Brandon & Samantha Long Family: My 1st 1/2 Marathon

Last Saturday, Oct 30, I ran my 1st 1/2 marathon, the Provo Halloween Half. It was SO much fun and I enjoyed every minute of it. I spent about 3 months training for it and it was definitely worth it. This is one of the more fun ones to do in my opinion because you get to dress up and see others dress up in some pretty crazy costumes. It was a pretty hard course starting at the top of a mountain up Provo Canyon at the Aspen Grove Resort and dropping 2000 ft into the Provo Canyon and ending at the Riverwoods Mall (my legs are killing me by the way from the 2000 ft downhill run). I felt like I was more prepared for this event than any other that I have ever run. I ran the whole 13.1 miles and even came in under the goal I had set for myself. I wanted to finish about 2 hrs and 15 minutes and I ended up finishing in 2 hrs even. I didn't feel like I could wear an actual costume, so I just ended up wearing cat ears and a tail. I was very lucky to have some AMAZING friends to train with and run with and feel so blessed to have their support and encouragement. It makes all the difference in the world to have that support when you are doing something that takes a lot out of you.