Heels and Hills Half Marathon, 5K, and 1 Mile Fun Run

As of 3:40 a.m. on Sunday, May 3, the city of Irving and Dallas County are under significant weather advisory.   On our final course pass right now, we were caught in the severe thunderstorms and hail and the streets of Irving are flooded.

Communication with public officials and medical support for the event and monitoring of national weather services has been ongoing as we reviewed our options.  Our primary concern is for the safety of all our participants and volunteers.   Regretfully, the decision has been made to cancel the event.  Delaying the race is not an option because numerous weather sources consistently indicate this weather pattern may continue and potentially worsen throughout the day and into Sunday afternoon.

More information will be available in the coming days. 

This has been a very difficult decision for us to make, and we appreciate your ongoing support of Heels and Hills.  Please stay safe!

Paula Robertson, Heels and Hills Founder/Race Director

Libby Jones, Heels and Hills Race Director

When I had first heard this story, it made me cry.  I can't imagine running a half marathon that includes a course spot with so much personal emotion wrapped up in it.  Tracy is our hero!

From the Dallas Morning News Friday edition:

Sunday's Heels and Hills Half Marathon means much more than running 13.1 miles for Tracy Hopkins. It's a microcosm of her life.

Hopkins, her husband, Kevin, and their 19-month-old daughter spent several months in Irving after Hurricane Katrina flooded their home in Slidell, La., in 2005. She recalls sitting at an intersection along MacArthur Boulevard wondering how she would ever rebuild her life.

Kevin's aunt, Anne Winston, welcomed the Hopkinses and other members of Kevin's family into her townhouse. The Hopkinses have resettled in Spring, Texas, but they say they will always be grateful for the kindness showered upon them while in Irving.

Kevin took up running in 2007 and completed his first half marathon in February 2008. He encouraged Tracy to start running when he saw information about the Heels and Hills Half in Irving. He thought it would be meaningful to return to Irving, run it together and visit his aunt.

During the 2008 Heels and Hills race, Tracy crossed the intersection where she couldn't stop crying during the evacuation a few years before.

"I recall digging deep within myself to cross that street, fast and strong," said Tracy, 34. "It was significant. It was a metaphor of what had happened. The highs and lows had come full circle."

Tracy had not encountered hills growing up in New Orleans, but she found plenty on the Heels and Hills course. She said she drew strength during the race knowing she had lived through the hurricane and resettlement.

This year, she's trained with her husband and a close friend. She's already envisioning crossing the finish line, being greeted by her now 5-year-old daughter, her husband (who she anticipates will finish ahead of her) and his aunt, who cheered her on last year.

"I fell in love with this race," Tracy said. "As long as they're going to run this race, we'll do it together."

Here's the article...

Heels and Hills Half Marathon is this Sunday!  Over 850 in the half marathon and another several hundred in the 5K.  If you aren't registered, you can still register online today since we extended online registration and then registration is available Friday and Saturday at packet pickup.  No race morning registration!

Here's the link to answer all your burning questions about Sunday's race...

Here's the Spectator Guide...

We look forward to seeing everyone there!

-- Libby Jones, Heels and Hills Co-Race Director

I guess you can say we're a bunch of softies.  Originally, I tried to lay down the law - that was our intent.  And then you all actually listened, and we had a ton of registrations on Monday for Heels and Hills Half Marathon, 5K, and 1 Mile on May 3.  I guess my warnings in various places like here, the race website, Facebook...it all really did give people pause and make them not wait until the last minute.  We actually "sold out" the half marathon based on our original plan - ALREADY.  This means we actually sold all the spots for the 750 finisher medals we told you we had ordered months ago.

But Paula (race founder) and I did a lot of soul-searching today.  And we just hate to turn people away if they really want to come and enjoy this great event!  We've decided to continue allowing people to register for the half marathon. And we've extended online registration to remain open for a couple more days, at race week entry fees.   We'll have in-person registration Friday and Saturday at packet pickup, but once we're out of a size of shirt, you will have to pick from the sizes that remain. 

Here's the catch: Those registering late for the half marathon will NOT be given a finisher medal race day by our volunteers when they cross the finish line.  So no one who signs up late and runs a 1:20 half can take one of the 750 medals at the finish line and leave a 4:00 walking half marathoner who signed up 6 months ago without one!

