Add to the St. Pete Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon Gallery of Finishers

Congratulations, runners!

Roughly 8,000 runners braved chilly temperatures that hovered in the low 40s (with wind chill values making it feel much colder) to run the 13.1-mile course in downtown St. Petersburg on Sunday.

Despite the cold, the race-day excitement was infectious for Cherlene Willis, editor of Gulfport Patch, and I, editor of Dunedin Patch. We trained together between St. Pete Beach and Dunedin for about two months in preparation for the big race. It was Cherlene's first half marathon, and my fourth. 

Throughout our training, we vowed not to worry about time, because "Sometimes, it's OK to be the turtle," inspired by Aesop's fable, "The Tortoise and the Hare." (Read our hysterical .)

Cherlene showed she was a true competitor. She pushed through nagging and debilitating knee pain that developed around mile No. 8 and still managed to finish under three hours. I stayed with Cherlene until mile No. 10.

Near the end, having had breezed through my final three miles, and with one-tenth of a mile left, a Flo Rida concert blaring and hundreds of fans screaming, I heard my dad's voice ring, "finish strong, Kate!"

Out of nowhere, I found a "hare" in reserve and sprinted toward the finish. Crossing that finish was both the best and worst feeling. "Best" because I succeeded; "worst" because it hurt.

My finish time nearly matched that of my first half marathon (off by only 6 seconds). While I didn't PR (runner speak for "set a personal record"), I did hook Cherlene on running as a sport (which means, you'll be seeing us in a half marathon again soon!).

Please, add your photo to the Dunedin gallery of finishers and share your race story in the comment section! 

And we'll see you at the next half!