Annapolis Running Classic 1/2 Marathon
Race morning, I took the man's advice and my friend and I arrived at the stadium around 6:15am. There was plenty of parking and a continually flow of cars into the stadium. The lot filled quickly and multiple entrances were open for commuters. The port o potty line filled up quickly too and we were still in line during the National Anthem. We made it in and out and across the start before the pack thinned out. The first mile was pretty tight with crowds but once we left the stadium the pack thinned out. The first half of the course is through the quaint streets of Annapolis. There are some small hills here but it wasn't bad and there were a sparse few people out on the streets to cheer the runners on. I didn't really intend to go too fast as I new I was running again the next day. I ran steady and enjoyed the sites of historic Annapolis.
Running up King George Street I was excited to see that I was pacing right on my normal pace, I hadn't noticed a mile marker for some time but my GPS had about 5 miles at that point. I tackled the Severn River bridge decently but then I saw it, the 6 mile marker just past the bridge apex. My watch had me at 6.5 miles at that point. Since I wasn't chasing a PR I didn't let it upset me. I caught up with a crew that were running in batman and joker costumes. It's always fun to see some humor on the course. I also spotted some wear blue runners and half fanatics. I was able to belt out a couple "Go Blues," as the course turned very hilly on the other side of the Severn. There were a ton of cameras up around mile 8 or 9 as well as a timing mat.
I began developing the end of race desire to catch up so I set my sites on the police officers who were running in full uniform. I did finally catch them and thank them for their service at the last water stop before going back over the Severn River Bridge. The downhill from the bridge on helped me eek out a negative split (yay) and a sub 3 hour finish time which was my goal. The area in the stadium loop could have been marked a little better and there really weren't too many people out directing us at this point. A little sidewalk chalk or arrow stickers on the ground could have fixed this problem.
The post race line was long (30 min) to pick up your premium ( a long sleeve partial zip running shirt) and grub (bagels were gone at this point) of bananas and tomato soup. The soup was delicious! I am now a fan of soup at fall races for sure! I didn't stick around for the oysters because I was in a hurry to head for the shower and start the drive to Norfolk. I had just enough time to spread some Alaska knowledge to some folks in the parking lot and congratulate Wilma who is a brand new half fanatic! Congrats to all.
Will I do this race again? Hmmm....I do love Annapolis (spent two years by the bay, go #usna97) and it is close to home......