After running my first full marathon last April, I decided to try half the distance this time.

After spending ten days in Schluchsee at the Feast of Tabernacles, I wondered how well I would do in today’s Cologne half marathon. After all, the Feast isn’t known for being a period of rigorous exercise. But the months of training since June paid off, especially the speed work recommended by Mary Ann Bates (Miller) following our April marathon. I ran 1:46:33 with a 49:55 time at the 10K mark. There were over nine thousand people signed up for the race, and I was finisher 1533 out of the 4936 men. For my age bracket (56-60 years) I was number 45 out of 254 men. The weather was perfect for the event, with the temperature around 45 degrees Fahrenheit for the 8:30 a.m. start, and it warmed to the low 50s by the time I had finished. As usual at these events, there was a party atmosphere before and during the race, although there weren’t as many people out to watch yet since the full marathon did not start until 11 a.m.

Now after a couple of days off I will continue running to prepare for the Dallas White Rock half marathon in December, which I will be running with Monica and our son Ted and hopefully our daughter Rachel as well. Maybe even son-in-law Eric will make it, too!

Comment from Matthew and Mary Ann Bates:

Hey! You are amazing! We went for a mile run yesterday and felt pretty proud of ourselves until we read this post. Keep it up! We have the 50k Dead Sea Ultra-Marathan down here in April if you want to come. Should we say we’ll do it if you will?

Answer from Paul Kieffer:

Hey, Mary Ann, you’re the one who got me started running again, so thanks! I got myself into "trouble" with you by answering a similar question re: the Bonn marathon, so I think I’ll pass on the Ultra-Marathon. The name of the event sounds too life-threatening!