2024 Winston-Salem Craft Half Marathon Race Recap

This weekend I ran my 10th half marathon and my first half marathon since 2017…and it was amazing!!!

WINSTON-SALEM CRAFT HALF MARATHON 

I was invited by Visit Winston-Salem to run the Craft Half Marathon and to enjoy a weekend exploring this charming mid-sized southern city. I’ll have a full overview of what I did in Winston-Salem when I wasn’t running in my next post but for today…I have a detailed race recap for you!

RACE EVE

I arrived in Winston-Salem early afternoon on Friday. I went on a fun bike tour, got checked into my hotel and then went to dinner and explored downtown before making my way back to the room to get ready for the race.

One thing I always like to do on race eve is get my outfit and gear laid out. Here are the links for everything I wore/carried.

• Brooks Ghost 15 shoes
• 2XU compression socks (similar from Feetures and what I’m trying next)
• ON Sprinter shorts
• lululemon tank
• Under Armour hat
• Goodr OG sunglasses
• Maurten 100 calorie gel
• Huma double electrolyte gel 
• LMNT – I didn’t end up using this because although I drink LMNT in my normal lineup of electrolyte powders, I’ve never used it on a long run before. Despite what ended up being a very hot and sweaty race day where I probably could have used the extra salt, I was too scared to put the LMNT in my carried water bottle for fear of GI upset. IYKYK.
• Apple Watch

RACE MORNING

I was able to sleep until 7a on race morning since the race didn’t start until 8:30a and I was staying 0.3 miles from the start. I got up, went down to the lobby to get coffee and slowly started getting ready. I took a hot shower (something I always do on race mornings to wake up and warm up) and got geared up. I planned to eat a Perfect Bar but couldn’t stomach it so I had half of a leftover blueberry scone and half a banana with black coffee and water. I knew I probably needed more fuel but it was a very fine line between adequate fueling and managing nerves.

This was my first half marathon since I was 14 weeks pregnant with Finn back in 2017 (I honestly can’t believe I ran a half pregnant) and I was feeling equal parts excited and nervous before the race. I have run consistently since becoming a mom but I was doing a LOT more distance running and racing pre-motherhood. This is partly due to having more time for training pre-Finn but also due to my diagnosis of a labral tear and impingement in my right hip. I feel like how I’ve managed that and how I arrived at a place where I decided to run distance again deserves its own post – especially since marathon training is up next. I promise to get that written soon.

STARTING LINE 

I left my room around 8:10a to walk down to the starting line. It was so nice not to have to worry about parking. I spent most of the walk having a minor freak out about the weather. The temps were only in the 60s but there was full sun and 85% humidity. I was worried about my lack of hot weather/humid training leading up to the race because the weather has just been so nice and cool lately but decided there was nothing I could do about it and I would just do my best.

I had to track down safety pins when I got to the starting area as there weren’t any in the bag that was left in my room. This was my first time pinning my bib to my shorts and I LOVED it. I won’t go back to putting it on my shirt. Related, I will definitely be ordering these bib magnets for future races that the woman helping me with safety clips showed me. How do I not have these!?

I got myself lined up in a surprisingly large crowd of runners. My finisher’s certificate says there were 642 participants. I tried to make my way towards the 2:00 pacer.

After the singing of the National Anthem, we were off!

THE RUNNING OF 13.1

The race started with a 3-mile loop around downtown before an out and back on a greenway. I’m not sure if it was a good thing or a bad thing to look at the course elevation before the race but I knew to expect a healthy dose of hills. Luckily, running and racing in Charlotte is hilly too so I felt as prepared for this as I could be.

The first mile felt really easy and I thought to myself, “you just have to do this 12 more times.” We started getting into the first of the hills and I didn’t feel amazing. At mile 3 my body felt “mushy” for lack of a better word and I started doubting if I had the strength to finish. I quickly led myself out of that line of thinking and focused on running the mile I was in.

We crossed over the freeway out of downtown and made our way onto the greenway where I really settled down and found my groove. I tried to enjoy the next few miles of relative flatness before the long uphill that I knew was coming around mile 7. I took the Maurten gel at mile 5.5.

