The Biggest Loser Half Marathon Race Recap Part 2

You can read Part 1 HERE of my Biggest Loser Run/Walk Half Marathon recap. I left you guys yesterday at race morning. To catch you guys up, I was telling you why this race was so important to me and why I HAD to finish it...

In almost four years of running/racing, I had never DNF'd (Did Not Finish) a race until I signed up for The Biggest Loser Half Marathon last year in Mobile AL. I remember not feeling real well that morning, my hip was on fire, and my mind was out of it. I lined up at the start line with my best friend Melanie and knew it was not going to be pretty. I was right, at mile 2 I dropped out and did the walk of shame back to the Finish line. Not only had I felt like I had just gave up but it was in my home town and I literally felt like a BIG LOSER. OH WELL, right? We just have to keep our head up and keep going. SOOOOOOOOO when I heard that the Biggest Loser was coming back to Mobile, I was SUPER excited for a little vengeance on that half marathon.

Race Day...

I arrived at the Civic Center around 6:45. The half marathon started at 7:30, so I had a little while to walk around and check out all the booths. They had Fleet Feet Sports, One Fit Mobile, Bodies by Cindy, and the medal engraving people set up. 



They also had booths for the different running groups that were there. This is my friend Amy and her Savvy Biggest Loser group sign. I'll tell you more about her group later. They are an amazing group of women.



At 7:25 it was time to line up for the National Anthem...



And at 7:30 it was time to go...



Before I go any further let me tell you what my goal was for this race. I have not ran much in the past 6 months. I have been training but its been mostly in the pool, open water, and the gym. Of course my fitness level is great so I wasn't worried about my body physically. I was more worried about the mental aspect of just finishing this half marathon. Now as you can probably figure out, I was blogging for the Biggest Loser and so I wanted to be more of a course cheerleader for people. So I started in the back to stay out of the faster runners way and I am soooo glad I did.

I knew I wasn't going to PR and I wasn't really trying. I started out walking really FAST with these 2 crazy people, Ray and Mary...



This was Mary's first half marathon and she basically didn't tell too many people she was doing it. Not sure why but there was a reason for Ray and I to meet her she is a wonderful woman. Ray and I have known each other forever. We always manage to connect at races. This was Ray's first half in a couple years. When I tell you guys we walked FAST it was around a 14:30 pace.

We ran into Amy with the Savvy group on course. She is so cute always at races. I'm talking hair done, makeup, jewelry, LOVE it! Some people may think that's crazy, but I feel like if it makes you feel good, do it.



These 2 ladies were running their first also. they were loving the Mobile streets.



Around mile 5, these 2 came up on us. We did a double take. They were super cute. Whats funny is when they started running they had the exact same stride. It was great.



Around mile 7, I saw my friends Lori and Walter handing out water to the racers. Every water station had plenty of volunteers handing out water and Gatorade.



I had noticed there were a lot of the ladies from the Black Girls Run group there. I couldn't resist not taking a picture with these 2 ladies. They were motivating a couple other ladies that were doing their first half to keep going. The Black Girls Run group is amazing. I think they have done wonderful things to get African American girls to start running. And if you are wondering they allow any race to join there group, I actually ordered a black girls run t shirt to support them. Wonderful women's group.



I ran into the awesome Liz on course...



The course was beautiful running under these huge oak trees.



By about 9, I decided to start running to pick up the pace. I felt great and knew I only had a little over a 5k left, so I took off. At mile 12 I saw my husband and kids, and my little mini me decided to jump in and run the rest of the race with me. She soooo funny and made the last mile go by quick.



We crossed the finish line together at 2 hours and 57 minutes. She is one of my biggest cheerleaders and one of the reasons I do what I do... To show my kids they can do ANYTHING!



So the moral of the story of my epic redemption run was...

Sometimes its not about our training, or our PR, or even ourselves. Sometimes its about inspiring yourself by motivating others.

I actually surprised myself with my time. Coming in under 3 hours was not planned but made me feel really good that I wasn't too out of shape to run long distance. 

Now I didn't plan on "racing" this half. All I wanted to do was finish. this was my race to kind of gauge where I am at in my recovery from running. Now the next half will be a race for time. I really want to get back to setting PR's and running fast. But I was so motivated to be around such an amazing group of runners, most of them first timers.

And of course seeing these people at the finish line...



I wanted to share with you guys 4 of my favorite parts of The Biggest Loser Run/Walk besides the actual race...

1. Watching my little girl run in the Kids Fit Foundation 1 mile fun run. she didn't come ready to run but decided at the last minute she wanted to do it. She loved it and now wants to do more. And she got bling, which was probably the deciding factor.



2. Hanging out with these super awesome people. My BLENDS!

Mindy, Jenn, Kristin, and Gina. Love these ladies...



3. Medaling this amazing woman, Tiffany, who ran the half marathon 30 weeks pregnant. I passed her around mile 4 when she was searching for a restroom on course, thank goodness for the Shell gas station, lol!



The awesome Biggest Loser Peeps gave her a kids race medal for her sweet baby girl also.



4. And last but not least meeting and hanging out with this group of ladies till the very last person came across the finish line. I had decided that I was going to hang out with them till their friend came across.



The friendship and the love that was felt with this group was amazing. It was very inspiring to me. Its something that I think I needed that day.

A special thanks to the Biggest Loser crew that kept the music pumping and the finish line up till the very last person crossed the finish line even though it was well past the time they had allotted. They were a true class act. And to the volunteer that stayed to pass out that last medal, thank you!

It was such a fun day and I am so happy I got to experience it. Thanks Biggest Loser!

You can see if the Biggest Loser Run/Walk is coming to a city near you HERE!

Sometimes being there for someone can have an impact on someones live including your own.

Now I am ready to race so bring on fall race season...

If you ever get a chance to run a race from the back, you will be surprised who all you meet back there. It can change your life.

Disclaimer: I was given a race entry, VIP pass, and VIP parking in exchange for my honest review. No other compensation was given. As always all opinions are my own.

Have you ever ran a Biggest Loser race?