Halloween and The Burn Half Marathon

Halloween came and went without any challenges for me this year.  You see, I'm sort of a candy/chocolate/cookie/cake aholic and Halloween can be very tricky for me with eating waaaaay too much junk.  Well, this year I decided to hand out coupons for little mini frosty's at Wendy's.  VOILA!  Problem solved.  I had no candy here to tempt me before, during, or after the trick or treaters came.

Mark and I also went on a double date with our new friends Cory and Colette Nielson.  We went to dinner at Joe's Crab Shack, which I had never been to before and had a delightful time.  The food was delicious and the company was so fun.  We then headed up to Salt Lake to Trader Joe's to do a little shopping.  It was fun to wander the store having them tell us what was good.  I bought a lot of cool items and look forward to tasting and feeding my family some new things.  We ended the evening by coming back to our house and visiting Kali and Wade and the grand kids who were here in their Halloween costumes.  Miles was Batman and Harper was Tinkerbell.  We held little baby Graham who is still just so sweet and little, just a tender package from heaven. 

(photos of grandkids by Kali Poulsen Photography)

  

The next morning was November 1st and a half marathon way out West in Butterfield Canyon I had signed up for.  I thought it was a timely event for those wanting to burn off extra Halloween candy eaten.  This was actually a 10K of complete uphill action for a gain of a little more than 2700 feet.  The RD would then have vehicles to transport those who wanted a ride back down the mountain to the starting area. OR, for those wanting to make it a true half marathon they could turn around and run back down the hill.  Who wouldn't want to do just that?  Running down hill is the reward for all the climbing!  A complete thrill!!

I met up with a group of running friends and had fun visiting with them at the starting line area.  We are definitely a crazy bunch of runners. 

My friend Josh is the king of Selfies and makes them part of his pre-race ritual.  Well, he actually makes them part of his whole race experience.  He is a nut!

 This was definitely a smaller race since this was its first year.  It was actually called an underground race and we didn't find out the location until 48 hours before it happened.  It was all pretty hush-hush so that the RD didn't have to get permits and could keep the costs way low.  He later told me that he is planning to turn this into a full blown event next year.  I think it's a great idea!  The race started at 9:00 am and we were off.  I ran the race with my friend Cory and we would switch off each mile with who was in charge of walking or running.  We tried to run as much of it as we could but wow was that tough!  There were some pretty steep areas that absolutely could only be walked.  The weather was absolutely perfect for a race morning and the scenery was incredible.  

As we were nearing the top we ended up running alongside a really motivated, cute little 12 year old boy named Alec.  ( He pronounced it Ollick) and he told us his story of how he became a runner and how many siblings he had.  He talked about school and family life and we praised him and hung with him for quite awhile.  He was a great kid who kept us smiling.  

 At one hour and 29 minutes we reached the top of this beastly mountain.  It really was quite an adventure getting to the top, but it was so beautiful.  I forgot to take a photo at the summit.  Shoot!  This photo of a few of us at the top was taken by the RD.  Just notice where I happen to be hanging out.  I'll give you a hint.  I like my race goodies!  I'm over there enjoying them, or pondering what to enjoy.  Regardless, I don't skip race treats.  That's definitely one of the perks of races for me. 

 Coming back down the mountain was casual, beautiful, easy, quiet, serene, and rewarding after the tough climb.  I will never tire of running half marathons.  They are my favorite race distance. 

(I still love me a great ultra trail run though)