Valley of the Lilies half marathon

I grew up in Cullowhee, so I was excited to do the Valley of the Lilies half (named for the English translation of the Cherokee name Cullowhee). This was the 3rd or so year of this race, and I'd been wanting to do it, but it was always the same weekend as something else, so this year I decided to go for it. 

The course is not too terribly challenging, considering that it's in the mountains. More looping around the WCU campus than I would have chosen, but then we headed off campus and down by the river for a while. There's a short uphill leaving the river up to the highway around mile 8 or 9, and then a short section on the highway before a long downhill back to the river. This is the first place I saw my parents. It's so fun to do races in WNC so they can come. 

Around mile 10 comes the biggest climb of the race. They call it the Catamount Climb and sell t-shirts. It's tough. And long. But then you get to the top and you're rewarded with a nice downhill back to campus. One more loop through campus (including a fun downhill where I passed a guy who was originally very upset to be passed by a girl but then decided I was fast enough that he didn't mind… thanks?) and up a small hill to finish by running through an inflatable catamount. Pretty cool touch. 

Nice finisher's gift of a pint glass with the race logo, but I was a little disappointed not to get a medal (I race for the medals!). 

Luckily I placed in my age group, so I got a medal after all!

After a shower and a yummy lunch of meatloaf (made by my mom) and arugula sandwiches on bread I made, my parents and I headed up to do some trail recon for the Smoky Mountain Relay next weekend.