Travis Dowell ran the Lucky HM (5k) and finished with a time of 31:05.
Finished the 5K in 31:04, pace of 9:59, was 4th among 16 males in the 60+ males group, with a 79 year old only 4 seconds ahead of me, 157th of 339 males, and 241 of 773 finishers. Great finish for me, although I wish I could have been 5 seconds faster.
According to my Garmin watch, I ran 3.18 miles at an average pace of 9:47 minutes per mile. The Apple watch showed 3.13 miles at an average pace of 9:54 minutes per mile. However the official time was 3.1 miles at 10:00 minutes per mile, meaning I probably did not run the shortest possible path from start to finish. In any case the course was relatively flat, at about 107 feet or 35 feet per mile. The race was crowded at the start, with probably about 500 runners. So during the first mile I was slowed down a bit by the crowd, but by the 0.5 mile point I was in the clear. The route was slightly downhill for the first mile, mostly flat the second, but starting to climb back up as we finished.
Joe Allen ran the NCR Marathon and Half Marathon (HM) and finished this race in the time of 2:12:30.
This is a great race just outside Baltimore but feels like it’s way out in the country. It’s a rail trail on crushed gravel, so the footing is good. Most of the course is a gentle incline until the turnaround and decline back. I’ve run the marathon several times but this was my first half. The race was sold out. We had perfect weather once we got warmed up and I won my age group. Whoopee! Thanks for the training plan!
Andrew Burke ran the Hamilton Road2Hope Half Marathon with a finishing time of 1:29:53. This was a personal record by 1:16.
After a summer of shorter distance racing, I had been training towards this half marathon as a final event of the season. With a mainly flat course and cool temperatures, I felt good for the majority of the race, although during the final quarter I encountered an unsettled stomach which eventually led to considerable nausea during the last km or so as I tried to pick up my pace towards the finish. Although this did prevent me from finishing with a bit better time, I was nonetheless happy to achieve my goal of a sub-90 minute result, which was over a minute faster than one year earlier. All in all, it was a satisfying finish to a successful year of personal bests at all distances from 5k to the marathon, and to an enjoyable season of running. I look forward to building on my recent stretch of injury-free and fulfilling experiences.
Brooke George ran the Seattle Marathon and completed this race event in the time of 4:25:13. This was a new personal record by 13 minutes!
Overall, this was a good race for me. It was a PR! This is my first marathon since my last two knee surgeries, so my original goal was just to finish. I did so much better than I had expected, and I’m already looking forward to training for my next marathon in October 2026.
