Recapping the B.A.A. Half Marathon, the final piece of the B.A.A. Distant Medley

Spoiler alert, I did it. 😀

On Sunday, November 12, I completed the final race of the B.A.A. Distance Medley. This race was the half-marathon. I am now a half-marathoner. I will say that again… I am now a half-marathoner.

There are no qualifier statements that go before that. There are no amendments that go after it. I set out to obtain this goal and I did it! I would like to tell you about it.

The Day

I am late getting this blog out and writing this in late December, while the weather is WARMER than the day was for the race. It was cold.

My incredible friend Crary had been my running companion for the entire Medley and she stayed at our house the night prior so we could all get to the race together. The day started at 4:45 and I had some overnight oats that my wonderful wife made for us. I have never mastered the early morning fueling for early runs, but I got it all down. I tried to do some stretches and simply not psych myself out. I had never done this before! This is double a 10k… this is no joke! I got my kit together, all of my gels, and tried to make sure I would have no reason for an emergency bathroom break.

We carpooled with my sister, cousin, wife, and kids. My cousin, Crary, and I were all running and it was so special to have loved ones with me. The main difficulty with the BAA half is the transit and parking at the start. There is only street parking. The busses used to shuttle cannot carry kids under 4, meaning my youngest would be unable to ride. So thankfully my sister (who volunteered to drive) found parking and we shivered our way to the starting area. Then the standard – porta potties, waiting until the last second to remove jacket, make way to corral.

The Race

At this point, I was surprisingly calm. My nerves were in check. I think there is a real aspect of how putting in the work and training can calm the nerves. I did the work, and now I would have fun (or something like it). Standing amongst thousands of other racers helped keep us from completely freezing and before we knew it, we were shuffling to the start.

The first couple miles of the race are generally downhill. I had set out with a plan to do intervals throughout the race. 4:30 run, 2 min walk. I told myself at the start that I would follow this plan. I promptly abandoned it. It felt natural and fluid to roll with the downhill so I did. Throughout the entire race, I tried to just run the downhills and stick to my intervals on the flats and uphills. And for all of those out there that MUST know, my knees felt fine, so don’t even ask.

The crowds were great. My favorite sign was ‘You run better than the MBTA’. Thinking back, this is not a very lofty compliment, as the MBTA is a very VERY low bar, but it made me chuckle. The course is pretty much rolling hills. I found I loved this. The hills stink but then you can just roll it out on the other side. Also, meandering up the Emerald Necklace, it was a great run for the scenery. I was overjoyed to find some friends along the way (thank you Lizzie, Emily, Travis!) and just kept rolling.

Through mile 8 I was feeling awesome. I was well ahead of my goal splits and was tracking to beat my estimated finish time (3:05/3:10). I really had set low expectations because I wanted to enjoy the first race of this size. I rolled down the last stretch before turning back up toward Franklin Park and hit the mile 9 marker, this is when it really set in. Mile 10, 11, and 12 are basically uphill. 11 is not so much, but it still sucked. I was starting to feel it here. My back was getting sore, by feet were uncomfortable, and I could see runners in the distance much closer to finishing than me. “Ben, you got this. You are doing a hard thing and you will do this.” The amazing part was that during these miles, I KNEW I was going to finish and reach my goal of doing a half. The pride filled me and pushed me.

The 13th mile is basically flat and takes you through the Franklin Park Zoo. It was a bit different than when I am usually there, saying hi to giraffes with the kids. But I was getting tired and really wanted to be done. But as I came to exit I heard familiar voices cheering me. Crary (who had recently finished and crushed her race), Travis and Emily pushed me on and that was overwhelming. Then as I started turning left there was my wife, my cousin (who had also just crushed her’s!!), and my kids holding signs and cheering me on. This broke me. I choked up as I ran by and kept going, stifling tears. These events can really bring out all of the emotions. The race finishes in a stadium and I entered, rounded the curve, and finished to my sister’s cheers. I did it.

And I did it. 2:57:38. For a guy who wanted to break 3 hours but was convinced I would be closer to 3:10, I did it and beat my expectations of myself by 10 minutes.

And even more, I showed my kids that I did it. Dad can do hard things. They can do hard things.

In Summary

As I walked out of the finish, they gave me my finishers medal and then put the Distance Medley medal around my neck. Even now as I write this, I can feel emotions well within me. I have spent so much of my life feeling limited. Limited by my size, weight, self-confidence, acceptance, and my own expectations. I have felt the pressure of other’s judgements and expectations on me and have allowed those to influence my decision-making. But here, in 2023, I decided to step out on a limb and show myself I can break the ceilings society and I put over my head.

I ran a friggin half marathon. Younger Ben would laugh at this being even a possibility. I am so thankful for the BAA Medley structure as it really helped me build throughout the year toward this final mountaintop. I am so thankful for my wife and kids for allowing me the time to train and for Crary for saying yes when I asked her to do this with me.

If I could share one core thing with folks, it is that we deserve to give ourselves the chance. We deserve the chance to prove ourselves wrong. To first show our own mind, body, and spirit what we can do. I confirmed what my faith has taught me for years. I am worthy and I am worth it. I (and we) have value and purpose. AND when we put the work in and have faith, we can accomplish great and hard things.

Thank you all for sticking with me. 2024 will bring more races and assuming no major hiccups, Ben’s first marathon will come in 2025.