Lucky Number 10, heading to 11.

Lucky Number 10

As I gear up for my 11th half marathon I have to reflect at the last ten races.  It's kind of crazy how far I have come and the love and support that I have been give over the years.  Back in high school I could barely run a mile at the weight of 270lbs (ish).  I started to get into shape after living in Germany for a semester.  It was one of the top event in my life and changed where I am and what I am today.  Even though running sucks at time, it can be very rewarding.  Distance running is a gradual process and it all starts with one step.  Then 20,000k later on.  Haha.  Now I can run half marathons and by run I mean jog.  Here are the 10 half marathons that I have completed with my times.  And yes my PR is my first half marathon and no I haven't been able to reach that time.  One day I will. 

 San Diego Holiday Half Marathon 2013

 OKC Memorial Marathon 2014

 Colfax Half Marathon (Denver, CO) 2014

Disney Half Marathon (Anaheim, CA) 2015 

 Disney Wine and Dine Half Marathon (Orlando, FL) 2015

Disney Avengers Half Marathon (Anaheim, CA) 2015 

OKC Memorial Marathon 2016 

Cowtown Half Marathon (Fort Worth, TX) 2017 

Little Rock Half Marathon 2017 

A2A Half Marathon (Arbuckle to Ardmore, Oklahoma) 2017

I am very thankful that I have been able to complete all of these races.  There was a lot of hard work put into getting prepared for these races and completing them.  Each race holds a special place in my heart and no two races are the same.  My next half marathon is OKC Memorial Marathon which is to remember the 168 people (including 19 kids) that were killed in the OKC bombing in 1995.  I wasn't here when this bombing happen but I am thankful to be running and celebrate life.  I am having knee problems but I will get through this one no matter what.  Whatever you are going through, there is someone going through the same thing with you.  You may not know them but you aren't alone.  I challenge you to step out of your box and try something new or pick up a hobby that you haven't done in a while and do it.  I gave up on running races for about 2 years and I am so thankful to be back.  Happy Monday.

Chris

My Racing Rant - "Left out to dry" and moving forward

Race season has slowed up for me.  I think my wallet and body are very happy about this.  The last race I registered was for the Disco 15K down in Dallas Texas. I found out this organization from an expo and wished I did not find them.  I signed up for a race and it got rained out.  I understand the risk involved and how much the weather can affect a race.  Anyways I am more upset about how they handled the communication when they cancelled the race and their back up plan for being rained out.  

Here is my rant
The organizers only posted on Facebook about the cancellation, so for people who don't have Facebook they were out of luck and had to find out when they got to the site.  The comment they posted stated "Attention Disco Run participants: the event is now cancelled due to weather. #apartyandaworkout #discorun."  There was no additional information.  What they should have also stated is that additional information would be sent out shortly about options due to the cancellation of this race.  Instead they stated nothing so many people starting commenting asking questions.  Once people started to comment then they would give out more information, which they should have stated earlier to avoid all the questions.  The organizers handed some of the medals out to participants but not all.  I'm not sure why they gave some medals to select participants and not to everyone.  That was unfair, if you are going to give some out you better give all of them out.  The organizers sent out an email about discounts for their other races but nothing about medals, rescheduling or making it a virtual race. This is upsetting because the race wasn't cheap.  If I didn't have a discount I would have paid over $60 bucks for a 15K, which is more expensive than a half marathon.  I ended up emailing them and they stated you should have received an email (referring to the discount email), but it still didn't answer everyones questions. That ticked me off even more, we are paying customers and we deserve answers.  In the email that had the discount code they stated that they never had to cancel a race in 16 years but then they had no back up plans.  What the heck is that.  That is not how you run a organization.  I am very upset with this organization because of the lack of communication and how they handled the situation.  If you are in this business you have to know that something may happen where you have to cancel the race.  Create a back up plan.  We also knew that we were going to have rain a week prior and it felt like they just hoped they wouldn't have to cancel versus finding a back up plan.  I will never run with this organization again and waste my money.  By the way there are no refund, which I sort of knew that but Disney had a similar situation like this, what they ended up doing is basically giving everyone a refund and their races aren't cheap.  Anyways lesson learned.

Now my rant is over.  Let's talk about something else. PR is commonly talked about in the running community.  For those who do not know it stands for Personal Record.  Personally I haven't been able to attain a PR since my first half marathon in San Diego 2013.  For that next year I tried to obtain that PR but I couldn't get myself to that point.  I read an article the other day how this guy was going to participate in a marathon on the west coast and he stated he isn't going to PR and he is happy about that.  The reason being is that he can finally enjoy the race for all that it has to offer.  Sometimes we get into our own heads and strive for that goal and don't end up enjoying that event.  I have seen it first hand, I participated in several Disney races after my first half marathon and looking back I didn't really enjoy it because I was chasing a PR.  I did take a picture with Captain America at one Disney race but it was hard for me to wait in line and mess up my run. Looking toward my next half marathon I am going to enjoy it as much as I can.  This race is called Race to Remember and is located in Oklahoma City.  This race is in memory for the OKC bombing of a federal building on April 19, 1995 and helps fund the OKC National Memorial and Museum.  Even though I wasn't living here during that time, as a resident of this state it my privilege to be able to participate in this event and remember those that died that day.  I pray that this event goes off without any problems and that the runners can enjoy this race.  For anyone who is having a hard time right now, just remember that you have to live your life to the fullest and have no regrets.  Thanks for listening to me.

Recap of the OKC Memorial Marathon to come.