Final First Carolina State Bank Half Marathon Update

A few final race reminders . . . The forecast looks great. Don't forget we have a half marathon, 5k, and kid races. There will be lots to do for the family, including Christmas music, food, inflatable jumpy things, and more. Tell a friend! Don't miss out on the event!

Registration:

• Thursday was the last change to register online for the Half Marathon and 5k.
• You can register Friday at the First Carolina State Bank on Winstead Ave from 3:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.
• You can also register at Sunset Park beginning at 6:30 a.m. on Saturday

Packet Pickup:

• If you are in Rocky Mount, I strongly recommend picking your race number and timing chip up on Friday (see location above).
• You can pick them up Saturday before the race if needed as well.

Say Thank you:

• Please make a point to thank the volunteers when picking up your packet and running the race.
• Without sponsorship, this race would not be in Rocky Mount. Take time to thank them for this.

The Weather:

• The forecast is PERFECT!
• 45 F at 8:00 a.m.
• 54 F at 10:00 a.m.
• 58 F at 11:00 a.m.

The numbers:

• 500+ total runners in all races
• 600 race packets
• 600 race numbers
• 600 shirts
• 400 timing chips
• 400 half marathon medals
• 100+ kid prizes
• 27 police officers
• 100+ volunteers
• 69,168 total feet of roads and trails
• 8 gallons of coffee
• 100 pizzas
• 6 hours of music

Reindeer Dash for Cash Results

I went to the Reindeer Dash for Cash race on Sunday, to help promote the half marathon and run the 10-miler. Turns out I was not the only RMEC person there, and far from being the only Rocky Mount runner. Angela and Mike Barnhill also ran. Angela ran the 10-miler, and Mike the 5k. A total of 440 runners participated in this 3rd year event.

Angela has been training for the half marathon this coming weekend, so this race was also a training run. She was still able to finish in 1:17:51, a 7:48 pace. This was good enough for fourth place in her age group, 10th overall female. Looks like Angela is ready for a great race this weekend!

For some reason I could not find Mike in the 5k results, but there were lots of Rocky Mount runners who race. If you know any of these people, please encourage them to join our group for a weekend run, or to race the 5k in Rocky Mount this weekend. Deana has run with us several times, including some of the RMEC 5ks we did in the summer. For complete results visit Active: 5k results - 10-mile results

Half Marathon Shirts

Thought I would share the potential shirt design for the First Carolina State Bank Half Marathon. This is not a final yet, and there will of course be text on the shirts as well, but we are trying to use the design below on a long sleeve shirt. We should know by tomorrow if this will transfer properly to a t-shirt.

Note: If you checked the blog earlier today, you saw a different bridge picture. We tried to use that one, but there was an issue with the number of colors and how it would print on the shirt. So we will be using the bridge picture above.

By the way, If you have not checked the weather recently it looks like a perfect race day! Low of 48 and a high of 71! This means cools temps for the half, and a warm day for the kid races, and awards!

Swim Meet @ YMCA

There is a swim meet this Friday December 7th at 4:00 pm at the Rocky Mount YMCA. Please consider coming and supporting the local swimmers. These meets are very exciting and almost deafening. There will be some outstanding swimmers competing for eight or nine different teams.

Triathlon Training Team?

Discussions have begun about creating a Triathlon Training Team in a partnership with the YMCA. Our meeting had to be rescheduled, but I assure you there are plans in the works. I do not have any details right now, but my assumption is the team would be something like the following:

• Provide a training plan for athletes to follow
• Offer regular YMCA classes that would focus on Tri-specific workouts (inside the Y)
• Have weekly organized runs, and rides (outside the Y)
• Have clinics on various topics (Tri Rules, Proper Gear, Swim Techniques, Tire Changing, etc.)

There are lots of other things that could be part of the program, but the items above are probably a minimum. Until I meet with Angela and Mary at the YMCA, I don't know what that have planned. We need to discuss which event, if there is a cost, liability, what plan, how to handle Sprint Triathletes and Half Ironman Triathletes, etc.

If I had to guess, we may select White Lake as the Tri of choice. It is an open water swim, but in a clear and normally calm lake. It is a very popular race, and can fill up in just a few hours for the sprint. As Kinnie has posted below, hotels are not plentiful at White Lake, so if you are considering the event, you may want to start booking rooms.

At this point I want to find out, who is at least interested in being a part of a team like this?

I Need Your 2007 Pictures

I need pictures from 2007. I would like to put something together for a look back on the year. I have lots of my own pictures, but need more. Especially from races that you did, that I was not at. The City of Oaks and White Lake Tri are big ones. Even if it was a small race that only one person did, I would still like to get pictures. If you read this blog, and/or if your times are posted in the race results. . . I want a picture of you!

Please email them to runrmec@yahoo.com as quickly as possible. I would like to have them by Wednesday. Don’t be shy! Send them over. If you have lots from the same race, send the best ones.

FCSB Half Marathon Updates:

Course Markings: For those that ran on Saturday morning you know that the course is now marked. Butch was out there with paint in hand while we were running. All turns are marked with white pain arrows. I believe all mile markers are in orange. They are a number with a circle around it. The trail should be cleared off by race day to ensure a safe route.

Post Race: In addition to pizza, fruit, coffee, and drinks, there will also be inflatable's for the kids. Butch has arranged for two "bouncy things" and an inflatable slide as well. All the more reason to bring out the kids. 10 bucks gets you a 1-mile race, a finishers "prize", food, drinks, music, t-shirt, and fun!

Packet Pickup: For those in Rocky Mount, I would strongly encourage you to pick up your race packets on Friday at the First Carolina State Bank on Winstead Avenue. With 500 runners anticipate in the races, it will be a big help to the volunteers to get many of these out of the way on Friday. Plus this help First Carolina State Bank see, how much the community supports the race.