Zooma Atlanta half marathon

I arrived at Chateau Elan early before the start of the Zooma Atlanta women's half marathon. Traffic was light and I had plenty of time to spare. Since I pulled into the parking lot over an hour before the race, I sat in the heated car for a little while; it was 33 degrees Fahrenheit. I saw my neighbor's car pull into the same parking lot. After visiting a port-o-potty in the dark (quite an experience), I met her near the race start and we chatted with her friends. She's walking the event with several of her work buddies.. I enjoyed hanging out with them before the race start! They postponed the start from 7:30 to 7:45 because a long line of cars was still coming in. We were freezing and have things to do later this morning and were a wee bit disappointed since we had arrived early. I jogged with them at the start and when the slowed to a walk at the first hill, I kept running. I started at a faster pace than I had planned, but it didn't feel fast. I thought that maybe it was because of the cold temp and mostly downhill route rather than overexertion. The first 10 miles were great! and even thought a PR would be possible. But what goes down, must come up... I slowed down on the last three miles which were mostly uphill.

I finished in 2:38; not my fastest nor my slowest half marathon finish time. I enjoyed the race and the post-race Expo. Instead of a medal, finishers received a necklace. It's kind of plain, but then again, it's something I can wear anytime without being to ostentacious. It has "Zooma Atlanta" and "11.06.10" engraved on the back and a runner girl on the front of this peach shaped necklace. The post-race Expo was inside (where it was warm) and included a bagged brunch, free glass of wine or champagne, a live band and cool stuff to purchase. The course wasn't as scenic as I had hoped, and finished uphill, but overall, I would rate this as an event to repeat or recommend to a friend.