Run the Line Half-Marathon

Jennifer Clark (MM15623, DA3643, HF16743)– Half #268 is in the books!
I was making plans for the Run the Line Half-Marathon in Texarkana on the the 18th and looked for a race on the 17th to do on the way. I noticed Race For Hope in Lufkin, TX and it seemed to fit the bill.
This race is a fundraiser for the East Texas Cancer Alliance of Hope, a nonprofit that provides social services for cancer patients in the area.
There was a kids’ run Friday evening and then 5k, half and full marathon Saturday. All in all, about 250 total participants were registered… most doing the 5k. I think 45 signed up for the Half.
Packet pickup was very easy and there were special bags for out of towners with Lufkin “goodies.” There was a choice of color for the race shirts.
It was a cold and blustery morning for the race and stayed cold for the duration. A dance “warm-up” got underway about 7:00. It was led by a Zumba instructor with more enthusiasm than any one person needs that early! The races started about 15 minutes later.
There were aid stations about every mile and a half. They were well-stocked with water and Gatorade and had great and enthusiastic volunteers. The people manning the stations were high schoolers and school clubs competing for a cash prize! Some of them were quite entertaining! There were also a few neighborhood stations that had fruit and candy. The finish line area had snacks, beer, and water.
Porta potties were very conveniently placed every 3 miles. Unfortunately, there were only two at the start line so there was a wait for those.
The race started downtown but mostly went through neighborhoods. I was a little disappointed that we didn’t see more of Lufkin. They have a very nice downtown area. Most of the course was flat but there were some hills in miles 7 and 8.
The race had a generous time limit and because of the marathoners doing a double loop, the aid stations were open the whole time. It is walker friendly but it’s a small race so the last few people are going it alone (except for aid stations.)
And now for the suggestions for improvement…
This was an “open road” course in the truest sense of the phrase. There were no runner’s lanes, no cones, no signs telling drivers to watch for runners on the road. Most of the race went through neighborhoods where there was not much traffic. However, there were a few times when we were on busy and curvy roads with small or no shoulders. I felt very unsafe in those areas. There was limited police support. They only helped at a couple of highway crossings. All other intersections were unmonitored. In an open course race, you definitely need more volunteers to help direct the flow.
There were small arrow direction signs, and not nearly enough. When I have “runner brain” the last thing I want to do is try to figure out if I’m going the right way or not. There were a couple of places where two signs on each side of the street would have been more noticeable. There was even one place that had a turn-around that I didn’t catch. I saw signs on opposite sides of the road pointing to each other but didn’t know what that meant. Thank goodness I could call Dave and get clearer directions before I went too far off course.
I definitely would put a larger sign at the turnaround instead of the two arrows pointing at each other. Locals are used to it but us “foreigners” aren’t! LOL. Perhaps with Turnaround in large letters or even a picture of a sheep + a tern with You Turn (Ewe – Tern) underneath!
The race director and founder, Ashley Berry, was an amazing person. She is full of life, having been a cancer survivor and is dedicated to the Foundation. Every time you see her, you are effected by her energy and smile. For the short amount of time, she has been doing this, it will only get better!
I chose this race because it was convenient for our trip to Texarkana. It’s a decent enough race if you are experienced and looking for one to add to your numbers. However, I would not recommend it to inexperienced runners because of the lack of course monitoring and direction signs.