Pink Donut Half Marathon-Saturday July 7th

This half marathon was definitely more different than any I've experienced thus far, yet was probably one of the most rewarding.  My good friend Josh organized this run to benefit cancer research and awareness. His momma has cancer and is currently undergoing her own treatments. He read us a very sweet letter that she had written to us.  I can tell she is a strong lady and a fighter. I'm keeping her in my prayers to beat this bad "C" word.

One of the runners, Jackie Edelman made a cute blanket for Josh's mom.  She used pink to resemble cancer awareness and blue because Josh loves denim.  Can you tell by his outfit?  He wears his denim vest in every race.

Jackie, Julia, Susette, Josh, and Angela pre-race

Only 5 of us ran this race but we still had a good time.  This is the first of many years that Josh will host this race and the hopes are that it will just keep growing from here.  We met at 6:30 am in the West Bountiful Park and after Josh read the very sweet letter his momma had written to us we headed out to the road to start our run.  Josh did a count down of 5...4...3...2...1... and off we went.  We stayed together for the first mile and then the group started to break up.

Almost 1 mile in to the run and it was warming up quickly!

Just after we got onto the Legacy Parkway I stopped to take a photo of this sign as proof where we were and Julia kept on running.  She is a crazy runner girl.  She had just ran 22 miles the day before so I thought I may have a tiny bit of a chance to run with her because she would be sore and tired but that was not the case.   She was only a little bit ahead of me but I just couldn't catch her as hard as I tried.

This was a very nice trail, well maintained with some cool boardwalks as well.  It's highly used with literally 100's of bikers and a few runners.  I even saw one inline skater.

After I realized I wasn't going to be catching Julia, I took a photo and then put in my earbuds and settled into an easy, slow pace.  I could already tell from the warm temperatures this early on in the run it was going to be a good idea to not over exert myself.

This run was an out and back and before I reached the 6.5 mile mark here came Julia on her way back from the turn around spot.  She said the aid station was not too much further ahead and was well stocked with goodies and very nice people.  She's looking happy and strong, despite the heat.

I love her cupcake shirt. If I had one it would say "I will run for any treats"!

Ryan Copland, Mark Gabica, Jill Van Leuven Gabica at the Farmington Trail Head

Here are the kind friends of Josh's at the halfway turn-around point.  They are all college buddies of his.  I was so disappointed I forgot to take a photo of the treats Josh had for us that I almost turned around and went back for photos but it was just way  too hot.  It was a beautiful sight though running in to see pink donuts, bananas, pink gatorade, water bottles, and granola bars.  I cut myself a piece of donut and ate a banana and then loaded up my water belt with more liquids.  I was hoping it would be enough to sustain me for the return trip back.

On my way back I ran into Josh.  Maybe somewhere around mile 7.  He was looking cheery and strong as well.  About a mile later I passed Jackie and then further down the trail I saw Angela. 

The heat was so brutal by now that I did a lot of walking breaks and had to stay focused to keep myself from walking too much.

Of course I needed a photo of this!  Thank you Porter for being there for a moment for me.  That always brings a smile to my face and warms my heart.

I finished 13.1 miles in 2:56:26.  Most definitely most slowest half marathon yet.  But I didn't care.  The whole purpose of this run was to be with friends and help a good cause.  My dear husband, who took this photo when I finished came to support me as well and waited for the nearly 3 hours for me to finish.  (He took a little side trip visit to Home Depot while I was gone running)

Ice cold watermelon, pink donuts, pink strawberry milk, pink gatorade, ice cold water bottles and more granola bars were our after-race treats and everything tasted so delicious.

Mark had a list of honey-do jobs he was excited to get started on (haha) and so we said our good-byes and thanked Josh again for his hard work and great event, then got on the road for our journey home.  I will most certainly be back to run this one again next year. (and hope for a little rain or cooler temps)