Last Saturday I ran the 2021 Carmel Half Marathon in Carmel, IN. It felt amazing to be racing in-person again and to feel all the good running vibes. I hope that all races can (safely) get back to being in-person soon. Let’s talk about the course, swag and how the race went for me.
Course
The full marathon is a figure eight, so the half gets to run with the full until the second loop. I loved this layout. I got to run 13 miles with my two friends that were running a full. They helped set my pace and I helped entertain/annoy them for the first half of their race. 😛 It was hillier than I thought for Indiana, but no where near the Pig or Nashville. I was expecting it to be super flat like Indy was, but pleasantly surprised by some rolling hills.
The other great thing about the course layout was the start/finish area had tons of close (and free!) parking. It made it super easy to quickly put on some warm clothes after the half- it was chilly out! We also mowed down some pancakes and did some stretches before cheering on the full marathoners.
Medal & Shirt
The 2021 Carmel Half Marathon medal is HUGE! I almost thought they gave me a full medal at first because it weighed so much. Doesn’t it look good on my medal rack? The shirt is just ok; it’s a short sleeve technical shirt. I need another race shirt like I need a hole in the head. 😛
2021 Carmel Half Marathon Results
I had been training for a 10:30 pace, but the most I ran was 9 miles. You should typically run at least one 12-miler while training for a half marathon. I know this, but I just couldn’t make it work with my schedule. So, I was a bit nervous about keeping that pace for the entire race. I’m happy to report that my official pace was 10:33 for a 2:18:04 time. (My watch said 10:30 on the nose, but who’s counting?) All things considered I’m really happy with this time! I would definitely do this race again- I would even consider the marathon relay!
