Eastern Mennonite University students and faculty joined over 400 runners for the VA Momentum Harrisonburg Half Marathon. On Saturday, Oct. 5, participants gathered at the start line in Westover Park before the race kicked off at 7 a.m. The scenic course led runners to and around Heritage Oaks golf course, through Hillandale Park, and up and down the hilly neighborhoods before looping back to the finish line at Westover Park. 

Sophomore Yuji Wenger,  one of several EMU runners, said after the race, “I did much better than I expected. I was aiming for a two hour 30 minute half, but I ran a two hour and 50 second half, so I’m pretty happy about that.”

Another EMU student, Sophomore Ciela Acosta said she felt “great, tried, supported and proud” after her race. She added, “I was kind of motivated by how many people were around me. I couldn’t really feel much in my body, so it was just the mental strength that pushed me along. It was crazy.” 

The EMU community was evident throughout the race with many friends and other students attending with signs, horns and bells as they traveled around to different points along the course to cheer on the racers. “It’s cool to have friends doing community stuff like this,” Senior Reah Clymer said. “Before the race started, we met up and encouraged each other and then throughout the race you would see one another and it kind of gave me a little energy boost to see everyone else out here.” 

Senior Levi Myers also appreciated the community support and enthusiasm. “I liked seeing the people out on the course getting to yell to people and them yelling at us. A lot of people came and watched us,” he said. “It felt less like we were doing it alone and more like we’re doing it with a lot of other people, so that was really cool.” 

However, the 13.1 mile race did present its challenges to the runners. It was a hard-fought battle, but also an accomplishment to be proud of. After the race, Clymer said, “I’m hurting, but I’m really happy that it’s over. I’m proud of us.” She added, “honestly, the beginning, you know, fresh legs, I was excited. I got swept up in the energy, and then everything just starts to wear as the race continues.” 

Myers said, “I’m pretty tired. It was just brutal at the end.” He noted the difficulty of the numerous hills throughout the race and especially at the end. “We thought we knew how many hills we were gonna do, and then they just kept adding hills. They’d have us run down a hill just to do a quick turn around and right back up the hill.”

Clymer said, “The last several miles were really hilly and residential.” She noted the crowds of young families cheering them on as they ran by their houses. “It’s cool that all the young families come out with pots and pans and cheer you on, but it’s definitely a really hilly course. Clymer also mentioned an elevation gain over 800 feet during those hills, “the most we’ve ever done,” she said. “But happy to say we’ve done it.”