I remember at last year's R'n'R USA I had such a great time that when I got the alumni email with special pricing for the next year's race I signed up right away.
I also remember that last year there were a few things I wasn't to happy about on race day...primarily the lines to the porta potties and the bag check...last year's bag check appeared to be run by volunteers that took your bags and placed them on school buses that drove your bags to the finish line since the race began on Constitution Ave and 14th St. and ended at RFK Stadium...the problem with the bag check wasn't so much the volunteers but the way the bag check was organized...the way you placed your bag on a bus was by your last name...there are a lot more last names starting with Bs than with Zs so the lines for last names with more common starting letters where very long while other lines were very short and then at the finish line you faced the same issue except by then you were tired and sore and it was raining...Now the porta pottie lines that was more my fault because I got in the lines closest to the bag check where everyone else also went...I spent several minutes in line but then had to give up since the race was about to start...as I made my way to the start I realized there were many more porta potties with very short lines near the corrals...if I would have taken the time to read the race info carefully I would have known this....
Last year I learned to travel light to my races so no bag check and as for porta potties...most DC races begin near the Washington Monument and I now happen to work in that area and having 24/7 access to my building is a huge benefit because now I either drive or metro to my building depending on what roads are closed and just hangout in my building to use the restroom in the peace and hangout away from the cold until about 15 minutes to starting time...sadly not everyone has this perk and I don't have this advantage at races that are not near my building...so what do I do? I get there AT LEAST an hour early.
Traveling light means I only bring my car/office keys, metro card, credit card, some cash, GUs, my phone, and maybe water...I place all these things...except the water...in my fuel belt. The night before I race I evaluate what the weather is like and what I need to wear...I rather underdress as I will eventually warmup and if I overdress and overheat that means I'll probably have to shed some layers that I will most likely never get back.
For R'n'R this year I wore running shorts and a long sleeve running shirt since the temperature was in the high 40s and would warm up some. Unfortunately it was also windy so standing in my corral I was a bit cold but once I got moving I was great!
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| View from my corral right before the race |
The race course was beautiful as always when you run a big race through DC and the crowd support was awesome...again something that you always see in DC races...people line the streets with signs and cowbells...local come out to their front yards to cheer on the runners as they pass...I love this and it's something I miss when running smaller races.
The race course bands were nice but in my opinion some of the music they played was slow paced and not very motivating....for example at mile 7 you have to run up the toughest hill of the entire race and the band right before the hill was playing some mellow jazz tune...
I finished in 1:45:21...a new Half Marathon PR!! Overall it was a great race and I'm waiting for the alumni email for next year!!
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| R'n'R 2014 Half Marathon Finisher Medal |
2014 1st Quarter Race Schedule
2/23/2014 Gasparilla Distance Classic-Tampa Bay Run Half Marathon 2:00:18
3/02/2014 Reston 10 Miler 1:22:05
3/09/2014 St. Patrick’s Day 8K 37:04
3/15/2014 DC Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon 1:45:21
3/29/2014 The Runway 5 Miler
2/23/2014 Gasparilla Distance Classic-Tampa Bay Run Half Marathon 2:00:18
3/02/2014 Reston 10 Miler 1:22:05
3/09/2014 St. Patrick’s Day 8K 37:04
3/15/2014 DC Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon 1:45:21
3/29/2014 The Runway 5 Miler
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