2013 Soldier Half Marathon Race Recap

Wow, where has the time gone.  It has been a wild and crazy week.  On November 9, 2013 I returned to the scene of the crime, this time I brought friends with me.  A year ago I ran the Soldier Marathon in 2hr 59m.  I was on cloud 9 as this was the race that got me into Boston.  I had such a great experience I simply had to share it with friends.  There were a lot of us from the Atlanta metro area - all running either the half or the full marathon.  Running a race is fun, but running it with your running buddies is beyond comparison.  The camaraderie and friendship of the running community is pretty awesome.  Everyone was there to have a good time, share stories, and cheer each other on to the finish.

Soldier Marathon and Half Marathon is held in Columbus, GA and starts and finishes at the National Infantry Museum.  The race is relatively small compared to more popular events, but still large enough to have the excitement of the bigger races.  The organizers of this event are fabulous and have every detail covered.  The soldiers are awesome and ensure every runner has a great experience.  A great example is the motivation the drill sergeants give you to get up the hill at mile 2.  If you've ever seen an military movie with the gruff gunnery sergeant or drill instructor you can imagine the scene.  Approximately 7.5 miles of the course takes place on Ft. Benning, then a scenic path along the Riverwalk.


I opted out of running the marathon on this trip, I wanted to use this race as the 2nd of 3 half marathons within 60 days.  This strategy allowed me to build endurance and work myself back from injury.  I set my plan up as a 3 tiered approach with mini milestones to build my confidence going into the Spring race season.  So far so good.  I was pretty happy with my overall effort in this event.  The weather was perfect, course just right, and plenty of cheering fans along the route.  

But... the best part of this year's race... many of my friends were either running their first marathons (Fred and Brian), scored a personal best or age group award (Suzanne, Curt, Kathie), or making a go and qualifying for Boston (Geri).  To see them and so many of my other buddies finish was great.  I think everyone had a great experience - see the video for yourself.  If you ever get a chance this is a great race to add to your running list.

~ Rome