10th Annual Union Hospital ‘Run for Home’ Half-Marathon– New Philadelphia, OH - 4/2/17
I had no intentions of running this event, as I was supposed to be running a 25k trail run this weekend, but it got cancelled due to the trails being too ‘wet’. Once I heard the trail race was cancelled I scrambled to find another longer event to enter this weekend as part of my marathon training. A quick look on www.runningintheusa.com I found this half marathon and it appeared to be on the smaller size so I could sign-up last minute and it was a few hours away. I signed up on Friday night and the race was Sunday.
From the little research I could do on this event it normally had a few hundred runners in the half-marathon and they also had a 5 mile walk. They also had other distances of runs on the Saturday before the half, so it was a running weekend in the town of New Philadelphia, OH.
After I signed up, I quickly learned there were over 600 runners signed up for the half and another few hundred more for the half relay. It made me wonder right away of how they acquired so many more runners this year and if they would be prepared for that many?
The race started at 11 am, so that left me plenty of time to sleep-in and still drive 2 hours to the race, I planned on getting to the event around 9 am, but as I am still pretty new to Ohio and got stuck in a small town by a train that blocked the roadway. I guess in Ohio, trains block roads on early Sunday mornings?….. LOL. The train delayed me by 30 mins! I still arrived earlier than most and there was plenty of parking at the finishing stadium.
Once arriving, I wondered around and found the check-in area and quickly got my bib and shirt. The ‘home base’ for the weekends running events was in Tuscora Park. The park was pretty cute and had a small pond, a few children’s rides, tennis courts and baseball fields. Also, right next to the park was Quaker Stadium, the finishing area for the half. (Quaker Stadium is the stadium for the local high school but appeared to host number of events besides sports.)
Tip: Before the race starts you can slip into the stadium and use the bathrooms in the locker rooms and avoid the spot-a-pots. Also, there were no spot-a-pots at the starting line, so go before heading over.
The temperatures for the day were supposed to be around 44 degrees at the start of the event and climbing up to the low 60’s depending on what time you finished. It was sunny with a few clouds. I dressed in a short sleeve tech shirt, shorts and a Headsweats cap. The temps were in the high 30’s at the start so I wore a pair of my throw away ‘dollar store stocking’ arm sleeves and gloves.
The starting line was on the far side of the pond from where you register and there was plenty of room to get into the corral even with 600+ runners. The starting announcements and National Anthem were right on time and the race got off to a swift start.
One of the reasons I wanted to do a longer event before running my marathon later this month is I wanted to work on pacing and boy was I glad I did this event! At the start of the race, I took off! I am not sure why except that I felt with that many runners, I needed to get in a good position in the first mile to get into my groove, what I didn’t expect was I ran the first few miles pretty close to my 5k pace as I got pulled along with the lead pack. By mile 3 I was able slow things down and settle into the pace I had wanted to accomplish for this event.
The course- One of the things I read while doing my brief research on this event was it was not a closed course and there was traffic on the course. What it did not say was during certain points, there were no traffic cones and you were running with traffic rather than against it…………….. Needless to say, around mile 3, I was running the tangent of the course and car came right up behind me and honkedL. I was near the lead pack and all I could think about was how was the traffic going to be when the heart of the pack got there? For the most part the course appeared pretty safe from traffic, but you had to look every time you came to an intersection as the volunteers did not always direct traffic. The police officers on the course did a great job at keeping cars away, but they were not at every intersection. Suggestion for next year, if you plan on having this many runners again, CLOSE THE COURSE! On the positive side there were quite a few folks on bikes that helped escort runners through the course, but they also had to avoid cars from all directions.
The course had some nice straight away sections and wove through a few neighborhoods. It also went through a park. You got to see all types of areas of town and even a few miles through a rural area. When you drive around New Philadelphia, you see plenty of hills, but they did a good job of keeping the course flat, but there were a few climbs and one major downhill. The first ‘climb’ is around mile 6.25 and is in a park as you climb up a paved path to the park road. The second climb came around mile 8.75 and went into the major downhill afterwards that leads you into a steady slow incline with a few ups and downs to the finish.
