Glenda Mooney Half Marathon Race Report 2013

The second annual Glenda Mooney Half Marathon doubled in size this year with nine participants.  This race among friends on the American Tobacco Trail was held on June 29 with temperatures in the mid 70's at the start with very high humidity.  Our group stayed close together this year throughout the race.  I met three of these runners for the first time that morning.  They live and run in my neighborhood and are friends of a friend.

My friend Carrie and I keep a similar pace and shared each mile.  Our final miles were quicker than our first miles.  In the last 400 meters, I noticed we were close to the 2 hour mark, so we picked up our pace to come in at just under 2 hours.

Our friend Holly printed race bibs again this year and included Bible verses for each of us. Race Director Glenda organized the post race celebration featuring fresh, homemade muffins, chilled lavender cloths, and the medal ceremony.  The medals were crystal sun catchers.  Mine was blue to match my eyes.  While the glittering crystals were significant in the moment, Glenda shared with us later why she chose the crystals.

 This is what she wrote:

"A couple years ago while I was at the beach, I had been collecting pretty pieces of sea glass. Hours later, I looked at them again inside and wondered why I had picked them up. It then occurred to me that they were only beautiful when the sun was shining through them. That made me think that even when my skin is clear and I'm having a good hair day, I'm only beautiful when God's light is shining through me. If you hold the sun catcher in your hand, that is you. If you put it up in the window with the sun streaming through, that is you with God's love shining through you. Now you have become beautiful."