Fits Do Race (Pre)views: The Urban Wildland Half Marathon

Hi all!

Thank you for all the love on Matilda’s Guide to Minneapolis- apparently you guys love dogs! You’re not coming here for Fitness, Fashion, and Fitness Fashion- you’re coming here for a daily dose of vizsla!

Now that I know, I’ll try to post plenty of pictures of this face more often…

Anyways, I’m checking in to let you know that I’m running the Urban Wildland Half Marathon this Saturday, or “Urban” as its known within my run club.

Are you running Urban?  Sure am!

In fact, my sister is coming to visit to run it with me! She has a time goal in mind, and my plan is to pace her to achieve that goal. I haven’t ever paced anyone before, but I am excited to do it.

I have run Urban twice- 2010 and 2011. Year 2010 was the year that the bibs were biodegradable into seeds that you were supposed to plant (it’s a very “green” race). Unfortunately it rained during the race, so the bib basically disintegrated while we ran- so much for that idea…

Then,  year 2011 was a super humid August morning, and I had a pretty awful race. With that said, Urban Wildland is a really well-run and pretty (and flat) half marathon that I enjoy, as long as the weather cooperates.  The race starts at 7:00, and the forecast for this Saturday says low 60’s at at the starting time, so that seems promising.

The race is held in Richfield in the Woodland Nature Center, and the course is well supported with plenty of support stops and a varied terrain.

From the website, “Both courses begin and end in Vets Park, behind the Ice Arena (636 E 66th St), cover very flat terrain, and pass through shaded residential neighborhoods, past neighborhood park, and through three natural areas: Wood Lake, Richfield Lake, and Vets Park.  The half marathon course is certified by the USATF.”