I am currently 50 half marathons in....20 of them being out of state.... it was bound to happen...
Every runner has had the nightmare they over slept the alarm and missed race day. There have been my share of times I have forgotten something like an IPod or Garmin on race day. Ive always thought one day I would forget to pack my sneakers for an out of town race, but I've always said, I would probably still run it.... barefoot...if I did. Little did I know that one day I would actually forget my ENTIRE BAG!!
I know, sounds impossible right? I mean how does one get on an airplane without their BAG? Well, lets explain. I have been doing a lot of traveling lately. The trip the prior week my friend made me check in our bags, so I only carried a large purse as a carry on. This trip I brought the same large purse and then my roller bag as a carry on (I really hate paying for and wasting time on a checked bag!) Well, having only gotten about 4 hours of sleep the night before this butt crack of dawn flight, I ended up grabbing my large purse, laptop, liquids and shoes off the TSA belt, but left my roller bag sitting right there!! DOH!!! And didn't realize it until I LANDED in MD!!! DOUBLE DOH!!
Luckily, I was wearing my sneakers that day! Double Luckily, I found an Outlet Mall with a store that had some really awesome sales for a running outfit, as well as a couple days worth of clothes!
Ok, so on to my race report.....
ABOUT
This event was hosted by OC Tri Running Sports which hosts a series of races around town.
Worcester Youth and Family counseling was the beneficiary, but it seems it changes yearly.
The day consists of a 5k and half marathon. There were about 2000 half marathoners and 670 5kers.
THE COURSE
The course was an A to B, which seems to change yearly. This year we started from Assateague Island and ended on the boardwalk of Ocean City, MD.
PACKET PICKUP
Packet Pick up was located in a huge tent in the City Parking lot right at the end of the Ocean City Boardwalk. It was a very windy, cold, and dreary day, so it was just a quick hop in and out of the car to grab the stuff and go... unfortunately. I did stop at Harrisons restaurant for a bowl of crab chowder for lunch. We were provided the usual tech shirt and bib and they had minimal race items to buy. No ID was checked. I mention this, because I did not realize it until I was back in my hotel room (an hour away, because I received a free stay at the Hyatt Chesapeake Bay) that I had a completely different persons bib with the same exact name!! AAAHHH!! Luckily, they had same day packet pick up as well and the other girl had not picked up her bib yet, so I was able to change it out!
PARKING
Parking basically is a first come, first serve in any of the city lots, which unfortunately means you are left with a hefty parking fee for the amount of time needed to arrive early for the shuttle, race, and enjoy the after party. I ended up parking a couple blocks away and paid $12.
SHUTTLES
Shuttles started at 515a in the same lot as packet pick up. They assigned times based alphabetically by last name, which was interesting, because no one checked when you arrived or what bus you got on. There were tons of buses though. They warned us several times in the prior weeks about missing the bus, but I don't see how that could even be possible.
Unfortunately we drove the entire course to get to start. I don't like to review the race map that much before a race. I like it to be a surprise. So driving the course, I was a little disappointed. I was also concerned to see the road was completely open to traffic and the cones set up was not going to be wide enough for the amount of runners.
Some people were dropped off at the Start instead of taking the shuttle. Some people parked at Start, and had their own transportation back. Either way, I was there when they told me to be there and everything was very seamless. No lines, no waiting.
START
We arrived at Assateague State Park, not to be confused with Assateague National Park, right next door. I did learn on my visit back to the National Park later that it really is a rip off ($15) unless you are camping or have a vehicle that can drive on the sand. The majority of the park is access for those vehicles only. Also, before you get to the 'paying station' there is a huge area of wilderness, which is actually where I saw all the horses and deer, NOT inside the paid for section! Go figure.
Anyways, I arrived right at sunrise, which was awesome over the beach! I walked up the dunes and calmed my nerves taking in the scenery. It was Gorgeous! You could even see Ocean City in the very far distance! It was pretty cool to see that is how far we were about to run!
It was cold and windy (40s) so I hung onto my gear bag and waited inside the large warming tent for the hour we had before start. There was a DJ which was nice and made the time pass.
Outside, there were definitely not enough porta potties. The line was ridiculously long, and for some reason they only had 1 line for the 10 or so porta potties, which made no sense.
It wasn't until the last 15 minutes before start, they decided to let us know there were bathhouses in the camping section right next door that we could use for a bathroom.
