Half Marathon #78: Mike to Mike Half Marathon

Mike to Mike Half Marathon
Fayetteville, NC
March 24, 2019
3:08:39

Temp: 38* at the start, 50s by the end
What I wore:hat, tank top, Skirt Sports Happy Girl, ProCompression socks, and Altra One 2.5 (that I switched into from Escalante at the last minute.)

I signed up for this race on a whim because my friend Liz was an ambassador and offered me a free place to stay. I somehow totally ignored the fact that it was a 5 hour drive home. On I-95. On a Sunday afternoon. Oops. Oh, and I didn’t actually run more than 6 miles between my half marathon in December and this one. Oops.

My drive down went smoothly and I managed to meet up with another friend from Skirt Sports for lunch on the way.

When I got to Fayetteville, I scored the best parking spot. I spent the next couple of hours hanging out with the Wear Blue: Run to Remember group at the expo. After finally wrapping up there, we headed to dinner with another Skirt Sports ambassador. (Note: yes, this weekend was all about the Skirt.) I had shrimp and grits, a favorite when I hit NC. Thankfully I did not end up regretting that. After a few crazy antics (apparently non-DOD can’t get on Fort Bragg after 9pm, sigh), I finally crashed on the couch around midnight, with my alarm set for 3:45am, ugh.

Sunday morning dawned WAY to early and colder than I expected. I had been worried about being too warm, but no. We got up and out and met the busses at the finish line. Since the race is a point to point, you can park at either end and bus to the other. If I had not been with someone who had easy access to Fort Bragg, I would have parked at the start.

After a quick porta potty stop, we headed to the Circle of Remembrance for Wear Blue and then to the start. Race goal? 13.FUN.

The race started on time and we took our time. We walked hills, we took photos, there were porta potty stops… all fun, all the time.

Mile 8 was the Blue Mile and we took our time walking through it, reading every sign and thanking the volunteers holding the flags. 

After the Blue Mile, we resumed run walk, but continued with picture taking and walking quite a bit (three of the ladies with us had run a half marathon the night before!)

This was the slowest half marathon I’ve ever done, but I wanted to stay with my ladies and it was actually good walking practice. Finally, the end was in sight! We got in formation and crossed the finish line just like we’d started: together, fulfilling our motto of “No Skirt left behind.”

The good:

• The race was well organized and the course was nice.
• 13.FUN with my fellow Skirt Sports Ambassadors.
• Water stops on course were plentiful.
• The Blue Mile was really well done.
• The swag was amazing! We got a shirt, a medal, a medal hanger (the “finisher’s award” for 2019), and a magnet.
• The food was plentiful at the end – PBJ, fruit, pretzels, granola bars, fruit gummies, chocolate milk.

The bad:

• The electrolyte on the course was WAY too sweet. I could barely drink more than a sip or two at each stop. (I carried nuun in my handheld, so was fine.)
• I never saw any fuel at any of the stops. (This was not a problem as I had a Honey Stinger waffle and the Fayetteville Running Club had an unofficial stop with good snacks.)

The ugly:

• The logisitics, while well done, involved getting up way too early. I don’t love point to point for that reason.
• The drive home on I-95 was a nightmare. Lots of accidents and it took me an extra hour.

Would I run this race again?

If it were closer to me, I’d do this race again. The swag alone was worth it. I also felt like it was a course I could have done well on if I’d been trained. I won’t do it again though unless I can wait to come home on Monday. Sunday evening driving into DC is one of the circles of hell. Just sayin…

2019 race season has officially begun. I have 3 more races in the next 5 weeks and then training begins for the Marine Corps Marathon 50k!