Addie wins half marathon, state championship!

Congrats to Marist Running Alum Addie DiFrancesco for her state-championship half marathon run at the Hogsback Half Marathon in Colebrook, CT. Addie was first female and seventh overall in 1:30:27, an average of 6:54 per mile on the very challenging course. The second-place female is usually in the 1:25 range for the half-marathon distance, so that tells you how well Addie ran here. In addition, here are some excerpts from Addie's very entertaining race report, sent via e-mail. We remember Addie as one of our craziest and toughest runners ever, and this race proves she is still going strong with a great future ahead of her. Nicely done, Addie! Here is a link to the results.



I went out WAY too fast. The first three miles were basically all downhill and I felt

great. The guy I followed out said he was basically around 5:40-5:50. Too fast for me. I was fine through the rollers that started up around mile 4 though. We started at a dam, so we ran along one side of a river basically. At mile 6.5, there was a bridge we crossed and then had to start the climb back up to the dam. They advertised this course as a net decline of like 100 feet or something like that. Well, the last 6 miles were so hilly. They weren't just rollers. There were some leg burners in there. I started to lose it around mile 9, which was extremely discouraging. Told myself to get to the next water station but I somehow plugged along by just alternating my pace between longer strides and pulling back. It kind of worked but the sun and heat were definitely not helping. I hit another water station and actually had to stop and take a water, which is something I never do because water always upsets my stomach. It didn't this time so I must have needed it. The guy working it looked a little worried because I'm sure I was a mess. My legs were wobbling and I wasn't standing up straight. But a few older guys ran by and said how I was doing great and had killed the course. It gave me a little burst so I went on another half mile. I saw the 12 marker and then a quarter mile after it was a MONSTER hill. There was a left onto the dam at the top. I was embarrassed but I actually slowed to a walk. I have never in my life truly had NOTHING left in the tank. This hill took all of it. I picked it back up before the top and ran to the finish. The race atmosphere was great otherwise. It was for dog rescues, which I loved. And I loved that people in the race were screaming Marist when I went by because they saw my jersey and recognized the school. Red Fox Family.