my favorite pics from the Half and Half Marathon (Trail Version, of course)

I posted a photo album on Facebook with 497 pictures. They can be viewed HERE. But this post has my favorites. I took a few pics pre-race before heading to my course marshaling location.

Ignore the legs. The pic is for the gaiters. Tom Robinson always goes for style.


Brandon and Cameron Plate--the phenom kids. As usual, Cameron has his game face on, and Brandon sports a smiley face.

My race duties consisted of directing traffic at the Funky Intersection, a name Roman and I came up with. The Snake Loop is utilized in the trail race. The runners come up the Jelly Legs Trail, run the west side of the Snake Loop, then north on a straight-as-an-arrow trail that bisects the Snake Loop to the north end, and then back on the east side of the loop, and they return to the intersection where they headed north--this time turning south. Confusing? Basically, it is sort of a deformed figure 8. It was well marked and had signs with arrows, but it needed a traffic director because if one runner went the wrong way, everyone behind him/her would follow.

I took the opportunity to snap lots of pictures--526 of them to be exact.


I missed getting winner Justin Franklin the first three times he passed through. He was just too fast! But I caught him on his last passing. At this point, he was around 10 miles into the race, and was a mere 64 minutes into the race. Do the math--sub 7 minute miles on trailz.


I liked this picture because it was one of many long trains of trail runners. On one particularly long train, I put the camera down and got 23 high fives as they passed.


Mile 10, and taking it to the house. Everyone seemed to be having a blast.

Not all my pictures were of runners. When it slowed down, I took a few of the surroundings.

Frozen bike tread marks, and my long skinny legs.


Follow the pink.



A perfect day to run. Yes, it was in the high 20s at the start, but it warmed up nicely as the sun did it's job.


Do you see the deer?


I don't mind people tossing litter near the aid stations, or in this case by my post, but tossing them out on the trail is NOT COOL. I pulled course markings, and picked them up for you litter bugs.


That-a-way.


The day before when marking the course, the trailz were damp, and 95% mud-free. But hundreds of pounding feet whipped the mud to the surface--not to mud-fest conditions, but slick and splattery in places.

Thanks Russell Bennett for this pic

Barbara helped me pull course markings after the race, and it's once again, a clean mountain. Thanks to RunnersWorld-Tulsa for putting on what in my opinion is Tulsa's best marathon.

Half and Half Invitational

Sunday morning, I ran the farthest distance since October 5th. The Half and Half Marathon scheduled for next Sunday makes a provision for volunteers who want to experience the thrill of the trails by having an "by invitation only" run the weekend before.


pic swiped from Roman Broyles
Ten of us gathered at the Turkey Mountain parking lot to take on 13.1 miles on the trailz, and another 13.1 miles on the paved bike trail.


pic swiped from Roman Broyles
We left out at 9:03 by my watch, and headed up the Powerline trail and quickly tucked into the woods for the climb to the top of the mountain.


pic swiped from Roman Broyles
As I posted a couple of days ago, the trailz of Turkey Mountain are blanketed by 4 inches of snow, but there had been a little melting and refreezing, and most of the trailz were packed down by runners and a few bikers.


pic swiped from Roman Broyles
Heading down the north end of the mountain, we turned and headed west for a ziz-zag route that wound back to the old upper parking lot.


pic swiped from Roman Broyles
The peaceful water of Pepsi Lake.

From the upper parking lot, we headed west following the trail nearest 61st Street all the way to the Pipeline trail. Our group of 10 had evolved into one speedster (Derk), a moderate paced group of Kathy, Russell, Barbara, and Jason, then the rest of us (Roman, Cindy, Edward, Chrissy, and me.) Roman, Cindy, and Christi wind through a green area. These plants look like jungle foliage, and stay green all year long.


Part of the trail runs through an old abandoned home-site, and years ago, the settlers had planted a lot of pine trees. This is a beautiful area, and we stopped for pictures and hydration.

Roman has high spirits. There is never a shortage of conversation when running with Roman.


pic swiped from Roman Broyles
I had heated up a little, and pocketed my stocking hat. I had dressed perfectly, and managed my core temp by zipping and unzipping my jacket.

