Friday, April 30, 2010

Lynchburg Oak Barrel Half Marathon

        On April 3rd the Lynchburg Oak Barrel Half Marathon was run. The course started on the Lynchburg square and went through the beautiful countryside of Moore County Tennessee. The run finished at the Jack Daniels Visitor Center where Jack Daniels hosted the post race festivities.
While I didn’t personally run this event, my daughter and some friends did. For some of them it was their first half marathon. For those who don’t know what a half marathon is let me explain. It is running for 13.1 miles! A marathon is twice that far. I struggle to run 3.1 miles so running thirteen miles is a bit overwhelming to think about.
        A couple of days before the race, we drove up to Lynchburg to pick up the race packet and check out the course. But before we arrived in Lynchburg, we decided to make a few stops along the way.
A quick trip to Fleet Feet Sports store in Jones Valley area of Huntsville, Alabama to look for some athletic gear was first on the agenda. Because you know it’s all about how you look when you are running for us gals. The better you look-the faster you run…This is a scientific fact. This is also a very valuable lesson for all you new runners out there, so file that in your must have file… 






For those of you not familiar with Fleet Feet Sports store, we’ll let me tell you, these guys and gals are awesome. See my blog about my experience with them. They will put you in the right shoe to help you be the best “athlete” you can be.
        Then it was back over the mountain for some retail therapy at the Parkway Mall in south Huntsville. We still had some additional shopping to do. My daughter had an Easter event to go to that weekend and “needed” a new dress. Never mind that her closet is overflowing with clothes.
        Of course by then it was lunch time and a stop at Panera Bread was a must. A chicken Caesar sandwich and some black bean soup. Yummy! We dined on the patio in the warmth of a spring sun. It was heavenly.
Finally we were ready to make our way through the hills to Lynchburg. The weather was nice and pleasant and the drive enjoyable. Beautiful country vistas along the way once we were able to make our way out of the crowded streets of Huntsville. You are just kind of driving along and then you come upon this quaint little town that has a town square filled with neat shops. Old southern homes surround the area and everything is centered around the Jack Daniels Distillery industry. It is very clean and well maintained area with some really nice and friendly people.
 While the town itself sits on a flat area, it is surrounded by some rather steep hills and somewhat mountainous roads. As we were driving in we were getting antsy about seeing where the course route was going to take us. As soon as we arrived in town we stopped at the Jack Daniels Distillery to pick up the race packet. The crowds were already pouring in by then and it was still two days until the race.
The organizers had the pickup booth set up on the porch of the Distillery and things went very smoothly. They were very helpful and answered all of our questions. The shirt was neat and there were lots of goodies in the race packet. Most importantly, the course map was in there and we were able to plan the drive to see the elevations.
The course itself was not too horrible. But there were some steep hills along the way, with one in particular that looked very daunting. Nicknamed whiskey hill it was a major switchback that pretty much had everyone walking it. It was definitely the hill that separated the pros from the newbies.
After driving the course, my daughter had some time to mull it all over. At least then she knew what she was facing. Luckily we had been training on some hills that were comparable and felt it was a doable course.
The morning of the race it was drizzling rain as we drove through the 4 AM dark roads. Having taken a different route there, I had to drive through some winding unfamiliar roads in the fog. Once we arrived safely, thank goodness, the crowds were gathering and we were super lucky to get a prime parking spot in the area designated just off the town square. The rain went from drizzly to hard rain while we waited for the race start. 














The tension and excitement in the area was palpable. Nerves were on edge and everyone seemed ready for the start. There were almost 700 runners ready to race the streets of Lynchburg. As I waited on the sidewalk out of the rain, I envied those out there in the rain. I wanted to be a part of it but knew I wasn’t ready.
 



















Once the race started, they were off into the rain and over the hills, through the valleys and back to the Jack Daniels Distillery for the finish. As the race had progressed, the rain had become torrential at times but no one seemed to mind. It actually cooled things off. The biggest complaint that I heard was that it made their shoes feel like weights on their feet as they ran. 
When it was all over, the first runner, a 33 year old man from Georgia, had completed the course at a time of 1:17:00. Six hundred and eight four racers later, a 46 year old man from Nashville had finished the race with a time of 3:49:38. There were young people to old people and everything in between people running. There were marriage proposals and breakups. There were people running together as teams and individuals running to represent struggles overcome. There were cancer survivors and handicapped runners. There were those running for the first time and those running their hundredth run. It was an awe inspiring event. They all came together to achieve some inner goal and accomplishment all the while cheering on their fellow runner until the last man crossed the finish line. I love this atmosphere! 
The medals received at the finish line were heavy and impressive. Just like the feeling in the hearts of every runner who had entered that last leg of the race to the cheering crowds and crossed that line at the finish….

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