@milligfunk, @stlwinegirl, @ashleyjane46, and @jenn_if_er

If you’ve been reading my blog for awhile, you might remember my “Race to the Rocker – I won!” recap. That was a farse. This is not.

My relay team for the Joker’s Wild Half Marathon in St. Louis County last weekend won the relay competition. Of course, since the race organizers weren’t the most organized, we didn’t know that we’d won the relay until several days later, and then we only found out because one of our team members hounded the race organizers for our finish time and the finish times of the other teams.

The Joker’s Wild race was seriously hilly – the first 3.5 miles were a gradual uphill, and the next 3 were more or less a long downhill.

Storm blowing through during Joker's Wild (photo by @stlwinegirl)

The course repeats for the second half of the race. The hills combined with a wind and rain storm that literally knocked down a tree near Aid Station #3 gave me a whole lot of respect for the racers running the full length of the half. I stood beside the course, wearing my then-drenched Punk Rock Racing t-shirt and tutu, cheering on the runners who inspired me with their perseverance.

At the end of my leg of the relay...

My explorations of small town Missouri have slowed a bit lately as training for my own half marathon has taken priority. My life seems to revolve around work, running, eating enough to sustain my workouts, and a little bit of rock climbing.

Fittingly, my first half marathon will be in small town Missour at the Cape Girardeau “City of Roses” Half Marathon in mid-September. Until then, I’m basking in the glory of winning my first race.