HITS Endurance Running Festival Truly Had a Race for Everyone

Bright and early last Saturday morning—7 a.m., to be exact—runners lined up to begin a half- or full marathon out at the Circuit of The Americas as part of the HITS Endurance Running Festival.  It was perfect cold weather for a marathon— it's always more enjoyable to run in the cold instead of the intense heat.  At 11 a.m., the 5k (the race I chose to do ) and 10k runners lined up at the start.  The start of our race was in the same spot as the finish of the full and half-marathons, which allowed us to support them as they came down the track and crossed the finish line. 

We took off on time down the surprisingly hilly and winding Formula One Race track—it was such fun!  The entire course had music playing over loudspeakers, which helped those of us without iPods keep a steady beat.  The 5k and 10k races used an out-and-back course, which allowed me to high-five all the runners I knew, coming and going.  HITS gave great medals to all the finishers and,  as always, the post-race snacks were both plentiful and yummy. 

The race organizers were also very efficient in giving out the awards after each event, and—just when you thought it was all over—athletes still had two more events to try. At 1 p.m., the friends-and-family mile started on the racetrack, followed by a sprint duathlon for those runners and bikers who wanted to combine two events into one!

From the easy parking to the positive atmosphere to running on the race track, we had a blast. HITS' race slogan is true: There is a distance for everyone!