On Friday, my very sweet and supportive husband drove us up to the quaint little town of Bird in Hand, PA where I checked in for the Saturday morning half marathon.
Even though I got a whoopie pie in my goodie bag, I had to stop by the bakery table and pick up some more. If you’ve never had a whoopie pie, you are really missing out!
Bird in Hand is very small, so we stayed in nearby Lancaster, which was only 5 miles away and very convenient. Friday evening, we passed on the pasta dinner offered by the race and instead stayed in Lancaster for a wonderful meal at The Iron Hill Brewery. I had something called Jaegerschnitzel which was fabulous. Marty says I ordered it just so I could say “jaegerschnitzel” 🙂
As I drove into the parking area for the race Saturday morning, I was greeted by a really cool sight, as the hot air balloons were getting set for a pre-race launch. So beautiful!
I met up with some fabulous Fifty Staters for a pre-race photo and then we lined up for the 7:30 AM start.
The course itself is challenging but so picturesque. Rolling hills through beautiful farmland, and a small dirt road section around mile 10 (uphill, of course!) made this a tough race, but still oh so rewarding. The volunteer support was outstanding and the kids manning the aid stations were just precious!
This is one well-earned medal and so unique- it’s a real horseshoe!
I LOVED everything about this race and highly recommend it. It is very unique, run by locals and benefits the local fire department, extremely well-supported and everyone I met and talked to was just so NICE! It was a pleasure to run this race and we had a great weekend!
The Next 50 