WESTON RUN FOR TOMORROW HALF MARATHON – December 9, 2018

Okay, I know what you’re thinking…Why in tarnation am I doing this race again?

If you are a loyal reader of my blog, you know what a debacle last year’s race was.  If not, read the post from last year, and you’ll be all caught up.  In a nutshell, the Mayor’s Challenge 1-Mile Walk ended in the same place as the half marathon.  It was a logistical nightmare finishing the race, let alone getting your medal.  When the emails stared to pour into my inbox for the race this year, I contacted the folks in charge to express my concerns.  To my surprise and delight, steps were taking place to clear up the chaos from the previous two years.  They were very gracious, and even offered me a discount code if I would give them one more chance.  This was apparently a very big issue, and I’m guessing many runners threatened not to enter this year unless changes were made.  With this sticking point apparently resolved, I gladly entered again.  I’ve run this race many times, and it falls on a weekend that never conflicts with anything else.

I went Friday afternoon to pick up my race packet.  They moved the location this year to Weston Regional Park.  I’ve never been there before, but all I can say is WOW!  What a beautiful place.  The entire city of Weston is very pretty, but we don’t venture there very often.  The race shirts were nice, and I asked one last time about the Mayor’s Challenge 1-Mile Walk.  The volunteers assured me that there would be no issue this year.

The race started at 6:20am in front of Cypress Bay High School.  As I approached the starting line, the crowd seemed a bit lighter than usual.  494 runners (compared to 623 last year) may have been a result of the confusion from last year, but that’s just conjecture on my part.  The temperature was 73°, and we were underway.  The race is basically an out-and-back, with lots of pretty homes, golf courses, and water to look at.  I felt good the entire time, and ran a pretty strong race.  Having no sun in the beginning is a big help, but you run west for the last half of the race, so a hat is standard equipment.  As I crossed the finish line, I was delighted to see the kids and their parents in an entirely different location.  Not having to fight the crowds as I finished was something I always took for granted.

I’m happy things are back to normal, and plan on entering this race for many years to come.

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