Houston bound

We are getting closer to Saturday, which means we are getting closer to race day!  I'm writing this entry from the terminal at the Columbus airport.  I thought I would take a short break from people watching, which is single-handedly the greatest thing about flying, to update everyone on how you can watch/find results from the race this weekend.

The half marathon start time is set for 8 a.m. (CT) - that's 9 a.m. for all my east coast followers.  Because this race serves as the US Championships for the half marathon, there should be a live webcast at the website listed below:

http://www.runnerspace.com/USA-Half-Marathon

The folks at Runnerspace generally do a pretty good job with this, so hopefully if you make plans to wake up early and watch, it will work for you.

Like I said in a previous post, the field for this race is filled with talent.  This will arguably be the toughest competition, from top to bottom, that I have ever run against.  Saturday will be my first chance to race against some guys who I have looked up to as an aspiring distance runner: Ryan Hall, Abdi, and Jorge Torres.  I'm also looking forward to a little battle of Ohio that will take place between myself and fellow Ohioans Josh and Jason Ordway, Matt Folk, Chris Reis, and Leo Kormanik.  I guess you could say state bragging rights are on the line.

Somehow I've made it through the last 6 weeks of winter in Ohio uninjured and without any flu bugs, so all systems should be a go.  I'm also looking forward to an extra boost from some of my family who will be cheering me on at the race.  It'll be the first time that the Halls will get to see me run and I'm looking forward to spending some time with them over the next few days!

My feet will be on the ground in Texas in a few hours.  Thanks to everyone for all the good luck messages.  Godspeed!