The EXPO:
This is a no thrills, no big ride-on sneaker, no latest and greatest GU kind of expo. We got there around 2pm literally were in and out in under 10 minutes and I was able to pick up my 4 friends packets too. Plus, they have the cutest race shirts!!!
They offer 3 colors ( blue, white and hot pink ) and 2 styles ( unisex or women's cut ). They did have a section of race shirts/gloves/hats/socks and my favorite socks ever FEETURES!!! #ambassador
I HAVE TO GET THE ORANGE ONES!!!
The Rehoboth Beach Running Co. store is also open and does carry a ton of great items and a HUGE selection of race day fuel ... They are also big MIZUNO fans at this store which makes me happy!
After we checked into our hotel ( The Sands ) ... I laced up and went for a quick little jog on the boardwalk in the drizzling rain.
This is right on the boardwalk and Santa comes on the weekends!!
Mom and I grabbed a quick lunch at Fins on Rehoboth Ave ( very close to the Expo tent ) and I had this amazing Lobster Roll.
Angel, Dawn. Katie, Debbie and Friends arrived and we all met at Rigby's Bar and Grill for the BEST spaghetti and meatballs in town!!! For REAL they were awesome! I ended up splitting my bowl with my little man because they give you so much! Our gang of runners!
After dinner I ended up just staying with my hubby, boys and mom at the hotel since we literally were 1 min from the start line! I laid out all my gear for the morning...Ready to rock my Oiselle singlet!
Race Morning:
I got up around 5:30 am and my hubby ( best man ever ) ran to Royal Farms for some strong coffee!! I tried to eat my usual banana and peanut butter on toast but just could not choke it down . I drank my GenUCAN at 6:30 on the way to the start of the race... then hopped in the port-a-pot line with my runner girls, grabbed a picture with the Y running club then it was time to start the race at 7 am!
I look sleepy... better wake up!
Rehoboth Beach Marathon/Half Marathon has a max of 2500 runners total and if you start close to the front you really don't have a ton of bobbing to do and once you hit the trail it opens up and spaces out nicely. I am not 100% sure of exact numbers but I think more people did the half vs. the full and once the half marathon turn around point came it was completely open road running! I did not start as close to the front as I probably should have because I got stuck behind some walkers and it was very hard to get my groove going .. By mile 3 we were spaced out but I had this odd burning sensation on my left hip and SI joint area!!! I have had no issues for about 1.5 yrs with my SI but it reared its head today. I saw Angel, Dawn and Lori around mile 3-4 which was fun. The race from here went out to the trail which I love ... but since we had a lot of rain on Friday it was quite muddy with big puddles at some spots on the trail. I tucked in with a group of half marathon runners and chatted for a little while with one of them .. he told me I was "ambitious" for doing 2 marathons so close together! LOL! After the trail ended the half marathoners turned around and headed back while us marathoners kept going out in the brutal headwind towards Cape Henlopen. Miles 11-17 were tough and very windy out on the open road and through the park. Then I got to mile 18 and kept thinking to myself "just get to mile 20, get to mile 20, Katie and Danny will be there, my GenUCAN will be there, all will be good". Mile 19 was up and over the bridge and then we made a left turn to head toward 20. I could see the bridge where my peeps where suppose to meet me .... But my heart sank and I got this awful pit in my stomach when I saw they were not there!!!! At this moment I felt such a let down and started to get emotional. I quickly tried to turn that around in my head and think positive but I really freaking needed them there .. I also felt like a needed my drink for that little extra energy and boost! I ran to the next water stop hoping that they would pull up next to or behind me but they didn't ... so I decided to take my Honey Stinger Gel I had on me instead .... At this point I walked through the water stop, drank a cup of h2o, gelled and continued on! Mile 21ish is back on the trail and continues on until mile 25ish ... I finally met up with Angel and Dawn at mile 22.6 and my emotions started to get the best of me .. Angel slapped me into check, gave me some water and kept me going until 25 ... At mile 25.2 I met a man who was AWESOME! He said " girl I will race you to the finish line " ... That was what I needed ... then a super friendly police officer said to me " hurry up BUTTERCUP " Yup I needed that! I cruised into the finish line with a 7:05 last mile. 11th overall female with a time of 3:28:51 ... Not a PR but I will take it considering that headwind!
Rehoboth puts on the best post race party and always has great food and 16 Mile Brewery was being served!
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| Post race bling! |
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| Celebratory Lunch @ Fins |
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| MAD ELF @ Fins |
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| LOVE the medal! |
All in all this was an amazing race and I will do it year after year ... You cannot beat the local hometown feeling plus the course is very fair even though the headwind was not! I also want to send a huge congrats to Steve Sinko ( Delaware Running Company ) for winning the half marathon with a time of 1:13!!! Also a shout out to all then Bear-Glasgow Y runners and Dave Landon for a big PR on the half! Dawn also snagged a 3rd in her AG!
Add this race to your race schedule next year peeps ... You will not be disappointed!
Another special thanks to John Black and John Glenstrup from Rigby's Bar and Grill!!!
Happy Running!
Congrats! That's a great time and with that wind, it's even more impressive!
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