&M dependence). This race I was waiting for the aforementioned Milo and Gabby to come in. There was a small glitch in the results that was apparently due to the race within a race. Let me just say that I felt that the race directors handled the situation with patience and class. He apologized and said that while he could not immediately provide the results, they felt it was more important to get the results correct. I have to agree with him, it’s better to get it right the first time then try to fix it later. With that said, there were a few racers that acted in a manner that surprised me. Maybe that is because I never won a race, but for you to say that you finished in front of another racer or for your family to scream it from the crowd, isn’t necessary. It’s just as effective to whisper it to the individual presenting the awards or a member of the race staff. I would love to hear your comments on what happened, so rant away!

Oh and by the way, don’t drop dead of surprise but I took first place in the brontosaurs division! Yes, this is their version of the Athena division. I am not sure I like the name but I’ll take a first place finish any way I can get it.