Blergh, I'm not really sure how to write this race report. Here's the deal: I had a decent race and posted a
new half marathon PR. I'm not sure if I was more excited to PR or that reader Bill recognized me from my blog while we were waiting this morning and introduced himself. I feel so legit - I'm Internet famous!
However, this race is what I expected, which isn't a good thing. Also, it was not at all as promised.
Let's start at the beginning. After my disappointing
Egg Shell Shuffle race, I was on the search for a redemption race. Groupon just happened to be advertising a half marathon for $35 per person, boasting bathrooms, a post-race party, tech shirts, medals and age group awards. I jumped, and didn't hear a peep from the race company, USRA, for weeks. Dan, the creator of the
Western Cook Running Group, also signed up and found out the skinny on this race company. The guy behind this race series, Dean Reinke, has a slew of accusations leveled against him by people all over the Internet (read
here,
here,
here and
here). So up until this morning, I wasn't even confident a race would happen, based on others' previous experiences with the USRA series.
I lined up at one of the two port-o-potties and joked with Tim that I had to lower my expectations to the $35 level. And that's what I did.
As I warmed up at the start line, which was a duct tape line on the pavement, Dan caught me and said, "So 1:50, huh?" I was so psyched to see him!
We were off and Dan chugged along with me for 10 miles. We chatted and swapped stories. It was a welcome distraction and quite pleasant. I had a few tough moments, but generally kept pace and avoided stomach issues.
I ate some homemade fuel around 6 and 11. There were port-o-potties on the course, thankfully, but I didn't need them this time. Homemade fuel for the win!
There were only two water stations, so I was glad I brought a handheld water bottle.
I couldn't quite hold on for the final 5k and didn't quite make it to the 1:50 I had hoped. My knee was killing me in the last mile and I just couldn't push, and I swear the finish line kept moving further and further. Still, at 1:151:07, it's a five-minute PR!
I collected my medal, then waited with Dan and Tim for an hour for the awards ceremony because the instant timing said that I was third in my age group. Looking at the
Web site now, it's ambiguous as to how many deep the awards went:
So I went up to Dean and asked. He handed me an award and said, "Here you go," which seemed very unceremonious. The award was also this glass thing that just said "Age Group Winner" with the date. I don't really feel comfortable posting a photo of it because it feels like I wasn't supposed to get it.
Let's compare what was promised versus what went down:
Accurate timing: There was no start mat. I hear the 5K was long, and I think the half was a bit long, too.
Tech shirts: Well, let's take a look. They're cute, but cotton.
Post-race party: It was a dude with a boom box, bottles of water, unwashed apples and 90-calorie generic chewie bars. I'm not hating, but I was hungry. Also, the signage had Miller Lite on it. There was no beer. There was also no on-course food or fuel.
Finisher's Medal: I got one, but not everyone did. I also hear that for the late finishers, they ran out of food, which wouldn't be hard. By the time I rolled in, the food was already scarce.
I think I got what I paid for, but this was little more than a semi-supported training run. It wasn't that well-marked and the aid stations were scarce. Nothing to write home about, other than my shiny new PR, thanks to Dan's superb support.
 |
| Bowie pulled a Napoleon |
Cost: $35 through Groupon
Pros: Super cheap, free and accessible parking, bathrooms, small race and extremely beautiful course
Cons: Cheap medals, not enough bathrooms at the start, underwhelming/confusing award ceremony, lackluster post-race food, no start timing mat, the race ran out of food and medals for later finishers, no on-course fuel, very little support, no real post-race party, no medics anywhere
Would I race this again? No. It sucks to finish a race with an awesome new PR and feel less than stellar about the whole situation. I wanted to celebrate a bit, but there was nothing there.
4. Weight control. I was never that big, but every pound helps. I'm much leaner now than I was this time last year, thanks in part to the previously mentioned training techniques.
