Let me start by saying, please do not compare yourself to me or feel that you need to be a certain type of runner to be able to read or understand my journey. As runners we have a lot in common and face a lot of the same challenges but at the same time we are each on a different journey and have different goals. I have never come across another runner that had the same goals as me, but in conversation we found we both working to reach goals and enjoyed the time our journeys crossed paths.
For me, I started running about 3 years ago (age 37) and started just like many others, walking on a treadmill and running for 5 seconds 2-3 times in a 30 min walk. After getting up some running courage, I hit the streets (I will tell this story another time). I entered my first 5K and was happy to finish. Shortly after that event I started to enter more 5K’s and got drawn to trying to place in my age group. It was this little bit of competiveness that pushes me. I have always had a completive side, but not the type that wants to compete and be the greatest and in your face type. I believe there is a lot to be said for being completive and also being humble, you see this a lot in the running world, it is what makes it enjoyable for many of us (even more so on the trails!).
One last note: I am involved with team ‘Back on My Feet’. I have been involved with the Philadelphia chapter for about a year and have been running with team RWA for about 9 months. What draws me to BoMF is it allows me to share and give the gift of running to those that are struggling with challenges, for many of my teammates this is homelessness and for many substance abuse. I have not been homeless but I have and do struggle with the challenges of addiction, running has saved me. Being able to see my teammates reach their goals and cross that finish line is amazing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Come out and join us J
Delaware Half-marathon, Wilmington, DE- 5/10/15
This event is my ‘hometown’ long road event, so I may get a little 2 detailed here J
The Delaware Half-marathon is part of the Delaware running festival held on Mother’s Day weekend every year in Wilmington. The event has a full marathon, half-marathon, 4 & 8 person relay team marathon. Total runners this year was well over 3000 (?).
I choose to run the half because the marathon course is a double loop of the half, and if you know anything about the topography of Wilmington, you will know it is built on a series of hills that all lead down to the rivers that flow through Wilmington. I really don’t like the idea of looping around and subjecting myself to the same climbs and descents twice on a road course. With that being said, the course is awesome! You get to see just about everything Wilmington has to offer. If they made the full marathon a single loop course, I would do it in heartbeat. More about that and the course later…..
On Saturday, they have packet pick-up and expo. It is held in the park right next to the starting line and has a great feel like you are attending a summer ‘park’ event with music playing and lots of ‘running’ related events going on for kids. There is a large tent set-up that has registration check-in where you get your bib and then they send you to the other side to get your swag. One of the biggest perks of the DE Running Fest is the swag! You start off by getting a mesh drawstring/backpack bag (that my wife wanted to claim right away for her work bag), next was a nice fitted tech shirt with the logo and sponsors on it (one you can wear!), a pint glass with the logo and sponsor, a note pad with the logo and next years dates on it and then table full of coupons and such from event sponsors. In my opinion the best was yet to come, the hat! This year Discover Card provided every runner a Headsweats brand hat with the logo on it. (I love my Headsweats hats!) There were few vendors at the expo (enough that you could buy your last minute needs and get some running gear). Delaware Running Company was there as the provider of ‘Event Gear’ and had a nice selection. One item that they had that is pretty unique are shirts with the ‘Class of’ on it and it had all the runners names printed on the back. They had one for the half and one for the full. If this was my first long running event I would have bought one as a way to remember.
Race Day (Sunday)-
Weather was a concern as high temps and humidity were expected. I do not have the exact weather but it turned out to be overcast and lower temps (60 degrees at race start?), but the humidity was very high!!! For my half, it did not seem to get much warmer and I was cold after finishing.
The corrals were open for you to decide where you wanted to position yourself, I tried to push up as far as I could so I could get off to a good start (last year I was too far back and got caught in a pack not going my goal pace).
The race started at exactly 7am and we were off! After about a ¼ mile I settled into my pace and took in the sites as they passed. The first 2 miles go through and along the Riverfront area and you get to see rowers out on the Christiana River. The course comes around and passes by the same park the start/finish line is at and the crowds were in full force. Shortly after the park you turn and head into downtown Wilmington and the first of rolling hills over to the Brandywine Park roads and trails. I made a note with the high humidity to take water at every aid station. Once in the Brandywine Park and passing the zoo you come to one of the highlights of the course, a suspended pedestrian bridge over the Brandywine River. It had been closed for a few years and was recently reopened. It felt kind of bouncy as I went across it and I thought I am glad I am the only one on it, as it may get pretty bouncy with a pack of runners on it. After crossing the bridge you head back down the Brandywine River to where the course really begins…….
