Running is mental, and when you sign up for a half marathon on a whim, you have to win mentally before you cross that finish line.
Half marathons are 13.1 miles long. When people sign up, most usually train for months, but some others just go for it without any training at all.
“I thought it would be fun to just go for it,” senior Aly Caywood said. “I did not train for it, and while it was pretty brutal at some parts, it actually was not as difficult as I thought it would be.”
The Long Bridge Half Marathon is a beautiful run that starts at Sandpoint’s city beach, goes to Sagle, and returns to Sandpoint. There are water stations around every 4 miles. It is a beautiful run across the lake with trees and nature everywhere.
Everyone was supportive with racers cheering each other on, people with posters on the sides, and cars honking for encouragement.
Caywood, Landen Paradee, Ian Anderson, and I signed up for my birthday because we thought it would be fun. Besides, not everybody can say they have run a half-marathon.
Though some parts of it were pretty brutal, overall it was a great experience.
“My favorite part of the half marathon was crossing the finish line,” Caywood said. “It was also great seeing Teagan and Ian cross the finish line and cheering them on because we all felt really accomplished.”
Everyone in our group was able to run the race in sub-three hours, which, with no training, is not bad at all.
Everyone had four hours to complete it, and our only goal was to make it through before the race closed down.
“We did a lot better than I thought we would,” Paradee said.
Other people in the Lakeland community have also run half marathons.
“I have run probably 7-10 half marathons,” LHS teacher Shannon Mattila said. “You should train three days a week and have a long run every week. My hardest half marathon was probably the Trail of Terror because it went out of Bunco. It was really hilly, and that was the one I did not train for.”
While half-marathons are well known, there are other races that are great to accomplish as well. The Longbridge race also included a 5k and 10k race.
Madison Walker, Lakeland’s athletic trainer, came in first place for her age division on the 10k, averaging a 9-minute mile.
“It felt so good to PR and get first,” Walker said. “I was just trying to PR. I like the distance in that race a lot because it is the perfect distance. It is not easy or too difficult.”
No matter the length of the race, it is a great experience to go for a run and accomplish something hard. While it can be fun to jump in without training, working hard to train can help people get faster and reach their personal records.
“I’m already excited to do another race,” Caywood said. “I’ll train for that one, though.”
