Mount Rushmore half marathon

Official chip time for Mount Rushmore half marathon: 2:15:09!

Nothing to brag about you might think and you'd be right but there were circumstances, also called excuses...
First of all, like everybody, I ain't getting any younger! Running used to feel kind of easy, now it's often a struggle. But the main issue is training: I was completely unprepared, just a couple of runs the last month and maybe a few more the previous month. And never more than 5 miles, nowhere near the 13.1 miles for a half marathon. And mostly flat. Living in Michigan, it's a challenge to find uphill routes, and even if it was a bit better when I was in France visiting family, still no real tough hill. Less than a week before the race, I went for a test run with about 60 meters positive elevation, the most in my entire training. But the problem is the positive elevation in Mount Rushmore half marathon is over 550 meters! And in altitude! Look at that profile!

Anyways, enough of the excuses, let's talk about the race now! Getting up super early to catch the shuttle before 6am was painful, but the drive was alright and the starting line at a very nice place. The weather was cool, around maybe 7C, with a little sun, perfect! It did require a space blanket while waiting for the shuttle though.
It's not a huge race, maybe 4 to 5 hundreds runners, and that makes the start fairly smooth. I decided to start between the 2:10 and 2:20 pacer. The first 3 or 4 miles are packed dirt, but a little gravel wasn't great, especially since it was already uphill. But it wasn't too bad, I passed the 2:10 pacer and without pushing at all, I kept a reasonable pace. Then after a little flat and downhill, the grueling ascent started on parts of the infamous Iron Mountain Road itself. So cool when you get out of the tunnel with a direct view on Mount Rushmore! That almost made it easier to run. Almost...
I followed my plan to walk a bit at every aid stations, just enough time to finish one of those honey stinger gels with some water. And I also managed not to burn myself by walking a few other parts of the uphill. I was always around the 2:10 pacer, when I walked, she'd pass me, I'd pass her again, and so on. She was a bit further ahead near the end of the uphill, but I could still see her and I thought I could catch up with her in the downhill, but she really picked up the pace then and I never saw her again! Talking about the downhill, that was tough too, knees and ankles took a beating, and not letting it all go in the steepest sections wasn't easy. One last uphill near the end really surprised me and I had to walk a little bit. But again, it went okay, and I actually finished quite strong with a sub 5 minutes last kilometer.

Later in the morning, I was surprised to see my final time actually put me at fourth spot in my age group. Wow, an extra medal, I really didn't expect this! In French, I would say 'Le vieux, meme trop gros et pas entraine, il a encore quelques bons restes' which would probably translate to something like 'the old man might be out of shape and fat, but he hasn't completely lost it yet...'

Overall, it was a very nice race, my second with Vacation Races, after Joshua Tree last year. I'm planning on more of these races, they're well organized and allow to discover cool places, usually with lots of hiking opportunities before and/or after the race. The Yellowstone and Grand Teton ones (you can even combine them, as they are only one week apart) are especially tempting. But for now, it's all about the Sleeping Bear Dunes half marathon in three weeks. It's at drivable distance in a beautiful area up North Michigan, and flatter. Let's see if I can go back under 2 hours, but that will be very challenging (cue the excuses again...)