Choose Happy.

The Happy Half Marathon has always aimed to be more than a half marathon. Over the years, we have been fortunate to build a great community of runners and contribute to an extremely worthy cause in the Springfield Regional Cancer Center.

Recently, we have been thinking about how we can do even more for our community. Our favorite part about the Happy Half is the community that has been built around it. We want to truly embody our name. Sure, the Happy Half Marathon is clever word-play, but we believe there is more to it than that. We want it to serve as a reminder to "Choose Happy."

So what does it mean?

First, we want you to make the choice to run the Happy Half Marathon. We always have and always will strive to provide the best half marathon experience that we can. There are a lot of half marathons out there, but our being part of the Happy Half community is something special. We are more than just a race once every August.

Second, whether you decide to participate in the Happy Half Marathon or not, runners make a choice to take care of their mind and body by choosing a path of fitness. It may not always be fun at the time, but there is no denying that running can make us happier.

Finally "Choose Happy" has a meaning that goes far beyond our community or being a runner. After all, the Happy Half was founded with a greater meaning in mind - to help in the fight to end cancer. If you or anyone that you know has been affected by the disease, you know how difficult it is. You do not get to choose if you or a loved one has cancer or not. However, even through all of that, we can Choose Happy.

Why do you Choose Happy? Let us know by commenting or tag us or using the hashtag #ChooseHappy on social media!