Baltimore Half 2012

Running around  the lake

Me at the finish!

Place: 2492/10248

Bib # 30556

Finishing Time:

1:56

Place: 2492/10248

Bib # 30556

Finishing Time:

1:56

After running countless races for myself, I decided to run for others. I signed up to join the "Every Yard for Yeardley" (in memory of Yeardley Love) team and helped my good friend Zach train for the Baltimore Half. In all of the races I've run, I must admit, helping someone train and watching them complete their first half marathon is probably the biggest sense of accomplishment I have ever had. It's pretty inspiring! I've run the Baltimore Half a few times before, and this year was my best time (PR of 1:56) yet!

Overall rating? A

Main complaints? None

Favorite parts? The premium!

Communication before the race? A

Expo? They switched back to M&T Bank Stadium this year - I prefer M&T over the Convention Center. Everything flows much better and you don't feel like you're lost in an ocean

Premium? A. Under Armour Cold Black tee (I'm wearing it in the above pics)

Water Stops/Aid Stations? A . Definitely frequent enough and well stocked! Great crowds

Finisher's Medal? A, probably one of my favorite ones

Finisher's Festival? A, even though it was crowded just like years past. I've come to accept the fact that it will only ever have one exit.

Would I run this race again/recommend it to anyone? YES Defeinitely.

Annapolis 10 Miler, 2012

At the start...during the downpour

Second race of the year in Annapolis - can't complain! The course was very similar to that of the Zooma Half I did two months ago, but a wee bit shorter. Apparently the city of Annapolis isn't too thrilled that there are so many foot races in their city, so they are trying to shut down races over time. Hopefully the Annapolis 10 Miler is here to stay!

I don't think any of us were really 100% positive that this race would happen because of the thunderstorms in the area. I remember driving from College Park to Annapolis in a complete downpour. I had two Luna bars for breakfast (halfway into the race I wish I had eaten more!) . As soon as the race started, it started raining cats and dogs! It rained backwards, sideways, the wind was blowing....yeah I'm pretty sure I should have had my bathing suit on! It was POURING!! Once it finally stopped raining, the sun & heat came out full force ...which sounds nice, but it was awful because when you're soaking wet, that's the last thing you want. Oh well, other than the rain, I enjoyed the race.

Place:             Bib number:                    Time: 

1662/3863

5246

1:32:15

1662/3863

5246

1:32:15

Overall rating? B

Main complaints? The rain

Favorite parts?  Nice course through a historic town

Communication before the race? A

Expo? Small race packet pickup, so no expo

Premium? For those of us that were signed up to run the race last year (and it was rained out), they gave us a hat. I think we got a shirt too

Water Stops/Aid Stations? A .

Finisher's Medal? N/A

Finisher's Festival? A 

Would I run this race again/recommend it to anyone? Yup. Has some hills but isn't bad

Baltimore 10 Miler, 2012

Place: 1795/4687

Bib:  3442

Time:

1:32:48

Place: 1795/4687

Bib:  3442

Time:

1:32:48

I've heard lots of wonderful things about the Baltimore 10 miler, but I've never run it! I've done the Baltimore Half Marathon a few times, but I've never ventured to the "wild side" for the hilly 10-miler.

Signed up online, did packet pickup the day before the race and then the day of the race I was all set. I met up with my good friend Katie Audy and we ran part of the race together. It was quite hilly - much more so than the half marathon. It does follow some of the same course as the Dreaded Druid Hills 10k. It was also hot as HADES this day, so I was definitely struggling. The premium was pretty nice - since the race I've worn it a lot (it was a white quarter zip). Definitely would recommend it for others to do!

Overall rating? A

Main complaints? The heat 

Favorite parts? The premium!

Communication before the race? A. Same group that puts on the Baltimore Running Festival on puts this on 

Expo? None. Packet pickup was kind of randomly at Druid Hill Park (even though that's where the race was)

Premium? B. A white, generic long-sleeved quarter zip with the Baltimore 10 logo on it.

Water Stops/Aid Stations? A . Definitely frequent enough and well stocked! Friendly folks

Finisher's Medal? N/A

Finisher's Festival? B. Tons of watermelon and snacks, but I was kind of disappointed that other fellow runners were walking off with boxes of treats....leave some for the rest of us, would ya?

