Non-Race Report: Heels & Hills Half Marathon

My Plans for Sunday:

• 5:30 a.m. Wake up
• 6:00 a.m. Depart for Irving
• 6:45 a.m. Check-in and warm-up
• 7:30 a.m. Race start
• 9:30 a.m. Finish race
• 10:00 a.m. Breakfast at Café Brazil in Dallas
• 10:30 a.m. Dallas Farmer’s Market
• 12:00 p.m. Arrive home to rest and relax for the afternoon
  
  My Actual Sunday:
• 5:30 a.m. Wake up
• 6:00 a.m. Depart for Irving
• 6:45 a.m. Arrive in Irving to be told that the race had been cancelled at 3:30 a.m.
• 7:00 a.m. Express frustration/disappointment to David; Drive around looking for a place to run to get my miles in
• 8:00 a.m. Give up driving around and go to Café Brazil for breakfast; continue to express frustration/disappointment to David
• 9:00 a.m. Dallas Farmer’s Market
• 10:00 a.m. Drive around looking at houses and avoiding running
• 12:00 p.m. Nap/relax
• 5:00 p.m. Run 10 miles
  

It did not turn out the way I planned. Honestly, I checked my e-mail and the race website several times before going to bed around 10:00 p.m. Maybe I should have checked them again before I woke up, but I figured that if they were going to cancel it, they would have done so before 3:30 a.m. I figured wrong. Here’s the text of the e-mail that came through to my e-mail account around 4:00 a.m.:

As of 3:40 a.m. on Sunday, May 3, the city of Irving and Dallas County are under significant weather advisory. On our final course pass right now, we were caught in the severe thunderstorms and hail and the streets of Irving are flooded. Communication with public officials and medical support for the event and monitoring of national weather services has been ongoing as we reviewed our options. Our primary concern is for the safety of all our participants and volunteers. Regretfully, the decision has been made to cancel the event. Delaying the race is not an option because numerous weather sources consistently indicate this weather pattern may continue and potentially worsen throughout the day and into Sunday afternoon. More information will be available in the coming days. This has been a very difficult decision for us to make, and we appreciate your ongoing support of Heels and Hills. Please stay safe!

After driving around looking for a place to run, it was obvious that the race could not go on. Here are some photos of the trails that were part of the race course (the cones show where the trails go into the water & the birds were enjoying swimming on the lake that formed over the trails):

Despite all this, I think they could have cancelled the race well before 3:40 a.m. It rained all day long in DFW and there were flash flood warnings in effect by late afternoon on Saturday. I understand that the race could not go on, but I didn't even get my t-shirt! I paid $70 to enter this race, and I at least want my t-shirt, dang it! Honestly, about 75% of the reason I run is for the cool technical shirts you get at these races. Apparently, they may reschedule the race, but the likelihood of me getting to participate if it is rescheduled in the next 6 weeks is pretty slim, considering we are moving out of our home in Amarillo and heading to San Diego. I am hoping they'll at least mail me my shirt.

Despite my disappointment regarding the cancellation of the race (and the fact that I woke up at 5:30 a.m. for no reason and didn't even get my shirt), we made the best of the unseasonably cool day in DFW with a nice 10-miler. Because of the temperatures in the 60s and overcast skies, our run was enjoyable. We are nearing the end of our training, so I am hoping the weather stays cooperative for the next few weeks. After that, I will likely spend much more of my time in the cool, air-conditioned gym while waiting for the excruciating heat of summer to pass.