Our thoughts go out to all of our partner race directors and event organizers during this unprecedented time. We know of thousands of road races and endurance events that have been cancelled around the world. We know that for many race directors, their races are their business and income, or their way to raise funds for charities they care about.
We ask all athletes to be patient and understanding with race directors during this difficult time. They are trying to make the best of this situation while keeping the health, safety and wellness of all athletes, volunteers, and the general public in mind. With an already crowded fall race schedule, not every race would be able to be rescheduled.
Everyone please stay safe. We are thinking of all of you- all race directors and all athletes.
This is the official club blog of the 100 Half Marathons Club. We are a racing club that celebrates those who have achieved the accomplishment of completing 100 lifetime half marathons, and encourages those who are on the way to reaching this goal.
2018 12 Days of Fitness Club Member Giveaway
Every year, the 100 Half Marathons Club offers its club members a giveaway called the 12 Days of Fitness.
Our club partners with amazing fitness, wellness, health and endurance sports product vendors to raffle off to our club members. We do this as a way to thank our members for their support and to celebrate the holiday season (and the end of the racing year). This year, we've changed the 12 days to 13.1 days. We have 13 raffle prize days in the month of December, and then a special .1 finishing raffle on New Year's Day sponsored by the club!
Here are our 2018 partners! Thank you to Bibs2Bags, Happy Puppies Athleticwear, KT Tape, Race Raves, Navitas Organics, Goddess Garden Organics, Drinkzyn, One Brands, Care/of, Simple Hydration, Detach Brands, The New Primal, Win Sports Detergent, and Celsius Drinks for providing us with wonderful raffle prizes for our club members! Please support these businesses! Thank you!
Our club partners with amazing fitness, wellness, health and endurance sports product vendors to raffle off to our club members. We do this as a way to thank our members for their support and to celebrate the holiday season (and the end of the racing year). This year, we've changed the 12 days to 13.1 days. We have 13 raffle prize days in the month of December, and then a special .1 finishing raffle on New Year's Day sponsored by the club!
Here are our 2018 partners! Thank you to Bibs2Bags, Happy Puppies Athleticwear, KT Tape, Race Raves, Navitas Organics, Goddess Garden Organics, Drinkzyn, One Brands, Care/of, Simple Hydration, Detach Brands, The New Primal, Win Sports Detergent, and Celsius Drinks for providing us with wonderful raffle prizes for our club members! Please support these businesses! Thank you!
2017 "12 Days of Fitness" Annual Club Member Giveaway
Every year, our club celebrates the "12 Days of Fitness." We partner with great fitness, wellness, health and endurance product vendors to raffle off 12 different prizes to our club members during the holiday season. This is one of the ways we thank our club members for being a part of our community.
We thank our amazing and generous 2017 partner vendors for providing products or gift certificates for our 2017 giveaway:
RaceRaves, Detach Brands, Happy Puppies Athleticwear, Bibs2Bags, Win Detergent, Care/of, Celsius, Trace Minerals Research, J&J Snack Foods / Corazonas Snacks, SOS Rehydrate, and Bug Protector!
We thank our amazing and generous 2017 partner vendors for providing products or gift certificates for our 2017 giveaway:
RaceRaves, Detach Brands, Happy Puppies Athleticwear, Bibs2Bags, Win Detergent, Care/of, Celsius, Trace Minerals Research, J&J Snack Foods / Corazonas Snacks, SOS Rehydrate, and Bug Protector!
Race Directors: How to Implement an Early Start
Race directors- is your half marathon time limit three hours or less? Are you looking for an easy way to add more race participants? Or, do you want to encourage athletes of all abilities and paces to participate, but want to make sure you don't have a handful of people still out on the course when your volunteers need to leave? Consider adding an early start.
Many half marathon races now offer a half hour or an hour early start for walkers or slower runners to give them a head start on the course before the official start time. There are many benefits to doing this:
Race directors should publish specific rules regarding the early start. We recommend you state clearly on your website that the early start is designed only for athletes that will finish in over a certain time (such as over a 2:45 or over a 3:00 finish), or their pace must be more than a specific minute per mile (such as a 15 minute mile). We suggest you specifically state that this early start is not meant for athletes that just want to get home faster, and that athletes who take the early start and finish faster than a certain time will be disqualified. Early start participants typically are not eligible for awards (this is completely understandable- those in the main start would have no idea they have a possible age group competitor that started earlier, and that would not be fair).
Also, it is your call about support for the early starters. Many race directors recommend their early starters take a course map in case there is any confusion. Some races will not have their first water stop set up in time for the early starters, and they tell the early starters they should carry their own water for the first hour.
In the past few years, we have seen early starts grow from a handful of people to thirty or more participants. They are thankful that they have the time to comfortably participate in an event, and that they are welcome and accepted as half marathoners.