It’s also worth noting that I carried a 24 ounce disposable water bottle with me. My goal was to get the whole thing down in the first half of the race so I didn’t find myself in a hydration hole later in the race. I finished the bottle right at the halfway/turn around mark. I also took water at every aid station on top of what I was carrying and took Gatorade at three stations. I estimate I probably drank around 45-50 ounces of fluid during the race.

Miles 7 and 8 were ROUGH! We on about a mile long uphill climb and I also started seeing runners passing me in the opposite direction that had reached the turnaround point. I focused on cheering on all the people I passed while I struggled my way up the climb.

The climb led us to the Quarry and Salem Lake which was very pretty and a nice distraction.

I was THRILLED (absolutely thrilled) to reach the turn around point. Not only did it mean I was halfway done but it also meant I was running downhill. It was a great feeling to know I that big climb was behind me and I wouldn’t have any other significant hills until the end of the race.

I cruised my way through miles 8-12. It was hot and I was so sweaty but I felt really strong and good – much better than the first few miles of the race. I was happy with my decision to wear a hat for the race because it shaded my face and helped catch the sweat that was dripping down my face. I took my second gel at mile 9 – the Huma double electrolyte gel.

When I saw the mile 12 mile marker, I knew I had a tough mile ahead of me to finish but that I WAS GOING TO FINISH! And barring a catastrophe, I’d hit the loose time goal I had for myself.

FINISHING THE CRAFT HALF MARATHON

The final mile was brutal. Truly terrible. 85% of it was uphill and a few of the climbs were really steep. There were two times where I was coming off a steep uphill and felt a little pukey but I just kept putting one foot in front of the other and wouldn’t let myself stop. I focused on taking deep breaths and getting my heart rate down. I finally crested the last hill and saw the finish line straight ahead. I got a huge smile on my face and kicked it into high gear.

I crossed the finish line and felt a flood of emotions. It was a truly amazing feeling to complete my first half marathon since becoming Finn’s mom and to be healthy and strong enough to run the race.

My finish time was 1:55:49! My primary goal for the race was to finish and feel good but the personal stretch goal I set for myself was to finish under two hours. I had no idea if that was possible but thought I might have a chance at it if the stars aligned. My average pace for my last 10 mile training run was 9:43 and while I try to keep my long run paces sloooow and just focus on getting in the time on my feet, I wasn’t sure if I would be able to run an average pace that was almost a minute faster per mile to get that sub-2 finish.

Here are my splits and they (and my heart rate) pretty accurately follow the course elevation, haha.

10 HALF MARATHONS!

It’s hard to believe that my half marathon career has spanned the course of 18 years! Here are the halfs that I’ve completed and my times!

1. 2006 Myrtle Beach Half Marathon – 2:15
2. 2009 Dowd Y Half Marathon – 2:08:02
3. 2009 Thunder Road Half Marathon – 1:57:48
4. 2010 Thunder Road Half Marathon – 1:52:12
5. 2014 Thunder Road Half Marathon – 1:44:25
6. 2016 Rocktoberfest Half Marathon – 1:51:53
7. 2016 Charlotte Half Marathon – 1:53:36
8. 2017 BB&T Corporate Cup Half Marathon – 1:50:43
9. 2017 Charlotte Half Marathon – 1:56:57
10. 2024 Winston-Salem Craft Half – 1:55:49

I love running. I love the running community. I love the energy of races. I love the mental and physical challenge of distance running. I am so, so, so grateful to be able to run.

I can’t believe that I’m on to marathon training next! I’ll keep my running casual for the next couple of months before officially kicking off training in late June for the Every Woman’s Marathon on November 16. Reminder, I’m hosting a virtual marathon training group and I’d love to y’all join us! We have about 70 women so far! Here’s all the info.

In the finisher’s area there was macaroni and cheese (that was a first) and lots of craft beer. I didn’t partake in either, haha.

I wanted to stay for the half marathon awards since I somehow managed to place second in my age group but I could literally feel salt crusted on my face and despite how hot I was during the race I got chilled afterwards. I did pop into a coffee shop on my walk back to the hotel for a hot whole milk latte. While post-race beer isn’t my thing, I always love a hot coffee after a race or long run.

And that is the end of my 10th half marathon recap! Big thanks to Visit Winston-Salem for hosting me and to the Craft Half team for putting on a great race.

QUESTIONS 

What is your favorite race distance? 

Do you have any fall races on your calendar? 

What’s the craziest food you’ve seen at a finish line?