Monday, March 24, 2014

Race Recap: Rosaryville Half Marathon

After having to sit out of my marathon last weekend because of food poisoning (Not fun. Don't recommend it.), I was very excited to get out and pound some miles on the trails of Rosaryville State Park. My friend Kristy came along to run in the 10K that was also being offered. This was her first trail race and she loved it. I hadn't run a race since my 50 miler back in early February, so it felt great to get out there!

The trails were in great shape and I had a very enjoyable run. Temperatures were in the low 40s, which made for pretty ideal race conditions (for me, at least). I had run in a 50K at Rosaryville back in November, so I was familiar with the trails, which are relatively flat and well groomed. I was pleasantly surprised with the pace I was able to maintain, given my lack of consistent training over the past couple of weeks. I hooked up with another runner around mile three and we trading setting the pace for the duration of the race. We had a nice conversation, which mostly evolved around west coast races and how awesome the trails are out there.

I crossed the line a hair under 1:53 and was happy with that. The aid stations were abundant and full of energetic volunteers; not something you always see at low-key races. The race director, Jim, did a phenomenal job. The course was well marked and the post race fare was great. Piping hot pizza, breakfast burritos, coffee, and lots of other goodies. We run so we can eat, right?

Overall, it was a super fun day. The race was put on by EX2 Adventures. I had never run a race managed by them and was thoroughly impressed. Would definitely run another one of their events. Looking forward to my next race, the Cherry Blossom 10 Miler! Gonna be a blast!

Garmin Upload

Kristy and I, post race