Eight Half Marathons for 2014

♠ Posted by Paul Naylor at 9:11 PM

Now that I have completed the Snow Canyon Half Marathon, I look back at this year to look at the races that I have been a part of:

-Xterra Trail Half Marathon - Las Vegas This was the race to start the year, I had just recently moved to Las Vegas at the end of January, I saw this years race for April, I was excited to run this because the weather was already incredible and I have never ran a trail race before

-Mustang 50th Anniversary Half Marathon  Two things really drew me to this race, first, the opportunity to run on the Las Vegas Motor Speedway as part of the course. And Second, the finisher medal is one the of the best medals in my collection. Once I saw what the medal was going to be, it really sealed the deal to run this race.




-Ogden Half Marathon  I think Ogden is becoming a traditional race for me, the first time I ran this race was back in 2004, and had not run the race again until 2013. Now since running a third time this year, I have grown to love the race. I love the opportunity to run around Pineview Reservoir, then through Ogden Canyon, to a finish on Historic 25th Street.




-Big Cottonwood Half Marathon  Still has to be my favorite half marathon. Every  time I run this race, I cannot get enough of it. Running through the Big Cottonwood Canyon at the start of fall, with the trees starting to turn yellow, orange and red. Topped off with the fine, crisp mountain air. There really isn't anything like it in any other part of the country.




-Labor Day Half Marathon This was a virtual half marathon, I've heard of these types of races for a few months and I thought that I'd give it a try. I ran the distance and submitted my time, and in return, I got a pretty nice medal for that weekend.




-Saints and Sinners Half Marathon When I first heard about this race, it reminded me of the Saints and Sinners Ragnar Relay series. A race that was near Hoover Dam, not a bad race.




-Lake Powell Half Marathon  First time in many years at Lake Powell, and to add a race with the visit was amazing. This race came as a last minute decision to run, literally, after the registration, I had to leave for the race. even though I did not push the pace, I placed in my age group, and I was able to walk away with two medals. Great race put on by Vacation Races, I see myself running many more of their half marathons.
   



-Snow Canyon Half Marathon  Most recently, the Snow Canyon Half, I've had my eye on this race for a couple of years, and this was a great first time experience. Running through Snow Canyon State Park was incredible! Absolutely some of the best views of red rock mountains in Southern Utah.




I have been saying that Snow Canyon is my last race for 2014, as much as I would like myself to believe that, there may be room for one more before the year ends. Even though I have no formal plans to run another race, there may be an opportunity to run one more. But for now, I would say that racing is done for this year. I'll be focusing my efforts in training for the Surf City Marathon.