Shamrock Sportsfest Half Marathon - RunHalf Marathon

Well, the first 8 miles were great. I was keeping a good pace & felt pretty good. I was enjoying all the green-bedecked racers, and the vibe. I was looking for the 2:30 pace person. I caught up with them, and passed them, and stayed ahead of them for half the race.

Then things started to fall apart. I started to slow down and people started passing me. I just didn't have any omph left... and I thought, "5 miles to go," which just sounds so long. I only managed to eat 2 sport beans. I was starting to feel GI - icky. I debated about stopping at the port o potties for the last 4 miles. I finally decided that if I stopped and sat down I wouldn't be able to finish. The last 3 miles I was really hurting. I walked more and more. Funny thing - my hip flexors were really hurting. They never did in training. By the time I was in sight of the finish line, I was trying to run it in, but I think I wasn't running any faster than if I had walked. Someone cheered me by name near the finish. I don't know if it was Sue or someone reading my bib.

Pick a shorter race! Um, I dunno, maybe training longer distances for more time would help, but I don't know that I want to do that.

I was in a total daze. People kept handing me things (water, banana, bag o' stuff, hat, medal, shiny wrap thing) and took my timing chip. I was desperate for the port-o-potties which seemed an ungodly distance away. After a painful episode therein, I went to the food tent and found a chair. I didn't know where Richard was, but I felt too sick to go look for him. Once I tried to get up and find him, but I quickly decided that was a bad idea - I was too nauseous. I couldn't eat, and the only thing around me to drink seemed to be beer. Finally, I saw Richard walk past and went after him. Then it was a painful 5 blocks to the car. I am feeling better now - I ate dinner. But this sort of GI-trauma seemed to sometimes happen on long runs, and sometimes not. I have to figure this out if I want to do this type of distance again.


1) Went out too fast at the start.
2) Nutrition... GI issues
3) poor sleep

What do you think?


A good race for a first-time half-marathoner. Good organization, nice and flat. The unknown factor is the weather. The glimpses of the ocean throughout are awe-inspiring.