Asheville Half Marathon 3/21/26 - Half marathon #56 and State #23

 

As of today …

Lifetime - like.. estimate of ..135 races mixture of full marathons, half marathons, sprints TRI, 15K, 50K, 20K, 12K, Ironman races 

States - 

19 for marathons  / 3 other states for half marathons = 23 total states 

NC today is state  #23 and half marathon #56 💗

Yall shout out to Penny who did the full!   I’m loving being a Half fanatic right now 🤪😁.   Lots of HILLS! 💪  This weekend was just me and Penny.   As much as we love when the whole gang travels, we also love when it's just the two of us.  We had a great weekend in Asheville.   We visited the Biltmore Estate, had some amazing food, ran those hills, and ended our weekend at the Asheville Salt Cave for relaxation nap and massages.  It was FABULOUS! 

The Biltmore:

The Winery at the Biltmore:

We made it over to the winery on the property… however, if you go to Biltmore don’t assume the shuttle there takes you all over the 8,000 acres because we found out it did not! Which is kind of crazy.   We took Uber over to Biltmore and once we got on shuttle after gate to take you up to the house, the drive told us you had to use your own car to go over to the winery 😩.   We were very sad.   And btw the winery is 5 miles from the house so we did not want to walk 10 miles going there and back before race next day 🙃。However as we were taking shuttle back from house back down to get uber to get back to hotel, a very sweet couple on the shuttle offered to drive us over to the winery.    ❤️.  We were so glad because who knows when we will be back to this area and we wanted to see it all.  🤪😁.     

By this point both our phones were on low battery, so we didn’t take as many pics because we both forgot to take our extra chargers 🤪. 

Biltmore has some beautiful wines and that area has several little restaurants and shops.   Feels like you way away from the city but you really aren’t.   We enjoyed our evening there before retiring at the hotel for sleep before the race.  💕

What a way to finish off a race! You know Penny always finding us great adventures.  🥰🥰. The salt cave was amazing and the massage following our nap inside the cave was like the cherry on top 💗.  I had never heard of salt caves, but they say they are good for you.   It sure was relaxing! ☺️ 

Our flight home has been changed so we enjoyed a late supper at Bone and Broth that was fabulous.  💗

MS50 20 K 3-7-26

 Been a min … since 2021 that I’ve done this trail run.  I’ve had other races on the same weekend several times.   I was back out there today.  Not really running.  Just visiting 🤪. I walked and jogged some with Sunshine Roberts Smith and her mom who is 80!  Doris has been doing the race since like 1998 … she’s run Boston 2X and she’s done the longer distance at MS50 more times than I can count.   She’s amazing and never stops.   I hope to be able to move like her when I’m 80 🥰. 

It was a VERY hot and MUGGY day!  And the pine pollen was like yellow smog we had to run through.  🫣.  The trails were the driest I’ve ever seen in my 9 years of doing the race … 

I felt so for the ones doing the 50K, 50 miler and 100 miler today! They would come by us so soaked with sweat it was literally splashing off them to us.   It was 🥵!! 

Congrats to all my friends! I enjoyed seeing so many of you today!    Delaine, Chris, Susan, Gary, Iva, Lori, Lacy, and several I’m forgetting names at the moment.

My feet hurt so bad tonight. I wore an old pair of running shoes that were zero drop and let’s just say my arches are aching! 😩

Sea turtle Sweetheart Half Marathon - 2-14-26

 Someone said … what is Galentines day anyway….  So I googled it to be sure 😁. 

A holiday usually February 13.. day b4 Valentines dedicated to celebrating female friendships.   To honor, appreciate, and strengthen bonds with female friends.  How perfect is that for our group!    Each of you strengthen me and inspire me! 💗💗.  Thankful for our weekend together 💗. Let’s do it again soon 😁

What a beautiful weekend!  Penny’s husband even placed in the 5K ❤️💪.   Candy also placed in the half marathon 💪.   Love the half distance over a marathon any day 🤣🤪💗💗.   Thankful candy was my valentine and shared a room with me 🥰. Sorry Michelle Rice Hatton but she was mine this weekend 🤣🤣. 

#untilthenextone #memories #friendship #runningmotivation #ValentinesDay2026

Medal Monday, Finishing Half Marathon 54

Thankful for a finish. 

Giving God all the glory.

I got this book at the expo.  This guy was shot 5 times while saving coworkers … Set a goal to run 50 states, 50 marathons in 50 weeks …..   I want to read it to hear his whole story.  ❤️

Here are a few pics from the weekend:

Molten Mohawk Niner - 2026

February 2026

Molten Mohawk Niner done! ✔️. 🥵 and humid !! Penny Pruitt Smith and I decided to just have a FUN run and walk jog 🤪😁.   Love this crazy group!   Can’t believe it will be back 50 and 20 degrees next week after the sweat 😥 from today!   Local race in Hattiesburg.  We love the organization, but maybe not the hills so much. 😛   Pics from the race this morning.

Daufuskie Island Marathon - Jan, 2026

 

Marathon #40

State #22

Starting 2026 off with some amazing women on a little Island called Daufuskie, SC 

Island was beautiful.  Marathon weather was perfect.  Nice and cool.   Course was not so cool.  It was a 2 loop course.  we ran a couple of miles on sand! And had to do that 2X! Know how it feels to run in the sand or walk in the sand on the beach 🤨🧐🙃🫣… followed by some packed dirt with rocks 🙁😩.  But the last 2 miles down the beach line was a “wow” moment for me.  Absolutely stunning when we ran over that bridge and onto the beach sidewalk.   Certainly not a fast run for me… but i was honored to finish with Virginia 💗💪🎊 and forward is movement.. no matter the pace.  

Virginia had not done a marathon in 10 years and decided this was her one to come back …. So of course we all jumped on the wagon.   12 women in one house for The Weekend … talk about some laughs and bonding. 🥰

We had some new women that had not traveled with our little group and I hope we didn’t scare them off 🙃🤣🥰.  We loved having you girls join us!  

Until next time… don’t let the day go by without knowing how much I enjoyed all of you this weekend! 💗💗 see ya at the next run! 🏃🏻‍♀️   Here are a few pics from our fabulous weekend in SC

Some said I didn't get the "red" memo.  ha.