Last month, as part of my training for the Ocean City Marathon, I decided to incorporate two half marathons into my running schedule – the Bird-in-Hand Half Marathon in Pennsylvania and the Susquehanna River Running Festival Half Marathon in Havre de Grace, Maryland.
Both occurred on weekends when I was scheduled to run a big chunk of my long runs at goal marathon pace, and it’s a hell of a lot easier to do that in a race than it is on my own! Plus, I’d heard really good things about both half marathons. The only drawback to doing this is I knew I’d probably end up running at least a little bit faster than my actual goal marathon pace, just because I’d be in a race environment and would have a hard time holding back. And that’s what I did, especially at Susquehanna. But, oh well. They were both solid efforts that hopefully will benefit me in Ocean City!
Here’s a look at how they went!
The Bird-in-Hand Half Marathon (1:37:39)
This was a race I’d been hearing about for years because of how unique it is. It takes place every year the weekend after Labor Day in the heart of Amish Country, Pennsylvania. The Amish and Mennonite communities volunteer at the race and also host a pre-race dinner the night before the race as well as an after party following the race. Let me tell you, it was pretty much some of the best food I’d eaten at a race, ever. The s’mores bonfire the night before the half marathon! The pie! And all the runners even got whoopie pies (as a native western Pennsylvanian, I call them gobs, but I recognize that most other people call them whoopie pies!) in our swag bags along with our T-shirts and bibs. It was so great. I also signed up for the Friday night 5K as a shakeout run, and that was lots of fun. I didn’t go all out, running at an 8:04 pace, but definitely faster than my typical pace for a shakeout run. I don’t really think it mattered much, though.
The next morning, I actually had 16 miles on my plan, so Micah and I left our hotel early so I could crank out an extra 3 miles before the half. By the way, I can’t say enough about how well-organized this race was. Parking was super easy and even though the porta-potty lines were VERY long in the last few minutes leading up to the race, the volunteers kept everything moving so smoothly. 10/10, no notes!
Since this was really meant to be a long run workout, I didn’t have any real time goals, but I did think I’d finish around 1:35ish. My last half marathon just about a month before Boston was a huge PR and my first time breaking 90 minutes. I knew I wasn’t in shape to do that in Bird-in-Hand, but I thought 1:35 seemed realistic.
But the course was a LOT harder than I expected. I had been hearing about the race for a long time, but hadn’t heard anyone mention that it was particularly hilly. And while it wasn’t anything like Riley’s Rumble, LOL, it was definitely hillier than I had bargained for. Rollers pretty much the whole 13.1 miles. I ran the first few miles around 7:10-7:15 pace, but really never got much faster than that save for one or two miles where there were long downhill stretches. All that being said, the course was absolutely beautiful and I love running through the countryside. (One thing to note: The scent of manure is strong and there is horse poop all over the roads!) It was also a really cool experience to have the Amish community volunteering throughout the race, passing out water and Gatorade. At one point later in the race, we also ran right through an Amish farm – up a semi-steep, crushed gravel path through a farm, I should say. My pace slipped to around a 7:50 in those final miles, but I gave it my all. I finished first in my age group and 8th overall female – getting passed by the 6th female in the last half mile and the 7th in, like, the final 200 meters. Ha! One thing I still don’t have after all of these years running is a finish line kick!
After the race, I enjoyed a wonderful massage from a local chiropractic team that was volunteering at the event and then some delicious apple pie! We hit the Bird-in-Hand Artisan Market and the Bird-in-Hand Farmers Market before leaving town as well. I really liked the area and hope to return again!
The Susquehanna River Running Festival Half Marathon (1:34:29)
I hemmed and hawed over whether to run this race, which also includes a 5K and a 10K, for way too long, and by the time I actually signed up, the race fee for the half was $130. Womp womp. This price did include a great premium quarter zip and a nice finish line party, so whatever. Also, it was on September 21, and if you know me, you know I love Earth, Wind and Fire. Plus, my cousin Nate and his wife Kathryn live not too far from Havre de Grace, where the race begins and ends, so I figured it would be a good chance to catch up with them as well!
Oh yeah, and Olympian and former American women’s marathon record holder, Deena Kastor, was there to hand out awards and get the race started! Pretty cool for a small town race.
My plan for the weekend called for 15 miles with 12 at goal marathon pace, and again, I knew I’d likely end up running faster than marathon pace in the race. I ran 2 easy miles before the race started around Havre de Grace, then lined up for the half. The weather was a bit on the humid side for my liking, but overall, not bad.
This was another really beautiful race course. We started in Havre de Grace and went over the Hatem Bridge crossing the Susquehanna River, then into the little town of Perryville, through Perry Point VA Hospital and Perryville Community Park along the Chesapeake Bay, and back over the bridge to Havre de Grace. I would say this is a relatively fast course, with a few rollers here and there, but nothing major. Once again, I knew sub-90 wasn’t likely, but I thought I might be able to break 1:35, especially when I clocked a few sub-7 miles in the middle part of the race and was feeling good!
There were a few little things that maybe slowed me down a bit, however. First, I planned to take a gel at the halfway point, and it flew out of my Flipbelt around mile 2. (Gee, that’s never happened before!) And I didn’t bother to run back to pick it up. Maybe someone else did. It was a Maurten, and those are expensive! Then – also Flipbelt related– I had my car key attached to the key fob on the belt and it kept flying out and flopping around when I was running. So every so often I would have to adjust it and try to tuck it back in. I kept running while doing so, but I am sure it cost me a little bit of time. I’ve never had this kind of trouble with the Flipbelt before, so I am not ready to write it off all together, but geez.
Then, going across the Hatem Bridge on the way back to the finish, the half marathon had merged with the 10K race and I found myself weaving around a lot of runners. So that slowed me down, too.
All that being said, I still felt pretty strong the entire time! A highlight was seeing my cousin and his wife about a half mile before the finish line and then my friend Leslie and her husband right there at the finish – they were in town for another event! I was pretty thrilled to stop my watch and see 1:34– but also could not believe that I ran a half marathon literally 5 whole minutes faster just six months before, ha! I felt like I gave this one my all.
I figured I placed as either a Master or in my age group, but when I went to check my time, I saw my time didn’t register. After what had happened in the A10 the previous month, I was like, really? What are the chances! Luckily, I talked to the man who was in charge of timing at the finish line, showed him my watch, and he corrected it pretty much on the spot. I was the third place Masters female winner and got to take home one of the most unique prizes I’ve ever received at a race – this awesome decoy! (Unfortunately, I totally missed the awards ceremony, and meeting Deena Kastor, because I was too busy talking and didn’t even realize it was happening, but I got my prize before leaving!)
I’m so glad I ran both of these half marathons and I think they were great training races for Ocean City. Just 19 days to go!!
Running for Unicorns 