Many half marathon races now offer a half hour or an hour early start for walkers or slower runners to give them a head start on the course before the official start time. There are many benefits to doing this:
- Most of your back-of-the-pack participants will wind up finishing with the mid-packers, so your athletes will be off the roads earlier
- With the time difference between the early start and the regular start, the early starters will be spread out enough so that all other runners can typically pass by safely
- Your registration numbers can increase as athletes that may not have made the time limit before can participate now with the early start
- Timing adjustments are easy- most timers take a list of the bib numbers for the people at the early start and then just add the additional time to their results later
- Your water stops, course marshals and volunteers won't have to wait on the last finishers to come in far beyond the main pack
- Having an early start supports athletes with disabilities that may need the additional time, giving more people the opportunity to participate in events
Race directors should publish specific rules regarding the early start. We recommend you state clearly on your website that the early start is designed only for athletes that will finish in over a certain time (such as over a 2:45 or over a 3:00 finish), or their pace must be more than a specific minute per mile (such as a 15 minute mile). We suggest you specifically state that this early start is not meant for athletes that just want to get home faster, and that athletes who take the early start and finish faster than a certain time will be disqualified. Early start participants typically are not eligible for awards (this is completely understandable- those in the main start would have no idea they have a possible age group competitor that started earlier, and that would not be fair).
Also, it is your call about support for the early starters. Many race directors recommend their early starters take a course map in case there is any confusion. Some races will not have their first water stop set up in time for the early starters, and they tell the early starters they should carry their own water for the first hour.
In the past few years, we have seen early starts grow from a handful of people to thirty or more participants. They are thankful that they have the time to comfortably participate in an event, and that they are welcome and accepted as half marathoners.
Safety Tips and Reminders For All Runners and Walkers
Our club is saddened and shocked by the recent news of three incidents where female runners were murdered while out on runs.
These are not the only cases where runners training by themselves were attacked or killed, but the sudden occurrence of these three deaths in one week have led many to question and re-examine their own safety while out on training runs. Some have made the decision to only do long-distance runs in races because they feel safer that way.
We encourage all runners and walkers to evaluate their personal safety while out on training runs (regardless of gender).
Here are some tips from our club members about training safely:
Avoid training alone if you can. Get a training buddy. Or, schedule a group run and walk with friends or local members of racing clubs. Have a sign up sheet where people sign themselves in when they start and out when they finish so everyone is accounted for. If people of different paces are training together, stagger starts or total mileage distance. Train in out-and-back or loop routes where people will regularly see each other.
Set up your training routes on well-lit, populated areas, preferably with businesses or residential areas nearby.
If you find your schedule means you have to train alone- make sure you are always aware of your surroundings. Ideally, don't use earphones. If you absolutely need music, wear one earbud or have a music player that doesn't need earphones.
Wear bright, visible clothing year round and during both day and evening/night runs.
Change your route daily and weekly. Change the roads you take, the distance you run, and the days you run. Do not create a "pattern."
Always carry some form of ID, either a photo ID or an ID band like Road ID. Wearing something with an emergency contact and phone number on it is ideal.
Consider using smartphone programs like the Road ID app that will let someone follow you on your route and will alert someone if you stop moving for more than five minutes.
Carry a phone.
Make sure someone knows where you are, how long you plan to be out, and what time you should be back.
Consider running/walking with a dog. Members who don't have a pet have run with a neighbor's dog or animal shelter dogs through a volunteer program.
If something doesn't feel right, trust your gut.
Don't over-share your personal information on social media or on GPS route tracking websites.
Remember that both men and women should be considered about their safety while running, walking, or cycling alone.
These are not the only cases where runners training by themselves were attacked or killed, but the sudden occurrence of these three deaths in one week have led many to question and re-examine their own safety while out on training runs. Some have made the decision to only do long-distance runs in races because they feel safer that way.
We encourage all runners and walkers to evaluate their personal safety while out on training runs (regardless of gender).
Here are some tips from our club members about training safely:
Avoid training alone if you can. Get a training buddy. Or, schedule a group run and walk with friends or local members of racing clubs. Have a sign up sheet where people sign themselves in when they start and out when they finish so everyone is accounted for. If people of different paces are training together, stagger starts or total mileage distance. Train in out-and-back or loop routes where people will regularly see each other.
Set up your training routes on well-lit, populated areas, preferably with businesses or residential areas nearby.
If you find your schedule means you have to train alone- make sure you are always aware of your surroundings. Ideally, don't use earphones. If you absolutely need music, wear one earbud or have a music player that doesn't need earphones.
Wear bright, visible clothing year round and during both day and evening/night runs.
Change your route daily and weekly. Change the roads you take, the distance you run, and the days you run. Do not create a "pattern."
Always carry some form of ID, either a photo ID or an ID band like Road ID. Wearing something with an emergency contact and phone number on it is ideal.
