The Nike Women’s Half Marathon is coming back to DC for its second year on April 27, 2014. This half raises money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and the race course is along the national mall. Registration starts on November 5, and while it is a random draw for everybody else, if you register as a student you are guaranteed a spot and you only have to pay the discounted registration fee of $150.
When my cousin Victoria told me running a half marathon was the best experience of her life, I laughed out loud. When she tried to convince me to do one with her, I laughed even harder. There was no way, in my mind, I could ever complete a half marathon. I mean, 13.1 miles – that’s a whole lot of miles to run without stopping. I convinced myself I didn’t have the endurance, strength, or dedication to complete such a long race.
However, a year later I was walking into Thurston when a woman at a table asked me if I wanted to sign up for the Nike Women’s Half Marathon in April. I paused and thought about it for a second, then realized that maybe this is something I could do. Or at least it was something that would make me work out for the first time since freshman year started (after all, I was worried about that freshman 15!). A few days later, I signed up for the half.
I have a running background. I ran cross country and track in high school and I would much prefer a scenic run than a trip to a gym. I like to run and I know I’m pretty good at it – but 13.1 miles? To be completely honest, the farthest I had ever run before I signed up was somewhere around 7 miles, and I stopped to walk a few times.
Over the winter, I found it very hard to train because I hate running outside in the cold weather because it makes it so hard to breathe. On top of that, I am afraid of treadmills so I barely got any training done during the winter months. Sure, I went to the gym and I would occasionally run outside, but I didn’t really start to train until the springtime.
When spring rolled along, I went outside for runs and I tried to add mileage every week. It was so nice outside, and so scenic. The cherry blossoms made for a beautiful, serene running route. I would run into Virginia or Georgetown or around the Tidal Basin, and by the time the race was a week away I had run 9 miles on my farthest run. However, I had stopped to rest and walk probably two or three times.
Thinking about running 9 miles plus 4.1 more made me so nervous for the race. When I woke up on April 28 at 5 AM, I walked to the Sigma Kappa house, my stomach full of butterflies. I couldn’t stop thinking “what have I gotten myself into?” but since I already paid the registration fee I felt as though I couldn’t back out (on top of that, there was the incentive of receiving a Tiffany’s necklace at the finish line).
I took the metro over with a bunch of my sorority sisters who were running and my good friend Noam and I decided to run together. We figured that we both run at a pace of about 7.5-8 minutes per mile when we run mid-distance, so we’d probably be the same pace for a half. We started in the 9-9.5 minute pace section, and I remember seeing 15,000 women at the start and feeling so empowered. Nervous, for sure, but also so excited.
I put on my headphones and I ran with Noam and I didn’t stop once. There was a band or entertainment at every mile marker, and so many fans cheering us on with funny signs. Men were running too, most wearing names of people they knew with Leukemia or Lymphoma.
I’m not exaggerating at all when I say running this half was the most empowering and inspiring event in my life thus far and hands-down the best thing I’ve done in DC and in college. When I completed it in less than two hours (my goal was two and a half), I felt so proud. I had set my mind to something and had actually accomplished it. And it was something hard – something not everyone can do. Running with 15,000 women was empowering itself, and the adrenaline definitely kept me going.
I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t hard or there weren’t points I wanted to give up and walk. But running with my friends and other awesome women in such a beautiful place for such an incredible cause made it all worth it. I just put “Born to Run” by Bruce Springsteen on repeat and told myself as long as Bruce sang, I couldn’t stop.
Whenever people ask me what my proudest moment is, it was definitely crossing that finish line. I was dazed and tired and there were men in suits giving me a Tiffany’s box and other people giving me a t-shirt and food and one of those reflective blankets to keep runners warm. There were people everywhere and it was so loud – but I knew in that moment I had completed something I will forever remember as being one of the best experiences of my life.
I’m not in half marathon shape now by any means and it baffles me to think that six months ago I was able to run 13.1 miles. But I will without a doubt be signing up for the half marathon this year. Not only because I want to get back into shape but also because I want to feel the way I felt crossing that finish line once again. I honestly can’t think of another way to replicate that amazing feeling.
So whether you’re a seasoned runner looking to tackle your next challenge or just somebody looking for a way to get into really good shape, you should definitely sign up for the Nike Women’s Half Marathon 2014. I never thought I’d be able to complete a half until I actually did it – and I want everyone to be able to feel how I did crossing that finish line (and then sleeping for six straight hours…). Sign up on November 5th to November 22nd, 2013 and check out the website at http://www.nike.com/us/en_us/c/running/run-nike-women/we-run-dc for more information and register here http://www.nike.com/events/register/werundc/.