So let’s dive into the meat and potatoes of the Dick Lytie. This race is notorious for being tough. With portions of the course along the bay it can be extremely windy and chilly. To top things off there are several hills to tackle…thankfully what goes up does come down and the reward for climbing a hill is the descend on the return to the golf course. For the most part this is an out and back course with a few twists and turns mixed into to keep things interesting. Keeping with the tradition that Dick Lytie started many years ago the course is virtually the same as it was when he 1st set out to create a challenge to runners with lots of hills, few water stops, and little fanfare. I knew what I was in for as I have run this event twice before.

The first hill came a little over a mile into the race. It is a winding road that pops out onto one of the main entrances into campus. Being that I was a graduate of UWGB I had taken this road many times, so I knew it well. A water station was located at the bottom of the hill which was a nice touch for runners before they took on this 1st hill. I knew that getting to the top of the hill would require me to slow a bit, but that it was doable to run almost all of it. The next mile was flat until we hit a downhill, but do not be fooled that is not going to be it. There were more hills to come. We snaked through the backside of campus that is adjacent to a residential area to then turn onto a road along the bay. The winds by this point had not disappointed, they were swirling and strong but not consistently in our face. I was pleasantly surprised there more aid stations than in previous events and the volunteers were AWESOME! The next 5 miles flew by. Mile 10 was flat and an opportunity to pick up speed and mile 11 would be downhill has we looped back towards campus. The last hill to tackle came at mile 12.5 as we pushed to the finish.

Crossing the finish line I stopped my watch and was shocked – a 1/2 marathon PR for this runner! Not what I expected for this course. The minor changes with more aid stations and volunteers on the course was a wonderful additional. The course was well marked and easy to follow all adding to a great race experience. I'll be back again next year!