Michigan

I picked the Grand Island Trail Half Marathon in Michigan simply because it looked and sounded beautiful. I'd never ran a trail race and really all I knew was that I should expect it to be a bit more challenging and I'd run slower. I knew we'd have about a 5 hour drive from Milwaukee on Friday night to get up to Munising where packet pick up and our hotel were located. What I did not know was that we'd lose an hour of driving time... silly me! Packet pick-up ended at 9 pm, so leaving at 3 was already going to make that trip tight. Then there was road construction, stopping for gas and food, and GPS going out when we got to this beautiful but scary deserted windy road in a state park... during a rain storm. 

We arrived to packet pickup with 10 minutes to spare. Ten minutes! It was a very small packet pick-up with only one or two vendor booths. We went straight to the hotel knowing the next morning would be early. We had to be up to catch the bus to the boat to be shuttled over Lake Superior to Grand island. It was about a 10 minute bus ride and 20 minute boat ride to the island.

Beautiful morning for a race! Being shuttled across Lake Superior from Munising to Grand Island.

Once on Grand Island, Thayne and I walked around a bit before hiding in the welcome center from the mosquitos and rain. As the start time loomed closer, I went to grab my anklet that would keep track of my time as I ran over the timing mats and made sure my water bottle was full. This race series is a "green" race where every runner has to carry their own water system. There are aid stations, but no cups! You would have to stop and refill your bottle or pack from a large cooler. Right before the race started, the race director came forward to have the national anthem played, make usual announcements and to let us know that this half marathon is actually 13.35 miles! "But trail runners don't care about distances, right?" Well, I'm glad I knew it was long going in!

Before the start of the race! Ready to go.

Race start! I'm in the blue tank and hot orange shorts.

The race started on a nice hard packed dirt trail before turning into a gravel road. Even though Grand Island is a national park, there are a few homes allowed. We followed the road past a small body of water called Duck Pond which led to a heavily forested area for about a mile. After that mile we had beautiful views, but had to run on the beach! The beach was very thin making passing anyone nearly impossible especially if you didn't want to run in deep sand or get your feet wet in Trout Bay. This was a very tough mile, but the view made up for it! 
Right after this mile, when your legs are heavy from sand running, you have the only hill in the race. But this hill was more like a very rocky mountain! I walked up part of it and was not alone in doing so. This led us inland where the race was heavily forested from there on out.From about mile 9 to the finish we were still running in the forest, on single track trails, flattened grass or soft packed mulch trails. Again, the views were beautiful as we were atop the island slowly losing elevation but able to see Lake Superior to our right the entire time.

Coming around the last corner to the finish.

The finish line was hard to see until the last 200 meters, but you could hear the announcer from about a mile away. What a tease!

Thayne was not able to track me through the race at all, and couldn't get around to other areas of the island to watch so it's definitely not a spectator friendly race. After meeting back up with him at the finish he said he heard other spectators mentioning that they saw bears! I'm not sure what I'd have done if I'd have seen one while racing... keep running I guess!

The finishers medals were beautiful! They were hand carved by a local artist. After receiving mine, I got my official results and saw that I was 2nd in my age group! This meant I could turn in my wooden medal for a hand blown glass medal instead!

My official finish time was 1:58:23 (8:51 avg) for the 13.35 miles. Not too bad!

This was an absolutely beautiful course that also offered a full marathon and 50k for anyone looking for longer races. The weather, while humid, was nice and cool making it a great summer race in mid July. Munising also has a lot to offer as a small town in Michigan. I'd definitely suggest this race if you're looking for something unique.

After the race with my hand blown glass medal. Still my favorite medal!

Michigan was state five, half marathon number 6. We're getting there!

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Florida

State four. Half marathon five. Florida. DISNEY WORLD. Running for a cause. Girl Power 2 Cure.

I decided to run the Disney Princess Half Marathon in February 2014 a year before I actually ran it when I saw my aunt Vanessa and many others raise funds and run for girls all over the world. My cousin (by marriage, but still my cousin) has Rett Syndrome; this is a disease I'd never heard of until my husband and I had been dating for a few years and one I've found is still very much in the dark. 

Rett Syndrome is a neurological disorder that steals many abilities away from these girls, things we take for granted. Things like talking, walking, using our hands, swallowing, breathing. My cousin is now 15 and suffers from many of the issues I listed plus many more. This race was going to be more than just a trip to Disney World. It was for her, as many of my races have since been.

I hit up the expo with Vanessa and got everything I needed for the race. I was also able to volunteer to work at the Girl Power 2 Cure booth spreading awareness, selling items and handing out stickers and tattoos. 

