The Day of the Big Race

by Lisa Bell photos provided by Lisa and Bryan Bell

The night before a big race is always hard on my nerves. Will I keep a good pace? Will I get lost on the course? I hope I wake up with good energy to get the job done. So, preparation begins with getting the right fuel the night before, getting out the good shoes, and laying out the perfect outfit for the weather.

The next morning, I jumped out of bed before my alarm went off and I was feeling GOOD! In all seriousness, my body doesn’t really move that fast anymore first thing in the morning but on this Saturday morning I was feeling quite peppy. I got dressed in all of my special race gear, and with coffee in hand, my husband Bryan and I were out the door headed to the Big race!

We got there really early before the sun was even up. I checked the course map for the tenth time. With our special VIP parking pass, my green Macan was directed to the starting line of the Texas Big Star Half Marathon and 5k.

Okay, I will let you in on the secret of my story. I got a phone call from Wendy Shoffit a few days before the big marathon asking if I would be interested in leading the runners in my car. Interested? Are you kidding me?!? I was honored! I get to show off my beautiful girl “Lucky” as the official pace car. Bryan and I are avid runners, so we felt good about how the course would be laid out and felt confident we could pace the runners without being in their way. One of the race directors, Logan, came over to us and said “It is GO time!” We started our engine and rapidly accelerated to our 11.5 mph pace. I know what you are thinking, this sounds easy right?? NO! 13 miles of stress began. As we approached each intersection, we had to signal to the wonderful Frisco police officers that the race leaders were quickly following all while coordinating our position with the race directors by communicating where we were on course at all times, while also avoiding other hazards that moved into the path of the runners. Not to mention, all while maintaining a perfect hundred yards in front of the leader.

As we got to mile 13, our stress had turned to joy! Our adrenaline was pumping now because we just realized we had set a PR (personal record) for our fastest half marathon ever! I am available for other pace car opportunities that might come up with the FIA…wink, wink.