Race: Elm Creek Half Marathon | September 13, 2025
Finish time: 2:20:25
This half wasn’t originally on my calendar, but after running Goldy’s 10 Mile earlier this year (and seeing the logistical challenges they had), I ended up with a free entry to one of the other MN Series races. I picked Elm Creek in September, thinking cooler weather might help and just in case there were more water shortages like Goldy’s. (Spoiler: the race was very well run and fully stocked, no issues at all!)
I arrived early to grab a parking spot and ended up seeing a few familiar faces. I even ran into one of Joel’s friends, which helped pass the time before the start. The race was much smaller than Goldy’s, which honestly worked out well since it was all on bike trails.
They started us in waves, and I lined up with the 10–11 min/mile group, aiming for around 10:30 pace. My Strava predictor optimistically estimated 10:10 pace for the half, but I was skeptical. Still, I thought I’d just see what happened.
The trails were pretty, though a little repetitive after a while. The best surprise was how strong I felt and how steady my pace was. Around mile 3, I fell in step with a woman and her younger running partner—it was the younger runner’s first half marathon! I chatted with them for a bit before easing back.
The course had rolling hills (which was tough since there aren’t hills by where I live, so I haven’t been training with them), but I just kept trucking along. Mentally, I told myself to hang on until mile 10. By mile 9 I needed a quick walk break, and that’s when I caught back up to the first-time half marathoner. I gave her a quick pep talk, explained running the tangents, and we got moving again.
One of the coolest moments was when another runner passed me and said, “I’ve been trying to catch you the whole time, you’ve been so steady and strong.”
After mile 10, I said bye to the first time half-marathoner and I picked up the pace a bit but those hills just kept coming. I tried to close the gap on the woman who had complimented me, but she was cruising and I couldn’t catch her. By mile 12, I decided I was done pushing and I didn’t want to risk being sore or injured.
And then came the finish.. I decided I was going to run it in the last tenth of a mile.. but it was uphill, tight turn, then steeper uphill. Brutal! But I pushed through and crossed in 2:20:25, over 20 minutes faster than my half in April!
My friends and their baby and toddler were there cheering me on at the finish!! It was so lovely to see them and chat with them at the end of the race, I felt so special to have friends there cheering me on 🙂 Overall, this was such a confidence-boosting half. While it’s still far from the paces I used to run, I’m proud of how strong and steady I ran, and of where my fitness is right now.
