I was able to take off work a tiny bit early so I could make it into Boulder around 7:30pm on Friday night. The ambassador cocktail reception had already been going for over an hour, but I thankfully made it in time to chat with some friends, hear Nicole DeBoom (founder of Skirt Sports) speak, and most exciting of all - get a sneak peak into the new fall collection that will be coming out towards the end of the summer! It was a blast (although I forgot to take any pictures!).
I did take a selfie before I hit the road - to show off my new shirt - love it! |
Saturday morning we all met up in Lyons for an Ambassador hike along with break out sessions to discuss different things about the ambassador program, learn social media tips, and I even helped teach a "running selfie" class! It was a lot of fun!
Hiking in Lyons |
That's a lot of Skirt! |
Not Skirt Sports related, but that afternoon I met up with some friends to wish my friend Lauren good bye before she moves to Kansas (speaking of which - anyone know of any good races in or near Manhattan, KS so I have an excuse to go visit?).
And then of course, Sunday was the race! I'm mostly in "ultra-training" mode for Lean Horse in August, so I just decided to keep this one fun and enjoy it (as opposed to "racing" it). I ended up settling in on a nice pace with my friend Dawn, and we ended up running the entire thing together! It was a lot of fun and I enjoyed getting to know her better throughout those 13 miles!
The course was beautiful, but definitely not an easy one. It starts and ends in Louisville, where you head west toward Boulder with great views of the Flatirons. The first several miles are great - you head downhill on Marshall Road, then take Cherryvale North. These two roads are more rural and just beautiful. After that, you head back east on South Boulder Road for "The Hill". It's a big one - not insanely steep, but just never ending and long. Once you crest that hill though you get a gorgeous few miles on Davidson Mesa before heading back to the start/finish line area.
Running on Marshall Road |
That view though! |
FINALLY made it up "the hill"! |
The gorgeous Davidson Mesa! |
Dawn and I finishing - just sneaked in under 2:10! |
After the race I hung out awhile and chatted with a lot of the other ambassadors and had some amazingly delicious cake from Kim & Jake's (REALLY good gluten free cake if you're ever in the Boulder area) as well as headed back out to run in with some more awesome ladies!
Dawn and I had to get a picture together since we raced together! |
Monica and Jennifer have been in lots of Skirt Sports photo shoots, so I had to get a picture with the "models"! |
I took this after running back in with some more ambassadors! I wish I could pull off awesome finish line pictures! |
Overall this was just a really fun girls weekend! I loved meeting so many awesome, inspiring women who I've known from social media for awhile now, but had never met in real life. It was just an all around great time! Even if you're not an ambassador, I really recommend this race as well - it's just such an encouraging fun event. This is what I love about Skirt Sports - they're all about empowering women of all shapes, sizes, ages, and abilities to get out, move and be active!
RACE STATS:
Race: Skirt Sports 13er
Location: Louisville, Colorado
Distance: Half Marathon (13.1 Miles)
Date: June 12, 2016
Bib Number: 1008
Weather: 60's and cloudy (a nice change since it was HOT the day before - it was humid though!)
Official Time: 2:09:50
Elevation Gain: 547 Feet
Gender & Overall Rank: 35 of 125
Division Rank (F20-29): 5 of 11
Garmin Splits: 10:25, 9:27, 9:31, 9:39, 9:33, 9:19, 9:51, 11:04, 10:42, 10:34, 9:46, 10:16, 9:16
Course Map and Elevation Profile |
Race shirt, medal, and bib! |
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