Race for the Roses ½ Marathon!
This was a fun race – this year, shorts and long sleeves were fine, and I could’ve gone to short sleeves, but once we stopped that wind was a cold one! I went to the race with my friend, Sarah, and got to meet a new running friend, Maggie. Maggie had met the other half of Team Karen in Little Rock, so Karen D hooked her up with me. That was so fun – we ran and chatted the whole race, only a little walking on the steeper hill parts.
This race starts on the east side of the Willamette River. First you cross the Broadway Bridge, then do a long loop to the south, then a long loop to the north, then finish by running across the Steel Bridge to the Convention Center. You get to see a lot of Portland!
When we started, there was almost no wind – which was OK, for the last couple of years have been windy and wet both. The river looked so smooth on the bridge crossing. Going south along the river had some long uphills (that wonderful down on the St. Patrick’s run is up on this one). Lots of old homes, lot of spring flowers, lots of runners. Then back into town, where we realized how important we really were that morning – they stopped the MAX trains for the runners! Then zig-zagging through commercial and industrial road sections, till we were on part of the out-and-back section that the marathon course uses, just going opposite for the out-and-back. Maggie’s already made hotel reservations and will be back in October to run the marathon. Yeah!
One of the hardest mental parts of this race is that you have to go about a mile past the Steel Bridge, then come back to cross it for the finish. And while you are going past, you can see what a hill it is to climb for that last section of the race!
Maggie’s from Dallas, TX – she’s not used to hills. We walked that bridge to the first tower, then ran the rest of the way in. We even got exactly the same chip time: 2:13:33! Sarah was about a mile ahead of us – she did great, too!
The T-shirts are white cotton with the race logo and sponsors (which means I always get a large to sleep in, for the iron in our well water doesn’t keep white white). Finishers all get medals, and ladies get roses! J They had so many roses, they were giving them away several at a time – beautiful! Post-race goodies were oranges, bagels, Tillamook yogurt smoothies (we used to live in Tillamook, I love to support those dairies), Gleucose (that was the course drink – it’s OK, but I think I still like G’ade better). And Chipotles had a Mexican brunch for the runners – smelled really, really good, but I can’t eat like that after running. And my sis-in-law was having supper at her house later in the day, I saved my appetite for that. J
The three of us had a great time yesterday – this is a fun ½ marathon!
This was a fun race – this year, shorts and long sleeves were fine, and I could’ve gone to short sleeves, but once we stopped that wind was a cold one! I went to the race with my friend, Sarah, and got to meet a new running friend, Maggie. Maggie had met the other half of Team Karen in Little Rock, so Karen D hooked her up with me. That was so fun – we ran and chatted the whole race, only a little walking on the steeper hill parts.
This race starts on the east side of the Willamette River. First you cross the Broadway Bridge, then do a long loop to the south, then a long loop to the north, then finish by running across the Steel Bridge to the Convention Center. You get to see a lot of Portland!
When we started, there was almost no wind – which was OK, for the last couple of years have been windy and wet both. The river looked so smooth on the bridge crossing. Going south along the river had some long uphills (that wonderful down on the St. Patrick’s run is up on this one). Lots of old homes, lot of spring flowers, lots of runners. Then back into town, where we realized how important we really were that morning – they stopped the MAX trains for the runners! Then zig-zagging through commercial and industrial road sections, till we were on part of the out-and-back section that the marathon course uses, just going opposite for the out-and-back. Maggie’s already made hotel reservations and will be back in October to run the marathon. Yeah!
One of the hardest mental parts of this race is that you have to go about a mile past the Steel Bridge, then come back to cross it for the finish. And while you are going past, you can see what a hill it is to climb for that last section of the race!
Maggie’s from Dallas, TX – she’s not used to hills. We walked that bridge to the first tower, then ran the rest of the way in. We even got exactly the same chip time: 2:13:33! Sarah was about a mile ahead of us – she did great, too!
The T-shirts are white cotton with the race logo and sponsors (which means I always get a large to sleep in, for the iron in our well water doesn’t keep white white). Finishers all get medals, and ladies get roses! J They had so many roses, they were giving them away several at a time – beautiful! Post-race goodies were oranges, bagels, Tillamook yogurt smoothies (we used to live in Tillamook, I love to support those dairies), Gleucose (that was the course drink – it’s OK, but I think I still like G’ade better). And Chipotles had a Mexican brunch for the runners – smelled really, really good, but I can’t eat like that after running. And my sis-in-law was having supper at her house later in the day, I saved my appetite for that. J
The three of us had a great time yesterday – this is a fun ½ marathon!
1 comment:
Hey!
Look who updated thier blog!
[happy dance]
~L
Post a Comment