Maryland Half Marathon - Run

A good run for me up until Mile 11 when there were some major (to me) elevation changes and a lot of uphill parts. I started very strong and felt excellent the first 5 miles. Miles 6-9 I enjoyed the scenery which was more trees and greenery (cannot help it as I love green!) and then the uphill pieces later on. Overall I enjoyed the course a lot and felt very strong.

This time I wore my New Balance 980's and they were perfect. I ended up running by this guy that had the same shoes on (we kept running past each other due to bathroom break and walking break) and he was totally cool. We finished nearly together as well.

There were sufficient water stops and gatorade available. I didn't see any GU or Gel's but I don't use them so I might have missed it. I brought my trusty dates and they worked great. For some reason around mile 4-6 I felt my stomach was off a bit (little nauseated) but I pushed on and it was fine. There were lots of volunteers and some spectators and it was laid out very well. The only part I didn't like of the layout was the last 2 miles because we were running with cars directly beside us which I don't think is a great idea - made me nervous and I slowed down a bit just to be sure. There were parked cars on the right and real cars on the left and it was a 1 lane road going one way.

Great food after - oranges and bagels and water. The oranges were sweet and tasted so good and the bagels were fresh. I didn't put cream cheese on it or anything but it was available. I think they had banana's too but I went straight for the orange. The finish area was a bit crowded - It took me a minute to find the food. Also easy to leave the event due to how they parked us. Big plus for that!



I'd push harder Miles 6-9.

Walking, some stretching. Not as sore as the Iron Girl Columbia and I shaved a minute off my time. I was hoping to do a under 2:30 but those last hills were killers for me and I just couldn't push harder.


Some hills the last 2 miles - would have liked them in the beginning. I think mentally it's harder to have them at the end for me.


The only "ding" I might make is I wished there was a porta potty before miie 5. I tend to go sometime during the first 3 miles and that's it. I was actually worried there was no porta potty and I was eyeing the bushes on the side of the road. I saw several guys do that. There was a 3 minute line at the first pot at mile 5....so that took 3 minutes which was a drag. The second potty stop I used was at 9 or 10 and it was super quick no problems.