Finish Strong (2025 Eau Claire Half Marathon)

“Finish Strong” was my only goal. These two words fueled the last three miles ... or was it the last three months?

I signed up for the Eau Claire Half Marathon 8 days prior as it seemed to fit into my (June) marathon training well. Since I didn’t really know what kind of shape I was in the plan was really simple ... finish faster and stronger on the back half than the first half. I lagged off the lead pack in 7th / 8th place for most of the day, but when it was time to turn the screws and get to work another fellow Blugold alum (Riley Huffman) and I picked our way up to 4th / 5th by the time we were hunting down the last 3 miles.

I saw the kids, my wife, mom and brother-in-law by the store on South Barstow Street with 2.5 miles to go and couldn’t help but let the family inspire my last miles. High fives all around, I gave a loud yell “LET’S GO!”, and my youngest was in a dinosaur costume - it was game on. The legs were getting heavier. The breathing no longer as controlled as earlier miles. The wheels on the cart were starting to rattle. As the pain set in, I did three things: (1) remember dad’s last weeks of life (2) keep running harder (3) repeat steps 1 & 2.

What was 5:3x per mile all day became 5:29 (12th mile) then 5:25 (13th mile), then a final homestretch of 4:48/mi. I don’t remember the final push very well as my eyes were shut for much of it. I do remember the pain though. This was not a blissful joyful final stretch to commemorate a great day. I had a runner ahead of me (Riley) and one right on my heels. This was pure pain. Full body on fire, arms pumping, stride breaking down, wanting & needing to be done. And then ... it was done. Finished. Finished strong. My only goal had been accomplished. On this day, I didn’t care about winning or time or place or any kind of extra recognition ... I just wanted to finish strong and feel like my father’s son. Eau Claire Marathon weekend has a funny way of turning a simple “tune up workout” into another amazing finish line experience. Big hugs, big smiles, big laughs all around. More hugs with the kids and Alicia. The longest hug of all with shared tears together with mom. We did it. He did it ... he finished strong.

Photo : Eau Claire Marathon (Matt Mousel)