Lisa Barton

It’s Heather, your favorite guest blogger.  This past weekend I participated in 26.2 with Donna, the National Marathon, Half-Marathon, and Relay to Finish Breast Cancer.  Thankfully, I only wound up doing 13.1 with Donna!  It was my inaugural event at this distance.

All racers started together at 7:30 a.m. which meant a very, very early wake time in the morning! The wait before the gun was chilly but the day couldn’t have turned out nicer for this big event. Passing over the Intracoastal Waterway via the JTB bridge on the way to Jacksonville Beach was beautiful. The sun was just starting to break free of the horizon and mist was still visible over the marshland.

From the JTB off ramp, the course led us down to the beach. The water was calm, the sand packed, and the sky an endless blue. My group was next to a couple taking their great dane on his 4th half marathon, race shirt and all!  After reaching the Jacksonville Beach Pier, the halfers split from the full marathon gang. We were lucky enough to exit the sand and return via First Street in Jacksonville Beach to JTB, finally arriving back at our destination – the Mayo Clinic.

The event was packed with friendly racers, great fans, bands every mile or so, wonderful support stations, and lots of sun!  Next year’s event is already set, February 13, 2011.  Set your timers…this is one local event that you really should participate in at least once!