What the title says, I asked a volunteer during bib pickup when the race started, I was confused if it was 7 am or 8 am. She checked my bib and said that it should start at 10 am, and that I should arrive 30 minutes before my corral time to account for traffic.

I feel like an idiot. This was supposed to be my first ever race (half marathon) and I’ve spent the last 6 months preparing for it.

I stood at the start line for 45 minutes waiting for the crowd to arrive only to realize they weren’t coming when they started removing the sign.

It’s been surreal, and I cannot believe this has happened. I’m not blaming the woman, but I realized I should’ve spent a lot more time looking into the process of running in a race as I did training for it.

I cried on the walk back, it is what it is but definitely disappointing. My girlfriend made three signs, decorated our apartment, and got me a card. Just feels weird now because I didn’t do anything.

Might as well start training for the marathon next year.