My training had been sporadic in the past few weeks leading up to this race because of a lot of turmoil in my personal life, so I went in to the race with no time expectations or goals, the only goal being to finish in a time I'd be OK with.

I maintained what I deemed to be a comfortable (yet not leisurely nor excessive) pace throughout the race. I'd glance at my watch mainly to make sure I wasn't slacking off too much, but never did I push myself hard. That was not the goal today; the goal was to enjoy the simple act of being able to race and have fun with friends.

They changed the course a little from last year to keep us out of historic Bethlehem and probably save a lot of road closures, and I liked the new course. They had German dancers around mile 1 and at the turnaround, so cool! I clapped for them as I passed.

I kept my eyes peeled for Cuda (saw her just before I hit mile 2) and Whale and Liz (saw them just after mile 2). I yelled encouragement at them as we passed. I'm so happy they did the race, too.

We were running into the wind after the turnaround and heading back over the bridge and back toward the steel stacks. I considered running harder to a faster finish and decided that really wasn't something I felt like doing: pushing myself hard. Nope.

I yelled, "Go RWB!" to the RWB dude holding the American flag as we neared the last .25 miles and go a "Hoo rah!" back. :)

When I crossed the finish line, I did the 'Whale pose', a kind of goofy, arms in the air posture that my sister unintentionally did last year, prompting much laughter and good-natured kidding. I can't wait to see the pics to see if I nailed it!

I got a water, chips, and Kind bar, then headed backwards on the course to look for my friends. I snapped a pic of Cuda, then kept walking until I got to the other two, who decided to start running when they saw me. I (kiddingly) yelled at them to stop running, probably confusing the heck out of everyone around them. Ah, well. I walked with them almost to the end, then peeled off so I wouldn't get tagged again by the photographers or the timing mat.

Nothing.

Got snacks/water for them, then we retrieved our bags and changed clothes. Next we headed over to the Oktoberfest area for our mug and free beer (24 oz!). No line, woo! After that we did a little shopping, chatting and eating. Just a little mini smorgasboard of various items like fried pickles, fried mashed potatoes with cheese, chicken on a stick, and fried butter. And beer. You know, healthy stuff.

Watched keg rolling contests as well as beer holding contests. The sun wonderfully, gloriously came out which was so enjoyable.

Lastly, we toured the steel stacks on the new walkway they installed, complete with informational placards. Very cool, I'd have loved to seen the area when the complex was still operational. I can't even begin to imagine how loud, hot, and impressive it surely must have been. They closed up shop for good in 1995 with the last of operations ending in 1998. I'm proud of Bethlehem for keeping the stacks as is and doing something beneficial with the properties (Arts Quest, entertainment areas and events, etc.) - there has been so much improvement and building since I've started coming to Bethlehem for hockey about 9-10 years ago.


Nothing.


The race organization heard the complaints from last year and truly listened. The overall organization of all pre- and post-race events went much, much smoother than last year. Packet-pickup was streamlined. The long bathroom line issue was addressed as was the distribution of water/snacks at the end. Most importantly, (wink wink) they addressed the long beer line issue, or rather this year, lack of issue. No waiting in line at all when my friends and I went to the Oktoberfest area.

I hope whatever caused people to not register/show up this year was some sort of fluke. This year the organization did things right.