Aid stations- there were plenty of aid stations and the volunteers were great. The ones with the younger folks seemed to be enjoying their duties the most.
With about a half mile to go, you turn and go down a small alley that leads you back to the park that the race started at and the park paths that lead you to the stadium to finish on the track. When you enter the park the paths go from side to side and I don’t think the RD realizes it, but folks walking from the stadium to the pavilion to get food get in the way of the runners trying to put their kick in to finish the race. I had to shout and wave my hands more than a few times to get folks out of my way while coming into the finish…… (Next year, put up tape and cones to keep a lane clear please!) Once you enter the stadium, the finish line is a short distance away. They did a great job at announcing runners as they finished. (BTW, there was a five mile walk going on at the same time… it was a lot of these folks that got in the way of runners.)
At the finish, I was quickly given my medal and there were plenty of bananas, oranges and water for me to chow on. I did a few laps around the finish area to try and find the results, but could not find them. I tried to find them online…… after some thought, I realized the results were back in the pavilion that you picked your bib up at.
Overall I give the course 7 out of 10. It had a nice mix of scenery and terrain with a few ups and downs thrown in. Very runner friendly!
They also opened the locker rooms in the stadium so that you could change or get a shower if you like.
There appeared to be a very high number of first-time half marathoners running this event! It was great to see folks of all ages coming in for their finish and realizing what they accomplished. There is nothing more exciting to see than a newer runner reaching their goals! Just one of the great things running does for us all.
Overall, this was a well run event. If I were to make any changes and if they add more runners please close the course to traffic or at least give runners one whole lane going against traffic so you can see what is coming at you. I do recommend this event for first time half marathon runners as it has good on course support from spectators and is not such a large event that you get lost in the crowd.
I accomplished my goal pace for this event and am looking forward to the my full marathon at the end of the month.
My MapMyRun feed from this event: http://www.mapmyrun.com/workout/2099630081
Time: 1:31:58
Age group place: 2nd
Overall: 19th
Shoes: Saucony Kinvera #?
Fuel:
Pre-race- Chia Pouch, VEGA Pre-workout drink
During-race: 2 – Cliff Gels + Caffeine
Full Race Results: https://runsignup.com/race/results/?raceId=25555#resultSetId-73852
From the little research I could do on this event it normally had a few hundred runners in the half-marathon and they also had a 5 mile walk. They also had other distances of runs on the Saturday before the half, so it was a running weekend in the town of New Philadelphia, OH.
After I signed up, I quickly learned there were over 600 runners signed up for the half and another few hundred more for the half relay. It made me wonder right away of how they acquired so many more runners this year and if they would be prepared for that many?
The race started at 11 am, so that left me plenty of time to sleep-in and still drive 2 hours to the race, I planned on getting to the event around 9 am, but as I am still pretty new to Ohio and got stuck in a small town by a train that blocked the roadway. I guess in Ohio, trains block roads on early Sunday mornings?….. LOL. The train delayed me by 30 mins! I still arrived earlier than most and there was plenty of parking at the finishing stadium.
Once arriving, I wondered around and found the check-in area and quickly got my bib and shirt. The ‘home base’ for the weekends running events was in Tuscora Park. The park was pretty cute and had a small pond, a few children’s rides, tennis courts and baseball fields. Also, right next to the park was Quaker Stadium, the finishing area for the half. (Quaker Stadium is the stadium for the local high school but appeared to host number of events besides sports.)
Tip: Before the race starts you can slip into the stadium and use the bathrooms in the locker rooms and avoid the spot-a-pots. Also, there were no spot-a-pots at the starting line, so go before heading over.
The temperatures for the day were supposed to be around 44 degrees at the start of the event and climbing up to the low 60’s depending on what time you finished. It was sunny with a few clouds. I dressed in a short sleeve tech shirt, shorts and a Headsweats cap. The temps were in the high 30’s at the start so I wore a pair of my throw away ‘dollar store stocking’ arm sleeves and gloves.
