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  "description": "My second half marathon in as many weeks—and a final tune-up before Ironman 70.3 Coeur d’Alene.",
  "path": "/2025/06/09/race-report-2025-grand-teton-half-marathon/",
  "publishedAt": "2025-06-09T14:00:00.000Z",
  "site": "at://did:plc:vmxpdybfbj3ogs4w6p5pjhhs/site.standard.publication/self",
  "tags": [
    "Half Marathon",
    "Race Reports",
    "Running"
  ],
  "textContent": "Last year I surprised myself on the run at Ironman 70.3 Coeur d’Alene---I came out of T2 like a bat out of hell and it ended up being my fastest run split in a 70.3 to date. There were probably multiple reasons for that, including the shortened swim, but I think one factor was the Grand Teton Half Marathon, which I had raced two weeks prior. That was also my fastest half marathon to date, and I suspect that strong run kicked my running fitness up a notch or two just in time for the race. This season, I'm putting that hypothesis to the test by racing not one, but two half marathons before this year's edition of Ironman 70.3 Coeur d’Alene. The first one was the Jackson Hole Half Marathon two weeks ago, so without further ado, here's a quick race report about the Grand Teton Half Marathon, my last running race before heading back to Idaho later this month. With over 2,000 participants, the Grand Teton Half Marathon is the biggest of the three local half marathons in Jackson Hole, and it’s become my favorite as well, with great organization, cool swag and medals, and a chill course with lovely views of the Tetons. This year's course was exactly the same as last year: It starts at the Stilson Lot next to Rendezvous Park, heading west toward Wilson on the Jackson Hole Community Pathway for about a kilometer and a half before looping back towards R Park. After crossing the pedestrian bridge over the Snake River, it continues along Wyoming Highway 22, then turns onto Spring Gulch Road around halfway, finishing at the Jackson Hole Golf Club. The first half of the route is fairly flat and on the Community Pathway; the second half is at a slight grade and on the road, but with cones and ample separation from car traffic, it never feels even remotely dangerous. The total elevation gain for the course is about 98 m, most of it on the second half, on Spring Gulch Road, which has an average grade of about 0.5% according to this Strava segment I created. I know a lot of people travel for this race, so it’s also worth mentioning that the average elevation at this race is 1,905 m---if you’re planning to do it, make sure you know how to prepare for racing at altitude. View this course in Garmin Connect or Strava. The parking situation for this race was more complicated than in previous years due to the ongoing construction of the new Stilson Transit Center near the start line, so I asked Kate to drop me off instead of taking one of the shuttles provided by the race. It was a brisk but beautiful 2.8ºC morning, with clear blue skies that guaranteed gorgeous views of the mountains from Spring Gulch Road and at the finish line. I got there shortly before 6:00 AM and did a short warmup to shake off the cold before seeding myself near the front for the start. I didn’t have specific time goals for this race; last year I finished fourth in the male masters category with a time of 1:37:09, so finishing faster than that was more of a stretch goal than anything else, although I did hope to get on the podium again. The past two times I’ve done this race, I’ve started too fast and then blown up a little bit towards the end, so I wanted to try to pace more evenly and finish stronger. I also wanted to see if tweaking my nutrition would help---last month at the Jackson Hole Half Marathon I felt like I could have used one more gel, so my nutrition for this race was a Maurten Gel 160 before the race start, another one about thirty-five minutes in, and a Maurten Gel 100 Caf 100 about thirty minutes later, for a final caffeine boost. The aid stations, roughly every 5 km, had plenty of Honey Stinger gels and waffles, along with bananas and oranges, but as always, I prefer to use Maurten, since it’s what I’ve trained with and what they have at the Ironman aid stations. Train like you race, as they say, although in this case maybe it's the other way around. The race started at 6:30 AM on the spot, and even though my goal was to not start too hard, it quickly became obvious I didn’t have much of a choice---I just didn’t feel strong at all. Maybe it was poor sleep or accumulated fatigue from my previous workouts, but some days you just ain’t got it, and that’s the exact thought that crossed my mind almost as soon as I started: “Nope, I ain’t got it today.” Oh, well. Still, I did my best to hang on and managed to hold an uncomfortable pace of 4:30/km through the first half of the race, until the turn on Spring Gulch Road, where I expected to slow down a bit due to the slight grade. Right after the turn I started feeling some pain in my left calf, but I dug deep---I didn’t want to let my pace get slower than 5:00/km. It was a struggle and I got passed by a few people, but despite the niggling pain in my calf, my pace for the second half of the race was a steady 4:47/km. I think the second gel helped; at least I didn’t feel myself fading towards the end, like I did two weeks ago. Almost there. | Credit: MarathonFoto I crossed the finish line in 1:37:49, just forty seconds slower than last year. I got third place in the male masters category and twenty-second overall, out of 2,166 finishers, so even though I was slower than last year, I moved up a spot on the podium. Considering I wasn’t firing on all cylinders, I’ll take that as a win. After sticking around for the awards ceremony and collecting my medal---in an all-Wyoming podium for my category, interestingly---I rewarded myself with breakfast and pastries from my favorite bakery in town, the biggest upside of racing at home. And with that, it’s almost time to start my taper for Ironman 70.3 Coeur d’Alene, where I’ll find out if doubling up on these half marathons was a brilliant strategy or a stupid, reckless idea. Stay tuned!",
  "title": "Race Report: 2025 Grand Teton Half Marathon",
  "updatedAt": "2025-08-19T22:52:45.817Z"
}