Name: 500 Festival Mini Marathon
Date: May 5, 2007
Distance: 13.1 miles
Location: Indianapolis, Indiana
Course: Flat and fast (Click here to view course.)
Time: 2:18:22
Pace: 10:34
Place: 13,743 of 29,213
Division: 1,147 of 2,831
Results Link: Click here for HTML, or here for PDF.
Weather: 75°, humid
Notes: It's possible that the 2007 running of the 500 Festival Mini Marathon is among the Top 10 days of my life. It was unbelievable! I ran 13.1 miles, without stopping, for 2 hours, 18 minutes, and 22 seconds. That put my pace at 10:34, and that was pretty consistent all the way through. I did slow down a bit toward the end. The first seven miles were like a big party; I didn't even know I was running! People and entertainers lined the streets and cheered. When we hit the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, it was really neat for about a mile, but it became hard to endure the monotony of running around a banked track. However, I saw Al Unser, Jr., on the eighth mile, and he spoke to me! The last miles were tough, but I was determined not to stop. I kept going with help from two friends who were street entertainers and gave me extra encouragement. Ed, Mom, and Dad spotted me from the bleachers when I hit Mile Marker 13. Their cheering carried me to the end. It was quite a day! Check out the essay I wrote about running the Mini for the first time.
Photos: 20 — See below.