The 100th Bermuda Day Half-Marathon

Aidan and I signed up for the Argus 400 Challenge primarily because it would be an interesting way to celebrate Bermuda's 400th and the half-marathon's 100th. In the beginning of the program (November/December) some of the workouts were brutal because our endurance wasn't that great. Added to that, Aidan doesn't like running and I generally don't run because of my knees. We turned a corner in February when we ran 5K without stopping and again in March when we ran our first 10K. Then we fell off our training schedule due to injury and our schedules. Still, we intended to participate in the race on Bermuda Day. When we walked the End-to-End on May 2nd, we knew that we could do the entire course walking in under the 4 hour limit.

I was really nervous leading up to the race. I knew I could make it to the end but I was concerned that I would injure my knees to the point that I would (finally) have to consent to surgery. I was outfitted in compression tights with built in knee stabilization and shock-absorbing shoe inserts. Aidan wore his running gear. We walked to the starting line from home and had to stand in a ridiculously long line to get our ankle sensors that would give us our official time at the end. There were about 1200 people at the starting line - and that is when I felt calm.

The race started late and it took us a few minutes to actually pass through the starting line due to the number of runners. The crowds were out in Somerset, ringing bells and calling out to everyone. We ran a comfortable 12 minute 1st mile and settled into that pace. We were then able to wave at family and friends and enjoy the sights. I had my camera so I snapped away as we ran. It was hot and humid so we made the most of the water stops. We ran past my goal of reaching Southampton Princess before I started walking and even ran up Burnt Houst Hill! In total we ran 8 miles before I told Aidan that we had to walk. I couldn't catch my breath and didn't have my asthma medicine with me.

We walked for about 3 miles, still keeping a good pace and enjoying the sights and sounds. The energy from the crowds was amazing! We started running again around Aberfeldy Nusery and were amazed when we came to Front Street. It was such an amazing perspective and our names were being screamed from all directions. It was so hot though and the air was not moving. We kept our pace, walking the hills for the sake of my knees and running the flat areas. I think I felt the most nostolgic when we turned the corner onto Cedar Avenue. It was beautiful and the people lining it made it all the more special. Before we knew it, we were passing the tennis stadium and running down the hill to the finish line.

In the end, I came in 986th and Aidan 987th out of 1141 people who finished. Aidan was 303rd in his age group and I was 199th. Our official time was 2:50. We're feeling pretty good!