Although I have lived in Oklahoma for 6 years, I have not ventured out too far from the OKC metro area. I had never been to Lawton before this race and was not sure what to expect. Several ladies from the Norman and OKC RunHers groups decided to run this race to support our Lawton RunHers sisters, who were hosting this event. All the proceeds from this weekend event went to Cancer Centers of Southwest Oklahoma so I was excited to support such a worthy cause.

For a small town race, the Spirit of Survival certainly exceeded my expectations! It's a relatively small race with about 3,500 participants. The out and back course started off with a party in the park, then winding through beautiful tree-lined streets and a few neighborhoods then back again. It is a relatively flat course, with a few big hills between miles 5-9. Runners enjoy a beautiful view of the Wichita Mountains throughout the course. There were at least 4 water stops that we hit on our way out and back on this course. The directors had a competition between the water stops. Runners were asked to vote for the most entertaining water stop and the winners received gift cards as a prize. The competition was fierce as each one was truly a party.

The best part of this race was the participants. The Spirit of Survival truly lived up to its name as several cancer survivors took part in the race. Watching the community surround each other in support for cancer research makes this race a "Must Run" on my calendar! The beautiful course and friendly people of Lawton exemplify Oklahoman hospitality!

I really wanted to run a race while I was in Ireland visiting my inlaws in July when I discovered the Clontarf Half Marathon. Located in north Dublin, I simply took the DART from the south, which dropped me off right at the starting line. There was no expo for this race so I just picked up my packet the morning of the race. The Clontarf Half Marathon was advertised as "the flattest half marathon in Ireland", and it definitely was flat! However, one thing I missed when I signed up was that nearly 4 total miles of this out and back course were run on the sand along the Clontarf promenade! The sand was tough getting on and off the beach, very soft and unstable. But once you get close to water, it was solid enough to run a pretty good pace.

The weather on this race day was typical Irish summer weather. Sunny, then windy, then rainy, then cold. Nevertheless, it was a fabulous day of fast running for me. With fewer than 2,000 runners, it was a relatively small race. There was junior run that was to take place during the half marathon. My two young sons were eager to run the kids' race, but the pacer riding the bike somehow failed to turn around at the correct location and the children were led to run much farther than they were supposed to run. Some kids were even lost on the course! Fortunately my father-in-law was there to collect my boys and everything worked out just fine. The organizers might need to rethink how they might organize their kids event in the future.

The shirts were not great and were only offered in men's sizes. One aspect that bothered me was that the medals were not hung around the finishers' necks. Instead, I was handed the medal in a small plastic baggie by a volunteer. Instead, I think that it would have been a kinder gesture to hang the medal around the finisher's neck. Although it was great to have a beer at the finish line, it was warm and I had to stand in line for 30 minutes to get it.

Overall, I enjoyed the race because I love running races while I am on vacation. With a bit of improved runners' SWAG, this could be a great event!