I had the opportunity to pace the Oregon Spring Half Marathon again for which I am truly grateful. The 2016 Oregon Spring Half Marathon took place in St. Paul, Oregon. It started and finished at Heirloom Roses, a beautiful rose garden and nursery. The race was scheduled to begin at 7:30 am and there was also the option of running the 10k or 5k besides the half.

I met with some of my fellow pacers at a local coffee place around 6:05 am. It took about 45 minutes to get to Heirloom roses. When we arrived I got my bib and packet which was fast and easy. Then I headed for the line to go to the bathroom. This year they doubled the number of Porta Potties but there was still a big line. The line did move fast so it was better than last year. According to my Garmin data, the temp was 48 deg F at the start of the race.

Here’s a pre race pic with some of my fellow pacers.Here’s a pic of the start.I ended up pacing the 2:15 group again since an open spot came up. I was scheduled to pace the 2:30 group which would have been a challenge since I had never done that pace before and it would have meant more time on my feet. Either way I’m happy I got to pace. Here’s a pre race pic with Sarah, my fellow 2:15 pacer.The course was a lollipop type course. It was an out and back and then went on with a loop, then went back to Heirloom Roses. It was another nice countryside course. It was flat with just one big hill. Here are pics I took along the course:
I had a snafu with my watch at around .28 miles in. I had just recently got the Garmin Forerunner 235 and was not used to it yet so when I was pressing the buttons to switch fields I pressed the wrong button and it stopped the run. I ended up restarting a new run and it just screwed up my miles by .28. It was a bummer since all my mile splits were off from the mile markers but I just had to keep going.

Team RWB was there. Team Red, White and Blue help enrich the lives of America’s veterans by connecting them to their community through physical and social activity.The pic below is when we were heading back to Heirloom Roses. You can see the roses on the sides.Here’s the hill.

St. Paul is a small city and has a Rodeo July 4th weekend.

Going down the hill.Mid run selfie with Sarah. It was fun pacing with her.Here’s a pic of the Finish line. We went through a rose tunnel to finish.Part of the beautiful grounds.A pic of me by the finish line.
Here’s the medal which is also a belt buckle.At the end, there was water and Suja juice. Finishers also got Qdoba Mexican food which was great!

We ended up coming in at 2:14:38. I would say that was a successful time. Love how Uberthons races have your results right away that you can print out!
It was fun pacing again and I’m hoping to pace the Oregon Summer Half Marathon on July 16th. Hope to see you there!