For awhile now, I've been thinking about trying a Zooma race. Then this past year, something interesting happened. Pacers Running ended up buying the Annapolis race and rebranded it as the Wayfarer 10k and Half Marathon. It was a whole new concept in racing that I found intriguing. For one thing, you could buy 4 entries for the price of three for either distance.
I took a chance and did that for the 10k. (It's the first weekend in June and in Maryland its pretty notorious for being hot and/or humid. Usually both. So I thought "Okay, I could run a 10k in that kind of weather with very few complaints.") Then I started asking around to see if anyone would want to buy into the race at a cheaper rate than offered through regular registration. It took a little effort, but between the three running groups I'm in I found the three other people and each of us got into the race at $52.29 each, when it would've been at least $65 before the extra fees.
Another one of the new aspects of the race was the swag. For one thing, at packet pickup instead of a shirt you get a
backpack and a patch. Then for signing up in the inaugural year, you got a little pin. And if you participated in extra events (like their book club, if you did something good in the community and posted it to social media or go to their Downward Plogging event) you got extra patches! Such little things, but meaningful since I'll most likely use the backpack and put the patches and the pin on there too. And instead of a finisher's medal you get a carabiner keychain with the race logo. So when I went to the Downward Plogging event (an event where you could get your packet, do a run where you pickup trash around DC, yoga, and then get dinner) I came away with quite a bit and it saved me an extra trip to Annapolis or Clarendon to get my packet.
So plogging was fun. I ran into a friend I hadn't seen in awhile so it was
really nice to see a familiar face, along with another person in the
Oiselle Volee that I run into every once in awhile. When I picked up my packet I had the choose between two different backpacks (the black marble and tropical stripe.) I went with the tropical stripe in the middle.
Race day came about a month later. I had done some training, but not much more than my usual OrangeTheory workouts plus the occasional extra run so I could get some long(ish) runs to help my confidence.
Unsurprisingly for a June race, weather was definitely an issue. The entire week the weather reports called for thunderstorms on race day. As the week went on, it became more clear that the race would most likely be impacted by these storms. And the afternoon before race day I got an email that I've never gotten before from any race company.
I've had races threatened by snow, ice and potential government shutdowns, but never thunderstorms so this was particularly surprising. However I will say that I'm glad the race organizers were overly cautious but still surprised the half marathon was cancelled and everyone was downgraded to the 10k. After talking to a friend who has run the
Annapolis Running Classic (same courses as this one for both the 10k and half marathon) my understanding is that the 10k and the first half of the half marathon are in areas where you can duck into a public building or a sheltered space if needed and just wait for the storm to pass. The second half is all through neighborhoods so there isn't very much cover and you can't really just run into somebody's house if a storm pops up. And the organizers really went above and beyond--if you read the disclaimer you "sign" when you sign up for races, most (if not all of them) will have one little section that says they organizers really don't have to do anything. They can cancel a race and you're out of however much you paid and there's zero recourse for the runner because you were supposed to read that disclaimer. BUT! Pacers went above and beyond which you can see in the last part of the email that I posted above. They offered all half marathoners to either defer their entry to the 2019 race OR run the 10k and get half off their entry for the 2019 race.
So after the email, I was a little nervous not only for myself but my friends running the
Baltimore 10 Miler. (Both races are kind of notorious for being on the same day every year.) But I still acted like I normally do--I put together of everything I'd need for race day, set out my running clothes and checked the weather every couple of hours.
The night before I laid out my outfit. Due to the heat and humidity I went with my Oiselle
Flyout Tank,
Strider Shorts, Balega Silver Socks,
Spibelt (in peacock), and my Balega hat.
On race morning, I drank my usual
cherry limeade Nuun on the drive down since with it forecasted to still be warm (73 at gun time) I figured I should get a head start on hydrating. I arrived to the Navy- Marine Corps Stadium shortly after 6am and the race volunteers directed me to a parking spot very close to the stadium.
Shortly thereafter I got my ID checked so I could get my beer bracelet and walked over to the bathrooms (with running water and no line!) I got lucky and ran into a friend while I was washing my hands.
On the way back to the starting area I went ahead and grabbed a bottle of water and a banana and put them in my car. (Being semi-slow makes me paranoid that post-race snacks disappear before I can get to them. It's never happened at a Pacers race, but it
has happened at other races.) Since it was half an hour till gun time, I opened up my
Picky Bar and started eating.
The starting area was self-seeded and I got right in the middle of the crowd. Once we got started running, it really wasn't that crowded even with a few of the usual walkers that seeded themselves right by the front.
The course was very scenic--going past the Maryland State Capitol building, the downtown area with all its cute shops and restaurants, along the water front and over rivers. There weren't many hills to speak of, although there were some points where they looked more dramatic than they actually were. And added bonus compared to the Zooma race--no Naval Academy Bridge! (It's kind of notorious in Maryland for having a serious incline and no shade.)
The scale on the left is just zero to 60 feet!
Once I crossed the finish I grabbed another bottle of water along with my finisher swag (which was a carabiner keychain with the race logo at one end and another patch.) I then walked around the stadium to get my post-race beer and food. While in line for beer I put my car key on my new medal and clipped it to my spibelt.
Jailbreak Brewing had two options--an IPA and Feed the Monkey (an orange hefeweizen.) I had the hefeweizen recently and liked it so I got that one and it was perfect. Something cold, a little fruity, a little hoppy and delicious! There were three food truck options for post-race food:
Pizza from Dizzy Cow Pizzeria,
seafood from Crabtown Curbs, or
donuts from Glazey Days Donuts. I got in line for the donuts and enjoyed my beer and by the time I got to the front of the line, I had finished my beer and was ready for donuts.
For the donuts I opted for vanilla glaze and rainbow sprinkles.
Super simple, but so perfect! They gave everybody 6 donuts and it was just the right amount. The donuts themselves were very tasty--the glaze wasn't overly sweet and you could taste the vanilla and the donuts themselves were a little yeasty and cooked perfectly so they weren't super oily and just a little crunchy.
Once I finished my donuts, I looked around for my friend. I knew she was towards the very back of the pack right by the sweeper van so I kept an eye out for her along the course for a little while. I went to the bathroom and started stretching at the picnic tables. She would have to walk past me to get to food. Sure enough, a few minutes later she staggered over and I cheered "YOU FINISHED! And you weren't last!!" And I told her how I saw her next to the sweeper van around the 2 mile mark and several groups of people behind her all with race bibs.
Shortly thereafter we said our goodbyes because I had to drive up to Baltimore to meet up with some friends for brunch. (And side note: Quite a few of my friends who ran the 10 miler were a little jealous I only had to run a 10k.)
All my swag!
The founder's pin, finisher's keychain and the community, goal and race patches!
Overall, I really enjoyed the race. The new concept was great--having all kinds of little events leading up to the main event was a lot of fun especially since I haven't been racing as much this year. I really liked the little bits of swag that can actually be used! Like receiving a backpack instead of a shirt, having a carabiner keychain for a finisher medal, and getting patches to put on the backpack. The course was scenic and a little challenging, but fairly easy for a Maryland race. (The state is surprisingly hilly!) The race itself was also organized very well--scenic route, just enough water stops, portajohns along the course (one was placed in a doorway) and the lines for post-race beer and food were very reasonable. I would definitely recommend running this race and I can't wait to run this one again on June 1, 2019.
