The Colony Shoreline Trail Evolution

Back in 2013, The Colony started hosting an annual half marathon. (Thank you internet archives!)

 

This run has gone through various iterations and I have participated in a variety of capacities over the years. I do remember running the inaugural Half Marathon in 2013 (it was really hot), but there is no evidence, other than this post talking about my training partner and this post when we volunteered (and I mentioned running it the prior year).

In 2017, I opted to run the 5-Mile Green Dragon option (as opposed to the half).  

In 2023, the distance was adjusted to a 15K.

This year the distance was reduced to 8 miles...perfect! (Turns out, that decision was strategic by the race planners -- it is much easier to host an event that is completely on a trail, as opposed to managing traffic and volunteers along city streets!) For me personally, the distance is ideal -- enough of a challenge to force me to train and stay in shape, but not too much that the training is unbearable.

I signed up with the usual suspects, Zan and Beth, and off we went. We started together, but eventually settled into our personal paces. We were cheered on near the beginning by The Colony High School cougar mascot!

Lots of energy and promise at the beginning!

The weather was pleasant. Not hot, not cold, good breeze, cloudy, just a little humid. Funny to me how this event is always in mid-October, yet the temperatures have ranged from blazing hot to freezing cold and everywhere in between. What hasn't changed, is getting little pebbles in your shoe along the way. 

Success: Start. Finish. Not last.

My goal was to finish in under 1:45. I finished in 1:40. Mission accomplished - woohoo!

Comparing the official chip time to my RunKeeper tracking, the time was pretty accurate, but the distance was a little off. Could be related to my phone not capturing exact positioning, or my tendency to take every inside turn to shave off a tiny bit of distance over the course of the run!

Super happy to have signed up for and completed another running endeavor! Nothing on the radar at the moment, but eager to see what might be next!