RACE REPORT: Raleigh Rocks

Submitted by: Scott Wingfield

Michael has been asking/encouraging/begging for people to send in race reports for the blog…well, remember to be careful what you ask for ‘cause it might just happen! Please keep in mind that I am a CPA, which means that by nature, I have no creative writing ability. In the midst of the run-on sentences, misspelled words, and dangling participles I may even throw in a few vague tax code section references just to see if anyone besides Michael is still reading! Another reason I don’t like writing these things is because it feels like I am bragging. However, when you see my finishing time you will know that I am certainly not doing that!

Anyway, I really wasn’t planning on running the Raleigh Rocks ½ Marathon Saturday morning. I was heading to the Y at lunch on Friday and I really didn’t feel like running. I really haven’t felt like running a whole lot since the Umstead Marathon. Not sure if it was just my legs way of telling me they needed a break or if it was just a bad case of the post race mental crash – I was so geared up and excited about Umstead it was kind of a let down once it was done. See I told you I was not a writer – see how easily I got off topic!! So, since the weather was predicted to be pretty good and since I needed a race to jumpstart my running again, I decided on Friday afternoon to run the Raleigh Rocks ½ Marathon despite the fact that I had only ran about 25 miles in the 3 weeks since Umstead. My hope was not for a PR, but to stay in the neighborhood of 1:45, which is just over an 8:00 per mile pace.

Now, on to the equally boring pre-race details. I was a little worried about where to park and how much it would cost me – no problem, there were ton’s of free spots in the deck right across the street from the start and getting into the hotel for registration was easy. I still have trouble believing they will not give you the timing chip at the early packet pick-ups. The timing chip was this huge orange card like thing – kind of like a billboard attached to your shoe – it looked weird but I didn’t notice it during the race. The shirt was pretty cool – short sleeved technical. There were plenty of porta-johns and minimal lines, even up until the very start of the race. I did hear people complain about the lack of porta-johns on the course. The weather was great, albeit a little humid and there were a lot of people – runners and spectators milling about. All-in-all, it was a good pre-race atmosphere.

The gun when off a little later than the advertised 8:00 start…the accountant (and extremely part-time race director) in me says that it should go off at exactly 8:00 am! Apparently there were a lot of people in this race that could not run as fast as the thought they could so they lined up way closer to the front than they should have. I should have recognized those people because they were all wearing their brand new Raleigh Rocks ½ Marathon T-shirts. Sorry if I offended anyone but the surest way to look like you don’t know what you are doing is to wear the new race shirt on race day!

Anyway, for the first few minutes of the race I was passing people left and right, but I didn’t feel like I was pushing. We finally got to the first mile marker and I realized that I indeed was not pushing – 8:45. Mile 2 was much the same as I was still dodging traffic – 8:36. As we made our way back towards the start and headed out towards NC State we hit mile 3. I finally made it an area where I could settle into a better pace – 7:58. Miles 4-7 were all run on Hillsborough Street which has a few rolling hills but nothing too steep or too long. There were a few bands along they and a few spectators here and there. I did see someone run into the IHOP to take what I assume was a bathroom break. I have been in that IHOP many times years ago, although it was always around 2am. Anyway, the Hillsborough Street miles were 8:07, 8:13, 8:13, & 8:20.

The first part of Mile 8 was run along Blue Ridge road and probably was the most non-descript part of the course. However, once you got to the NC Museum of Art, the course got really interesting. That is where you turned onto the greenway trails for the next few miles – nice wide asphalt paths that were dotted with various sculptures. I am not quite sure what any of the sculptures were (remember, I said I am a CPA) but I think one of them was of some long stone legs and a big butt. The first part on the greenway was a little downhill so I managed a pace of 8:17, however people were passing me like crazy…I am a slow downhill runner. Mile 9 was by far the toughest of the race. I am quite sure the entire mile was uphill. Thankfully, it was still on the greenway so at least the scenery was good. I passed all those suckers who passed me on the downhill during this mile despite it being run at an 8:36 pace (thank you Umstead)!

The Mile 9 marker was at the beginning of the pedestrian bridge over the Beltline which was interesting to run over – I think it was swaying a bit due to the heavy foot traffic! Mile 10 continued on the greenway through the campus of Meredith College…I was disappointed in the lack of co-ed’s out cheering us on (just kidding Leigh Ann – although I doubt you have read this far)! I managed to pick up my speed after all the climbing the mile before – 8:02 pace.

Miles 11 & 12 were run back toward downtown, the majority of it on Hillsborough Street. Running by the NC State Bell Tower had me wondering if there were any leftovers from the Krispy Kreme Challenge lying around but, alas there were none to be found. Those miles were run at paces of 8:01 & 8:01 – I wish that I could tell you I ran even paces but the truth is that I forgot to hit my lap button so I had to average. The last 1.1 mile was run downtown. Fayetteville Street was the ideal place for the finish. The tall (at least tall for Raleigh) buildings provided an excellent frame to the scene. Add the good crowd of people and the live band set up just behind the finish banner, and you had a very cool and very loud finish line. My last 1.1 was covered in 8:02 – a 7:18 pace. In think I had a faster time in me. I just needed one of those lunchtime “Kevin stories” that get him all riled up and turn our easy runs into tempo runs!

The finish area was put together pretty well – lot’s of people milling about and a pretty good live band on stage. They had orange slices, bananas, apples, bagels, and cookies. The cookies looked burnt and nasty but once I put one in my mouth I realized they were awesome (insert "The Office" humor here). The water and Gatorade were warm – call me picky but give me something cold to drink when I’m done! I also think anyone who runs 13.1 or more miles deserves a free piece of pizza to eat afterwards, but, again, I may just be picky. The medal was below average – they were a blue version the 2008 First Carolina State Bank ½ Marathon medal. Pretty thin and blah.

Well, anyone who read this far deserves something – How about free Gatorade at the next group run you attend!!! So, in Summary:

The Time. . . 1:47:08

The Good….Plentiful, helpful, and enthusiastic volunteers (including our own Rob Powell)! Wonderful course! Great Finish Line set-up! Easy drive up and parking! Pretty good race t-shirt! The temperatures!

The Bad….Crowded Start. Nasty tasting aid station water & red PowerAde. No pizza – did I mention that I like pizza? The Humidity!

The Ugly….The Medal!