Half Marathon, Kotzebue Style

I think many of you know this, but last spring I got really into running and ended up training for a half marathon over the summer. Well, we got back up to Kotzebue, and the following weekend was the annual Mosquito Half Marathon. Kotzebue is obviously not big enough for a half marathon, unless you wanted to run around it 4 times. But, there is a gravel road that was constructed a few years ago that goes on a loop beginning at one side of town, goes out around the tundra, and then returns on the other side of town. This is where the Half Marathon goes. The "race" is definitely just a fun community event, where people run, walk, or bike the 13.1 miles. I wasn't planning on running it because I had definitely slacked off on my training, but my friend JoAnna (who teaches first grade with me) convinced me to run it at about 11pm the night before. My time was definitely not as good as my Half Marathon over the summer, but I still finished it, and ended up taking 3rd place in the women's running division. Woo hoo! Here is a picture of JoAnna and I after the race with our awesome "Mosquito Half Marathon" jackets.


Running a half marathon in the Arctic... check!