just a small town race

 *me nearing the finish line in my "cute shoes"

I recently completed the Teton Dam Half Marathon; an event that takes place in Rexburg, Idaho--the epitome of a small town. You may be asking yourself--why would I run a race in Rexburg? Simply put, Meggie & her new husband live there and invited me to stay with them and run the race.

This was my first visit to the little town of Rexburg, Idaho and I guess my sister wanted to show me a good time! Upon arriving, we decided to head tot he local farmer's market. I'm not joking when I say there were about a dozen vendors. We were able to get a scone (the size of Texas! with raspberry butter & honey butter, delish!!) and some corn on the cob (also pretty amazing) to enjoy while we perused the offerings (about 12 times before we finished eating our treats) We decided to get some rhubarb and a watermelon. The rhubarb was no big deal to get home. However, we should have done a bit more planning if we were going to get a watermelon. Did I mention we rode bikes to the farmer's market? And, did I mention we had no means by which to carry a watermelon home? (The wise thing would have been to bring a backpack, but we definitely weren't wise that afternoon) Let's just say, Rexburg was very entertained watching us get that watermelon home (and I have the bruised arm to prove it!)

Later that evening, we headed to packet pick-up and the pre-race potato dinner (hello, this is Idaho! of course it was potatoes!) Packet pick-up was relatively fast and easy. They didn't even check photo ID--I'm guessing they knew 90% of the registrants. Then on to our potato dinner. The dinner was a bit disappointing---so few toppings for my potato! At least there was lots of cheese, but no bacon! No chives! Luckily, there were some delicious brownies (the prefect pre-race carbohydrate!) There was also a "pre-race briefing" of which I couldn't hear a word! Who uses a megaphone in a school cafeteria?!? My expectations for the next days race were dramatically lowered.

Race morning! The race started at 7:30am. Silly me thought I should be there around 7am. And so, my brother-in-law dutifully dropped me off at Smith Park at 7am; I was about 25 minutes too early! Being used to much larger races and races where I needed to catch a bus or train to the start, I significantly over-estimated my arrival time. And, I apparently didn't pay attention to the fact that only 400 people were allowed to run the half marathon. Before starting, the race director did a great job of laying out the course, markings, signs, mile markers, volunteers, etc. to help us all get through the race. And then we were off!

Here are the race highlights:

1. wind
2. wind
3. TONS of volunteers (I heard there was 1 volunteer to every 4 racers--an unheard of number; must be the "Dam Volunteer" shirt they all receive)
4. wind
5. being caught by the kid (later learned he was 22) I was using to draft and block the wind
6. said kid thinking I thought he smelled good being the reason I was sticking so close to him
7. more wind
8. hills from mile 4 to mile 9+
9. learning that all Rexburg has is the university (BYU-Idaho) and WalMart
10. the fact that having a WalMart is something to brag about
11. did I mention the wind? because it was relentless
12. hearing 2 girls discuss my "cute shoes" after running through an aid station
13. having a girl tell me, "I love your shoes, they're so cute!" at the next aid station
14. seeing my sister & brother-in-law at the finish line
15. beating that 22 year old kid after telling him at mile 6 "it's going to be embarrassing for you when you get beat by an almost 40 year old woman!"

All in all the Teton Dam Half Marathon was a great race. After my lowered expectation from the previous night, I was blown away at how well this race was organized! I absolutely loved the race in spite of the wind and all the hills. And, it was a great weekend with family.

**And, if you're looking for a fun race, don't forget there is an awesome 5k trail run in Park City on June 26th. Use the promo code: blog5k and you'll get 50% off your race entry!