Brian Johnson (MM8807, HF7287, DA707) –
Race Recap
Lincoln Presidential Half Marathon
April 6, 2024
Half Marathon 18(ish)
State 8
Just a fun and hilly race. A bit cold at the start.
After a training season that wasn’t always going the way that I liked (crappy weather) my self-confidence heading toward the Carmel Marathon was not where I wanted it to be.
I was in need of a race to run, and the Lincoln Presidential Half Marathon in Springfield, IL, quickly became that choice.
I registered for it about 10 days before the race.
Springfield is the State Capital of Illinois. It is also where President Obama announced that he was running for office in 2007. Abraham Lincoln also lived there and is buried there.
After some extremely quick trip planning, I was off.
From Columbus, it is about a 6-hour drive. It was a nice semi-scenic drive into a part of Illinois that I don’t usually drive through.
I got to Springfield and was able to make the race expo with time to spare. I even ran into Abe. He had bib 16.
This was an anniversary year for this race. They had a very nice hooded sweatshirt and long sleeve shirt as part of the packet pickup/race entry fee. There was also a blanket to be shipped later.
When I travel, I like to find a local restaurant to eat at. Dinner was at a local restaurant called Trade Winds.
Race morning had me near the start line very early. It was a chance to walk around the square that was the Old Capital Area and see what was there.
I also was able to part 1 block away from the start line, which almost never happens for me.
I found a different Abraham Lincoln Historical sites, to include where Lincoln had his law office. That was now the Visitors Bureau.
Being a member of the Half Fanatics Running Club, we took a group photo before the start of the race.
The race itself was kind of neat. You ran past Lincoln’s House, the State Capital, and even Lincoln’s Tomb.
The hills didn’t start until mile 7. They weren’t horrible, but they weren’t fun either.
The end of the race had Mary and Abe Lincoln actors handing out medals.
I got my picture with Mary, since I had one with Abe the night before.
The race medal is in the shape of a penny. It’s very cool.
The after party was fun. The donuts from Mel O Cream were really good. The Beer from Buzz Bomb Brewing was also good. I had a drink called, “Wait, I’m Steering the Ship now?”
After the race it was time to head back to the hotel, clean up, grab some food and souvenirs and start the 6-hour drive home.
If you are looking for a half marathon, I would highly recommend this one.
To talk about how my race day went, it went a lot better than I was anticipating. My first 6 miles had me running between 11:30/12:30 minute miles before the hills.
After the hills I had an overall average of 13:00 min miles.
Total time, 2:52:52
I was really pleasantly surprised.
Photo and Post Credit Brian Johnson