I learned a few things this weekend:

1. I don’t like sprinting.

2. I’m not very good at sprinting.

3. I don’t know how to tie my shoes.

However, I am able to cross Montana off my list of states with the Missoula Mile; but man, running sprinting a mile is hard! hahaha!!! Ok, ok, not really; but you get the idea. I’m definitely, definitely a distance runner; NOT a sprinter!

I was seriously not meant to be a sprinter. In high school, durning track season, I ran the mile, the 800 meters and the 4 x 400 meters. And my coach always put me either as the first or the last in that relay team. I HAVE NO IDEA WHY! We never won. If I was first, I put us way behind everyone; if I was last, it was pretty much guaranteed we would not win because I was never able to catch up to anyone. Maybe coach just wanted to give our group a few more races to participate in…a pity race! (I got a lot of pity claps at the end of the 4 x 4).

Anyway, I learned that for me, track wasn’t as fun as cross country, but I did enjoy the mile and the 800 back then. However, I’m pretty sure high school was the last time I have ran/timed just a mile….and that was, uh… 7 years ago!  7 years ago was also the last time I saw my cousin whom is the reason I was in Missoula this past weekend. 7 years ago he (with his family of course) came out for my high school graduation.

So here we are 7 years later and I’m celebrating my cousin’s graduation and running a timed mile. And it was miserable. (Not the graduation, that was fine!).

We woke up early in the morning; earlier than we would have liked because it was the only way we would have a chance to get a ride to Downtown Missoula. We sat in a bagel shop eating breakfast and drinking coffee while we wasted time. As race time got closer, we walked the two blocks to The Runner’s Edge, Missoula’s local running shop. We picked up our packets (20 bucks and no tshirts, but we did get these cool headbands!) and people watched as we waited.

Turns out, the Runner’s Edge sponsors the Missoula Running Club (called Run Wild Missoula) and sunday is long run day. The shop sets up water and cliff shots for the runners as a halfway mark on the run and opens their doors for use of the restrooms/rest. We watched  A LOT of these running club members stop by. At first we were confused by people taking shots of the cliff energy stuff thinking it was a little excessive for a mile race…but we finally figured out what was going on.

First up was the Prep-Mile, allowing the young runners to race, ages 10-18. The future of running!

Next was us: the women’s mile run/walk! Not too many participants…maybe 30 tops. (This was the same with the men’s run too). With the shot of the gun from the Mayor, we were off! We crossed the busy street of Broadway and headed down Higgin’s street to the bridge and back! Pretty flat, but sprinting the whole time. It was a pretty cool morning too, so by the time I was finished my fingers were cold and my chest hurt from rapidly breathing in the cold air. A few women passed me, but I think I finished in the top 10. The girl who won ran in about 5 minutes or so!! Crazy girl!! LOL, but she was a collegiate runner for a local university! Super fast! Super awesome!

I finished in about 7:10, I believe, although the exact time might be off a little. Not too shabby, I think! But still felt horrible…full belly…cold hands…tired legs…and no feeling in my toes!!!

You’re probably wondering about my ability to tie my shoes, huh? I tied my stupid shoes too tight…yeah, I know, rookie mistake, but I’m thinking, “I better get these suckers tight because I’m going to be sprinting hard core!” Yeah…about that….it’s kinda hard to run when you can’t feel your toes……I bet I was running like a goof. My form had to be awful!

Anyway, my Mom ran too! I got an sweet action shot of her about to finish! After she reached the finish line, we sat on the sidewalk with water in hand and watched the men run followed by the little kids (they were kinda cute watching run…but I still don’t like children…) and then the first responders!

This part of the event was pretty cool. About 20 or so first responders including firefighters, forest rangers, smoke jumpers and EMTs ran the Mile in their full gear! The crowded made sure to give each one a round of applause as they finished. It was a great way to support the people that save our lives everyday…and hey, a few them were kinda cute ; ) but I have a thing for firefighters…shh…don’t tell.

The only disappointing part was that we DID NOT get free ice cream. Only the kids did. I was very sad, let me tell you! (If you’re wondering, Big Dipper Ice Cream was a main sponsor for the event).

I did, however, win a raffle prize! I got another new headband!!

Overall, the Missoula Mile is actually a fun little event, especially for the locals of the area. It seemed like everyone knew each other; the announcer even acknowledged some finishers by name. The proceeds went to benefit Prostate Cancer Awareness with some of the local doctors running in the race! The Missoula Mile is a fairly new event, but I can see it growing in the years to come to be something big!