Racing Recap: Garden Spot Village Half Marathon

I am well on my way to becoming a Half Fanatic! I finished my second half marathon out of the three I need to run in 90 days to become a Half Fanatic. I had a great time at the Garden Spot Village Half Marathon in New Holland, PA. This is probably my second favorite race so far since I started running.

Thanks, Toni!

This race benefits the Benevolent Fund for Garden Spot Village, which is a retirement community in New Holland; the heart of Amish Country, PA. Make no mistake, the race was HARD!! I loved the first 5 miles or so even with all the CRAZY HILLS!! I can't even explain how crazy the hills were. I decided to just feel out the course, walk when I needed to, and take full advantage of the down hills. I really had a hard time with this challenging course, but luckily I met a wonderful woman named, Toni, who pushed me along throughout the second half of the race. She was seriously AWESOME!!!!! I probably would have walked at least the last three miles if she had not kindly stayed by my side encouraging me.

I loved the scenery of this course! It was just like being back home in Missouri with all the farmland around.
There were Amish men, women, and children cheering the runners along the way. I even saw, and I am not making this up, an Amish boy wearing a bear suit while Rusted Root was playing on my playlist! This may seem strange, yet innocuous, but all of those things remind me of my sister Grace who inspired me to start running in the first place. I could have done without the Road Apples, but the scenery was gorgeous, and they come with the territory.

The organization and amenities were the best part of this race. There was plenty of parking, and it was near the start/finish. There were tons of port-a-potties at the start/finish, and there were some along the course. The volunteers were awesome! There were plenty of water stops, and the post-race was AWESOME!! They had shakes, smoothies, omelettes, soup, sandwiches, snacks, and tons of tables and chairs to rest, relax, and regroup.


And a big thanks to my husband, Matthew, who filled up the water pitcher last night, woke up at 5:30 on a Saturday to sit around for a couple hours waiting for me to finish, and is always sweeter than I deserve. I love you so much, Handsome!