Two Half Marathons

Sam has been running so much so I encouraged him to sign up for a half marathon. He signed up for the Sidney Montana Half Marathon. Then we learned that Bismarck was also having a half marathon one week before the Sidney Half so he signed up for that one as well.

I was driving home from Milwaukee during the Bismarck Half. Sam drove there the night before and stayed in a hotel. The next morning, he ran the half marathon in one hour and 33 minutes. He placed 3rd in his age group and won a cool jacket.

The next weekend was the Sidney Half. Sidney is only an hour away but it is in a different time zone. Because of that, we decided to just leave our apartment early in the morning instead of staying in Sidney overnight. This half marathon was very low-key. It was officially called Walking to Wellness. There was also a 5K and 10K which many women were walking. There were only two men involved in the entire thing and they finished first and second. The race started in the parking lot of the hospital. I waited in a park along the route during the race. The race involved four laps around so we were able to see Sam multiple times. It was 36 degrees though. Brrr!

His first time around, he was behind the only other guy running. The man was from Sidney and he knew the route so Sam was following him. That ended up being Sam's slowest lap. After that, he ran alone. I think only four people were running the half marathon so it was a good thing it involved multiple routes, otherwise Sam never would have seen other people!

When the man passed us after the second lap, he said, "Your daddy is too fast!"

Two ladies from our ward in Williston ran the Sidney Half as well. It was so fun to see them and cheer for them each lap. Go, Carissa and Larissa!

I was able to time Sam's laps almost exactly. His pace was so consistent that I would watch the time and be able to walk the boys over to the road right in time to watch Sam run up to trail.

The race finished in the parking lot of the hospital. There wasn't a finish line or any fanfare. Although he did win, I could only do so much cheering alone. I wish I had thought to bring some streamers or an air horn. Sam definitely earned it! This was his third consecutive Saturday of running a half marathon (the first one was just a warm-up he did on his own so he would know a good pace).

His time was 1:32.12. That is his fastest half marathon so far!

Three of the four half marathoners. Way to represent Williston!

After the race, we went to a small diner for brunch. It ended up being more like lunch because it took us so long to get our food, but it was pretty good and the company was great.

Hopefully this running will continue. I would love to watch him run in the Boston Marathon sometime in the next few years!

When we were leaving Montana, Sam asked Alex, "What do you think about Montana, devil?" Alex responded, "I don't think about Montana." Amen.