Earlier this month, I participated in what has become an annual holiday tradition for me, the Rehoboth Seashore Half Marathon! Longtime readers/followers will know that I ran my first BQ at the Rehoboth Seashore Marathon 7 (!!!) years ago, and I’ve returned most years since then to run the half. It is flat, fast, and festive, with a hell of an after party!

Plus, I love Rehoboth, my family’s annual vacation spot for my entire life, and I will use any excuse to visit. If you’ve never gone during the holiday season before, I highly recommend it. It’s a magical time!

I had a blast as always this year, though I wouldn’t say I ran especially “fast” (remember, it is all relative.)

I wasn’t expecting to, either. My recovery from the dumpster fire that was the Ocean City Marathon has felt slower than my usual marathon recovery (is this aging?) A week before the half marathon, I ran my hometown’s annual Turkey Trot in 21:47, my slowest Turkey Trot in about 5 years. I hadn’t done any speed work since the marathon and it was super rainy, but I also went out way too fast. So I blew up in epic fashion. First mile was 6:26, last mile was 7:30. Nice. I did win my age group, so that was cool. 

Anyway, that didn’t inspire much confidence for the Rehoboth Half, but I told a few people ahead of time that I would probably run between 1:35 (if I was having a good day) and 1:40. In the end, I finished in 1:38:58. 

I’m sure there are people who will read this and think, hey, that’s fast! But like I said, it is all relative. My PR is 1:29! Last year, I ran a 1:31:45 on that same course when I was specifically training for half marathons. This year, I’d run Ocean City about a month prior and didn’t feel like I was really in race shape anymore, logging around 30 miles a week of all easy runs since then. So, my body was capable of a 1:38 during this race and that’s OK! 

Micah and I left for Rehoboth after work Friday, the night before the race and got to the beach in less than 2 hours – one of the reasons I love going in the off season! I grabbed my bib/race packet and then we headed to Dogfish Head for my usual pre-race meal of a veggie burger, fries, and beer. Except I decided to mix it up a bit this time and order mac and cheese instead of fries. Living on the edge! In the end, it was totally fine and I didn’t have stomach issues or anything. If you go to Dogfish, totally check out their mac and cheese. It is really good!  

Race day was cold. Really cold. Totally different than last year, when it was in the mid-50s and humid, and the year before, when it was about 60 and also humid. I am all about racing in the cold, so I wasn’t too concerned especially when I saw the start temperature would be around 30. No big deal! But then my friend Stacy, who was also running, pointed out that the windchill was forecasted to be around 13. Shit! I figured that was a little too cold for the outfit I had planned– red tank, green arm warmers, and shorts with Christmas gnomes on them. I ended up putting on my long sleeved red shirt from this year’s Baltimore Running Festival, the Christmas shorts, and black running tights underneath the shorts. I wound up regretting the leggings! I wasn’t too warm, but they just felt bulky with the shorts over top. 0/10 do not recommend unless you are someone who runs really cold. 

We stayed on the boardwalk literally a block from the start, which was so convenient because I could leave the hotel just before the race started at 7! We met Stacy at 6:45, she gave Micah her coat to hold, and then we lined up. It was very crowded at the start, which I think kept us from getting too cold! Before I knew it, we were off. 

The course for the half – and the course for the marathon, too– is really pretty. You start at the Rehoboth bandstand, head down Rehoboth Avenue and then wind around the neighborhoods around Silver Lake before going down the boardwalk. From there you go into Cape Henlopen State Park before turning around and running through Rehoboth toward the Breakwater and Junction Trail. You do an out and back on the trail before coming back into town and finishing by the Cultured Pearl restaurant. My only complaint about the course is that the trail is kind of rocky and depending on the weather, it can be a little muddy. But it is a very scenic course and I do think it’s a fast one!    

And even though I wasn’t running as “fast” as I did last year, I felt like the miles were just flying by and everything felt good. I paced it really well, running consistent 7:30-7:35 miles. No major blowups like in the Turkey Trot. I was happy about that! Before I knew it, I was turning that last corner toward the finish line. Stacy PR’d, finishing about a minute ahead of me! 

I collected my medal and space blanket and headed back toward the finish line to see a few other friends, Mindy and Rachel, finish their races. Then it was time to hit the party tent! As mentioned many times on this blog, the after party is pretty lit. Runners get 3 beer tickets with their bibs (you can also purchase beer bracelets for friends/family) and I’ve definitely partied pretty hard at the after party before. In 2022, I tripped, fell, and skinned my knee while reaching for a Fireball shot! Whoops! This year, the race directors cracked down on alcohol being brought in from outside, so there were no fireball shots handed out by “Team Fireball” this time. Probably a good thing, for me at least. I still had a blast, though I did take issue with the DJ refusing to play All I Want For Christmas Is You (“A lot of people don’t like that song,” he told me. Bah humbug!) 

This race is pretty competitive and I came in 5th in my age group. It was actually only the third race I ran this year where I didn’t get an age group or overall award – Boston, of course, and then Riley’s Rumble didn’t give out any awards at all. Oh well! 

I actually have one last race to run in 2024, the Naptown Half Marathon, this weekend! The weather looks really similar to the Rehoboth race. But I can tell you I won’t be wearing legging for this one! 

I received a free entry to the Rehoboth Beach Seashore Half Marathon as part of a partnership with The Vibe: A BibRave Network. Thank you so much for this opportunity!