Windward Half 2025: Jay wins it, and mine starts with a one

I'll be honest: I didn't think this was the day. It was five weeks before IRONMAN Texas, on the humid side of the island, in March, with a full Ironman build sitting in my legs. A half marathon under two hours was not on the plan, as this was the last real running race before Texas and I was treating it like one more long run with a bib on.

Then I came through in 1:58:53! It was the first time a half marathon on this site starts with a one for me, and two years earlier, on this same course, I ran 2:19, so that's twenty minutes off on the same road in the same weather. What changed? Nothing dramatic, as much as I'd like to say it was, just two years of boring mornings, one at a time, and then one morning where they all showed up together. I was surprised and I did enjoy it.

Jay won the 50-54s at 1:41:31 the same morning, so it was both of our days for once, which doesn't happen often in this house, and five weeks later we were in Texas. Three weeks after Windward, at the Hapalua, I went 51 seconds faster, so this one is the first sub-two and that one is the PR, and I'm fine with both of those being true.