Lincoln Half Marathon in Lincoln, Nebraska
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| Nice Nebraska! |
The first weekend in May is a popular weekend for races! There are so many great options, including my local race in Pittsburgh. I've run the Pittsburgh Half Marathon three times, and always have a bit of FOMO if I am not running it for one reason or another. However, once I started planning for my 50 States goal, I realized I would need to be willing to travel and race in other places this weekend.
I decided to run the Lincoln Half Marathon in Lincoln, Nebraska this year, because I am trying to prioritize visiting places that I have not been before. Lincoln was on my list after running the Louisiana Half Marathon in Baton Rouge, because I wanted to see another city with a skyscraper Capitol building! The race website was very user-friendly and the planning was simple. I found a reasonably-priced room at the Hilton Garden Inn Lincoln in the Haymarket District. The location was ideal, walking distance to the Expo and the Start/Finish!
Travel to Lincoln is a little tricky from Pittsburgh. I had heard that it was worth investigating flying into Omaha and renting a car, but when I checked it was not a significant enough savings to justify the additional expense and stress of renting a car and driving/parking. I opted to fly in and out of Lincoln, flying on United for the first time in years. I had a very tight connection in Chicago (O'Hare), but I powerwalked from terminal F to terminal C and made it right as they were boarding my group. However, when we took off there was a very loud screeching noise coming from the airplane door. We were maybe 20 minutes into the flight when the captain came over the speaker to let us know that we were turning around to head back to Chicago. "Nothing to worry about, probably just something stuck in the door seal, but we are turning around to have maintenance investigate." Super.
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| Returning to Chicago... hoping the door to the plane stays closed! |
The down side to planning quick turn-around race travel is that there is no margin for error in these types of situations. I was disappointed to miss checking out the Expo and the 50 States Half Marathon Club dinner. Robert, who I had met in Mississippi, had planned a group dinner at Fleetwood. I was able to get in touch with the group and let them know. Amy, one of the club members who I felt like I knew already through her comments and posts in the group, kindly offered to pick my packet up for me and drop it off at my hotel! I am so grateful for the connections in the club that makes things like this possible. I was beat by the time I finally arrived in Lincoln and really appreciated having my packet waiting for me when I checked in. The Hilton Garden Inn has an airport shuttle, which I also really appreciated. I wanted to crash, but needed to find a quick bite to eat first. I ordered a burger to-go from Leadbelly, a bar/restaurant across the street from my hotel.
I turned in early and slept very soundly. I woke up just ahead of my alarm and got ready. Amy met me downstairs in the lobby of my hotel so we could walk over together. Chatting with her on the walk to the start was the highlight of the race weekend for me! We are at similar points in the journey and seem to be approaching race planning pretty similarly, too, so we have a lot of upcoming races together!
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| Michelle, me, and Amy at the start! |
The start line energy was buzzing! There were over 10,000 runners between the various events, but everything was well-organized and the start was smooth. The weather was beautiful, and I felt pretty good. I'd been sick earlier in the week with a bad cough, so I was a little nervous that trying to run might not be the smartest idea. Surprisingly, I felt better as the race went on, and my lungs cooperated. I stuck to my 30:30 run/walk intervals and took it easy.
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| Picture of the Tri Delta house for my mom |
Course Report: The race course is really nice! I felt so comfortable and happy, probably because Lincoln reminds me so much of my hometown, State College. The campus is beautiful and the downtown is fun with so many bars and restaurants. I have a soft spot for college towns, I guess. We ran past the Capitol building, a highlight! There were great signs! I enjoyed the new-to-me: "Pain is just French for bread." It felt pretty flat to me, some gentle rolling hills, but nothing terrible. Someone near the top of one of the neighborhood hills had a funny sign that said something like "imagine trying to learn to ride your bike on this hill!" The course had plenty of shade, mostly roads plus a nice stretch on a paved bike path. The photographers were announced and easy to spot, and the free race pictures were available so quickly, I was very impressed!
There were so many friendly people out encouraging us, along the entire course! Everybody was just so nice! They went out of their way to cheer and use my name. I've never had so many people use my name in a race before! I wish I had actually counted, it was at least 20! I'm not sure if the bibs were just printed particularly clearly, or if that is a friendly midwestern Nebraska thing, but this race gets a gold star for crowd support! One of the volunteers made me laugh around mile 7 by simply cheering "you're alive?!" I heard it as a question at first, then a statement, and I decided it was a good perspective at the halfway point. The Lincoln Track Club is really impressive and puts on a top-notch event. All of the volunteers were out in their matching Lincoln Track Club T-shirts and seemed genuinely happy to be helping.
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| Polka cheer station, we danced |
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| First time running by a Porg cheer station, awesome |
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| I grew up on a street with a median strip, they make me happy |
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| Shady neighborhood streets make me happy, too |
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| Shady stretch of bike path |
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| Other side of the Capitol building |
Aid Station Report: I thought it was a little far to the first water stop, over 3 miles, I was starting to wonder and I was glad I had brought my own with me. After that, the water stops seemed appropriately spaced and they were all well-stocked with lots of volunteers. A few stations towards the end offered ice in cups, which I really appreciated because I could add it to my bottles!
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| First time getting water from someone in a tuxedo, fancy! |
Swag Report: I have to admit I wasn't all that excited about the medal when I first saw it revealed online before the race, but I like it more in person. It is big and shiny, and I have since learned the significance of the figure on the design as "The Sower" statue that is on the Capitol building dome. So, that feels special and representative of Nebraska, and will remind me of the Capitol building. The charcoal gray technical t-shirt, also with The Sower design, is not my favorite. I typically like to wear the race shirt on my travels home, but this one was a little snug for my taste so it will go straight into the "to be turned into a quilt eventually" box. Oh well, I've gotten pretty lucky lately with a lot of race shirts I actually like to wear!
Finish Line Report: The finish line was perfect! 10/10! We ran in towards the football stadium, and were greeted with waters, bags full of snacks and a Gatorade, chocolate milk, and pizza. The pizza was really good, apparently "the official pizza of the Huskers." I made my way back to the hotel, grateful for a late checkout. I took a relaxing shower and enjoyed my pizza (my hotel room had a microwave!) and stretched out for a bit.
I still had a lot of time before my flight, so when I checked out I left my luggage with the front desk staff and walked to the Capitol building. It was open to the public, and you could explore at your leisure. It is beautiful inside! I really enjoyed visiting. I took a lot of pictures.
It took me an embarrassingly long time to get the Capitol building, my face, and the medal all inside a Nebraska-shaped selfie.
I headed back to the hotel and the shuttle took me to the airport. The Lincoln airport is lovely! Bright and airy, nice seating, tiny, only 6 gates. I probably did not need to be there two hours early, but I found a good seat and listened to my audiobook, "The Night We Met" by Abby Jimenez. The lady working the gate cracked me up, she said "This is the last thing I have to do before I go home, let's get this thing boarded early. Now boarding groups 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5, go, go, go!" We were boarded and out of there about 20 minutes early, which helped me have a somewhat more leisurely sprint through Chicago, again from gate F to C? Thankful for very smooth travels home, landed early in Pittsburgh and was in my own bed just after midnight.
Nebraska complete! Lucky State #13 / Half #19
Date: 5/3/2026
Bib: 6139
Time: 3:21:16
Pace: 15:22
Next up is the Fargo Half Marathon in Fargo, North Dakota, also with Amy!
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