Race Report: Pacing at Capital City River Run Half Marathon

This past weekend I had one of the most fun times I have ever had at a race. I was a pacer for the 10:30 group at the Capital City River Run Half Marathon in Lansing, Michigan. For those of you who don't know me personally, this is my "hometown" race now. It starts in downtown Lansing, not too far from the capital runs through part of downtown, across the campus of Michigan State University and then onto the Lansing River Trail, then snakes back to downtown for the finish.

About 2/3 of the race, the parts through MSU and the River Trail, are on my regular running routes, so the  course if very familiar. It is also one of the major runs for my Playmakers running club, as can be clearly seen by the number of red shirts in the crowd.

I have never been an official pacer before, and I have to say that it is an absolute blast!! I was picked up as a substitute because one of the regular pacers for my group, Hollie, was injured. I soon found out that the other pacer for the group, Nancy, was also not going to make it so by happy chance one of my favorite running buds, Dee, got to pace with me! Pacers for this race wear costumes, which totally sealed the deal (both for Dee and me). I mean who doesn't love a good run in a costume?? We decided to be police officers, mostly because we both had the necessary accouterments on hand, except for a few essentials like whistles and fishnet stockings, which were quickly purchased.

Race morning was beautiful: cool, clear, and sunny. The entire experience was a blast. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so I am going to save all kinds of space and just play the video so you can see for yourself: (I originally had this set to "Born to Run," but there is that little copyright issue, so you have some blues instead.)



More than anything else, what this day reminded me of is what a really, really great group of runners I get to hang with here in Lansing!