Skunk Cabbage Half Marathon 2025

Xander qualified for Boston

The day before this race, Scott and I were enjoying coffee after hot yoga while Xander was running The Cheap Marathon in New Hampshire. It was his first, and his hope was to qualify for Boston. Scott and Elizabeth were following him and I had asked not to get updates. It was just too stressful for me to hear the play by play.

Later, while buying Easter candy in Wegmans, we received a call from a breathless Xander. He did it!! He qualified for Boston with a 2:47 and change. With a qualifying time of 2:55 for his age group, hopefully the 7 minutes would be enough for him to get in.

We meandered over to packet pick-up for the Skunk Cabbage race and eagerly shared the news with friends working pick-up and anyone in the store who would listen to us. My friend Matt was there picking up his bib and he casually said, “see you tomorrow at the race.” I replied, “I’m not going if it is raining.” He laughed and then looked at my face. He realized from my expression that I actually might be serious. “Really, you won’t go if it it is raining?” Hearing someone verbalize this make me realize I was being a little silly. I would probably go.

Getting ready

A friend of Scott’s family stayed with us the evening before the race. He was running the race the next day too. Scott and I try, but we are not the best hosts. I had been racing around all day trying to get my school work done and then came home and rushed to make a presentable meal for a guest. It turned out to be just south of average which was a bummer. Xander had a concert that we watched virtually that kept us up a little later than normal, and I really struggled to settle in to sleep.

The next morning we woke up at our usual 5 am time, and sat upstairs to do our New York Times puzzles so as not to wake our guest. He awoke soon enough and we met up downstairs to have a pre-race bagel with peanut butter. I realized as I was eating this that I truly despise bagels with peanut butter. I had a moment wondering why I haven’t figured out a better pre-race breakfast after all this time. My stomach felt off and I was grumpy. It was rainy and cold and I was tired and unprepared to run 13.1 miles.

The forecast did say it would stop raining by race time, but I wasn’t quite sure that I believed it.

Pre-race

Our guest left before us and we exchanged good luck wishes. Soon, we hopped into our car and headed to the race, making a quick stop at Wegmans for a reliable bathroom before hitting the lines in Barton Hall. It was a cold mist outside as we left Wegmans and I lamented the weather.

When we arrived, we dashed from the garage to Barton Hall in the rain and I quickly got into a bathroom line. Soon, I was talking to friends on the indoor track and getting ready to run. I had opted to wear capri length leggings, a vest, long sleeves, an ear band, and gloves. I was second guessing the capris as I ran into a friend who had chosen short leggings. I had considered that. Had I made the wrong choice? I started spiraling. I had made this choice and I had to live with it.

Soon, the race was starting and I was still grumbling about the rain. Now I was thinking, “sure it will stop as soon as I’m actually wet.” I waited as long as possible to head outside. It was still misting, but it did seem like it would stop soon. Just as I rounded the first half mile, the mist stopped. The forecast had been correct after all. It stopped almost in time for the race to start.

Positive peer pressure

Before mile 1, Matt appeared. He was starting strong and happy. We chatted briefly until it was clear that he was on a faster trajectory than I was that day. I wished him well and he dashed off. I picked up a mental boost of positivity while talking with him. We often run similar speeds. Today it was clear that he was feeling stronger than I was, but I’ve been running long enough to know that each race and each day is different for everyone. I would run by feel and whatever happens would happen. I made a deal with myself to be inspired by everyone I was running near and those running back toward me as we neared the eventual turnaround for this out and back course.

Speaking of courses

This is the 2nd year of a new course for the Skunk Cabbage Classic. I was very fond of the old race course and really sad to see it switch to an out and back. Last year, I ran the new 10k route and it was fine. Scott ran the new half marathon course last year and he really enjoyed it. I wasn’t jazzed about it being an out and back because I can get pretty negative when I know exactly where I am relative to others on a course. Still, today I was going to be inspired by others instead of feeling discouraged, so it was going to be great!

And it was great. View my Strava flyover to see the course. As I neared the top of the hill just before mile 4, my friends Adam and Jeney were working the corner. They screamed encouragingly at me as I RAN up the hill before I turned to the gentle downhill that followed. I took a left onto the portion of the course that would take me right up to the turnaround and saw the front runners heading my way. I decided I would count people until I couldn’t keep up with the counting. I think I made it past 150 before people were just coming too fast to keep up. Soon, I saw Matt whizzing by - he was having a great race! I felt inspired.

After the turnaround

When you are one of the slower people in a not so big race, the 2nd half can feel pretty lonely. I was leapfrogging with a couple of other folks for 3-4 miles. It started to feel like a little game and I wondered which of us would finish first. Besides these two, I don’t think I really saw anyone on the way back. I found that I didn’t mind the out and back, and actually enjoyed the new course. I felt glad that I had come out for the race after all. Soon, I was back in Barton hanging out with folks and enjoying the familiar post race energy.

Results