Allow me tell you about my next race on tap for this summer: The Half Sauer Half Kraut Half Marathon on Saturday, June 16. (Two weeks away!) Can I tell you how much I love these Saturday races that are popping up? It’s so nice to get it done at the start of the weekend, and then you have two whole days to put all those calories right back in!
The Half Sauer Half Kraut Marathon and Half Marathon is run in Pennypack Park in Philadelphia along the bike trail there.
Image via uberendurancesports.com
This excites me because I spent many a weekend fishing the Pennypack Creek with Papa Dish back “when I was still cute.” This race is organized by Uber Edurance Sports, which is dedicated to putting on philanthropic races with a “German twist” in the Philadelphia area. While both a half and full marathon are offered, I will only be running the half.
I’m told Lederhosen are optional. (Image via uberendurancesports.com)
Once again I’m running this race with my Maid of Honor (MOH) and her unflappable sidekick, Mr. MOH. They dragged me into this, really. They were already signed up for it and I couldn’t resist a good sweaty bond-fest with one of my favorite couples. Plus, at this point, Steamtown training is underway so I need to keep my mileage up anyway!
Because A.) part of this race is on a trail, and B.) it could be un-Godly hot, we will not be running this race for time. Not a chance. We’re doing this one purely for fun!
One part of the race that I’m very curious about is “Mount Cuckoo” somewhere around Mile 6. This is how it is described on the website:
“Mount Cuckoo is a 1 mile trail section that might feature minor roadblocks like rocks, dirt, possibly horse poop and some short rolling hills. This section is relatively easy by trailrunner standards, but the surface is definitely different from what you usually discover during a (half)marathon.”
Having very little trail experience, this could trip me up a bit. But the MOH clan doesn’t have much trail experience either, so the three of us could end up rolling around in the horse poop together. (ew.)
On the upside, there’s a Bavarian waitress named “Heidi” who will be handing out gels along the course. I thought this would be enough to persuade Mr. Dish to participate, but alas… he says he’d rather relax on a Saturday morning. His loss…