For late registrants, finisher medals will be mailed within a few weeks once the extras have been made! I know it sucks to not get one race day, but the alternative was that you wouldn't have gotten to enjoy the race at all!

We really want to spread the fun and good vibes of this event, so in the end, how can you say no when people want to come that day?  We're just going to be super clear to you late folks that you understand exactly what you're getting into.

So come and play on the third of May!  We'll be waitin' for ya!

Same rules will have to apply once we run out of 5K t-shirts already being printed - you may have to have your shirt mailed to you after the event.  But we still have a little room in the 5K, so we won't have to impose that rule yet.

Register by visiting www.heelsandhills.com .

-- Libby Jones, Heels and Hills Co-Race Director

Register before midnight tonight for the 5K and Half Marathon events on May 3.  There will be race week registration at packet pickup, but prices go up $5!  There is no race day registration.

We are above our total registration counts from both of the first two years, which is great.  However, we have a limited number of half marathon finisher medals and shirt size choices will start going away as we sell out on participant technical shirts, so we're encouraging people to not wait to sign up!  We're looking at what to do once we sell out the race because we don't want to turn anyone away that wants to run the race.

Visit www.heelsandhills.com for the details and to register.

Finisher medals were ordered months ago and arrived last week.  We never expected registrations to be as high as they've been in the last month.  To match the 750 finisher medals we have waiting for you to take home on May 3, we're limiting the half marathon registrations to 750.

And there's less than 50 spots left.

There's more room left in the 5K, but once we print t-shirts early next week, we may have to institute a cap on that distance as well.

Visit www.heelsandhills.com to register now, don't wait.

Don’t say I didn’t warn you.  As DRC Half Marathon’s race director last year, I had some people email and come up to me at packet pickup that were upset that I “didn’t warn them” that for the first time in 33 years, the race was seeing an amazingly high turnout and actually hit a cap of 4,000 half marathoners.  The thing is, I had sent numerous emails to the database and posted notes on the race website and racenation slowly incrementing the fill percentage in that last month before it hit the cap.  85%...88%....90%....95%....96, 97, 98…only 50 spots left.  You get the drift.  So there’s only so much I can do – besides an email and a couple website posts.

So here I am again, trying to warn everyone because if you really want to do this race, you still have a little more time.

For Heels and Hills Half Marathon on May 3, our half marathon registrations have already exceeded last year's FINAL count. Finisher medals had to be ordered months in advance and arrived this week. To ensure that everyone that crosses the finish line receives their finisher’s medal the half marathon registrations will be limited to 750.

There are less than 70 spots left in the half marathon.  More spots are open in the 5K, but there will be a cap in the 5K announced at some point also if registrations continue at this trend.

Besides the strong possibility of hitting the cap, you also have only one week before online registration closes.  After that, you can only register during packet pickup but the race entry fee goes up.

Go to http://www.heelsandhills.com to get all the info on the race and register today.

-- Libby Jones, Heels and Hills Co-Race DirectoreHe

And don't forget, guys, that men CAN participate.  It's a big misconception I'm getting from the fellas.  This is an event about empowering women to get and stay active, but it's important that men are out there encouraging and motivating and inspiring the women in their lives too!  So come out and do this race with your wife, girlfriend, sister, mother, or best friend!

More info and registration at www.heelsandhills.com .  Online registration closes in about a week (April 27) and then we'll have in-person registration during packet pickup if the race hasn't hit its cap by then.

Our half marathon registrations have already exceeded last year's FINAL count. Finisher medals had to be ordered months in advance and arrived this week. To ensure that everyone that crosses the finish line receives their finisher’s medal the half marathon registrations will be limited to 750. We are over 85% full at this point, so don't delay!

The race is May 3 in Irving at Williams Square.  Half Marathon participants receive a technical shirt (hot pink for the ladies).

Click here to go register or get more info...

http://www.heelsandhills.com/Events/Registration.html

To get your name printed on your Heels and Hills bib, you must register by APRIL 15TH, which, yeah, also happens to be the deadline for your tax return!  An important day for two reasons!