Air Force Half Marathon

 

Brad and I ran the Air Force half marathon again this year in Dayton, Ohio.

 

We always enjoy picking up our bibs, t-shirts, and goody bag, and finding deals at the event's expo!

 

The other high-light is staying with the Thurnhorst's, and enjoying dinner with them and evening out on the town. 

And of course eating our favorite dessert from 12 Degree's Italian Ice.

The morning of the race is also something I really enjoy.

There is a certain calming yet anticipatory energy in the air. 

The sky is also so beautiful that time of the morning, with the sun just coming up.

Volunteers and service men and women planning for the day's events.

Real medals waiting for Officers in the Air Force to place around the neck of every finisher.

The food tent stocked with unlimited bottles of water and Gatorade, and bandannas, oranges, and bagels of every kind.

Rows of porta-pottys for our convenience.  

Plenty of grass for stretching before the race.

Pre-race selfies and pictures (just in case we don't survive the race).

Another favorite part of the morning is the "fly-over" by the race's official airplane. This year it was the U-2 Dragon Lady. Here is comes...

and there it goes!

The announcer keeps us informed of the morning events, and time left before the start of the races (the full marathon begins an hour before the half).

I also love watching the parachuters deploy their chutes and American flags, 

As they slowly spiral to the ground. 

Brad watching the parachuters land.

We then stand at attention for the National Anthem, the gun sounds, and we're off! This year that included over 5,000 of us for the Half.

The adrenaline is pumping as the masses start to run, but soon the path disappears into the trees as we get into our groove. 

 

We had a great time with Brad getting his PR, and luckily for us, it didn't begin to rain until after we finished the race!

 

No race would be complete without our traditional post-race Italian Ice, 

 

and a group picture in our racing t-shirts!

 

We want to thank Cherie and Chris, and Audrey and Brooke, for their hospitality and another fun-filled race weekend!