This trail is in the area where the developers scraped the vegetation several months back. Most of the natural weeds have grown back, and a trail has been re-established. I think this stretch is still pretty, although I still liked it the way it was before.


pic swiped from Barbara Pinkerton
The turnaround (mile 6.5ish) is at the Westside Y. The group ahead of me were in the midst of a curling tournament, and I made a tactical move and bopped in and out and was temporarily in 2nd place! Woo hoo!! But that was short lived. Still, I was running well, and my knee and ankle were holding up fine.

I was soon passed by Barbara, Jason, and Russell, Roman, Christi, and Cindy caught up and we stayed together for a few miles.

We paused for a second at Jake's Pond for a quick pic before taking on the Snake. Running the course in reverse, we ran the east side of the Snake, right through the middle of the Snake Loop (on a trail I call Deer Run), and then the west side of the Snake to Rock City and then to the switchbacks of JellyLegs.
I had met the TOTs at 7:30 before the race and only one showed up, but being the fearless group leader that I am, I led our twosome of a group on a 3-ish mile super-easy run. That extra mileage was beginning to put a damper on my overall efforts this day.


pic swiped from Roman Broyles
At the parking lot (mile 13.1), Kathy was regrouping and deciding if she or if anyone was gonna go on. That added element of doubt sucked me under, and I stopped at the halfway point ending up with around 17 miles for the day. This is progress though, since I had almost stopped running altogether. Last weeks 10 miler with this 17 makes me think a 20 miler next weekend would be about right.

Kathy, Barbara, Cindy, and Russell continued and got a hard earned 26.2 miles under their belts. Way to go!!!

Half and Half Preview

Sunday December 15, area runners have a unique opportunity to run not one, but two half marathons in Tulsa. The second annual Half & Half or Double Half will be held at Turkey Mountain. Runners have a choice of running 13.1 miles on trails, running 13.1 miles on the paved bike path on the west Arkansas River banks, or for the over-achievers--you can run BOTH!

Kathy Hoover, owner or RunnersWorld Tulsa, is known for "thinking outside the box" when it comes to putting on races.

She is Race Director of other fun events such as Race Into the New Year, Witch and Moan, and Run Tulsa Pink, and this race is possibly the only event of it's kind in the US.
This is the perfect race for someone wanting to compete on some non-technical (easy) trails. The trail course utilizes only the easiest routes on Turkey Mountain, avoiding (for the most part) the super rocky sections. Yes, there are a few hills--it IS Turkey Mountain after all, but you do not have to climb or descend the steep hill known as LipBuster (parallel to Elwood Avenue.)   It starts and finishes at the main parking lot at 68th and Elwood.

The road half marathon also begins and ends in the Turkey Mountain parking lot. This course runs downhill on the paved bike trail toward the river and follows this route all the way north to 11th Street and  you turnaround 2/3 of the way across the bridge. The return trip gives you your 13.1 miles.


Both races start at 9:00 am, and are ran simultaneously. With the Half Fanatics becoming as big as Marathon Maniacs, this is a chance for a double (two half marathons in a weekend, or in this case on the same day.)  Those wanting to run both, will run the trail course first. Finishing both will count as either two half marathon finishes, OR one marathon finish. Throw in the coolest medals I've ever seen, and this race is one you should not miss.
The urban wilderness of Turkey Mountain is beautiful all year round. In December, the leaves are mostly gone which opens up some fantastic vistas of the Arkansas River and downtown Tulsa.


Enjoy an aid station with  smorgasbord of goodies every 2.5 miles. Trail runners plow the cookies, PBJs, and chips, sometimes consuming more calories than they burn. A favorite concoction is an Oreo slathered with peanut butter, and topped with M&Ms. It's like rocket fuel.


The finishers medals are as unique as the race.
The left side is the medal for the trail race. The right is the road medal. Do both races and you'll get both. They fit together to form a yin and yang design. For a runner, you need this medal on your trophy shelf.
You can sign up online, at RunnersWorld, or at the race. More information can be found here. More information can be found here.