I was feeling so good about my American Fork Half Marathon PR, I decided to sign up for the SLC Freedom Half Marathon the following Saturday. This is a primarily uphill course so I set out to beat my previous uphill half marathon time of 2:27.
The course started just above Hogle Zoo, and cut across to Research Park at the University of Utah. We climbed the streets of Research Park to just behind University Hospital, and then the single track Bonneville Shoreline Trail carried us up and over the mountain directly behind the U. Our last three miles were a gradually downhill to our finish line at the state capitol.
Course wise, this was most my difficult half marathon to date. And running it on the 4th of July, when the Salt Lake temperatures are in the mid 90s, didn't help with the hills. I enjoyed the challenge, but my one complaint would be the aid stations. The race only offered water at each station, which is fine with me since I don't take Gu or drink Gatorade, but the station at mile 8, right as we were heading onto the trail to tackle our steepest climb, ran out of water. I think if you're only offering one provision to runners, you should have plenty of it. :) I did end up beating my previous uphill half marathon with a finish of 2:26.
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