This was the 9th Annual 26.2 with Donna which hosts a race distance for every one in the family! There is a 5k and 1mile Fun Run on Saturday, Sunday is the half and full marathon, as well as 5person Relay, and if none of that is enough for you, you can partake in the 110Ultra that starts Saturday and finishes with the marathon Sunday!
Being a Streaker (someone who has participated every year), as well as a top fundraiser, and an avid volunteer throughout the year, this year had a lot of surprises and a lot of love in store!
Happily, my friends Jillian and Shelley drove into town, making the weekend even that much more exciting! My other friend Constance was also running with her dad, as well as my usual running buddies Vicki and Bernie, so there was a lot of love all around!
This was my 7th attempt at the Full 26.2 miles and and every single year I have PRd. At this point, I had it in my head 'to NOT PR is not acceptable!' and that is exactly what I kept repeating to myself throughout the day!
EXPO
The Expo is a 2 day event located in Downtown Jacksonville at the Prime Osborn Convention Center, about 30 minutes from Race Start. (this is also where the 5k on Saturday is).
The DONNA Expo is quite large and not overly crowded. There were 2 opportunites to take free souvenior pictures with friends. They had boards with words such as 'love, empower, fearless, finish, etc' that you could sign which would be placed on the race course. There was an opportunity to meet Donna, as well as Jeff Galloway, both with their own booths. You could also have Kurtis Loftis create a custom running ribbon shirt (the artist of the DONNA designs). There was lots of DONNA gear for sale, even new items that hadnt even been released yet! (LOVE my new hat!) Being Valentines weekend, they even had a floral shop making bouquets!
FRIDAY-DONNA VIP RECEPTION
Friday night is the DONNA VIP Reception at One Ocean on the beach patio. Being a top fundraiser, I have been fortunate in being invited to mingle with other VIPS such as Joan Benoit Samuelson, Jeff Galloway, Donna, as well as DONNA Ambassadors, other top fundraisers, and those that make this event possible! I brought my friend Constance and enjoyed the evening.
The rest of Friday night was spent relaxing on the porch, catching up with Jillian and Shelley.
SATURDAY
Saturday was a day to relax. We had a scrumptious brunch at Loving Cup Hash House, ran a couple of last minute errands, and relaxed the afternoon away, watching the Olympic Marathon Trails and reading running and positive thinking books.
I was invited to the Mayo Clinic dinner Saturday night, but unfortunately they would not allow me to bring two guests, so instead we carbo loaded at Jaxon Social, which ended up being a perfect evening!
I was in bed plenty early and slept well.
FUNDRAISER EXPERIENCE
This year they created an option to register as a Fundraiser Experience, in which you promised to raise at least $1,000. In exchange, you received an embroidered book/laptop bag, 4 passes to the Starting Line/Finish Line private tents, as well as 2 passes for VIP Parking!
I absolutely LOVE my bag!
START
VIP was prime parking! Unfortunately though, they made the car pass black, which the police could not see and were trying to direct us elsewhere. Thankfully, I knew better! ;)
We arrived with an hour and twenty minutes to spare. You could not park any closer than we were, literally right next to the porta potties and gear trucks! Next thing you know, Jeff Galloway parked right next to us! We stayed in the car for a while as it was still cold. I finished my breakfast of oatmeal, banana, and Gatorade, got organized, and made a couple trips to the porta potties. The Fundraiser Experience Tent had warmers, chairs, some muffins, and their own bathrooms. I would have made my way over sooner if only they had their own gear check as well!
Time flew by and the next thing you knew, everyone was going their own way. Constance was running with her dad this year as they had just lost her grandmother to breast cancer last month. Vicki and Bernie headed to line up as he is one of the fasties. Jillian, Shelley, and I made sure we got our pictures, used the bathrooms one last time after the National Anthem. We were literally one of the last ones to line up. I gave them hugs and tried to squeeze my way as close to the front as possible. Thankfully I managed to make it up to the 5 hour pacer.
The DONNA uses Galloway run/walk pacers for both the half and full marathon. This year, Galloway changed the program and now every pace does only a 30 second walk. I had been working my way to this, just completing my first full half marathon with only 30second walk breaks the couple months before. And I already had in my mind that I would not go to a full minute walk break during the marathon.
