Star Valley Half Marathon, Thayne, Wyoming- 46th state

This is part of a series of posts from my quest to run a half marathon in all 50 states. Wyoming was my 46th state.

Many of you may be wondering, where the heck is Thayne, Wyoming? Well, it’s a little town about halfway down the state, close to the Idaho border, due east of Pocatello, Idaho, if you know where that is. Still nothing? It’s about an hour south of Jackson, Wyoming and Grand Teton National Park.

Now you may be wondering how I happened upon a half marathon in little Thayne, Wyoming. Well, actually, I had my eye on this race for many years. When I was choosing which race to run for my half marathon in Wyoming, this one popped up as a contender. You may not be aware that many cities in Wyoming are at a high altitude, and as a person who lives at low altitude, this was a concern for me. Thayne, Wyoming and the surrounding area sits around 6,000 feet in elevation. High elevation is considered anything between 5,000 and 11,500 feet (with very high and extreme altitude more than that).

When I ran the Boulder Rez Half Marathon, Colorado- 37th state the elevation was 5,430 feet and I definitely felt the effects of the altitude during the race. The rest of my time there, I was perfectly fine, but during the race, it felt like my legs were made of lead. However, when I ran the Spearfish Canyon Half Marathon, South Dakota- 34th state, the race begins around 5,000 feet and it was my fastest half marathons ever; granted, it’s a downhill course.

I took this when I drove the course the day before the race.

Regardless, there were many other places in Wyoming with races at higher elevation, and I felt like this race in Thayne was a good choice for me. So, with all of this in my head concerning elevation of the area before the race, I was anxiously looking forward to seeing Wyoming for the first time. I was also looking forward to running in cooler temperatures because I was getting tired of the heat and humidity where I live.

Packet pickup was offered both Friday evening from 6 to 8 pm and race day morning on Saturday in July 2019. I picked up my packet at Thyne Elementary School on Friday and it was quick and easy. All runners received a drawstring bag with our race number on it so we could put clothes in it for after the race and a bright yellow short sleeve technical shirt. Inside the bag was an ad for an upcoming local race, a sticker, some Hammer nutrition samples, a water bottle, and hand wipes. There was also a spaghetti dinner that evening but I didn’t go.

Packet pickup goodies and race shirt

Race morning was 49 degrees and partly sunny. Most runners were bused to the start at Grover Park, a tiny little area with not much other than a grassy field. My husband dropped off my daughter and me, which was nice since we could sleep in a little later and not have to be at the bus pickup at 5:30 or 6:00. The race started promptly at 7:00.

The start of the race was downhill and although it was on gravel, which at first I worried would be slippery, it was fast. I was actually one of the last people to go across the start since I was in line for a port-o-john right before the start, but since we had chips on our bibs, it was fine. My first mile was 8:56 and that was with me fumbling with my phone; it wasn’t syncing with my ear buds for some reason. I finally just put them both away and ran like I usually run races without listening to anything.

The next few miles were my fastest of the race:  8:14, 8:31, 8:31, 8:23, and 8:18. After mile 6 when we had been on flat roads for a while and the sun started to heat things up, I started to slow down a bit but not too much. Mile 7 was 8:44, then 9:04, 9:07, 8:51, and 8:44. All along the course I wasn’t really paying much attention to my split times other glancing down at my watch every now and then and being surprised at my times.

Farms and mountains were my views for much of the race

By mile 11, I was pretty sure I could be close to a PR if I could just hold on to around 8:45 for the last couple of miles. I told myself that I felt really good, nothing really hurt, and I could continue to push. Mile 12 was at 8:37 and my last mile was 8:46. I crossed the finish line at 1:53:00, a PR for me by two and a half minutes.

The course was almost entirely along quiet country roads but there were more spectators than I thought there would be. I was impressed with how many people had come out to the middle of nowhere for the sole purpose to cheer runners on. There was a spot along the course where three girls were dancing and playing music, which made me smile. I also loved all of the people with signs for runners and the little boy and girl hosing off runners that wanted to cool off a bit from their garden hose.

This race was in memory of Jeremy Bart Kunz, who was killed by a drunk driver in 2009. There was a photo of Jeremy at every mile marker. The community obviously thought highly of Jeremy and it’s nice that they remember him in this special way. I definitely got a sense of what a close-knit community this was.

There were aid stations at miles 3, 6, 8.5, and 11 with water and a sports drink. Aid stations 6 and 11 also had cut up oranges and bananas and aid station 8.5 had Otter Pops. There were also port-o-johns near each aid station.

Posing with my medal after the race by the largest collection of elk horns in the world

We were handed a medal and cold bottle of water when we crossed the finish line. The medal was a bit small and kind of plain. Nearby the finish line there were volunteers with bananas, orange slices, cut-up watermelon, mini muffins, rolls, sports drink, and cold chocolate milk. The watermelon was particularly refreshing.

My husband checked my finish time and even though it was a PR for me, I was still only 7th in my age group so we didn’t wait around for the awards. They were also giving out prizes like a treadmill but I was just too tired to wait and see if I won a prize. I’m guessing since I never heard anything either I didn’t win or they gave my prize to someone who was there.

This race was one of my favorites so far and not just because I PR’d. My three fastest half marathons have all been at races with a downhill start, even though two of them were at high elevation. Beyond my fast time at this race, though, it was scenic with views of mountains and farm land all along the course. Friendly volunteers and pacers were the icing on the cake. I highly recommend this race if you’re looking for a very fast course in Wyoming with awesome people.

Date of my race was July 13, 2019.

Star Valley Half Marathon

Have you run a race in Wyoming? If so, which one and what did you think of it and the area?

Happy running!

Donna