Vanessa and I woke up early (if you have ever run Disney races, you know what I mean) to go cheer on our runners competing in the 10k Saturday morning.

We had a team dinner that evening with a few speakers and I was able to meet many more of the families and girls I was running and fighting for. It was a seriously humbling and emotional evening. 

Found my name on the wall!

Start line of the Disney Princess Half Marathon!

Race morning was another early morning, but it was so worth it! My coach and I had decided to use this run as a training run for my upcoming marathon. We opted for steady pace miles, especially with the heat and humidity. Disney races always have character stops, a trip through the park and some of the behind-the-scenes areas and some open road. I was lucky enough to begin in Corral A, so I had smooth sailing from the get-go.

The course is fairly flat with the only "hills" being over passes above crossing highways, but that doesn't make them any less daunting or hill-like! They are still tough! The race was going pretty smoothly until about mile 9, when the heat and humidity were starting to get to me. You have to remember it's February and I'd been running and training in Wisconsin! As the race was drawing to a close, a few girls I had just met passed me and told me to "do it for the girls... when it gets tough, think of them!" I'll never forget Carrie telling me that because it helped me finish strong. Her support, even though we had just met that morning, meant the world to me at mile 11.5 when I was really hurting! 

I ended up finishing the race in 1:51:24 (8:30 avg) which is still a great time! I had so much fun running through the park and seeing the characters, even though I didn't stop for any pictures. 

Back at the GP2C tent with my picture of Martilee.

Allison (Rett mom), Abby and me after the race. Allison would soon become a huge role in my running races with Rett Syndrome as a cause.

After the race was over, I headed back to the Girl Power 2 Cure tent to wait for other racers to come in. I met Allison, an amazing Rett mom and runner, as well as a few other families and runners who were a part of Team GP2C. This race was a huge turning point for me. It's where Vanessa gave me the idea about running a race in every state, where I decided to continue to run for Martilee and GP2C, where I had my first non-PR half marathon and knew it was okay to not always improve, and where I knew I was just beginning what would be quite an adventure.

The Girl Power 2 Cure Disney Princess Half Marathon team!

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Wisconsin

The Madison Marathon takes place in Madison, Wisconsin which is a short drive straight west of Milwaukee. They offer both a spring and fall race showcasing the beauty of the state capital, downtown area, UW campus and a few lakes in the area. Again, Carrie and I decided to go have a fun weekend out of town racing!

I was still working with my coach at this time and had made a few more strides when it came to my speed. I was excited to see what I could do now that I'd had a few half marathons under my belt and understood the distance a little better. But... this course was HILLY. 

The state capital! We start on one side and finish on the other.

The race starts on a short but steep downhill on one side of the state capital before a short but steep uphill... the first of many! It then turns and runs along Lake Mendota and man are the fall colors beautiful this time of year in Wisconsin! There's a nice flat 2 mile stretch before the next few rolling hills. Traveling through the country club and park provided plenty of elevation before turning back around and finding the lakeshore again. The worst of the hills were between miles 8 and 9. From there we had a nice flat out and back between Lake Monona and Monona Bay. The way out was apparently WITH the wind because mile 11.5-12.5 back towards the capital was brutal! After fighting the wind, we had one last uphill... to the finish line. If you want a challenging but beautiful course, definitely come to Madison in the fall.

Carrie and I at the capital before the race... we were so cold! Good thing we live in the north!

I lined up way towards the front of the group since there were no signs giving paces. I didn't want to be stuck in the back like I was at Women Rock. I took out, noticing I'm running with all guys, way too fast! I made myself slow down about half a mile in because I knew there was no way I'd be able to keep that pace.

My coach and I had discussed starting around the average pace of my last race, so about 8:30s and working my way down from there. I knew I had started in front of the 1:50 pace group and my goal was to stay in front of them!

My pace kept dropping and I kept feeling good! I'd try to relax on the uphills and pick it up on the downhills without over striding. The flats I'd just focus on running. Even though it was very cold at the start (mid 30's), by the end of the race the cooler weather was perfect.

I was able to stay in front of the 1:50 pacing group and finished with another PR! I knew it wouldn't be possible to continue this trend forever, but it's so rewarding to see hard work pay off!

Medal and bib after the race.

I finished the race in a time of 1:48:13 (8:16 avg). It was an amazing day over all! I've dropped 7 minutes and 22 seconds off my time from my first half marathon in just 7 months!  I've now ran in 3 states with 4 total half marathons completed... but I still haven't decided to shoot for a half marathon in every state.

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