The race uses a Pulse Start, letting so many people run through the Start, then wait a few minutes, then let another group of people run, etc. You do not have to line up to an official pace/time if you do not want you. Your time does not start until your chip on your bib crosses the Start Line. With each group, there is a Start Ribbon, a countdown, and pink confetti shot into the air! I found myself all the way up to the ribbon for the first time! It was so exciting, feeling like an elite runner, I forgot to press Start on my Garmin! Luckily I remembered just a few seconds late!
COURSE
The course starts at The Players Club in Ponte Vedra and mainly heads North through Jacksonville Beach, Neptune Beach, and Atlantic Beach before turning around; throwing in some twists and turns to keep things interesting. Instead of going back through Ponte Vedra, you turn up a high way (JTB) and run over the intracoastal waterway to finish at Mayo Clinic. This was the first year we did not run on the sand. I personally was upset, but understand it is purely only because of the tide and wanting to keep the race on the same weekend every year, instead of having to change it because of the tide. Once I was actually running, I did not mind not being on the sand. You do not get that scenic view, but it was only for a couple miles anyways, and the spectactors on the streets made up for it! If you keep looking right between the streets/buildings you will still see peaks of the ocean throughout the course.
TRAINING
Training consisted of 14 weeks with a total of 316 miles, and 4 days of 20+miles, the furthest being 22. Cross training included Pilates, Yoga, Ballet, and weights every other week. Long runs were at comfortable paces and split up (am and pm) for quicker recovery.
Besides taking a full week off from being sick, I didnt have too much of a set back on training. Tight glutes however did make me stop speedwork in the last month which kept my runs slower than I wanted.
I went into race week extremely nervous as I had not had a strong fast run in over a month
GOAL VS RESULT
M1-13-GOAL 3x30 run x walk, RESULT M1-10 3x30
M13-16 GOAL 230x30, RESULT M10-13 230x30, M13-16 2x30
M16-20 GOAL 2x30, RESULT 130x30
M20-23 GOAL 130x30, RESULT 1x30
M23-26 GOAL 1x30, RESULT 1x30
My goal- maintain between 10:18-10:52 for the majority of the race to get at least a 5 minute PR.
My result- under 10:00 for the first four miles, under 10:18 for the next 3 miles, which left me losing energy to maintain the 3x30 for the entire half marathon. However, it did keep me confident by having 7 minutes in the bank for most of the course (until M20) and still PR. I kept a 4:30 expected finish for over 15 miles. I honestly felt the entire time I was leaving everything out on the course.
Weather was absolutely perfect in the 50s, however there was a headwind for the first half coming straight from the North. I never felt it was too constant, but I know it probably ate away at some energy the first half. The second half was much better with it at your back.
My right hamstring tightened slowly, but early and for the rest of the course. Thankfully I carried two packets of cream to put on while running. Unfortunately it was not quite enough. I stopped at 2 AID stations for more, except they only had spray which felt like nothing. I also stopped 3 times for hugs to my dad and friends. I think if I did not have these stops, I would have definitely had my 445 finish.
The communities were out in full force once again showing their support! Welcome signs to their street or their community, high fives and power signs, homemade aid stations with oranges, bananas, pb sammies, candies, beer. A church even had Communion to Go!
I honestly do not remember much throughout the entire course. I was definitely either focused on running, or trying to block out the negative energy to slow down or walk further. And right when I would, people would yell out to me "Today is the Day!" It was a perfect shirt to wear on marathon day! I was definitely tunnel focused the majority of the course. There was a girl in front of me for the longest time wearing a shirt that said Never Quit, which definitely pushed me through. The Race Joy app was used and I got several alerts from friends which helped me when I felt defeated.
The memory boards, which are usually on the sand portion of the course, where this year on the bridge at the last mile, which was absolutely perfect timing leading up to the largest crowd support cheering your on!
