Half Marathon #79: Rutgers Unite Half Marathon

Rutgers Unite Half Marathon
New Brunswick, NJ
April 14, 2019
2:27:59

Temp: mid 50s
What I wore: hat, tank top, Skirt Sports Lotta Breeze Skirt, ProCompression socks, and Altra One 2.5 

Beer Geek and I both signed up to run this race. One of us was actually trained for it. {Hint: it wasn’t me.} Life through us a curve ball in the form of a cancelled flight by Southwest. (They cancelled our kids’ flight two hours before the flight. They blamed weather, but it was the ONLY flight cancelled or even delayed. I call BS. I might still be livid 2 weeks later…) Anyways, thanks to my parents and a very understanding race director, we were able to run. Never mind that we had to drive to New Jersey via Pittsburgh. We made it there. That’s all that mattered.

The morning of the race was kind of chilly and damp. We got there super early so we could pick up our bibs and then stood around and waited. I spent most of the time wrapped in a heat blanket, pretty much regretting my choice of tank top without arm sleeves. Finally, I gave it up and jumped into the corral near the 2:30 pacer. My goal was to stick with him as long as possible. Runs leading up to the race did not indicate that I would be able to maintain that pace.

The race started on time and the pacer went out a bit faster than 11:27 (at least according to my watch.) We ran most of the first mile at about an 11 minute pace. And my body said that was the perfect pace. So, when he slowed to get back to where he should be, I kept going. I figured I’d keep running at that pace for as long as it felt good and then start adding in walk intervals. Shockingly, I was able to hold that pace for 8 miles! I was able to continue running with only walking the water stops until mile 11, but then I started running out of steam. (No real surprise there – other than mostly walking a half marathon, my longest run since December was 7 miles.) The last two miles were around a 12 minute pace, but I still felt good, just tired. I was quite happy to see the finish line though!

This race was our kick off to spring break, so we spent the next week climbing lighthouse steps (so many lighthouses!), walking boardwalks, and visiting brew pubs. Let’s just say I was glad we started the week with a race, rather than ending it…

The good:

• The race was well organized and the course was nice.
• The temps were perfect for running.
• Water stops on course were plentiful. They had nuun at many stops and Honey Stinger gels at one.
• The food was plentiful at the end – the big pretzel was the perfect saltiness, plus we got a bag of food and I got a Coke (my very favorite thing post half marathon.)

The bad:

• While I would not call this a hilly race, it was near constant inclines and declines. There were only one or two spots that were true hills, but I felt like I was running up way more than I expected.
• The humidity was crazy. I ended up pouring water on my head more than once even though it was not that hot.
• The course ran about a quarter mile or so long. 

The ugly:

• The one real hill was within a third of a mile of the finish. I was not a fan LOL.
• The 9 hour drive to get there (when it’s really only 4 hours away) was not high on my list of fun things…

Would I run this race again?

If it were closer to me, I’d do this race again. If I were better trained, I think I could have done really well on this course as I generally like a rolling course. It was very well organized and

2019 race season is rockin’ so far. Next up: Half Marathon #80 at the National Women’s Race.