Congrats to
Team HRAdventure's Mike Jones on running a speedy
Rock & Roll Half Marathon
in 1 hour 37 minutes (7 mins 30 secs per mile avg). That's darn
fast for 13+ miles. Britt Anderson, Don Babb, Beth Waterson, and
Scott Lerberg all completed the run from the HRAdventure family and I
think they all met their goals for the event. Way to go
guys! It must be nice to run without a backpack on for once!
Even more to Mike's credit, he came out and tested the
Tidewater Adventure Sprint Challenge
course for us the day before this half marathon (he'll be out of town
for the real event). The test team biked, paddled, and ran for
over 8 hours and helped us to prune the course down for the real racers
on October 1. Not a bad warm up day prior to a half marathon.
Another fact to share about Mike's running: when I went into
anaphylactic shock in the woods at the Krista Griesacker 12-hour race
in PA last month, he was my teammate (we raced 2-person since Britt
cancelled) and it's good to have somebody who runs fast when your life
may depend on it. Not to reach for melodrama here, but I owe him
big time and hope to
never
have to return the favor. The full story of this incident may be
coming to an adventure or outside magazine near you . . .
Some may ask why I didn't do the Rock & Roll. I have this
thing about long runs on asphalt. I don't enjoy running on it,
certainly not for long stretches. I'd say 85% of the runs I do
are on trails or dirt roads because it's easier on my calves, joints
etc. Or, perhaps, I
think it's easier on my body so it becomes a bit of a
self-fulfilling prophecy. Now, an off-road half marathon would be more my speed.