As my first race I really didn’t know what to expect, but man, any guess I could’ve made would have been wrong.

Before this race I had one long run of eight miles. EIGHT MILES. And believe it or not, I genuinely thought I was ready. The course is flat, fast, and “a perfect beginners race”.

Okay yeah, maybe if you’d had practiced at all beforehand this would be a perfect course, but for the rest of us, 13.1 miles is 13.1 miles no matter how quick the course may seem.

Despite my whopping fail to prepare for the event, overall the race was really well put together. There were many stops for water and gatorade throughout the course, and many points where supporters were able to snag a shady spot under a tree and wait for their loved ones to run by.

My family waited at mile eight, probably knowing that was where I’d need it most. And boy did I.

Filled with more tears than there is water in the ocean, it was a day I would never forget. But most of all, even after I lost my medal years later during a move across the country, it was a day the race director helped me remember.

Jeff Crane, director of StartLine Racing, personally mailed a medal to Alabama from Arizona after I had lost it in a move to a military base with my boyfriend.

Today, the medal hangs from my wall, and though it is permanently stamped with the worst half marathon time I have ever had (03:01:38) it is definitely one that I am most proud of.