Would I run this race again/recommend it to anyone? Sure

Zooma Annapolis 2012

When most runners hear about a new race in town, they want to give it a try, right? At least I do! I did make the mistake with the Hot Chocolate 15k last year, but this year I was willing to give a "new race" a try! That's why I signed up for the Zooma Annapolis Half Marathon.

Jenna & I

Placed: 365/1220

Bib 7656

Time:

2:03:20

Placed: 365/1220

Bib 7656

Time:

2:03:20

I did this race with my good friend Jenna. We missed the start because we were in line for the potties - but have no fear - we had timing chips in our bibs (or maybe on our shoes,  I can't remember) so our clock started when we crossed the starting line. Water stops were pretty frequent and I know that I was glad have my fuel belt. From what I remember, the course did have a few hills in it, but it was almost identical to the Annapolis 10 miler course. My favorite part was probably the group that stood at the top of the bridge and cheered for us - really helped those uphills get smaller :)

Overall rating? A

Main complaints? Premium was an off-brand and the expo was in a small room in a hotel

Favorite parts? The premium!

Communication before the race? 

Expo? B. It was okay, kinda small . They did have lots of give-aways though

Premium? B. Off brand black tech tee (I'm wearing it in the above pics) I always am a fan of the Under Armour ones :)

Water Stops/Aid Stations? B

Finisher's Medal? C. We got a necklace. Not a Tiffany necklace..but a necklace. I know we were told beforehand we'd get a necklace, but I prefer to run for medals :)

Finisher's Festival? B. I'm pretty sure they had wine but it was so hot I just left. They did have lots of cold water though!

Would I run this race again/recommend it to anyone? Yup, but I'd recommend the Baltimore Half over this one (who wants to run long distances in the heat anyways?)

Sole of the City 10K 2012

This was the first running of the "Sole of the City 10K" hosted by Charm City Run. I loved the run and think it was really well organized event! Would recommend to all.

Overall rating? A

Main complaints? None

Favorite parts? The premium!

Communication before the race? A

Expo? None- but they did have race day packet pickup

Premium? A. Under Armour long-sleeved quarter zip

Water Stops/Aid Stations? A . Definitely frequent enough and well stocked! Wish they had used paper cups instead of plastic cups

Finisher's Medal? N/A

Finisher's Festival? A. Great boxed lunches from the Greene Turtle!

Would I run this race again/recommend it to anyone? YES Defeinitely.

Run for Love 5K

This morning my good friend Emilie Cecil and I "Ran for Love". The course started at Fraternity Row at the University of Maryland, and wrapped its way around Lake Artemesia. Although it was untimed and a little short of a 5K, I still had a great time :)

2012 Cherry Blossom 10-miler

This was one of the first
runs I did for Lew Goode,
 battling brain cancer.

One of my dear friends, Lewis Goode was diagnosed with cancer a few years ago. This was one of the runs I did "for Lew". Ever since he was first diagnosed, whenever I lace up my running shoes, I run for him. Whenever I hit a wall in a run, I think of Lew and he helps me get through. This is for you, LEW!

I'm glad I did the George Washington Relay two months ago! I didn't really train much for this 10 miler, but I really enjoyed it. It was great to be out in DC, and after not "making the cut" last year, I was happy to lace up my shoes and run with thousands of other runners in DC for this historic event. In 2011, I entered the lottery, but was not chosen to run so I opted to volunteer (I helped with the random drug testing for the elite athletes :)).

Overall rating? B

Main complaints? None really - race was punctual, court marshals were around

Favorite parts? Probably the fact that it retraced part of the Marine Corps Marathon 2011 course.

Communication before the race? A

Expo? C. Kinda small - was in the National Building Museum, but wasn't bad for an expo for a 10 miler!

Premium? D. The shirt sucked - the design was lame and all we got was a cotton tee. I understand it's expensive to host a big event like this in such a large city, but come on... at least give us a tech tee :)

Water Stops/Aid Stations? A . Definitely frequent enough and well stocked!

Finisher's Festival? C. Average. Nothing to write home about

Would I run this race again/recommend it to anyone? Yeah

Ran for "Lew"

One of my favorite pics - kind of invigorating
to have the guy behind you tear his shirt
off :)