After spending 11 weeks in the winter training for the race, the half marathon club ran in the GO! St. Louis Half Marathon on April 8.

“It was a very exciting experience. Although it was challenging and intimidating, it’s one of those things that a lot of people don’t get to be involved in, so I definitely feel accomplished,” junior Katharine Segrave said.

Sixteen students participated in the race, being the biggest group the program has had since its founding in 2015. Of the sixteen runners, this was ten of the students’ first half-marathon, including senior Dana Alshekhlee.

“I was nervous the day before, but the starting line was exciting and energetic and calmed me down,” Alshekhlee said. “I ran with my friends, we supported each other and we just took it a mile at a time. We wanted to stay at a pace that would allow us to break two hours, and we achieved that.”

For social studies teacher Mel Trotier, this was his eighth half-marathon.

“At this point, I know what to expect for something like this, so that makes a difference mentally,” Trotier said. “It is hard, and it is a monumental challenge, but finishing is that much greater of an accomplishment. There are people running that have never done something like this before, but now they have! That sense of accomplishment is something that should carry them in everything they do. ‘If I can run 13.1 miles, I can do anything.’”

The group trained every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday, increasing mileage as they neared the race.

“The hardest part of training for anything like this is keeping up motivation as the distances get longer,” Trotier said. “The long runs on Saturday mornings were definitely tiring, and the unpredictable spring weather was a challenge too. We had one run in the snow, and several with rain.”

Senior Nathan Stucki finished fifth in the male 1-19 division with a time of 1:26:05.

“Since I was in a different group from the others, I did not get to see people during the race, but it was cool seeing everybody else finish and see how we were all able to accomplish running a half marathon,” Stucki said.

Although the half marathon takes a lot of training, Alshekhlee encourages people to run one.

“It doesn’t matter how fast or slow you think you are. It’s an amazing opportunity that not many people are able to achieve,” Alshekhlee said. “It boosts your self-confidence because you realize how strong your body truly is.”