Hershey Half Marathon

What a gorgeous day for a race! Blue skies, bright sunshine about 50 degrees at the start. Thank you to all who supported my run for "Laps for Lexi".

A link to pictures of the weekend is at the end of this blog post. Feel free to skip to that :)

I have to step back and start with Saturday. I had a 5 am alarm to meet USAFit/Philly. Full marathoners were doing 18 miles and half marathoners were doing 8. The group did a great job on yet another awesome day. I was jealous not to be out their with them.

At 4 PM Dave and I headed for Harrisburg. We stopped at Wawa for hoagies to eat on the way out. The drive out was uneventful and we arrived at the Hilton Garden Inn in Harrisburg just before 6. We checked in, dumped our overnight bag and headed to the Hersheypark Stadium to check and pick up my race bib and goodie bag. The goodie bag was true to it's name for this race with candy and a giant cookie and an awesome carton of chocolate milk. Of course there was the requisite event shirt too. I'll wear that next weekend for my Phillyfit run. The bag also included tickets to Hersheypark. Runners/walkers and their immeidate families were invited to visit the park (part of it anyway) from 6 - 9 pm.

We entered through a back or side door of sorts which was kinda cool. (It doesn't take much to make me happy). I'm not a roller coaster person at all and even the other rides are not my favorite things although I like the tilt-a-whirl and the scrambler. However, I did not want to risk any neck issues for the run tomorrow so the Monorail was my choice of ride. By lucky chance we ran into Kristie from Phillyfit and her husband and parents on the monorail. After the ride, they went off to find something to eat and we went to find the roller coasters. There were two working tonight. Dave was able to ride both and really liked it. I waited and people watched. Some people were riding it three and four times. It was great for them not to have to wait in really long lines.

Next it was back to the hotel. Since both of us were up early (Dave had softball games while I was at Phillyfit) we were both tired and ready to call it a night early. We were lights out before 10!!

The alarm for race day (Sunday) was set for 5 AM. Race start was 7:00 am for walkers and 8:00 am for runners. I was concerned about traffic into the stadium parking area though so we planned to leave at 6:00 for the 20 minute ride to the stadium. The race started and ended in the Hersheypark Stadium.

This race was my first true travel race. Yes, I ran the Goofy Challenge in Orlando in January but then I stayed with KT and JL (Thanks again guys) and that was just like (actually better than) staying at home. I was very proud of myself that I rememberd all the necessary race day items, including my own breakfast. It occurred to me that the hotel breakfast might not be available early enough so I packed my own bagel and banana. Turned out to be a good move since the hotel breakfast didnt start until 7! :)

We, of course, arrived way early at the stadium but those of you who know me well know that's just who I am. My stress/anxiety levels are much lower if I'm early. And today, running for Lexi, I really wanted to have a great day. So we waited in the car for about half an hour and then went in.

I was happy to see Lauren, one of Phillyfit's walkers there. We even got to see her start and got a picture. I also  met up with Kristie from Phillyfit and we hung out together waiting for the race to start. As I said earlier it was a gorgeous day. The bright sunshine, however, didn't happen until the sun actually came up which was just after 7 AM. Standing around waiting for the start was a bit chilly. However, we were able to shed gloves, ear covering and sweatshirts before actually starting.

This was the innaugural Hershey Half Marathon. There were 2700 runners and walkers. To line up for the start we were asked to line up based on our pace using placards that were placd on the fence. Kind of like self coralling. I stood with Kristie at the 9 min/mile pace until the five minute warning and then headed back to where I belonged which was 10+ min/mile. This race benefited the Childrens Miracle Network. The honorary starter was a boy, 7 years old, who was born at 27 weeks. He called himself and 'early riser'. He called the "on your mark, get set, go" and we were off.

The course starts through the parking lot and into the park and then out into the neighborhoods around Hersheypark. It was a bit hilly although not really bad. All the practices on the Valley Forge loop with my phillyfit friends really helped I think. The hills were mostly rolling except for two as I remember. Although race challenges are kind of like the laborpains of childbirth.. quickly forgotten once you get to the finish. If they weren't we probably wouldn't have more kids or run more races! :)

I can't say it enough how gorgeous a day it was. Perfect running weather and this really helped to keep me going and smiling. Lexi helped too. I reminded myself why I was doing this and it gave me renewed energy. The miles passed quicker than I expected and before I knew it I was at the finish. This race had a really cool finish. We entered the stadium on one side, ran around the track around the football field and crossed the finish line on the other side. It reminded me of the Marathon at the Olympics, where they run a lap around the track to the finish line. If they had been playing the theme from Chariots of Fire I probably would have cried!

My friends Helen and Kristie (both from Phillyfit) finished ahead of me and were at the finish line when I crossed. So was Dave of course and seeing all three of them made for a nice ending to the race. I got my medal and a bottle of that awesome chocolate milk and made my way to the food tent. There was a lot of food (including variety) to be had. I filled a plate and ate on the ride home.

I really would have liked to change all my clothes before riding home. I stink after a run and can't stand to be next to myself. As it was, I only managed to change my shirt in the parking lot. At least that was something.

All in all a GREAT race and day. Now it's time for a nap and the Eagles game. :)

Here are the promised pictures.