As I approached the Finish Line I was recognized over the loud speaker as one of the top fundraisers! It put a smile on my face, as well as knowing that I had my 7th PR for the Donna Marathon!! Right away I saw Marcia (The Social Butterfly for The DONNA) and she gave me a big hug. Then as I turned, Amanda (The DONNA Director) was right there for another hug! Then my group of half marathon friends were all waiting for me! Ive never had so much love at the Finish Line before!!
HYDRATION/FUEL STATIONS
Stations were properly manned and stocked, however, a couple of them had water on one side and gatorade on the other side, making you have to bobble across the wide street to get both.
This is the first marathon I went into without GU (well, I had one back up) knowing they always give so many on this course! Unfortunately I did not think about what flavors they would be serving. Chocolate was probably the worst and most repeated, when I finally realized they had the fruit flavors on the table.
I never saw chips this year, but I did carry a pickle which I extra salted for cramps. I ate about half of it.
FINISH LINE
The Fundraiser Experience Tent was in a perfect location right after the medals when you crossed the Finish. It was prime location for finish line viewing and perfect that I was provided 4 passes, as I had 4 friends that did the half marathon that were waiting for me to finish. It would have been even more perfect if they had it set up where we could pick up our bag here too, as we hung out at the Finish Line for over an hour. They served Miss Elaines fried chicken, chicken on a stick, and fries as well as beer and wine.
I also was provided 2 passes into the VIP Tent. Ive been invited to this before, but we have never been in. Boy, little did I know what I was missing! Ruth Chris was serving steak, crab cakes, sweet potato casserole, and bread pudding! As well as vodka and oj!! The steak was the best thing I have ever eaten at a Finish Line!!
We brought a plate out to the rest of the gang and we waited for Constance's aunt to finish her first marathon!
Inside Runners Village, we finally got to collect our bags, get more beer (which seemed to be open to the public this year?). There were free massages, soup, and hot dogs as well!
SHUTTLES
There are shuttles that take you from the Finish at Mayo to the start at TPC. It is a good ride back (about 30 minutes) so make sure you bring a change of clothes or anything you need to be comfortable!)
AFTER PARTY
New this year, The DONNA had an after party at the Marriott Sawgrass. Unfortunately we did not attend, but instead were invited to a good friends condo where she had lots of homemade Italian foods and drinks waiting for us! It was a nice afternoon celebrating with friends!
SHIRT
The DONNA likes to change up the design every year and I did enjoy this one. The sleeves also seem to fit better than previous! Now if only we could do something about all the sponsors splattered on the back!
MEDAL
The medal has stayed consistent throughout the years with the stain glass, pink ribbon, and dolphins, which I absolutely love. They have switched up to a heart shape the past couple years and always change the lanyard. I still wish the medal itself and wording would lighten up, as it is hard to read just about everything on there.
STREAKER CHARM
The DONNA loves their Streakers! (those of us that have raced every year) And there is still a very long list of us! That only goes to prove how great this race is! The past few years they have given us a charm at the finish line.
OVERALL THOUGHTS
Of course people may call me bias with this race, but I feel like I still give my honest review and feedback. I feel there is always room for improvement on everything in life, and I feel like the people who put this race on feel the same way. They are always looking for new and exciting ways to improve or make this race stand out. (As if it doesnt already being the ONLY National Marathon that raises funds for breast cancer!)
Fundraising is completely voluntary for this race, however, with this race being created with just one goal in mind (to raise funds and help those in need in the breast cancer community) its hard to register for this race and at least not 'try' to raise donations! And when you are put in a situation where your employer matches donations, and gives grants when you can convince coworkers to help out, then how can one 'not' be 'all in' for this race and its cause?
Every thing about this race fills my heart with love. I have done 58 half marathons and 25 states and nothing has come even close to a similar experience. Not only the race itself, but the communities are so welcoming and actually thankful that you are running and helping such a wonderful cause! I can not believe that next year will be 10 years already! There are some even more amazing things in store with this race next year! Make sure you mark your calendar for the biggest and best DONNA Race weekend yet! Feb 11-12, 2017 !!
26.2 miles -4:47
Thank you everyone for your support and love! Donations are continuously being accepted. To date for 2016, we raised over $8000! DONATE
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