Amica Insurance Half Marathon
Charlotte, North Carolina
Saturday, December 11, 2010

The temperature was 27 degrees as began the Amica Insurance Half Marathon in Charlotte, North Carolina on Saturday, December 11, 2010. I was cold! There was a gentle wind and a partly cloudy sky. The course was completely on roads closed to traffic with one to four police officers at each major intersection controlling the traffic who despite the cold were very cheerful. A big thank you goes to all the volunteers who also braved the cold and manned the water/Gatorade stations which were located every 1.5 miles. There was much up and down along the race route; however, none of the hills were very steep or challenging. The finish was located at the Nascar Hall of Fame in downtown Charlotte. The race was very well organized and fun to do even though the temperature only reached around 40 degrees by the time I finished. On the way home at the Charlotte airport I got a chance to talk to Kevin Hanson who along with his brother own a chain of shoe stores in Michigan and started along with the Brooks Shoe Company the Hanson-Brooks Project to sponsor elite distance runners after their collegiate careers has ended so that the USA can once again become competitive in distance events internationally. The program has been very successful and has been written about in Runner’s World. I have seen and talked with many of their athletes at events throughout the country, including Brian Sells who represented the USA in the Olympic Marathon in 2008.