“I had you down for a 7:40 start, but it’s closer to 7:45, so I’m changing it.” Dena sat at the picnic table, while Rose pointed toward the paved trail.

“Go left, and when you get to the end of the pavement in a half mile, turn around and come back. It will be obvious. Then go until you reach the snack station and come back. That’s one lap; 13 miles.”

There were more than 17,000 racers in the Disney marathon I completed in January. I had to get up at 3:30 am to be to the park around 4:00; to be in my start corral by 5:00am, to begin the race at 5:30am. Sharp.

There were less than 30 people in this Sporty Diva half, full and 50k. It was scheduled to start at 9am, but with temperatures forecast in the 90s, I got an email from Rose, the Race Director, letting me know I could start at 7:30am if I wanted to. It was 7:45am by the time I actually got onto the course.

Despite the small crowd and the flat course, races like this are slow. There’s a lot of chit chat on the course. You learn people’s names. There is no pretense. If someone is having a rough day, they will say so. No one cares about their pace or where they are placing.

I slow, turning into the picnic area serving as the start/finish. Rose and Dena are there, along with 4 other half-marathon finishers who started well before me. I read my finish time off my Garmin and Dena records it on her legal pad. There is no official race clock.

This was not a race. It was a training run with free food and friends. And a medal at the end.