Also, this is the second version of this entry. This year's race wasn't so great and I was pretty frustrated because of it. I'm still going to touch on some of the negatives of this race, but if you want to see other people's experiences (I apparently got lucky) it's out there on social media. After the events of the last couple of days, I don't want to contribute to the negativity in the world right now. There's enough of it right now and I'm trying really hard to not give into it. Now, onto the race recap!
I had been looking forward to this race since the organizers asked me to be an ambassador after being an ambassador for the St. Michael's Running Festival. In previous years, the race has been fantastic and I loved it.
On Friday morning just as the expo was opening, organizers announced via Facebook that the race had been sold to Ironman. Not this one.
This one.
Organizers also announced that Ironman would be taking over the race immediately.
Bib and shirt pickup was somewhat easy, although this is where the trouble started for some as shirt sizes were beginning to run out Friday afternoon. (By the time I got there, they had run out of Men's XL shirts.)
The expo vendors once again were pretty underwhelming. In some respects some of the vendors felt a little predatory. Like there was a drawing for a $500 Trader Joe's Gift card, but if you read the fine print on the card you filled out it authorized a company in Williamsburg, VA to put you on their list to call, text AND email you and your spouse about timeshares. Once I read that I tucked the card in my bag and walked away.
This year's shirt was VERY similar to last year's, except it was white and had pink writing on the women's shirts and the men's shirts had green writing.
Fast forward to race morning: My husband and I were out the door at 5:30am to get to Anne Arundel Community College ASAP. We parked at about 6:15am, and got on a bus and were on our way to the starting area by 6:30am. As usual there were ample portajohns as you get off the bus and since it was still early in the day, they were practically sparkling.
We then worked our way around the building to the holding area before the starting line and met up with some of the ladies in one of my running groups. We took a few pictures together and I had to get some selfies in front of the bridge and the beautiful sunrise!
Love that view--Simply stunning!
Soon after I nudged my husband for us to head over to the starting area and we left in the second wave at 7:15.
After some winding around, we were officially on the bridge and headed up that dreaded 3% incline. (Which in perspective really isn't that bad, but it is the least fun part of the course although the most scenic.)
Once you hit these overhead trusses, the worst has almost passed!
After those first 2 miles, pretty much the rest of the course is a gentle downhill slope and my splits prove it.
Can you guess where the apex of the hill was just by looking at my pace?
After crossing the finish line I was handed a medal, bottles of water and a bag of snacks. This year organizers offered a kid's sized bag of pretzels, raspberry flavored apple sauce and a sugar free flavor packet to add to your water. (Mine was green tea but I saw a few people got half and half.) I've only been disappointed with post-race snacks twice, and both times it has been from this race. (Last year they handed out moldy bagels, granola bars and some people got bananas.) Thankfully Whole Foods was there handing out chia seed bars by Health Warrior. (They had my favorite flavor--chocolate peanut butter!) After meeting up with my husband and checking out the vendor tents we headed to the buses home.
The bus ride back to Anne Arundel Community College took about an hour and a half when it should've taken about 20 minutes. Traffic getting to the bridge was pretty bad from the shuttle buses and those trying to get to Baltimore for the Ravens vs Steelers football game. (Ravens won!)
While on the bridge I had to take some pictures of the opposite side. The blue things on the bridge have water and they had pipes going in between each one and openings where you could refill your water or get a drink like at a water fountain.
Eeek! The sag bus!!! They also picked up volunteers, the various equipment they had on the bridge, and the water reservoirs.
I also got a picture of the starting area at Northrup Grumman. It was weird seeing it completely empty after it was packed full of people just a short while ago.
Once we arrived back to the parking lots at the Community College, getting out and back home was really easy. I couldn't wait to see how my new medal would look connected to the first two!! (The middle of the latest one spins!!)
Overall, I wasn't impressed with this year's race compared to previous years. However with Ironman taking over, I'm optimistic that it will get better. Getting to and from Anne Arundel Community College was really easy, I enjoyed the course (as always), and the medal was pretty cool. The new organizers can definitely improve on a lot, but for me it would be nice to see more in the way of snacks because a small bag of pretzels and apple sauce was not enough after a race.
Have you run this race? What are your thoughts on it?
Congrats on your race! Love all your medals! They fit very well with each other. That stinks that they didn't offer many goodies after the race. Maybe next year!
ReplyDeleteThanks! I'm really excited to see what Ironman will do with it. After reading a few reviews of their triathlons, I'm really confident they'll be able to make it even better.
Delete