Newport Marathon: Spectating Style
Saturday after a late night, I woke up at the crack of dawn and embarked on a little adventure over to the Oregon Coast to watch some friends run the Newport Marathon.
First of all, waking up at 4:40 am is not exactly pleasant after going to bed around midnight. But the fact that I love coastal towns and I love my friends, I figured it would be worth the exhaustion I'd have later. So I filled up my tank, grabbed a coffee and snacks and headed out of town as the sun was rising.
Two hours later, I was parked near mile three about 30 min after the race had started. This is a small race of only 900 runners max so I caught a glimpse of the final few runners/walkers going past me.
When I stepped out of the car, it was already a comfortable temperature, which isn't necessarily a good sign on marathon day. I shoved on my running clothes and set out on my own long run with a camera, cell phone, ipod and coconut larabar in hand.
My first stop downtown was Mo's Annex for some famous clam chowder.
Then it was off to catch me some fish.
Well, it wasn't a good morning for fishing, so I decided to just run along the marathon course. ;)
It was an out and back so most of the run looked a lot like this with docks and a few homes sprinkled along. Sections of the course were shaded, but a lot of it was open, which left the runners out in the heat. By 10 am it was easily in the 70s and runners were looking tiiired.
I finally caught a glimpse of my friend Stef at mile 24 racing away to the finish - 3:11 finisher and 3rd in her age group!
A group of us watched as our runners came in, wondering where a few were. Turns out, the heat really got to them and some had to walk when they weren't planning TO. Hello, freak 80 degree temps that no one trained for! Several people were even taken away in ambulances for cramping, overheating, etc.
At the finish line, Munchies were consumed.
Salt dried while watermelon was devoured.
Then it was time to hit the tavern just before some deep see fishing.
And one last bridge photo before I got back to my car for a total of 15.7 miles run in the blazing sun.
I didn't run a marathon, but I needed some serious electrolyte refueling and time indoors. Luckily, the runners had rented a cabin so we all headed back to meet up for a post race potluck.
While I was pretty exhausted on my drive home, the trip was definitely worth it. I love Newport's historic downtown and the quaint aspects of a fishing town.
That being said, I realized I wouldn't want to run such a small marathon. There were few times where I passed runners who were with other runners. Often they were all by their lonesome for quite a while. And the spectators were even more infrequent. While I'm all about supporting small town races, to run a marathon, I simply prefer the roar of the crowd and runners around me that I can cheer on and run with.
What's your feeling on small races? Love 'em? Hate 'em?
P.S. I bought a ticket to the Healthy Living Summit last night! Now I just have to find a roomie and a cheap flight to Philadelphia. Last year's conference looked like a lot of fun and I'm looking forward to meeting a bunch of bloggers who I regularly read and feel like I KNOW these people. Have you ever attended a blogging conference?
First of all, waking up at 4:40 am is not exactly pleasant after going to bed around midnight. But the fact that I love coastal towns and I love my friends, I figured it would be worth the exhaustion I'd have later. So I filled up my tank, grabbed a coffee and snacks and headed out of town as the sun was rising.
Two hours later, I was parked near mile three about 30 min after the race had started. This is a small race of only 900 runners max so I caught a glimpse of the final few runners/walkers going past me.
When I stepped out of the car, it was already a comfortable temperature, which isn't necessarily a good sign on marathon day. I shoved on my running clothes and set out on my own long run with a camera, cell phone, ipod and coconut larabar in hand.
My first stop downtown was Mo's Annex for some famous clam chowder.
Then it was off to catch me some fish.
Well, it wasn't a good morning for fishing, so I decided to just run along the marathon course. ;)
It was an out and back so most of the run looked a lot like this with docks and a few homes sprinkled along. Sections of the course were shaded, but a lot of it was open, which left the runners out in the heat. By 10 am it was easily in the 70s and runners were looking tiiired.
I finally caught a glimpse of my friend Stef at mile 24 racing away to the finish - 3:11 finisher and 3rd in her age group!
A group of us watched as our runners came in, wondering where a few were. Turns out, the heat really got to them and some had to walk when they weren't planning TO. Hello, freak 80 degree temps that no one trained for! Several people were even taken away in ambulances for cramping, overheating, etc.
At the finish line, Munchies were consumed.
Salt dried while watermelon was devoured.
Then it was time to hit the tavern just before some deep see fishing.
And one last bridge photo before I got back to my car for a total of 15.7 miles run in the blazing sun.
I didn't run a marathon, but I needed some serious electrolyte refueling and time indoors. Luckily, the runners had rented a cabin so we all headed back to meet up for a post race potluck.
While I was pretty exhausted on my drive home, the trip was definitely worth it. I love Newport's historic downtown and the quaint aspects of a fishing town.
That being said, I realized I wouldn't want to run such a small marathon. There were few times where I passed runners who were with other runners. Often they were all by their lonesome for quite a while. And the spectators were even more infrequent. While I'm all about supporting small town races, to run a marathon, I simply prefer the roar of the crowd and runners around me that I can cheer on and run with.
What's your feeling on small races? Love 'em? Hate 'em?
P.S. I bought a ticket to the Healthy Living Summit last night! Now I just have to find a roomie and a cheap flight to Philadelphia. Last year's conference looked like a lot of fun and I'm looking forward to meeting a bunch of bloggers who I regularly read and feel like I KNOW these people. Have you ever attended a blogging conference?
Comments
I'm SO EXCITED (and a little jealous) that you are going to the HLS!!!! Last year I said I would for sure go this year but the location just doesn't work for me - wish they'd come to the west coast!
You're going to have SO MUCH FUN!
I have found that I tend to struggle in these smaller running events, especially for something longer than a half-marathon. The race that I ran this past weekend was one of those situations - the first part was like a party and then the half-marathoner turned off and it thinned out a lot. During the last few miles I was almost always running alone.
I prefer bigger races - not HUGE ones (although I have never actually ran a HUGE race). I need a good amoutn of specators. I like it when it thins out, but I wuoldn't want to run alone!
That is so awesome that you are going to HLS. I would love to go to that. Maybe next year! I would totally room with you if I was going!
UM, let's discuss this roommate situation! That'd be so fun!!