As you make a 180 back on the road surface you begin the mile long incline up into the Wilmington neighborhoods. This is the area that makes me question if I want to do the full marathon, because you have to do it twice! This is also the area that you lose most of the relay runners as they turn around about near the top of the incline, so the field clears out. At the top of the incline I turned into neighborhoods and weave around roads that if I did not know Wilmington I would have no clue where I was. The miles click by fast here….. I crossed over a small bridge to do a loop through Little Italy. On the backside of the loop there was a sponsor handing out nice large portions of Italian Water Ice, I wanted to take some to cool down, but knew it was not a good idea for me. Once leaving Little Italy I headed back into the neighborhoods to start my decent back to the finish line.
The nice thing about this course is that most of the way back to the finish (of the half) is downhill and you can pretty much can go as fast as you like downhill, I decided to hold my goal pace and took advantage of some of the steeper parts as this is where a few other guys passed me. Once you get back to the bottom of the hill you go a few blocks and then turn back towards central Wilmington and the last little incline. Then it is all downhill into the finish. When I was coming back to the finish line I had to make a few quick turns and course marshal sent me down the correct shoot to the finish. I felt a burst of energy coming in for the last ¼ mile and put my kick in. My kick was so strong I was mad at myself for having so much energy left and forgot to raise my arms for the finisher photo……… (If you were running the full marathon you get to do it all over again as they direct you back out onto the course……)
I felt good after I finished, I got my metal and they were handing out bags of ice and water so I started to try to cool myself down. I was soaked head to toe from the humidity. I wondered over where the split was for the finishers and the folks continuing on the marathon to cheer on one of my BoMF teammates that came down from Philly to run the marathon. I got to see her again as she passed back by the park and waited around to see here finish strong. Given the conditions she did GREAT and I was very impressed! She made me want to do the full marathon next year.
They had a post-race food tent that was well stocked and supported. I grabbed my normal, fruit and a bottle of water.
The whole event went very smooth and it is a very well run event. It has the feel of a big event with good crowd support but a small event feel without having to wait in corrals and crowded runners on the course. All the aid stations were well staffed and went smooth. ALL THE VOLENTEERS WERE GREAT!!!! If I were to pick on one thing it would be the route of the relay runners as they come back to the relay exchange area, they have to come through a high pedestrian traffic area and it gets very congested as more and more folks finish and spectators are watching the finish line. It would make a lot more sense to have them pass through the finish line area and do the exchange behind the food tent.
My time for the half: 1:37:32
Pre-race Food- Cliff Bar, 2 bananas, coffee, Vega Pre-Sport Energizer drink, Mamma Chia Squeeze.
Fueling during the race- Water at every aid station, Mocha Cliff Shot at mile 4.75, Choc Cherry Cliff Shot at mile 9.5
Post-Race Food- Bananas, pear, water, Nuun tab in water. (Had a few baked chips….)
For me, I started running about 3 years ago (age 37) and started just like many others, walking on a treadmill and running for 5 seconds 2-3 times in a 30 min walk. After getting up some running courage, I hit the streets (I will tell this story another time). I entered my first 5K and was happy to finish. Shortly after that event I started to enter more 5K’s and got drawn to trying to place in my age group. It was this little bit of competiveness that pushes me. I have always had a completive side, but not the type that wants to compete and be the greatest and in your face type. I believe there is a lot to be said for being completive and also being humble, you see this a lot in the running world, it is what makes it enjoyable for many of us (even more so on the trails!).
One last note: I am involved with team ‘Back on My Feet’. I have been involved with the Philadelphia chapter for about a year and have been running with team RWA for about 9 months. What draws me to BoMF is it allows me to share and give the gift of running to those that are struggling with challenges, for many of my teammates this is homelessness and for many substance abuse. I have not been homeless but I have and do struggle with the challenges of addiction, running has saved me. Being able to see my teammates reach their goals and cross that finish line is amazing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Come out and join us J
Delaware Half-marathon, Wilmington, DE- 5/10/15
This event is my ‘hometown’ long road event, so I may get a little 2 detailed here J
The Delaware Half-marathon is part of the Delaware running festival held on Mother’s Day weekend every year in Wilmington. The event has a full marathon, half-marathon, 4 & 8 person relay team marathon. Total runners this year was well over 3000 (?).
I choose to run the half because the marathon course is a double loop of the half, and if you know anything about the topography of Wilmington, you will know it is built on a series of hills that all lead down to the rivers that flow through Wilmington. I really don’t like the idea of looping around and subjecting myself to the same climbs and descents twice on a road course. With that being said, the course is awesome! You get to see just about everything Wilmington has to offer. If they made the full marathon a single loop course, I would do it in heartbeat. More about that and the course later…..
