On October 22, 2017, I did a back to back half marathon for State #22 in Atlantic City, New Jersey for the Atlantic City Half Marathon. The previous day I did the Monster Mash Half Marathon in Dover, Delaware. For this race, the weather was a little warmer, as the start was around 57 degrees and climbed to about 65 degrees at the finish, with humidity around 100 percent.
This would also be my 40th Half Marathon!
It took us about two hours to drive over from Dover, Delaware. We arrived in Atlantic City, New Jersey about 3pm. After checking into our hotel, the Courtyard Atlantic City, we walked to the Expo which was at Bally’s Casino Atlantic City which was less than a mile from the hotel. Going there we walked via the streets, and did not feel too comfortable walking in that area. On our return trip, we realized we could take the Boardwalk, and that felt a little more safe. Bally’s on the Boardwalk was where the race started/ended, so that was helpful for Sunday morning navigation as well.
On Sunday, October 9, 2016 I ran in the Portland Half Marathon in Portland, Oregon with my good friend Tom. This was my 16th state toward my 50 By 50 Challenge. This was also my 29th half marathon. There were 4,533 runners for the marathon and another 2,359 for the half marathon.
The weather, well let’s start there. We woke up at 4:30 AM to a downpour and around 60 degrees. We had about a 25 minute drive from Tom’s house, and the rain just continued. However, because this is somewhat normal we were prepared.
I had planned to just wear my rain jacket in the race; however, when we arrived and started gearing up, Tom gave me this little beauty. A short clear poncho that covered from the head to the knees which made it easy to run in. Also, it was clear so the bib was easily seen through it.
On Sunday, September 18, 2016 I ran in the Santa Fe Thunder Half Marathon in Santa Fe, New Mexico. This was my 15th state toward my 50 By 50 Challenge. This was also my 28th half marathon, and probably my most challenging. There were 1,372 participants with 1,155 finishers. The weather for the race was great. It was around 50 degrees at the start and increased to about 58 degrees at the finish. There was little to no humidity in New Mexico, which made it really comfortable. However, unlike most of my races, humidity was not the issue on this day.
Here is what I ended up wearing for the race.
I have friends Rachel and Aaron that live in Albuquerque, New Mexico. I stayed with them for the weekend, and we all ran the race together. I was lucky to have friends there, because they knew about altitude sickness and kept a close eye on me during the race.
On Saturday, May 02, 2015, I ran the OneAmerica 500 Festival Mini-Marathon. This race, known as “The Mini” is the largest half marathon and fifth largest road race in the U.S. with near 40,000 runners. The Mini is part of the month-long 500 Festival that leads up to the Indianapolis 500.
For me, this race was the first leg of a back to back half marathon weekend. I paired this with the Cincinnati Flying Pig Half Marathon to accomplished two states in one weekend toward my 50 By 50 Challenge. Because of the back to back races, my only goal for the race was to finish in under two hours.
The weather for the race could not have been better. It was around 52 degrees at the start and increased to around 55 degrees at the finish. The humidity was around 82% with a 3-4 mph wind.
The morning started early, as our friends we stayed with were volunteering for the race. They had to be there at 6:00a, so we followed them to make sure I knew where we were going and where to park. The race start was at 7:45a for my Wave 1, Corral C.
As we walked up to the race start, there was some nice scenery in town. We parked directly across from the OneAmerica Tower (Host for The Mini) & the Capital. However, the most memorable was a monument from 9/11, and several of the beams from the World Trade Center.
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We also got to see the official pace car for the Indy 500 later this month.
As I said, our friends were two of the most amazing volunteers for the race. It takes a lot of volunteers to manage 40k runners and 26 corrals. Here they are on their post, doing an outstanding job.
They got the perfect post, between Waves 3 & 4, which was where our Fifty States Half Marathon Club had arranged to meet, so we had our own personal photographers to help us get some photos.
The course is super flat & super fast. You maintain the same elevation for the better part of the entire race.
Thankfully I printed a pace card to help me maintain an accurate pace for the race, otherwise, I could have probably challenged my 1:45 half marathon PR. However, with another race the following day, I had to keep my pace throttled.
MLB.com's Carrie Muskat has been covering Major League Baseball since 1981 and is the author of "Banks to Sandberg to Grace: Five Decades of Love and Frustration with the Cubs." You can follow her on Twitter @CarrieMuskat. Here, she blogs about the Cubs.
