Summary of Spring 2026 Half Marathons

Welcome to the first post of my running blog. My name is Jeff. I'm 52 years old and live in South Burlington, Vermont. I've just completed the Spring 2026 half marathon season. I attempted five half marathons and finished three:

1. The Vermont Half Unplugged in Burlington, Vermont on April 11th (1:55:15, personal record [PR])

2. The Charlotte, North Carolina Race Fest Half Marathon on April 18th (Did not finish, only made it three miles)

3. The Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Half Marathon on May 3rd (Did not finish, only made it three miles)

4. The Vermont City 2-Person Marathon Relay on May 24th (I did my half in around 2:21)

5. The Vermont Covered Bridges Half Marathon on June 6th (2:02:46)

I got my PR in the first race of the season (1:55:15 in Burlington, VT). My previous PR had been from the Delaware Coastal Running Festival on April 13, 2025, 2:01:40 (age 51).

I strained my right calf three days after the Vermont Half Unplugged, on April 14, 2026, and could not finish the Charlotte or Pittsburgh half marathons. Both of the traveling events were a bust. I pulled up at three miles in both of them with too much pain in my right calf. My wife, Julie, in her 40s, did great in those, finishing in just under two hours. She had skipped the Vermont Half Unplugged. 

I stopped training for most of May and was finally able to finish a race again when I completed the second leg of the Vermont City Marathon two-person relay in Burlington, VT on May 24th. Our combined time was 4:23 (Julie did her half in around 2:02 and I did mine in around 2:21).

I was finally in decent shape for the 5th and final half marathon of the season, finishing the Covered Bridges Half Marathon that goes through Woodstock, VT in 2:02:46 - my 3rd best half marathon time to date. Julie took this one at an easier pace and finished in around 2:11, still feeling fresh.

Our next race is in the fall, the Toronto Waterfront Half Marathon on October 18th. I'm shooting for 1:45.

Every race this year has been in Asics Megablast. My previous PR in Delaware had been in Asics Novablast 4.

I had run off and on when I was younger and started again when we moved to South Burlington in July 2022. I've never completed a marathon. 

When I was running in Novablast 4, they were my outdoor running shoes and I had a second pair of running shoes for treadmill running, Mizuno Wave Riders. I ended up getting foot pain from the Mizuno Waver Riders, I think because of the plastic "wave plates" in the soles of the shoes.

In the last year, I’ve started using lots of different pairs of shoes to try to prevent injury - trying to introduce variety to the impacts from running. And trying cushioned shoes to avoid the foot pain I was used to. The foot pain has been replaced by calf strains, although I’m over the most recent one.

My 53rd birthday is coming up in two days and I got a running watch for my birthday, a Garmin Forerunner 165 Music.

I have used the watch for two runs so far: a trail run in Williston, VT on Saturday and a treadmill run at home this morning. This morning's run was the first using a built-in training program on the watch for a 1:45 half marathon - a five mile tempo run. 

My running shoe collection is up to eight pairs, all released in the last couple years. Here they are in the order I bought them:

1. Nike Zoom Fly 6 - I love these, although they can be harsh on my calves. I'm trying to use them strategically to make my calves stronger.

2. Nike Alpha Fly 3 - I've only used these on the treadmill so far and they have been super - nice and protective.

3. Asics Megablast - I have used these for all of the Spring 2026 races. My training in these leading up to the first race was a breakthrough - long distances on sore legs - able to keep going.

4. Nike Vomero Plus - I like these fairly well, but they are relatively heavy and they make the bottom of my right foot hurt after a couple miles. These work well as treadmill warmup shoes. When I have switched from these to a lighter shoe, the effect has made the lighter shoe feel amazing, including this next one.

5. Asics Glideride Max 2 - Super promising, but still understudy to Megablast for now.

6. Asics Superblast 3 - A new pair I used for today's 5-mile treadmill tempo run. They were good on the treadmill. This was actually my second run in these. The first run was when I strained my calf on April 14th. The heel was so squishy, it made a negative drop that made my calf lock up (still tired from the half marathon PR three days earlier). On today’s run, I got into a good rocker stride.

7. Asics Metaspeed Edge Tokyo - A new pair I have not run in yet! I bought them in North Carolina when I was injured.

8. Adidas Agravic SL - I just got these from Adidas online - they were just released - and I've done one 4.5-mile trail run in them so far. They felt amazing out of the box and on the first run.

My next post will be about my Garmin watch's training plan to get me across the Toronto finish line in 1:45.