On Monday, April 8, 2024 there was a Texas Total Solar Eclipse and Scallywompus had a race for it!!! There was a 5K, 10K and a Half Marathon. 😃 This event took place in Comfort, Texas which is in the heart of the Beautiful Texas Hill Country.

We’ve raced in Comfort before but this was a new venue (for me) and the parking area was in a field almost 2 miles from the race start. 😯 It was still dark when we arrived but we could see the colorful wildflowers as we made our way to the start line. It was also hilly so we kinda got a nice little “pre-race warmup” in.

By the time we had made it to the start line, the half marathon race had already begun! 😬

But that’s okay! The race doesn’t start until you cross the start line. So Jorgina and I took a quick start line selfie 🤳 while Katy picked up her race packet.

And now it was our turn! We headed to the (now empty) corral and started our race. 🥰

The sunrise made a wonderful backdrop to the vast fields of wildflowers.

As the sun continued to rise, the clouds lingered and we wondered if this was going to keep us from witnessing such an amazing event as the Total Solar Eclipse. 🤔

Onward we raced, through winding roads and “gently rolling hills.”

We crossed cattle guards and we saw horses.

I crossed paths with Woody out on the course and took a quick selfie!

I also stopped for a quick selfie with my Half Fanatic Sisters, Jorgina and Katy. 😍

As we ran past one of the many Texas Hill Country Wineries, cars were lining up along the road. I’m not sure if they were waiting for the winery to open or wanting to watch the eclipse from there but they cheered as we ran past and that was very motivating!

If I hadn’t already mentioned the Texas Wildflowers… there were fields full of them, giving our race route a splash of color as we continued along those quiet country roads.

After completing the 13.1 mile course, I needed to “set up camp” for the big eclipse event but I still had a very long walk to my car and then to haul everything back? 😫 Parking at the actual venue was very limited and many runners were making the trek back and forth. So I volunteered as the “Scally-Uber” and shuttled race participants in my 8-passenger SUV. 🚙

The downside of shuttling everyone was that I missed the awards and all of the fun Scallywompus photo backdrops had already been taken down by the time I was done. But I have no regrets, I had fun and made new friends so I’m glad that I was given the opportunity to help out. 😍

I had also missed the FOOD! By the time I got back to the “after-party” the restaurant at the venue had completely sold out of pizza!!! 😫 Thankfully, Jorgina was kind enough to share hers with me! 🍕

The restaurant still had drinks and live music, as well as indoor restrooms, which is always nice. ☺️

Eventually, everyone was in their spot and “eclipse-ready!”

There was so much EXCITEMENT as everyone watched. 🤩

At times, the clouds would block our view but thankfully it was only for brief moments. ☁️Scallywompus had their very own Texas Total Solor Eclipse race themed viewing glasses but Jorgina and I used our new cool Roka Cap10K viewing glasses from the day before. 😎

The Totality of the Eclipse happened VERY QUICKLY. It got super dark and it only lasted for about 2 minutes but it was such an INCREDIBLE once-in-a-generation solar phenomenon to have witnessed. ✨

…and to have witnessed it with the runfam just made it all more special. 💖 We kept the party going strong, long after the eclipse! 🥳

The Texas Hill Country was directly in the path of totality and a Hot Spot for Eclipse viewers. The venue was only 48 miles from my house, making it a 50 minute drive early that morning. However, even after allowing extra time for people to get back home (on a Monday afternoon) it still took me 2.5 hours to get back home. Was it all worth it? Oh yes! 😉

And last but not least, the race medal was a large, double-sided spinner featuring both the moon and the sun. 🏅

“Come for the race, Stay for the Total Solar Eclipse Viewing Party!” 😎

#scallywompus #texastotalsolareclipse #halfmarathon #comforttexas #texashillcountry #texaswildflowers #halfcrazymamakris #runningblog #myjourney #runlife #bibboards #comefortheracestayfortheparty