Purple-- if the race is well thought out ( and *most* are, at least in my experience) they will have a shuttle service. it will EITHER pick runners up BEFORE the race at the finishing area, and shuttle them to the start, OR it will pick runners up at a designated place at the e3nd, and bring them BACK to the beginning. MOST of the time the shuttle service is free, but not always. ALso, be prepared to have to be at the race really really early if the shuttle picks you up BEFORE and takes you to the start. Be prepareed to WAIT for a while if the shuttle picks you up at the END to take you back to your car! Best thing to do is carpool, OR have a loved one take you, watch you start the race, and then drive and meet you at the end! Hope that helped..

BTW it wasnt silly...i used to TOTALY STRESS about that ALL THE time, until i got used to doing races.....the organizers wont leave you hanging like that!! Oh, my OTHER big stress is always about the availability of porta-potties along the race course!! Keeps me up at night!

That makes me feel much better, MK! I am only walking a 5K this time so I didn't even think about potties!

The race web site should post all of the details -- parking, shuttle service (if applicable), race route, gear check, even porta pottie locations and water stops. The larger/longer races are usually very well organized and give you all of that in advance.

I am rather compulsive about researching it all ahead of time. My race paranoia usually revolves around finding parking, getting lost, and being late. So I research the race site, pick my parking strategy and get there VERY early. I'd rather hang around for 90 minutes ahead of time (and get in the potty lines 2 or 3 times), rather than risk running late and totally freaking out ....

Oh, I am so glad I'm not the only one worrying about these things...makes me feel more normal I don't even know how to sign up for it yet! It is a Jingle Bell Run through a local town YMCA near my house and it is about a month away. They are listing it on their YMCA website but no details as of last week, will check again today. I found it through the search at runnersworld.com and that listing doesn't give much details beyond date and time and distance, etc.

You are so brave to start out with a half marathon! I have been thinking about doing the Columbus half marathon because it is right at the time we visit my family in Ohio, but the distance scares me. I am so afraid I will never be able to even walk it! Hopefully shorter races will boost my confidence up some.

I think you can do it, but don't injure yourself.

My goal is to run a half-marathon as well!

I think for a half-marathon 7 months is okay as long as you keep up the training continuously. My dad ran a full marathon after training for only 8 months..and that's thirteen miles more than a half, and my dad was DEFINITELY not in the best shape, even when he actually ran the marathon!

I think it just depends on the individual though, just watch yourself and try to do things that will decrease your chance of injuries (keeping hydrated, wearing really good shoes, using appropriate form, etc.). That way you won't have any blips in your training schedule.

I have about 11 months until my half-marathon and I am starting off by walking because it's been over a year since I went for a jog!

How did you get motivated to run in a marathon? My brother just ran in one in October and I saw him cross the finish line. I was so proud of him and so were my parents...I want that same feeling!

Some races are loops and not point-to-point so you don't have to worry about shuttles or what not. This was the case with my 15k last weekend - makes it pretty headache free. I don't like dealing with logistics with shuttles either.

I've never run a 5K or 10K that wasn't a "loop". They are just too short. It's usually when you get into the longer (and bigger) races that you start seeing the point to point courses and have to mess with shuttles and such. But the bigger races are also usually well-organized. I've never had issues with shuttle transportation.

Now gear-check lines, THOSE can be a royal PIA if not well sorted, but that's another thing altogether .... Word of advice: NEVER use the swag bag they give you at the Expo for gear check, because then (surprise, surprise), yours will look exactly like the 6000 others!! Bring your own, preferably in some neon unmistakeable color and use that. Then you can point to your fluorescent orange bag with purple stripes in the stack and get yours immediately!

Purple, thank you for the kind words!

Mathgirl, good luck with your half marathon!

I started my weight loss journey thirteen weeks ago. I started just doing at home workout dvd's like the biggest loser ones and walking my dog. During those weeks, I learned so much about myself and my limits and basically that I can do anything that I put my mind to. These past weeks have been so empowering! I wanted to start running and I figured I would be more motivated if I had a race to train for. I started searching, but the only thing I found was the see jane run half marathon in june. No 5k's no smaller races....I evaluated the time I had to prepare, researched the race all I could and I started this thread to ask what people thought and...I just went for it, I signed up! There is no time limit to finish in so I know that I will get to finish no matter how far along in my training I get. I can do this!

"He who is not courageous enough to take risks will accomplish nothing in life...."

gets me revved up every time!

Keep up the good work! Just make sure you use the "no time limit" thing as an excuse for not training hard...not saying that you would...but I know for me, that would be my thought if I didn't want to wake up and exercise one morning, and then one morning would turn into a week, etc. etc.

Keep updating us on the training, I'm so excited for you!