So today was the RC Cola Moon Pie 10-miler that I have been simultaneously excited about and dreading since I signed up for it. It’s a race that’s known around these parts as notoriously difficult, hot, hilly, and is one of those races where a lot of people turn around after the first mile or two. I’ve always wanted to be one of those people who ran it and I never was the running condition or physical shape to do it.
Until this year!
I completed the race in just under one hour and forty-five minutes – which is a 10:25/mile. A smidge slower than my ideal but it was HOT and HILLY, just like they said it would be!

I have to say, though, that whoever chose the course – 22 years ago! – chose well. In the first half of the race, you climb hill after hill before reaching the worst hill right around 5 miles. That’s the only one I walked – you can see on the elevation charts for the race that it is a STEEP hill! So I walked it and used that as a chance to shove a couple of gatorade chews in my mouth for salt & electrolytes. The second half of the race is a slow downhill – though there are still some rolling hills – before encountering the last challenging hill right at the 9 mile mark. I was proud of myself for not walking that hill – nearly everyone else was but I powered on through and wound up running the final mile the fastest!

I was pleased to have pretty even splits – each mile being between 10:11 and 10:36, which the exception of the Mile Five Monster Hill and the last mile. It’s always hard to not run too hard/too fast too soon so I’m proud of myself for keeping it nice and steady!