On Saturday, they have packet pick-up and expo. It is held in the park right next to the starting line and has a great feel like you are attending a summer ‘park’ event with music playing and lots of ‘running’ related events going on for kids. There is a large tent set-up that has registration check-in where you get your bib and then they send you to the other side to get your swag. One of the biggest perks of the DE Running Fest is the swag! You start off by getting a mesh drawstring/backpack bag (that my wife wanted to claim right away for her work bag), next was a nice fitted tech shirt with the logo and sponsors on it (one you can wear!), a pint glass with the logo and sponsor, a note pad with the logo and next years dates on it and then table full of coupons and such from event sponsors. In my opinion the best was yet to come, the hat! This year Discover Card provided every runner a Headsweats brand hat with the logo on it. (I love my Headsweats hats!) There were few vendors at the expo (enough that you could buy your last minute needs and get some running gear). Delaware Running Company was there as the provider of ‘Event Gear’ and had a nice selection. One item that they had that is pretty unique are shirts with the ‘Class of’ on it and it had all the runners names printed on the back. They had one for the half and one for the full. If this was my first long running event I would have bought one as a way to remember.
Race Day (Sunday)-
Weather was a concern as high temps and humidity were expected. I do not have the exact weather but it turned out to be overcast and lower temps (60 degrees at race start?), but the humidity was very high!!! For my half, it did not seem to get much warmer and I was cold after finishing.
The corrals were open for you to decide where you wanted to position yourself, I tried to push up as far as I could so I could get off to a good start (last year I was too far back and got caught in a pack not going my goal pace).
The race started at exactly 7am and we were off! After about a ¼ mile I settled into my pace and took in the sites as they passed. The first 2 miles go through and along the Riverfront area and you get to see rowers out on the Christiana River. The course comes around and passes by the same park the start/finish line is at and the crowds were in full force. Shortly after the park you turn and head into downtown Wilmington and the first of rolling hills over to the Brandywine Park roads and trails. I made a note with the high humidity to take water at every aid station. Once in the Brandywine Park and passing the zoo you come to one of the highlights of the course, a suspended pedestrian bridge over the Brandywine River. It had been closed for a few years and was recently reopened. It felt kind of bouncy as I went across it and I thought I am glad I am the only one on it, as it may get pretty bouncy with a pack of runners on it. After crossing the bridge you head back down the Brandywine River to where the course really begins…….
As you make a 180 back on the road surface you begin the mile long incline up into the Wilmington neighborhoods. This is the area that makes me question if I want to do the full marathon, because you have to do it twice! This is also the area that you lose most of the relay runners as they turn around about near the top of the incline, so the field clears out. At the top of the incline I turned into neighborhoods and weave around roads that if I did not know Wilmington I would have no clue where I was. The miles click by fast here….. I crossed over a small bridge to do a loop through Little Italy. On the backside of the loop there was a sponsor handing out nice large portions of Italian Water Ice, I wanted to take some to cool down, but knew it was not a good idea for me. Once leaving Little Italy I headed back into the neighborhoods to start my decent back to the finish line.
The nice thing about this course is that most of the way back to the finish (of the half) is downhill and you can pretty much can go as fast as you like downhill, I decided to hold my goal pace and took advantage of some of the steeper parts as this is where a few other guys passed me. Once you get back to the bottom of the hill you go a few blocks and then turn back towards central Wilmington and the last little incline. Then it is all downhill into the finish. When I was coming back to the finish line I had to make a few quick turns and course marshal sent me down the correct shoot to the finish. I felt a burst of energy coming in for the last ¼ mile and put my kick in. My kick was so strong I was mad at myself for having so much energy left and forgot to raise my arms for the finisher photo……… (If you were running the full marathon you get to do it all over again as they direct you back out onto the course……)
I felt good after I finished, I got my metal and they were handing out bags of ice and water so I started to try to cool myself down. I was soaked head to toe from the humidity. I wondered over where the split was for the finishers and the folks continuing on the marathon to cheer on one of my BoMF teammates that came down from Philly to run the marathon. I got to see her again as she passed back by the park and waited around to see here finish strong. Given the conditions she did GREAT and I was very impressed! She made me want to do the full marathon next year.
They had a post-race food tent that was well stocked and supported. I grabbed my normal, fruit and a bottle of water.
The whole event went very smooth and it is a very well run event. It has the feel of a big event with good crowd support but a small event feel without having to wait in corrals and crowded runners on the course. All the aid stations were well staffed and went smooth. ALL THE VOLENTEERS WERE GREAT!!!! If I were to pick on one thing it would be the route of the relay runners as they come back to the relay exchange area, they have to come through a high pedestrian traffic area and it gets very congested as more and more folks finish and spectators are watching the finish line. It would make a lot more sense to have them pass through the finish line area and do the exchange behind the food tent.
My time for the half: 1:37:32
Pre-race Food- Cliff Bar, 2 bananas, coffee, Vega Pre-Sport Energizer drink, Mamma Chia Squeeze.
Fueling during the race- Water at every aid station, Mocha Cliff Shot at mile 4.75, Choc Cherry Cliff Shot at mile 9.5
Post-Race Food- Bananas, pear, water, Nuun tab in water. (Had a few baked chips….)
