Pacing the SLO Half Marathon is by far one of my favorite things!! The SLO Half Marathon was my 8th Half Marathon and second time pacing. I have tons of photos to share from the expo and race day activities!
I rocked these A-mazing Saucony Kirvanna shoes with that super neon colored pacer shirt at the Expo on Friday when I was ‘manning’ our Pacer Area at sign up!
After work I took an ice bath – not fun, but it sure does make your legs free fresh!
On Saturday morning I got up bright and early to watch my friend, Jasmine’s daughter, Ariel do the kids fun run! This was the finish line of the 5K.
Ariel got first place! She is turning into quite an incredible runner!
Then I met Dean Karnazes who is THE Ultra Marathon Man. He was a speaker at the event and participated in the marathon.
All of the pacers on Saturday! It’s hard to see me, I’m on the bottom left with someone’s hand in front of my face! Oh well – look at beautiful Madonna Mountain in the background!
After the expo I went home and got all of my race stuff ready for Sunday morning! Buddy wanted to run the half marathon too!!
Sunday I left my house at 5AM to pick up Jasmine, then we met up with Bob and headed for Kristen! The SLO Marathon event is a point to point course so we left one car at the finish and I drove everyone to the start of the race.
Me, Jasmine, Kristen, and Bob
This was Jasmine & Kristen’s first half marathons so they had automatic PR’s but they both rocked this race and ran under 2 hours! Bob also PR’d at 2:18 – taking minutes off of his time every single race he runs!!
These amazing ladies rocked the race as well. So many of these women ran the entire race in my pace group it made the event so special.
Watching them grow as runners and then having the ability to help them achieve their goals. Thank you ladies for making the race that much more special to me!
My pacing partner Susie and I right before the start! Woohoo!!
Getting ready to START!!
So many people ready to run
We are surrounded! After this I had to put my phone away. I was chatting with lots of people and my phone was just a hassle.
Although I did whip my phone out one time mid race to snap this awesomeness
We made it!! So happy to have completed this event for a second time.
Now it’s time to celebrate
Cheers to Jasmine’s first Half – but not her last 😉
After the race we went and met up with SkinnyRunner for lunch!
Jasmine, Me, SkinnyRunner, and SkinnyChick
Check these two ladies out! They are quite a big deal in the running blogger world and I was totally excited to get to hang out with them in person.
SR ran the Full Marathon you can read about it here and SC ran the Half Marathon you can read about her race here. Hopefully one day my blogs will be as cool as theirs!
Jasmine and I decided that we needed to celebrate our races all afternoon and took our metals to Tolosa winery for a little more fun!
I love SLO and love running this event! Please join me next year and every year after (or as long as they will let me pace) to continue making this a long-standing community event!
This is what happens when you change something on race day – I do not suggest it.
I have worn the amazing Lululemon skirt I raced in on Sunday in two separate races prior without any chaffing issues. I think the biggest mistake I made was covering myself in sunscreen. It’s been chilly on my long runs so I’ve been in capri’s mostly but wanted to wear a skirt to race in. Note to self when applying sunscreen make sure to also use body glide to avoid Chaffing!
Thanks for reading!
Cheers!
Nicole
Running Valentine 