Consider using smartphone programs like the Road ID app that will let someone follow you on your route and will alert someone if you stop moving for more than five minutes.
Carry a phone.
Make sure someone knows where you are, how long you plan to be out, and what time you should be back.
Consider running/walking with a dog. Members who don't have a pet have run with a neighbor's dog or animal shelter dogs through a volunteer program.
If something doesn't feel right, trust your gut.
Don't over-share your personal information on social media or on GPS route tracking websites.
Remember that both men and women should be considered about their safety while running, walking, or cycling alone.
Club Member Spotlight: SoleSisters Rhonda Luevano and Sue Jackson
Club members Rhonda Luevano and Sue Jackson have teamed up as SoleSistersRun4ALS. They are in a quest to run 60 half marathons in a year to bring awareness to ALS and fundraise for the ALS Therapy Development Institute (TDI).
Their goal is to raise $20,000 toward ALS research on behalf of retired Tennessee Titan Tim Shaw, who was #20 when he played football for Penn State.
They are running several of the races together and others apart due to the fact that Sue lives half the year in Upper Michigan and the other half in Southern Georgia, while Rhonda lives in South Carolina.
They kicked off their adventure with a double at Grasslands in Decatur, TX and A2A in Ardmore, OK in March. They have also met up at Peach Jam in Cummings, GA and for a double weekend with the Indy Mini and Kalamazoo Half Marathons. Their annual race tradition is the Cellcom Green Bay Half Marathon in Wisconsin.
In addition to the races Rhonda has run with Sue, she been running all over the country, completing events this year in SC, IL, TX, NC, MT, ID, WY, VA, ME, and VT.
Sue has also been on the go – she has run five races in CO and MT while camping with her husband. They will be meeting up again at the Air Force Half Marathon in September.
If you’d like to read more about their goal or follow their blog, please check out:
20for20: https://www.classy.org/events/20-for-20/e70363
SoleSisters: https://solesistersrun4als.wordpress.com/
Their goal is to raise $20,000 toward ALS research on behalf of retired Tennessee Titan Tim Shaw, who was #20 when he played football for Penn State.
They are running several of the races together and others apart due to the fact that Sue lives half the year in Upper Michigan and the other half in Southern Georgia, while Rhonda lives in South Carolina.
They kicked off their adventure with a double at Grasslands in Decatur, TX and A2A in Ardmore, OK in March. They have also met up at Peach Jam in Cummings, GA and for a double weekend with the Indy Mini and Kalamazoo Half Marathons. Their annual race tradition is the Cellcom Green Bay Half Marathon in Wisconsin.
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| Before the start of the 2016 Cellcom Green Bay Half Marathon |
In addition to the races Rhonda has run with Sue, she been running all over the country, completing events this year in SC, IL, TX, NC, MT, ID, WY, VA, ME, and VT.
Sue has also been on the go – she has run five races in CO and MT while camping with her husband. They will be meeting up again at the Air Force Half Marathon in September.
If you’d like to read more about their goal or follow their blog, please check out:
20for20: https://www.classy.org/events/20-for-20/e70363
SoleSisters: https://solesistersrun4als.wordpress.com/
Tia Pettygrue: 100 Half Marathon Finisher!
Club member Tia Pettygrue completed her 100th lifetime half marathon on June 12, 2016 at the Hotlanta Half Marathon in Atlanta, GA. She timed her 100th half to also be on her birthday!
From Tia: “It was such a blast but what made it more special is that fellow members, Ali Levering and Zenda Brantley, made me feel extra special. Ali made me one of her bibs, and Zenda spent hours the day before and the morning of the race putting out banners and posters celebrating my event. Zenda and I ran together and it was so cool as she would point out each sign! I traveled more for races than I ever have this year, but I will say that in this journey I was able to see so much of Florida that I had never seen in the 25 years I've been here- so many beautiful areas. I ran my first 50 Half Marathons over 5 years and ran the last 50 over 18 months, so I definitely caught the bug! I enjoyed this journey!”
Tia's next big goal is to qualify for the 2018 Boston Marathon. Check out her blog here.
From Tia: “It was such a blast but what made it more special is that fellow members, Ali Levering and Zenda Brantley, made me feel extra special. Ali made me one of her bibs, and Zenda spent hours the day before and the morning of the race putting out banners and posters celebrating my event. Zenda and I ran together and it was so cool as she would point out each sign! I traveled more for races than I ever have this year, but I will say that in this journey I was able to see so much of Florida that I had never seen in the 25 years I've been here- so many beautiful areas. I ran my first 50 Half Marathons over 5 years and ran the last 50 over 18 months, so I definitely caught the bug! I enjoyed this journey!”
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| Ali Levering’s special bib for Tia and one of Zenda Brantley’s on-course signs for Tia |
Tia's next big goal is to qualify for the 2018 Boston Marathon. Check out her blog here.
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