The Viking Half Marathon (We Held Back)

I got up and ate a bowl of cereal. Race day, the Viking Half Marathon, had arrived. The time was 6:00 a.m., and the date was March 26, 2022. After cereal, I checked the temperature through my phone and then started figuring what I would wear. I figured it out and at 7:00, Tyler drove up, and we walked the one mile to Market Street where the race would start. Although my phone said the temp was 42, it didn't feel like it, and I was beginning to believe I had overdressed. I had as I would have to shed layers once the race started. 

When it did start, there were the same old stresses as always. A gaggle of fat ladies up ahead tempted Tyler and me to pick the pace up and go out too fast. But we held back. A man up ahead who looked like he had had a stroke, who ran with an awkward gait, made it hard to keep a proper pace. But we held back. A ridiculous-looking man ahead of us who had a huge grey beard and who wore a pair of pajamas, made it difficult for us to maintain our composure. But we held back.

We held back through mile one. We held back through mile two. We held back through mile three, and then we crossed the Kessler Bridge and headed into North Greenwood. We zigged and zagged through Monroe, Cherokee, Grand Boulevard, Medallion, Riverside Drive, and others, many others. We even ran past Tyler's house, and his sweet wife cheered us on and took custody of one the shirts I had shed.

We held back on East Jefferson. We held back on Popular running south. We held back on Popular running north. We held back when on Popular when we saw that we were ahead of pajama guy. We held back on the final stretch of Grand Boulevard running south back towards the Kessler Bridge and Front Street where we would finish. I told Tyler, whom I knew could have run faster, to go on ahead. He held back. He said, "We are teammates. Teammates don't leave teammates."

So we finished together in 2:49:54. Not a good time, but we had a good time. We sat on a side walk a few minutes, and then decided to eat some food. We didn't hold back. We ate Larry's fish and a burrito. It was good, yeah. Then we walked back to Crockett Ave. All in all, we walked two miles and ran 13.1. Not bad for a day's training. The Quadrathetes are getting prepared.

Photo by Katie Jones.