ING Georgia Half Marathon.
It was a VERY challenging course. LOTS of hills!!! Even the elite marathoners were commenting on how tough the course was. One of the Kenyans that finished in the top 3 remarked that it was the toughest Marathon courses he had ever run. We also had a record 87 degrees yesterday in Atlanta and there could have been a few more water stations. The race organizers did a terrible job with the amount with the lack of fluid needed on a course. All in all, it was a lot of fun. The fan support from the Atlanta community was pretty good. We actually started on time.
The first part of the race was fun running through downtown Atlanta past the Hard Rock, Macy's and then round Mile 3 past The Wheat Street Baptist Church on Auburn Ave where Dr Martin Luther King presided. The support through the beginning on the race was fantastic. I saw my family around mile three as we turned up toward the Carter Center.
The second section of the race started down Freedom Parkway and was just a crazy loop. I would love to see them ditch this section for future races. You run to the end, mostly down hill and then run back up it. You then begin what felt like a 4 mile run straight up hill all the way to Virginia Highlands. The crowd support when you got there was great. After making the turn downtown there were a bunch of college guys giving away beer in there front yard. I'm like, you must be kidding.
The third section of the race ran us through Piedmont Park and back down Peachtree Street back to Underground Atlanta. I remember one! Yes one water station in the last 4 miles. It was really hot and very dangerous. It would have been a nice stretch to end a half marathon if I hadn't been dehydrated. Finished in 1:58 and felt pretty good.
This race has a long way to go to be world class. I hope it will be better in the future but I don't see myself running it again until they get a successful one under their belts.
Addition: I wanted to make an addition to this report since I hadn't actually read it in a while. One great thing about doing this is the people you meet. After this race Julie and I hung out in underground and had lunch. We were fortunate enough to get seated next to our now friends Julie McAdoo and Bryan Parker who live in Seattle. Julie is a phenomenal runner and one that I've sought for much advise since then for running. Her skill is FAR superior to anything I could ever obtain but it goes to show how much runners support each other. Brian flies for Alaska Air and supports her in big races the same support my family has always shown me.
San Diego-AFC Finest City Half Marathon
I finished the EAS Finest City Half Marathon in San Diego in 2:07. It was nine minutes slower than the time I posted at the ING Georgia Half Marathon in March but I also ran into some different obstacles that taught me some things. For one don't trust race organizers when they tell you to leave your fuel belt in the car because there will be water stations at every mile. They had stations at 4, 7.5, and 10.5. That's it. THREE water stations in the entire race. Added to that the average temperature in San Diego for this time of year is 68 degrees. It got up to 98 that day.
The run was absolutely beautiful. We started at Cabrillo Monument on the base at Fort Rosecrans. You take a bus past military guards to get to the start. You start with the Pacific Ocean to your left and Coronado to your right with San Diego Bay in between. We arrived before the sun came up and got to see a submarine depart from the base while we were waiting to start. The first part of the race was really fast and mostly downhill, but the back of the race was another story when the fluids started running out and the last two and a half miles were totally straight up hill into Balboa Park. The run was beautiful and I really enjoyed participating. It was great for my training and I learned that I need to slow down a little early on. I finished 2439 out of 7750. Not great but not bad either.
Two weeks later I made a last minute decision to enter the US 10K Classic in Atlanta on Labor Day. It's becoming a tradition in our area and they attract some of the top runners in the world. I think it's because they bill it as the toughest 10k in the US and everyone wants to prove they can do it. Julie and I noticed that they were going to give medals this year to the top 1000 finishers and joked that with 13,000 running that they might as well just set aside an extra bagel for me at the finish. However, I even surprised myself when I finished 802 and got a medal.
Country Music Half Marathon-Nashville, TN
First of all this was a very special weekend. My kids ran and finished their first kids marathon and Julie ran her first half. I had a Very severe muscle injury in March that I thought would knock me out of this race, so just lining up was a victory for me. It was a rainy overcast day that honestly was great for running but not so great for the fans. The check in and corrals were a little uncomfortable because of the rain but after we got started and since I was able to keep my socks dry, I was good to go, except for my injury.
The first part of the course started in Centennial Park in Nashville as we ran down the West End past Vanderbilt, looped back around the oval and headed down the first part of music row. It was very cool for me having spent most of my career in the music industry and having spent many days and hours there over my life. Many memories came back while running down music row. After passing Belmont University we ran east over the interstate and into some neighborhoods on east of Belmont.
The second portion of this race begin here. There are many more hills than advertised on this course and the turnaround run back to Belmont is where you first start to notice them. The crowd support in this area is the best of any section of the race. You turn again on the backside of the University and head back down the other side of music row. For me more memories passing old publishing companies, writers building, Curb Records, I looked for you Benson, and past my old offices at the Warner Bros. building. I didn't need much motivation in the section of the race given all of the memories I had. You turn right and head into downtown Nashville when you get to the end of music row.
The third part of the race takes you under the tracks and north to the Bicentennial Mall. Their are lots of more unexpected hills as you head past the mall. You know your close to finishing and every time you round a corner, another hill. Very mental. You finally get to the top of the hill at Union Street and you can see the stadium. The last mile is pretty much downhill and flat and a great finish with good crowd support. I finished in 1:48. A PR for me in the half despite the injury and hills. That tells me I can do much better in the half.
This race was fun. Every city thinks they have great crowd support. I would give Nashville a C+. I know many people in this city and was surprised it wasn't better. The city may embrace the race but I don't think people in the burbs care. It was VERY well organized. Water stations were everywhere. The hills were under advertised but it's not the ING GA by any stretch. It was a fun course but I would like to run threw downtown on First Avenue instead of next to the train tracks under the bridges. I think the fans would enjoy that more also. I would run this race again!
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