I don’t run a ton of road races. But I have been running at least one road half marathon each year since I started running half marathons.

This year I ran a half marathon I have never run before. I ran the Sheshequin Path Half Marathon.

It was really nice to run a completely new road course.

A lot of runners like half marathons that are flat and fast. But for me as someone who spends a lot of time running trails, which are rarely flat, I enjoy some hills in my half marathons.

I have run races that are flat. I have run races that have hills but end up with more elevation loss than gain. And I have run road half marathons that have nice rolling hills throughout the course.

The Sheshequin Path Half was something totally different. I knew going into the race that this would be a course with significant elevation change. More elevation gain than any road half marathon I have ever run.

This race starts out relatively flat. Then there is a good climb in the beginning. Followed by an awesome descent.

That descent felt so good. I wasn’t sure how I would feel at this race, but when I got here I decided to let it all go for this downhill. Maybe a mistake at only around 3 miles into a race.

But I ran that decent about as fast as I could without taxing myself too much. I was really able to pick up some speed and catch up to some runners that I would eventually pas later on.

After the nice long descent the course flattens out for a long way. It is just about perfectly flat. I just cruised along at a pace faster than an easy pace, but not really pushing myself either. Something I knew I could maintain.

I hadn’t trained for speed all year, so I really wasn’t sure what I could sustain.

Then at about mile 10 is where it gets real. The next hill appears. And it turns out to be a real soul crusher.

It doesn’t look too bad at first. It isn’t too steep. But it just goes and goes. A longer hill than any I have ever encountered in a road half marathon.

That hill really took the wind out of my sails. I was just trying to finish at a modest pace after that.

I managed to finish at right around 2:01 for the half marathon distance. Which I was pretty please with. My goal for the race was to come in at 2:00.