National Women's Half Marathon

This recap is a month overdue. I don’t think it’s ever taken so long to get one done. It makes me sad because many of the details are a bit foggy now. I have the important part locked in though. My best friend ran her first half marathon, and I got to run it with her.

I used to live 45 minutes from our Nation's Capital. I was in high school and moved a couple years after graduating. I wasn't active back then. Since I've become a runner I've always thought I'd love to run in Washington DC. I never thought I'd ever be able to do that, but here I was...

Over a year ago I was chatting with my best friend, Darby, and out of the blue she said there was a half marathon that another friend of ours had signed up for and at that moment it was super cheap. Darby had only barely been considering doing a half marathon for the first time. I had always said I would make it a point to be with her whenever she decided she was ready. Well, I told her again I'd make it work. 30 minutes later we were both signed up for the National Women's Half Marathon.

Fast forward to training season. I had already been training for multiple other races. This race was just one week after RussVegas for me so the timing was great. Darby had a 10k and a 10 mile race that fit well with her training plan. Darby had been doing long runs with our friends Stefanie, and Denise. Stefanie was the one that told us about the race, but Denise was just joining the training runs. I kept wondering why she didn't sign up for the race. I'd joke with her about signing up. Finally when she ran 10 miles with Darby and Stefanie, I texted her and basically said if she didn't sign up I was doing it for her. :) A couple days later she was signed up too. Also joining us race weekend was our friend from Canada, Roxanne. She flew in to be our personal cheerleader. :)

We decided to use the host hotel so we wouldn't have to worry about finding a parking spot with all the closed roads near the course. The race website noted the host hotel had a free continuously running shuttle on race morning. We were at the Marriott Georgetown Hotel  and we were all thrilled with the service. We arrived a little early before check in, expecting to leave our bags at the concierge desk while we went to packet pick up. We were surprised when the lady at the front desk passed over our keys. We had many moments like this and as far as the hotel is concerned, I'd most definitely recommend it as a place to stay for race weekend.

Where the hang up comes in would be the shuttle situation. The website, when looking at the host hotel information, stated that the shuttles would run from 5am-6:30 or 7. A week out from the race we saw that there was only going to be two shuttles, one at 5 and one at 5:30. But then again at the hotel when we checked in they had been told there were constant shuttles until 6:30 or 7. There was a lot of confusion race morning when the first shuttle didn't show up until almost 5:30. There was a lot of frustration too. The second shuttle arrived about 6, and we were barely able to get on, but only because the lady who was affiliated with the race decided to let people sit three to a section (when each was really  only made for two.) I know there was at least one more shuttle run after ours, because Stefanie's friend got lost in the shuffle and didn't make it on ours, but I'm not sure if there was fourth after that. The shuttle confusion didn't end with the morning runs, after the race it wasn't any better. This was the one issue I had with race weekend.

But back to race morning… Even with the shuttle confusion, we still arrived at the start line area with lots of time. There were plenty of porta potties, very close to the start. The excitement was palpable. I have never done a race with a majority of the racers being women. I think throughout the whole race, as far as participants go, I may have seen two men. All of us, more than 2300 women were gathering at the start line. It was raining. It had been raining since we stepped outside at 5:30. Probably before that even. It wasn’t bad. Anything ranging from a barely there drizzle to a light rain that was enough for me to be glad for the hat I “stole” from Stefanie. She brought one, but decided she didn’t want to wear it. I brought one, but left it in the hotel room thinking I didn’t need it. I’m very thankful for Stefanie’s hat!

The race began and as we crossed the start line it all became real. I was about to run a half marathon with my best friend. 13.1 miles in Washington DC. I may have done some out loud cheering before we reached 1/10 of a mile. :-D

The first four miles loop East Potomac Park, with two miles along the Potomac River and then coming back on the other side of the park along the Washington Channel. The whole course was beautiful. I loved that part through the park. Even through the rain, I found it gorgeous.

The next couple miles were through the streets near monuments. We saw many different views of the Washington Monument and the Jefferson Memorial, and the backside of the Lincoln Memorial. We also ran under the Kennedy Center. There are two aid stations that stand out in my memory. One of them was here. They were standing in the median playing music and dancing. Spectating in the rain may not be fun for everyone, but these guys were excited the first time we passed them, and still going strong when we came back by an hour later.