The bag check was 2 school buses in which you passed your bag through the window. I really liked this idea.
There wasn't an official line up. There were pacers, so you basically placed yourself according to them. After seeing how tight the course was going to be, I decided to place myself with the 2:10 pacer (7min PR), instead of having to be stuck bobbing and weaving with slower runners.
COURSE/RESULT
The National Anthem was played and then we were off. The pacer ended up being really consistent (at least it felt like it since I wasn't wearing a Garmin) and the group staying with her was small. I felt really good at the 9:50 pace. Surprisingly good since I have not been running nearly as much as I should be since the marathon in February! I told myself I would stick with her for at least 6 miles.
The course quickly takes you out of Assateague and over a small bridge. I was disappointed they didn't utilize more of the park for the race. I did see, or think I saw, one horse in the very far distance.
The course was still so tight as this pace, at certain times I kept kicking the people in front of me, or someone behind me would do the same to me. But it made me stay consistent in pace.
It was basically a straight shot back to Ocean City. They utilized a small neighborhood to do a loop and then back out onto the main road to the OC Boardwalk. It was cool you could see the Ferris Wheel in the far distance. Once we crossed over the waterway to the beaches, we were so close to finish, I asked the person next to me if I had missed seeing M12. There was no way we still had 2 miles to go. Ends up, the course takes you right by the finish line, to do an out and back on the boardwalk! Oh those courses make it miserable for the last mile!! It was fun to be on the boardwalk and that is where most of the people were, but to see the finish when you are exhausted, yet you can not stop yet!.... miserable!
In the final stretch in, I heard a girl motivating her friend telling her the 2:10 pacer just crossed the finish line. I got super pumped, because I thought I was a lot further behind than that! At that point the three of us got silly and tried to make each other get energized! We saw the Ripley Believe it or Not sign and we all started saying 'believe it or not, but...."..... mine was 'believe it or not, but this is my 50th half marathon, and 20th state!!" and then my last one was "believe it or not, but I am going to PR this race!" and then I kicked it up into high gear and busted out a 2 minute PR making my first 2:15 finish!
HYDRATION STATIONS
Unfortunately the water stations were spaced out over 2 miles apart and they were not properly stocked. Cups were not filled and runners were pouring their own water for a lot of the stations. Fortunately the weather was pretty perfect conditions, so there wasn't a need to quench dehydration too badly.We were given 1 energy gel at M6
SPECTATORS
The majority of the spectators were at the boardwalk. Unfortunately I had to entice them to actually cheer. The rest of the course were random groups here and there. There were a lot of children participating in the cheering which I liked. One holding a 'high five here for power' sign and another actually passing out the water (both were definitely under 5yr)
FINISH LINE/AFTER PARTY
The Finish was the same place as packet pick up and where the start shuttles were. After crossing the finish line and being handed your medal by a hot fire fighter, there were the traditional running foods.... bananas, bagels, cookies, bars, etc.... unfortunately you had to pour your own water.
At packet pick up you were given 2 drink tickets and 1 food ticket which gave you one slice of cold pizza and 2 Michelob Ultras. I really would have loved to have seen more options. There were 2 beer lines, which made it faster, and there was no wait for the cold pizza.... no figure. The Awards ceremony was inside the big tent. It was still cool outside, but the sun was out and it was warming nicely.
MEDAL
I like the medal, I do. Its an exact replica of the entrance to the boardwalk. My picky side just wishes MD or Maryland was on it somewhere.
SHIRT
I love the short sleeve gender specific race shirt that is not too overly obnoxious with sponsor logos. HOWEVER, 'marathon' is the main eye catcher, and this was a half marathon. Yes, I know, I really need to work for a race one day! ;)
OVERALL THOUGHTS
Of course the destination makes this race very attractive. A majority of race day was seamless and enjoyable, I give them that. With only a few adjustments it could be a fantastic race. I would still recommend it as a destination race. There's a lot to do around town for an extended weekend with the gorgeous beach, the wildlife at the parks, the tourist attractions on the boardwalk. And its easy to drive around the rest of Maryland as well. I flew in and out of Baltimore. I stayed at the Hyatt Chesapeake Bay about an hour away and highly recommend that property! I also stopped at Annapolis on the way back to the airport and that was a super cute, fun town to check out!
13.1-2:15
HM#50, STATE#20
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