Berry Half Marathon 2026

I’ve written a few posts about my running, one about my runner’s journey and a couple recapping some half marathon races (here, here and here) and after finishing my 5th half marathon this past weekend, I decided to share my thoughts about running after these past few years. There are some things that I enjoy about running, but there are some things about it that I do not.

Here are the things that I enjoy and love about running:

• I love my running community and the support my running friends give me. While I was pretty disappointed in my time (my time is not improving, but getting slower in these half marathons), but my friends were very positive as per usual. I’ve made some good friends through our running club. Friends who pray for me and my family when I ask for prayers, friends who share ideas when I ask for ideas, friends who run with me when I reach out.
• I do enjoy our Sunrise Crew and Saturday early morning runs (6 am meetup time).
• I like receiving medals! Some people don’t really care about the medals, but if I am going to run, I would like to receive one for my efforts. So I don’t run many races anymore, just one half marathon a year, one 10K, and one 5K. I usually run a local 5K that my friends put on, the ML5K commUnity run and usually manage to come in first for my age group. The gals and I also started a tradition of running the Northside Women 4 miler in Atlanta every year and I hope we will socialize like we did last year with dinner prior and breakfast after.

I do not like how I feel after a 5K (the last one was actually my best and I felt fine after), but I usually feel pretty sick for a few minutes after running so fast. During a half, I usually end up giving up at some point and run/walk for part of it. This was my worst because I kind of gave up around mile 5 instead of my usual mile 9. A few things that were against me this time around and probably influenced my time: I was sick with a cold for 3 days prior to the race, I didn’t drink enough the day prior (I could feel I was dehydrated), and it was 10 degrees warmer than last year. I also did not really prepare like I usually do. Despite all of that, I could have done better: running is preparation, but also a mental game and I gave up way too early!

Will I run another half marathon? I am not sure. I may try to find a different one that has little flatter route. I would like to make sure it is on a Saturday and not too far from where I live (within an hour from home). And of course, I would want a friend to run or at least start with me!

This year’s battle scar was a nice quarter size blood blister on the side of my foot! I’m ending my post with a picture of our fresh faces before the race, all smiley! So thankful for my health and my friends!

A bientôt!

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