The starting line was on the far side of the pond from where you register and there was plenty of room to get into the corral even with 600+ runners. The starting announcements and National Anthem were right on time and the race got off to a swift start.
One of the reasons I wanted to do a longer event before running my marathon later this month is I wanted to work on pacing and boy was I glad I did this event! At the start of the race, I took off! I am not sure why except that I felt with that many runners, I needed to get in a good position in the first mile to get into my groove, what I didn’t expect was I ran the first few miles pretty close to my 5k pace as I got pulled along with the lead pack. By mile 3 I was able slow things down and settle into the pace I had wanted to accomplish for this event.
The course- One of the things I read while doing my brief research on this event was it was not a closed course and there was traffic on the course. What it did not say was during certain points, there were no traffic cones and you were running with traffic rather than against it…………….. Needless to say, around mile 3, I was running the tangent of the course and car came right up behind me and honkedL. I was near the lead pack and all I could think about was how was the traffic going to be when the heart of the pack got there? For the most part the course appeared pretty safe from traffic, but you had to look every time you came to an intersection as the volunteers did not always direct traffic. The police officers on the course did a great job at keeping cars away, but they were not at every intersection. Suggestion for next year, if you plan on having this many runners again, CLOSE THE COURSE! On the positive side there were quite a few folks on bikes that helped escort runners through the course, but they also had to avoid cars from all directions.
The course had some nice straight away sections and wove through a few neighborhoods. It also went through a park. You got to see all types of areas of town and even a few miles through a rural area. When you drive around New Philadelphia, you see plenty of hills, but they did a good job of keeping the course flat, but there were a few climbs and one major downhill. The first ‘climb’ is around mile 6.25 and is in a park as you climb up a paved path to the park road. The second climb came around mile 8.75 and went into the major downhill afterwards that leads you into a steady slow incline with a few ups and downs to the finish.
Aid stations- there were plenty of aid stations and the volunteers were great. The ones with the younger folks seemed to be enjoying their duties the most.
With about a half mile to go, you turn and go down a small alley that leads you back to the park that the race started at and the park paths that lead you to the stadium to finish on the track. When you enter the park the paths go from side to side and I don’t think the RD realizes it, but folks walking from the stadium to the pavilion to get food get in the way of the runners trying to put their kick in to finish the race. I had to shout and wave my hands more than a few times to get folks out of my way while coming into the finish…… (Next year, put up tape and cones to keep a lane clear please!) Once you enter the stadium, the finish line is a short distance away. They did a great job at announcing runners as they finished. (BTW, there was a five mile walk going on at the same time… it was a lot of these folks that got in the way of runners.)
At the finish, I was quickly given my medal and there were plenty of bananas, oranges and water for me to chow on. I did a few laps around the finish area to try and find the results, but could not find them. I tried to find them online…… after some thought, I realized the results were back in the pavilion that you picked your bib up at.
Overall I give the course 7 out of 10. It had a nice mix of scenery and terrain with a few ups and downs thrown in. Very runner friendly!
They also opened the locker rooms in the stadium so that you could change or get a shower if you like.
There appeared to be a very high number of first-time half marathoners running this event! It was great to see folks of all ages coming in for their finish and realizing what they accomplished. There is nothing more exciting to see than a newer runner reaching their goals! Just one of the great things running does for us all.
Overall, this was a well run event. If I were to make any changes and if they add more runners please close the course to traffic or at least give runners one whole lane going against traffic so you can see what is coming at you. I do recommend this event for first time half marathon runners as it has good on course support from spectators and is not such a large event that you get lost in the crowd.
I accomplished my goal pace for this event and am looking forward to the my full marathon at the end of the month.
My MapMyRun feed from this event: http://www.mapmyrun.com/workout/2099630081
Time: 1:31:58
Age group place: 2nd
Overall: 19th
Shoes: Saucony Kinvera #?
Fuel:
Pre-race- Chia Pouch, VEGA Pre-workout drink
During-race: 2 – Cliff Gels + Caffeine
Full Race Results: https://runsignup.com/race/results/?raceId=25555#resultSetId-73852
