State #13 took me to amish country in Pennsylvania back in September for the Bird-In-Hand Half Marathon. Parks would be running this with me (at the same time, but again he is the fast one) as well as my friend Chris. George had knocked out PA a while back, so he would not be joining us.
This race has been on my list forever because of the handcrafted horseshoe medal. The race always falls the weekend immediately following a big, lunch, work event, but this year I bit the bullet and flew out the night of the work event since the race was on Saturday. Thursday night I stayed at the Harrisburg International Airport onsite hotel, as I landed around midnight.
Friday, I checked a non race related item off my bucket list and went to Hershey, PA.
While the theme park was not open when I arrived. I explored Hershey World and browsed all of the incredible chocolate selections.
After Hershey World, I headed to Lancaster, PA to explore the Lancaster Central Market which is the oldest publicly owned continuously running farmer’s market in America.
After grabbing a sandwich from the market, I headed to York, PA to check into my Hampton Inn while I awaited the arrival of Parks & Chris. York is about 30 minutes from the race town Bird-In-Hand, PA. Parks & Chris were staying at a motel there (I opted to use my Hilton Honors points), so I went to meet up with them about 4pm.
We headed over to the farmland where the race would be held, for packet pick up and a pasta dinner. It was a great local set up with many vendors including some Amish, all under one big tent. In our packets we got our bibb, race shirt, a whoopee pie and a well put together race program. The race shirt has the Amish term “Vella Shpringa” on it, which loosely translates to “Let’s Run.” We enjoyed our pasta dinner and some sweet treats. I opted for cake & ice cream and Parks tried the shoofly pie, which is a sweet molasses crumb pie. After dinner, I headed back to York to get some rest before the race.
We reconvened Saturday at the race. Parks went to line up at the front, Chris went to about the 2 hour group and I hung back with the 2 hour 20 minute group.
The race was fantastic. It was very scenic running through Amish Country. While mostly running solely through farmland, it was still an enjoyable experience. Even, the Amish we’re participating and many were faster than me. There were a lot of spectators through out the course and plenty of hydration stations. The only negatives were the temperature, random hills, and running through a cornfield. One surprise on the course was a camel right before the cornfield we had to run through. The cornfield was horrible because it was non paved and uneven terrain. At about mile 12 this was working some other muscles and I could feel my calves wanting to seize up. While not close to my record setting Duluth, MN time; I was pleased to come in under 2 hours and 20 minutes at 2 hours 18 minus and 2 seconds.
Not ready for lunch yet, we headed to Park’s motel and freshened up before coming back for the post race feast. This was probably one of the best parts of the experience. After the race, a community cookout is hosted for everyone to enjoy; not just the race participants. They had grilled meats and sides; as well as leftover desserts from the night before. We also purchased cutting boards from an Amish woodworker before we left. After lunch we explored Bird-in-Hand and Intercourse, PA. For dinner we went to the Smokehouse BBQ & Brews and then settled in at the motel for some Alabama football. I left at halftime to head back to York, before my early morning flight home.
As I teased at the beginning, I was here for the medal. When a horseshoe can no longer be used on a horse, it is crafted into the unique Bird-in-Hand Half Marathon Medal. Quite fitting for my #13 race, a lucky horseshoe.
I highly recommend this race not only for the medal, but also for the the great local community atmosphere.
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