There's Nothing Mini About It

We did it. My dad and I completed the Indianapolis 500 Festival Mini Marathon, and we ran all 13.1 miles of it.

Saturday morning started bright and early at 5am when my alarm went off. I got ready, ate some breakfast, had my obligatory cup of coffee, got all my gear together, and my dad and I set off for downtown. We got there around 6:45, found a parking spot without too much hassle, then headed to the Marriott where we were planning to meet up with my aunt, uncle, and cousin before lining up. (I was also very happy to use a regular bathroom before the race.) We got into our assigned corral (based on our estimated finishing time when we registered) a little before 7:30 when the race started. It was quite an experience to line up with over 35,000 other runners and walkers in anticipation of going 13.1 miles. Finally, the crowd started to [slowly] move up towards the start line. It took us a little over 20 minutes to just get to the start line, and then the timer started.

We didn’t have any particular goals as far as time…my only goal was to finish and run as much of it as possible. Well, we started running and we both felt great. I had to take a pit stop right before mile 5 (I blame my morning coffee), then we were off and running again. We entered the track around mile 6, and once you complete the 2.5 mile loop, it was right around 8.5 miles. My dad and I still felt fantastic the whole way around the track…the temperature was great (I think in the 50s) and it even started drizzling a bit so that was a nice cool-off. It wasn’t until mile 9 or so that I started to feel the toll on my legs and lose a little bit of steam. I knew we still had 4 miles to go, but I thought to myself, You’ve run this far, you can keep running. Those last 4 miles were the toughest, but finally we were turning the corner at mile 12. Along that last straight-away on New York Street, they had signs counting down to the finish…3/4…1/2…1/4….0.13… I could have done without those personally because at that point I just wanted to be done. Before we reached the finish, we saw my mom, brother, and TJ standing off to the right and cheering us on. I think that definitely helped both of us to power through and get to the finish. I threw my arms up in the air, crossed the finish line, then looked down at my watch and saw that we had finished in 2:28! I was so tired, but so energized at the same time. We had done it, and we had run the whole thing in under 2 and a half hours! After the finish, there were tons of volunteers handing out water, bananas, granola bars, and our medals. My dad and I got our picture taken, then went over to meet up with everyone. The sun had come out by that point, so we were able to enjoy the post-race party in Military Park before going to Champps for some lunch.

Overall, it was a fantastic day. It was a great feeling to run with all those other people, have tons of people (young and old) cheering you on from the sidelines, and just know that we had completed our goal and even surpassed it. I already can’t wait for next year.

Who’s with me?