Cow Bells and Cold: The Chilly Half Marathon

This morning was the running of the Chilly Half Marathon and Frosty 5K in Burlington, Ontario. Like previous year we encountered a rather cool morning which separates the people who really love to race from those that had common sense to stay in a warm bed. This was the third time I ran the race and all things considered it’s a great event. This year similar to last year the organization putting on the event gave out jackets which is a nice change from the many technical shirts that sit in my closet. They also gave away cow bells and you could hear people ringing them all along the race course.

Each year they have a great looking medal, this year was a full profile of the Chilli Pepper mascot. The race started at 10:05 AM and I think most of us huddled in our cars with the engines running or the local hotels and coffee shops to stay warm prior to the race starting. At about 9:50 AM many of us had made our way to the corrals and as one large group of people huddled in the corrals together we tried to stay warm.

The course is mostly flat with only a couple of small inclines, eload which is one of the sponsors can be found at all the water stations along the route. Lots of volunteers and a strong police presence makes the route probably one of the safer ones that I have run.

Spotted on the course this morning was a group of firemen in full jackets and pants, one individual in a chilly pepper costume and another gentleman wearing a chilli pepper hat. We had mostly overcast weather this morning so I left the sunglasses in the car and for my very first time in five years of racing, I ran without music so I could hear the cow bells in the distance.

If you are looking for a great race to start off your running season next year then check out the Chilly Half Marathon and Frosty 5K.