Another Monday, another race recap!
Yesterday I completed half marathon #14 for the year (just one more to go until I hit my goal!). It was the Reservoir Run in Weston, CT.
Luckily this race is only about 30 minutes from my house and it had a relatively late start time of 8:40 a.m. (The 3.3 miler race started at 8:30 a.m.). This is a very small but well organized local race. As soon as we arrived I saw this sign – it was a good way to start the day!
Thanks for the warm welcome Weston! |
The race started and ended at a local high school so bib pick-up was in the gym. There were about 300 runners for the half marathon so there were barely any lines.
It only took a few minutes to get my bib and goodie bag. I was very happy with all the items, especially the halloween themed shirt, glass and free pass to SoulCycle!
All the swag! |
After a few photos inside, it was time to get ready to line up for the start of the race.
Because this race was very small, I knew I would be in the back of the pack. Everyone looked like a runner, if that makes sense? I just felt like I was looking out into a sea of people with 0% body fat and long legs, lol. I knew this would be a lonely run…and I was right! After the first mile I was pretty much by myself but I saw a few people here and there.
I ran this course last year but they had to change the route this year. They mentioned that inside of the very long hill at mile 12, there would be hills throughout the course to make up for that hill being removed. Yeah..what they failed to mention was that the entire course would be rolling hills and maybe 1-2 miles of flat pavement. It was ridiculous. There were 2 or 3 very steep hills that I walked, but I did try to keep the momemtum going and run when I could. Many people that ran the route last year said they thought this year’s route was considerably harder.
Coming off of the Brooklyn Half on 10/10 and the Runner’s World 5K, 10K and half last weekend, my legs were very heavy and tired and couldn’t handle the rolling hills. My legs actually hurt worse today than they did last weekend after running three races. I think that if you are a fan of hills, this would be the perfect course for you because it was very challenging.
Pros
- Organization – This is a small local race but it was very well organized. The bib and goodie bag pick up was very quick and easy. They also had race-day registration available for both the 3.3 mile race and half marathon.
- Post-Race Food – Even though I finished in the back of the pack, there was still plenty of food left. they had apples, bananas, bottle water, coffee, vegetarian and turkey sandwiches and delicious olive oil bread 🙂
- Crowd Support – There isn’t much crowd support but the people that did come out to cheer were SO friendly and nice. they even offered a few high fives!
- Medal – I love the medal. It’s very similiar to last year’s medal but the colors are really nice!
- Race Course – It doesn’t get better than running in New England in the Fall. The leaves on the trees are goregous and you see beautiful homes on the run as well.
- Water Stations – All were well stocked until Mile 11 or 12. I ran out of my Nunn water and I wanted to take a sip of Gatorade just to give me an energy boost, but the last station was out of Gatorade.
- Post-Race Massage – They offered post race massages but I was exhausted that I didn’t have the energy to wait in line for this.
- Photos – The race offered a free digital image from the photographer. Also the photographer was still waiting at the finish line to make sure that he got photos of all the finishers. I thought that was great!
Free race photo – smiling through a ridiculous amount of pain |
Cons
- Race Course – Yes, this is both in the pros and cons. While its a beautiful course, especially in the Fall, the amount of hills was over-kill. If they keep this same course for next year I think they need to make mention that it will be a challenging course (similar to what Runner’s World did when describing their course). I probably will not be able to do this race next year since it’s so close to the NYC Marathon, but if the course is the same, I wouldn’t do the race again anyway.
A few more photos from the last .1 of the run |
Wendy Rivard says
I'm doing that virtual run this weekend too!
Congrats on running AGAIN! How about something flat for your virtual 10k?
kookyrunner says
Yup, I'm planning on running around my neighborhood and a local park so nice and flat! Since I'll be running on Halloween, I might dress up as an 80's runner depending on the weather lol.
Abby says
Wow 15 halfs on the year is freaking awesome.
I love how you set up your race recaps with the pros and cons.
kookyrunner says
I will be scaling back a lot next year. My legs are so worn out at this point, lol!
Thank you for reading my race recap – I try to list pros and cons to make it easier to read.