💬 Friday Thread: Where should we run together this fall?
To celebrate 10 years of writing and running with you
I don’t know how many of you have been around since the very beginning, but on this day 10 years ago — March 14, 2015 — I sent out the first issue of the newsletter that would become The Half Marathoner, to just a handful of subscribers.
To say it’s grown far, far beyond my wildest imagination is a huge understatement — sometimes I sit back and I’m just amazed at what it’s become, the community we’ve developed and all the things we’ve shared together as friends over the years. I never, ever could have planned this in a million years! And each and every one of you has been a big part of that, every step of the way.
To celebrate, I’d love to get together again in person to run a race, like we did in the fall of 2023 at the Richmond Half Marathon and last fall in Athens, Ga. Just like last time, I’ll send out a training plan in advance and coach us each week, and we’ll plan some activities around the race too.
My question today is, where would be a good race/city to run together? Richmond was ideal in a lot of ways — it’s easy to get to by plane, it has plenty of hotels, it’s a beautiful city, and the race itself is do-able for just about any runner.
What do you think? I’d love to hear your ideas + suggestions. — Terrell
A flat course in a great city.
I would love to suggest the Queen Bee Half Marathon in Cincinnati, OH! It is a DELIGHTFUL race. There are lots of associated shorter races, but there isn't an accompanying marathon, so the half runners get the thrill of running the "big" race. (I know it's a silly thing, but it's fun to be running the longest distance!) The crowd support is amazing and strategically placed throughout the course, the hills are definitely there but aren't terrible. (The first big hill is right at the beginning, and from there it's pretty easy.) The weather in Cincinnati that time of year is almost always amazing running weather. And like Richmond, Cincinnati is super easy to get to, with an international airport right here and lots of great hotels in downtown, right along the race course. My husband and I run the Queen Bee together every year, and it's always the highlight of our running season.