Have you ever wanted to run a marathon? Probably not, but North Harford High School Teacher, Mrs. Katelyn Hemling, decided to run a half marathon.

     According to Very Well Fit,  the half-marathon is a popular race distance among runners because many see it as a worthwhile challenge that is not as time-consuming or physically exhausting as training for a full marathon. Half-marathon races are also fairly easy to find, as more and more keep popping up across the country. 

     Hemling said, “I grew up as a swimmer in high school and always despised running but my sister and dad were runners and about two and a half years ago, I lost a lot of weight and went on this whole health journey and one of my goals were just to run.”  

     So, she spontaneously signed up for a half marathon and had six months to start training. “I follow a training program that is a 12-week (about 3 months) program so it starts 12-weeks out and you run five to six days a week and it gives you like a milage you have to run and just try and stay on track with that as best I can.”  

     After running the half marathon, Hemling said she stretched a whole lot and just ate food, “me and my friends went to brunch and ate all the food that we possibly could and then went home and stretched and just slept.”  

     She continued to say that for the next few days her legs were not too sore because “once I got to the point where I have been training for so long, you run that amount so like it’s not really shocking to your body, but I definitely had sores on the back of my calves and ankles.” 

     Hemling said that when she was training, there were moments when she wanted to just give up but her and her best friend would motivate each other, “it was just ultimately the idea of having that moment of accomplishment that just kept us going.”

   She said her main thoughts while running is just “how much longer is this going to last?”  She adds that she  “usually listens to music to try and keep myself distracted but during the race you’re not allowed to have headphones in because they don’t want you distracted.”  She said “mainly just talk to [herself] and then it really is just focusing on timing and knowing how much longer you have.”