Buffalo 1/2 Marathon

Today was the Buffalo Marathon. Back in the cold winter months, I had decided I was going to run the full marathon, but quickly the winter months kicked my butt and my training dwindled. I then decided to run the 1/2 Marathon, which is only 13.1 miles.  My younger cousin, Trisha, had told me early in the year that she was going to run the 1/2 marathon. So I told her that I would run along side of her since this would her first 1/2 marathon. I have two 1/2 marathons and one full marathon under my belt, so I figured I could help her along with her run. 

Well, in the last month or so, life got in the way of my running. Between work and preparing for Tator Tot, running was taking a back seat. I was lucky if I was running 10 miles a week. So there would be no way I would be ready to run the Buffalo 1/2 Marathon now. This past week I had decided that I would only run the last 6-7 miles with Trisha as moral support. That all changed again. When Trisha and Michelle arrived in Buffalo yesterday (Saturday afternoon, we headed downtown to the Marathon Expo to get Trisha's running packet and check out the course since it changed from last year due to construction season in Buffalo. 

As I walked into the Expo, I decided that I was still going to run the 1/2 Marathon. As I was signing up, I was thinking to myself that I was crazy and would probably hurt myself since I had hardly been running. Oh well, no guts, no glory, right?

I finished the race with no real problems, running the entire race without a walk break. Trisha did very well for her first long distance road race. She kept the pace consistent the entire race, which helped me run a smart race as well. Michelle followed us on a bike and was our personal cheerleader and photographer. Thanks for being there Michelle!

I was very pleased with my time of 2:09:57...only 10 minutes slower than last year (1:59:50),

which I trained for. That seems a little messed up, doesn't it?

Our results are the following out of 2054 finishers (Complete results can be found here):

Overall                          Gun Time      Group Place        Pace    Chip Time   

1223 Trisha Sullivan   2:12:01          118/220             10:05     2:09:57

1224 Dennis Hall        2:12:02          188/118             10:05     2:09:57

Here are some action shots from the race:

Before the race

First few miles...still smiling

Dennis starting to fall off the pace around the 11th mile.

Trisha at mile 12.

Dennis at mile 12...trying to catch Trisha.

Trisha with about 1/2 mile to go and still going strong.

Dennis still trying to catch Trisha as he begins to sprint with about 1/2 mile to go.

We did it!  

Nice job on your first 1/2 marathon finish Trish!

 Rochester is next in a few months!