American Fork Canyon Half Marathon

In keeping with tradition of running a half after having each of my boys, I recently ran the American Fork Half Marathon.

It's been so nice training for this one because I have my own treadmill at home now and access to an awesome trail system by our house. I followed a new training schedule and though I didn't follow it religiously, (especially since I took an entire week off while we were in Ireland) I really liked it. Surprisingly, I am not sick of running like I usually am when it is all over.

I was also lucky enough to win a free entry into the race through a promo they did on Facebook. Even though I got to run for free, one thing I really did like was 100% of the proceeds went to support local cancer patients. The race organizers encouraged everyone to run for someone, so I decided to run in memory of my aunt Mary, who passed away from cancer a little more than two years ago, and I wore a purple ribbon in her honor. It was inspiring seeing all the different ribbons, photos, and names people wore in the race.

The course started at Tibble Fork in American Fork Canyon and ended at American Fork High School. One of the reasons I really wanted to run this race was because it felt like it was in my backyard!

Race start at Tibble Fork

The course was beautiful, and by far my favorite I've run. I loved that the first half or so was in the canyon and the last half passed through the golf course, park, and neighborhoods. I never got bored, which made the race fly by for me. It ended up seeing a friend riding his bike up the canyon, as well as some neighbors who happened to be running and had forgotten there was a race that day! I was surprised and moved when I saw a friend near the end who had come to cheer me on. It seemed like everything came together and contributed to me feeling the best I have ever felt during a half. 

I finished in 1:57:02, which I am happy with. I wasn't trying to beat my best time, but I wanted to keep it under 2 hours. 

I'm always so happy to see my handsome boys at the finish!

And I LOVED the messages some friends surprised me with on my driveway! 

To anyone looking for an awesome race, I HIGHLY recommend this one. It was insanely organized (seriously, I swear they thought of every tiny detail), beautiful, and even the race tee was awesome. Also, you get Kneader's french toast at the finish, which is never a bad thing!!