Another Friday Five!   This time it’s 5 reasons to run a Half Marathon and considering that I just ran one and am also diligently looking for another one to run next month, I thought I would jump right in on the conversation.

Now please remember what Friday Five is all about……It is a weekly Friday link up to other like minded blogs  — a “Friday Five.”

So without further ado,

5 REASONS TO RUN A HALF MARATHON

The Challenge and Accomplishement of Crossing the Finish Line:  It’s a long enough distance to be challenging, but not so long that your life will become consumed with training still giving you time for a life.   I ran my first Half before I even really knew what I was doing not that I really know now.

When you cross the finish line no matter what your time, you feel such a sense of accomplishment. There are always crowds cheering you on and the people are amazing.    It’s even better when you cross the finish line with a smile too!

Bling, Bling, Bling –

(Yup, I’m going to use that picture as much as possible:)

Where else can you show up and when your done they will give you a pretty medal to wear, hang up, look at, and impress people with especially yourself.   They are a reminder of what you can do when you put your nose to the grindstone or better yet your feet to the pavement!

Location, Location, Location

Since these races cover more ground and have larger crowds, they are usually held in larger locations.   Every town can host a 5K (now, I’m not knocking the 5K because I like them too and actually one of my goals in 2015 is to run one in 25 minutes – Did I say that out loud).  Most towns though can not host a Half Marathon leaving larger venues to hold them.   So most have really good location or at least the ones I’ve been to – Central Park and Rolling Hills of Bethlehem, Pa just to name my two favorites. The Super Hero half also had  a good location running through the hills of Chatam/Moristonw.

I’ll let you in on a secret – I’ve only done these three.

For now….

Tutus and Costumes

When you are running a Half, it is still a short enough distance that you can have fun with it and dress to impress without hurting your run time.  You can still run a challenging race but manage not to take it so seriously that you can’t have fun.

Exhibit A

Exhibit B

Eating for the Run

While training for a Half, I needed to eat.   So I ate.   I ate to fuel but also because I could.  Part of preparing for any race or run is making sure that your body is properly fueled, so I was just doing what I needed to do:)

According to the Runner’s World Calories Burned Calculator, I burned the following in my last Half: