The Brooklyn Half Marathon was my first half marathon 2 years ago. I absolutely loved the rolling hills of Prospect Park and the end in Coney Island. Last year I was able to repeat the race with my friend KW. This year was even better! There were 7 total of us running, including B and S. As if I really needed another excuse to have people over for dinner, this race seemed like the perfect opportunity to have a pasta party. After we all loaded up on carbs (spaghetti and meatballs, pesto tortellini with pesto sauce and chicken, broccoli + rotini) and sufficiently hydrated, we made a plan to meet at 5:45 to catch the train to Brooklyn. 

After just having enough time to check our bags, we ended up splitting boys and girls. B, MF and J headed to their corrals while KW, S, KS and I made a last minute stop at the portapotties and then scooted to our corral. We weren’t able to get all the way up, but fortunately we weren’t stuck at the back. With me missing a few training runs and my knee acting up, I wanted to take it easy. S has also been having knee issues and is recovering from mono so poor KW was stuck with two bum runners. I loved the hills up Prospect Park, I love the variations the ups and downs provide and I think it’s a great way to start the race. The straightaway down Ocean Parkway was the girls’ favorite but I find it got boring and seeing the mile markers way ahead was somewhat discouraging. As it got closer to 9am, I was fortunately able to hide in the shade, despite having sunblock on my face I did get a burn, but certainly not as bad as it could have been.

As we approached mile 12 and the upcoming turn onto the boardwalk KW said “I hate how the last mile or so I’m feeling like crap and everyone’s on the sidelines cheering.” Ever the (obnoxious) optimist, I had to reply, “I love how the last mile or so I’m feeling like crap and everyone’s on the sidelines cheering.” I got a quick slap for that but it made her and S smile. Though I had been feeling like crap, going up onto the boardwalk energized me and we made a slight dash to the finish. Just before it I swore I heard my name, finding out later that B, KB+A, MC and MF were on the sidelines cheering. I jokingly tried to grab for KW’s hand as we crossed but she wasn’t having it. We stretched out a bit and went to find our friends.

We were all able to cheer KS on as she crossed the finish. KW, S and I certainly didn’t break any PRs but we were still standing at the end so we were happy. KS didn’t let a recent injury hold her back and felt great, MF ran his second (and best) half, J ran his first and his great training showed, B ran an absolute amazing time and but you would never know because of his humility. Overall, so proud of everyone.

A few people cooled off in the water, I just dipped my feet in, and after a group photo we said goodbye to Brooklyn and were off to celebrate our success.