A few months ago my Sister and I heard through some friends about this awesome course (with great PR potential) and nice desirable running temps! #famouslastwords

This was the 61st annual race for the Fontana Days Half and our first time ever running this course, and at $50 it was also the cheapest 13.1 I’ve ever run!

Expo: On Friday I headed down to Fontana’s City Hall where the expo takes place. I was picking up race packets for my Sister and I, thankfully I planned on arriving right when it opened at 4pm because the expo was outdoors and it was a scorching 103 degrees.
The expo was relatively small, not a whole lot to shop so with the heat I hurried back to my car happily going by the hundreds of runners now in line to get their bibs, with no shade from that heat. That definitely could have been a little better planned!

The freebie bags they handed out had some good samples in them and even a free running belt which can hold an iphone 6+!

Race shirts: I love the navy blue and neon green color of them, but I think the shirts run in men's sizes because I got a small and it’s pretty big on me. To be honest though I rarely wear the free shirts they give out. I toss them into the tech shirt graveyard in my closet and almost never give them another thought!

On race morning we planned on being back at City Hall by 6am because you had to meet there to shuttle to the start line and busses were running from 5:00am-6:30am. Parking was free and not an issue on race day at all which was a big plus!

The race starts up at the Applewhite Campground in Lytle Creek just north of the city. I would say my first actual complaint was probably the bathroom situation. They had what appeared to be 11 port a pottys lined up for the never-ending line of nervous runners who looked as though they were anticipating quicker access to a toilet!

The campground next to the start had bathrooms and the women’s line for that had probably 30 people in it when my Sister and I lined up, but there were only 2 toilets! Oh, and a few minutes after we got in line one of those stopped working and flushing – nice work ladies! We were down to one toilet and waited there nearly an hour and as a result only had 10-ish minutes to walk back over before the race was starting.

The course: Once the race started you begin working your way down a beautiful canyon of mountains. The first six miles of the course, is a paved and welcomed downhill through the Lytle Creek community, which runs through the San Bernardino National Forest. The views were amazing, reminded me of camping. Once the race spread out a bit which probably only took ½ mile - the scenery made for such a relaxed and almost tranquil feel. There was an extremely peaceful vibe to the first 4 miles or so of this course. My first 5 miles were at a sub 7 pace and I was feeling strong!

Around 5.5 miles the course leveled out some and the shade was gone. GONE. The Summer sun was out in full force. There were no water/aid stations from miles 5-7 and later after the race I heard other runners talking about how awful that was. I was carrying a little bottle with some Nuun electrolytes so I was still ok getting through that part.

There were some guys near mile 6 in the back of a pick up truck with ice chests full of wash cloths they were handing out. I remember yelling “You are the BEST” to the guy that handed me one! It saved me - no lie! At that point the sun was starting to burn against my skin and I could tell things were about to get rough.

Mile 9 left me with a bit more of a calorie deficit than I had intended for this race when dehydration was setting in and gravity had zero effect on my GU that came back up. I drank more fluid than I ever usually do during a race but the heat was a force to be reckoned with!

I ran the last few miles of this race overheated and sad. Sad because a course that had so much PR potential turned out to be my worst half marathon of this year so far, and I was disappointed with myself although weather was out of my control. I know I'm capable of so much more than the way that played out. I gave up on hopes of a new PR at mile 10 (when I was still actually on track to PR) and I listened to my body and knew I had to run smart, not hard. The last 3 miles I ran SO slow, I might as well have just walked, but I'm stubborn as hell.

I spent the whole last 3 miles staggering along in those escalating temps towards what I thought must have been the gates of hell at that point, but I sprinted that last ¼ mile in when I could see the end (and also had some guy trying to pass me). That finish line was the most welcomed damn sight EVER! I had now completed 24 half marathons and that was the hottest one I'd ever ran.

The finish-line corral had water, Gatorade and snacks, but I went straight for laying against a stack of ice bags which quickly became the popular hang out!

My time for this race was 1:52 and my 13.1 PR (on a more difficult course) is 1:39 if that gives you any indication of how bad I am at hot weather running! (You can read about my 1:39 race in my Hollywood Recap).

The medal was smaller than they typically are these days for half marathons, but again that’s probably one way (along with lack of start line port a pottys) that they keep the entry fee at $50.

Overall I would say (if we could subtract the heat & lack of pre-race bathroom access) this was a great race! As I said it has amazing PR potential as there is a significant elevation drop of 2,125 ft and finishes out flat. We’ll likely do this again next year (and pray for better weather) as I feel a need for course redemption. This years lessons will serve as next years triumphs!

Who else ran Fontana this year, or in years past? I’d love to hear your experience!