Miles 6-10ish were an out and back section on an amazing parkway surrounded by tall green trees and some really neat bridges. We also passed a really old cemetery on a hill. It was fascinating and I kind of wanted to go off the course and explore.

Along the race Darby and I didn’t talk too much. I felt like Darby was in a zone, focusing on getting from one mile to the next. She started having some blister issues, and all I wanted was for her to finish the race happy. And possibly, not right away, maybe consider doing another half marathon. I know after my first I promised I’d never do another though. So I encouraged Darby when I felt she needed it, and occasionally I’d make small talk, but mostly she listened to her music and I enjoyed the peaceful course.

As we got back into the main DC area the rain began to pick up. For the most part it had continued to rain the whole race, but in a subtle, mostly unnoticeable way. It was becoming very noticeable. By mile 11 we were mostly walking and the rain was a complete downpour. That was fun… for about 10 minutes. I wasn't miserable, but the last two miles were more than uncomfortable. I love running in the rain. This wasn't running in the rain though. It was coming down so hard it hurt at times. And with the harder rain came more wind. I was SO cold. The remainder of the race felt so hard. More than the distance. More than the wet. I had goosebumps and couldn't feel my fingers.

I think Darby and I were equally ready to be done with the race, albeit for different reasons. We stayed distracted by thinking about our estimated finish time and staying in touch with Stefanie and Denise, who had run ahead of us pretty early on, and also with Roxanne who had walked from the hotel, knowing all of them were at the end waiting to cheer us across the finish line. We got to the mile 13 marker and could see the finish line. After a quick pic, we started running, wanting to finish strong.

As we got closer I saw our friends waiting and it made me so happy. I was pointing everyone out to Darby, hoping to psych her up, and at this point couldn’t contain the happiness I felt. Happiness to see familiar faces at the end of a long race. Happiness to be done and hopefully getting warm soon. Happiness, SO MUCH happiness, to have just run a half marathon with my best friend. I’m so proud of her. And the other girls as well. This was a first half marathon for all of them. Each of my friends put in the work and reached their goal. It was time to celebrate! ...Almost.

We began walking in the direction we had come after being dropped off by the shuttle, based on what the drivers had told us. Following other finishers, we ended up walking in front of the Lincoln Memorial. Of course we had to stop for some photo ops. The Lincoln Memorial also happens to be my favorite in DC.

We got to the other side where there were a ton of people, but still, no one seemed to know anything about shuttles. We finally decided to call an Uber, when one of the girls saw the familiar shuttle. She ran across the street to ask and when the driver verified we got on. WARMTH!!! After waiting a few minutes someone asked how long we would be waiting. By this time we could have walked about the same distance we had just walked and been back to our hotel. Or, the Uber we had ordered would have picked us up. We might have been a little “hangry”. There’s no hangry like a runner’s hangry after finishing a half marathon! The driver had been told he had to wait until the shuttle was full. There were about 15 of us on and it could easily hold 50 people. We were among the last people to leave the finish area. There wasn’t likely to be a full shuttle to wait on. In the end, after a bit of an uproar and then talking to someone over the phone, he decided to take us back to the hotel.

I said it earlier, but I really hope that by next year they get this major shuttle kink worked out. I know it’s a major city, but surely it can be better.

When we walked into the lobby of the hotel we were all surprised to see, right at the entrance, one of the front desk ladies sitting behind a table full of waters and snacks and a sign saying congratulations. This hotel did things right. I absolutely would stay there for a race again.

Overall I loved every bit of this race. Take away the torrential downpour (which is obviously out of anyone’s control) and the lack of shuttle organization, the rest was great! I’d love to do this one again sometime.

So what's next? NOTHING! Not for quite a few months anyway.  Scott and I are registered for Soaring Wings Half Marathon in October. But there’s a twist… we are moving! This Arkansas Runner is soon to be a Florida Runner! I’m excited about all the new running possibilities, but first, I need to figure out how to get back to Arkansas to run Soaring Wings. I can’t miss it because it’s the last year. My favorite race is coming to an end. It’s almost like it’s meant to be,  that my last race in Arkansas is in its final year. I have to be here.

Until then, I hope to get back to 3-4 runs per week, building my base back, and hopefully getting back to some speedy runs, all before beginning training for Soaring Wings. I’ve taken quite a bit of time off from running (only 4 times in the month since the half marathon) due to preparing for the move mixed with busy work stuff. I’m slowly coming back though.

We'll see what the next few months bring!