War Eagle Run Fest Half Marathon 2024 Race Recap

This race was on 2/18/2024 in Auburn, AL

This was my second time attending the half marathon at the War Eagle Run Fest.

Before this race the longest distance I had gone was about 15 miles during training for my half marathon in February. I wanted to run a marathon after that, but for some reason it sounded like a good idea to not only run an ultramarathon instead, but also do it on a trail which I didn’t have a lot of experience with at the time.

Pre-Race Preparation

I was pretty prepared for this particular race as the distance is now comfortable for me and I had spent a few weeks with targeted pacing training for this event.

My goal time was under 2 hours.

Race Day

Morning/Pre-Race

Absolutely dreadfully cold morning with freezing temperatures.

As a result, I was a little conflicted over what to wear for the race and ended up erring on the side of warmer clothes. Ultimately, I think this was a reasonable choice and didn’t cause much issue.

Ideally, I would have worn lighter gloves and a much lighter jacket and hat.

Start Line

PACKED crowd. Started in the 10:00 pace group to force myself to start a bit slower.

The Race Itself

I’ve ran this course before, but I forgot about all of the HILLS! In fact, it felt like the first half was all uphill somehow.

Eventually, the course breaks into rolling hills through neighborhoods and then back onto campus for fairly flat running.

Post-Race

There is always a big food tent with sausages, chips, sodas, etc. available for runners. There were also some vendors there handing out some freebies (thanks, Community Coffee!)

Immediate Aftermath

Super cold and a little miserable for me but especially my kiddos!

Recovery

Easy recovery, no big issues here. Took it easy for a few days and then back into the normal routine.

Results

Definitely a solid result for me, all things considered, with a sub 2 hour finish.

Analysis and Reflection

Definitely need to keep working on pacing strategy and overall speed for the half marathon distance.

Conclusion

Great event, I recommend that you run this race if you have the option!