I had Pumpkinman on my list of "races to run" for a couple of years -- mostly because it always lines up with the Maple Leaf Half in Vermont. And I am SO GLAD I did.
I was feeling a lot better than I had the day before -- apart from being sore and having somehow blistered the entire ball of my right foot (probably because I was wearing my new orthotics...). Wil and I rolled up to the event site about an hour before start time on a perfectly gorgeous autumn day.
Pumpkinman is a weekend with multiple events -- from various triathlon distances on the Saturday, to a hill run and running distances on the Sunday. My favorite distance? The Jenni. How long is that? 8.675309 miles, of course...
The races start at a beautiful event center. Plenty of parking, gread views, and plenty of room to set things up. Being pumpkin / autumn / Halloween themed, there were lots of photo ops and even a self serve candy table. I picked up some gummy bears for later, remembering my fueling fiasco the previous day.
With multiple events during the running festival, we got to see a couple of different groups head out. I was especially thrilled by the Battle on Spring Hill 6.6 Mile Run and Battle on Spring Hill 6.6 Mile Ruck. What's that you say? Well, the participants run down a very steep hill to the lake, then run up the very steep hill again... and repeat that several times. Just watching them run DOWN the hill made me happy not be doing that!
An excellent hype man, Michael Bernier, did an amazing job of keeping everyone's energy up... and then it was time for us to go.
Again, I had no needs or expectations for the day. But the beautiful weather and the fact that Wil was joining me made me super happy, and we really just spent the next 13.1 miles smiling, talking, thanking the volunteers, and loving the gorgeous weather.
Eventually we were back at the event center. We held hands and ran down the hill to the finish line, and the race director came over to give us high fives. Sure, I finished DEAD LAST in the race (though others in other distances came in after we did) -- but I did the important thing:
STATE 49!!!
One of the highlights of the Pumpkinman Triathlon and Running Festival is the post-race brunch. It was SPECTACULAR. Great food, including lots of vegetarian options. We loaded up a plate, found a table, and sat there smiling at each other.
After we finished our brunch, we went to the photo setup to take some selfies. Rachel, the amazing race director, came over to help, and Wil told her it was my 49th state. She was so excited, she ended up handing us loads of swag -- socks, a pint glass, a bag, a running belt. And she took some great photos!
My "performance" wasn't any better at this race -- in fact, I was a couple of minutes slower. But it had been such a nice day with such great people. I know that if we lived in the area it would be our annual race. 2026 is their 20th running of the event!
Pumpkinman Half Marathon
Bib 569
3:23:10
49/49 overall
6/6 women 50-64
Note: this report was written on 7/15/2026 but backdated to race day for simplicity.
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