RNR DC Half-Marathon Recap ... "Smiles everyone"

A funny thing happens when I don’t ‘race’ a race.  I smile.

Looking at the race photos that MarathonFoto is relentlessly trying to get me to buy, I notice that I’m smiling in almost every one of them.  That really sums up the whole race experience for me.  I ran with a friend of mine, stuck with the pace that worked for him, walked when we needed to walk, and basically just enjoyed the whole thing.

The weather was gorgeous.  Really a bit too warm for a marathon, and it was pretty toasty by the time the full-marathon folks were closing in on the finish line, but it was a pleasant 50-ish at the start, which beat the heck out of the 25-degree start for MCM in nearly the same spot 4 months ago.

Fan support was outstanding, race organization was great, and the water stops were well-stocked, well-manned, and seemed to stretch on forever.  Post-race was easily navigated and well-organized – even the bagels were really good.

Apparently there were a lot of issues with folks trying to get to the race on the Metro.  Fortunately we drove to the race and parked easily at RFK stadium, so we were able to avoid that headache.  I don’t know if that’s a fault of the race, but hopefully they sort that out for next year.  First off they need to start running the Metros earlier than 2 hours before the race start, especially with 24,000+ runners trying to get to the same spot.

Visual evidence of me doing a midfoot strike - rarer than a Bigfoot sighting

After the race we headed to a local Irish Pub and spent the next 7+ hours there working towards our honorary Irishman degree.  Watched Enland vs Ireland rugby, watched a full-blown Riverdance show that was actually really impressive, and drank our fair share of Guinness.

Overall a great race, and a great weekend with a great friend.  I would HIGHLY recommend this race based on my experience, and if the Metro situation gets sorted out I can’t really think of any negatives.  And as an added bonus, unbeknownst to me until I looked through the pictures, we apparently finished the race right next to Freddie Mercury.....

"Another one bites the dust .... "