When I heard of the 2017 St. Elizabeth Healthcare Honor Run Half Marathon, held on Veterans Day weekend, I immediately researched it and signed up. The timing, location and other aspects with the race all fit in nicely with what I already had planned.
The event includes the half marathon, as well as a two-person relay, Nature Nate's Honor Run Half Marathon 5K and Honor Run Kids One Mile.
Proceeds from the races benefit Honor Flight Tri-State by sending veterans from World War II, Korea and Vietnam to Washington, D.C., to visit their memorials. Additionally, funds go to Habitat For Humanity of Cincinnati to help support a local veterans home repair.
I arrived at packet pickup around 7 p.m., about two hours before it shut down. (Runners received a long-sleeve tech tee, a nice addition to the closet full of short sleeves race T-shirts I have.) The extended hours were welcome for out-of-town runners. While the race encouraged everyone to pick up their bibs the night before, they would allow runners to get them the morning of the race, starting at 6 a.m.
The early start — 7 a.m. for the half and relay — worked well for me as I easily found a hotel a short drive from the start/finish area. And, with the race being on a Sunday, the early start time gave me a head start on getting home in advance of the work week.
It was fairly easy to get to the staging area, the Florence Mall. Parking was free and the mall opened early for runners to stay warm and use the restrooms. This was a great bonus on a chilly (30s) autumn morning.
The rolling 13.1 mile course includes a couple of noteworthy climbs, primarily around Miles 2, 8 and 10.5. Most runners could run the whole way, even if the uphills slowed them down. Runners go through the city of Florence and parts of unincorporated Boone County; the race starts and finishes under the iconic Florence Y’All water tower. The rumor I heard was that for years the water tower was labeled Florence Mall, but then someone got the idea to turn it into Y’All. In any event, it’s a large landmark the whole town seems to take pride in.
There were water/Gatorade aid stations every two miles. And I mean exactly every two miles, as they were set up next to the mile markings.
After the race, all race finishers received a custom finisher’s medal, and post-race food and drinks.
For those who set PRs, start-up company Grateful Sons handed out coupons for a free pint of ice cream.
During the pre-race announcements, the organizer said that the main post-race offering (cheese coneys from Skyline Chili) would not be available because there was an equipment malfunction. As someone who cannot have gluten, this didn’t affect me and certainly this was something that was out of the race director’s control.
I was disappointed that there were not any gluten-free options (other than drinks) after the race for refueling. The race website did promise “bananas and granola bars from Costco.” However, the race director told me later that they decided not to do that because there were so many bananas and granola bars left over in previous years. That is certainly his decision to make, but the website should have reflected what would actually be available to runners so those with food allergies could plan ahead.
In any event, there were water and Gatorade bottles available, as well as coffee from Crossroads of Florence and chocolate Milk from Snowville Creamery. Food items on site included Jersey Mike’s sandwiches and cookies, cupcakes from Gigi's Cupcakes and bagels.
Overall, this is a solid event. The course was very well marked, volunteers were friendly and it was well organized. The course itself was a nice challenge.
For those looking for low-key races, the Honor Run Half Marathon is a solid option.