Museum of Aviation Foundation Half Marathon

The Museum of Aviation Foundation Half Marathon in Warner Robins, GA, has been one of my favorite races for many years. The weather is always horrible, but the course – a tour of Warner Air Force Base – is endlessly fascinating. Several years back I set my marathon PR here, so I always look forward to coming back.

We’ve had a run of surprisingly decent weather for this race the last few years, so it was almost comforting that today was cold and rainy. I drove in earlier than usual for the race so I would have plenty of time to pick up my packet and go through the base security screening. Running a race on an active military base comes with some additional procedures like being cleared as a base visitor and not being allowed to take pictures during the race. The Museum of Aviation, which hosts the race, is not on the base but is directly adjacent.

Hanger with packet pickup, awards area, and many aviation exhibits.

Packet pickup was in one enormous hanger full of displays of historic aircraft and other exhibits. I always enjoy looking around while I am waiting for the race. The security check-in was next door in the World War II exhibit hanger. Everything was well organized and went quickly and smoothly.

This event also includes a marathon and 5K with different start times for each. Everything was delayed about 20 minutes due to some light thunder. I was glad to be able to wait in the hanger until after the wheelchair and marathon events had started and we were directed to walk to the starting line. I walked out on my own having taken a few pictures with Shaw the Snail but deciding not to subject him to multiple hours in the rain.

The race started quickly once we reached the starting line with little fanfare. I had decided on a compression shirt, tights, and quarter-zip windshirt under my Puppet Runner shirt and shorts with a pair of gloves. After a few minutes of rainy running I was pleased with my clothing choices. There was no chance to stay dry – it was coming down and did not slack for more than an hour – but I was relatively comfortable.

The course goes through various streets of support buildings and giant airplane hangers before eventually working its way to the flightline. At one point we had a chance to actually run across the active flightline -- just at the end of the taxiway, but it was still a cool and unusual experience. This base is like a fully-enclosed city, so upon leaving the flightline we ran through some swampy woods, by a golf course, past horse stable and a campground, and through a residential neighborhood before passing through a final industrial section and turning back into the finish line outside the museum.

I had hoped to run below 2:10 today, but I found I just couldn’t hold the pace I needed. I do struggle a bit to keep pace in wet conditions since it affects my push off the ground, but there also might have been some leg fatigue remaining from the Disney races last weekend. Still, I was less than a minute over my goal – and 26 minutes faster than last year! I also took 2nd in my age group, the first time I can remember ever placing in this event.

The post-race refreshments were a bit lacking this year, but I appreciated the medal (they feature a different aircraft each year) and the even larger silver medal I received for placing in my age group. This race has one of the most comfortable areas for awards with chairs and a stage in the warm, cozy hanger.

As always, I enjoyed revisiting this amazing course and will be back again next year!