It’s race week! Time to panic, I mean, spend all week trying not to panic about the upcoming race even though I’ve spent the last three months gearing up for it, which, this year, is a big one––the Horsetooth Half Marathon. If you know anything about this race, you know its distance isn’t really the hard part. It’s this elevation profile (below), specifically the first 1.7mi, the Dam Hill (sort of), and that Bingham Hill climb. Despite this profile, race organizers really drive home the fact that the course is net downhill as if that’s gonna make it mentally or physically easier. It does not. Physically, it’s an obviously tough course, but mentally tougher in ways because those downhill segments go by so quickly and just after mile 8 the course feels unbearably flat, hot, and somewhat boring the rest of the way.
This year, I have prepared for the climbs in a way I did not the previous two times I have run this race. A weekly trail run with a friend has helped greatly, but I have sought out hillier terrain on a much more regular basis in the lead up to this race. I have run the first several miles of the course quite a few times, including a 5.5 mi out and back run from the start, which had 1346 ft of elevation gain. Still, on an easy 3-mile run this morning I felt panic creep in as it always does days before a race. Did I do enough tempo runs? Enough speed work? What can I do this week to get faster? Should I run 3 miles right now or 4 miles?
Reminding myself again and again that the actual race is just part of the experience, not everything, is also a race week tradition, especially as I have matured as a runner and racer. It’s the HTH and here are a few truths I’m going to repeat to myself throughout the week.
The hills are going to be hard no matter what. Run them a bit slower than you think you can and you’ll be very thankful the rest of the way.
Run the tangents everywhere you can.
The race is nowhere near over after you summit at Bingham Hill.
Take all the gels and fuel you comfortably can.
Smile for the cameras and enjoy the views.
Wave at your family. This seems like an obvious one, but in past races I have certainly chugged by without looking in their direction.
No matter what happens, the finish line at this race is fantastic. A great chute, loud fans, a great announcer, and good beer afterward.
Show your kids that doing hard things, and hopefully doing them well, is a thing worth doing. The picture below is from the 2023 finish. It was a hard thing that year and I did not do it well, but the kids didn’t care. Show them that you can forgive yourself for mistakes made in training or during the race. The race is still worth running. No matter how you finish, they’ll take your hand and look up to you.
Have a delectable recovery beer.
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