#RWHalf Festival Part 4: A Saturday Night In Bethlehem, PA

Fun. Awesomely awesome fun. Have you gotten that vibe through my first three posts (Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3) recapping the sweet weekend at Runner's World Half & Festival.

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So how does one celebrate a successful Five & Dime and carboload for the following day's half?

Well after a great lunch with Doug, Matt and Presley, we sent Matt packing to head home while the three of us took the opportunity to nap/rock some much-needed compression time.

I am sad that I missed some of the amazing seminars especially the ones with Bart Yasso and Mark Remy, but I needed a little rest. Plus I had the pleasure of listening to both men speak during the Heartbreak Hill weekend.

Once we were properly rested and refreshed, the three amigos headed out for a quick snack en route to the Expo for an evening of laughs and carbs.

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But first let's take a selfie. I mean it is the Funhouse, where fun people meet and party! :P

I was psyched to hear Liz Miele's comedy set, but first David Willey graced the stage.

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Liz was hilarious and got on to Runner's World radar because of this I'm A Runner video from 2010.

Also we did in fact get a shout out before she started the set. Go us!

Additionally I made friends with one of the pacer's for the Half and quickly we had Matt replaced. ;) I kiiiiid. But it was fascinating to learn more about pacing as it is something I've thrown around as a possibility.

After a great comedy session, we caught up with the Runner's World PR team of David and Beachy. Presley and I asked Beachy to take a photo for us and this happened.

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After a selfie session, the real picture was finally taken.

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I am so thankful that David and Beachy invited me to be a part of Heartbreak Hill weekend and the Runner's World Half & Festival.

(Note: Runner’s World did sponsor my participation in the RW Half & Festival, but all comments are my own – ain’t nobody got time for lyin’!)

Before heading to the pasta dinner with the Runner's World Editors, Doug, Presley and I stopped by the Altra Running booth to ask founder Golden some questions.

Prior to heading to Runner's World weekend, Altra was nice enough to send us each a pair of sneakers to test out. Well I liked the sneakers I had, but they were a little too minimal for me - I needed a little more stability.

So I was able to grab Golden's ear on the subject and he said I was in the wrong shoe compared to what I normally wear. He switched me from the One to the Paradigm. I immediately noticed a vast improvement and cannot wait to try out the new shoes when they arrive.

Since the Expo had actually shut down awhile back, we invited Golden to enjoy some pasta with us and he agreed to join us. It was great to chat with him further about his running career and philosophy on running. We also met some great people at our table who were also participating in the Half the next day.

The pasta and salad was delicious and straight out of the Runner's World Cookbook.

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Thanks to Golden for throwing signs with us before we retreated back to the Comfort Suites bar. This night turned into an early night once an unruly bar attendee ended up having the cops called on him. Ummm yeah that was our cue to head upstairs and be asleep by 10pm.

Overall it was a great day with friends and lots of laughs! :)

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Up next? #RW Half Festival Part 5: The Half.