This is my second year doing this race. You can check out my
recap of last year if interested. Last year, I would have said I loved this race and it was absolutely a must do every year. Sadly, this year was a different story. But I think that is mostly about the heat during this year's race and not anything in the race's control.
In fact, when I saw the forecast I threw out all thoughts of a PR. I knew that this would be another 10k where I was just trying to get through. And that's exactly what happened. This was my slowest 10k ever. I looked at the weather at last year's race to compare and according to the Garmin data, it felt 15 degrees hotter this year than last year.
But starting at the beginning... packet pick up was at a local running store in the city and they offered it for multiple days before the race. A friend picked up my packet for me so I didn't experience it first hand but she said it was smooth. They also had packet pick up on race day and the lines looked fairly short when I went by. One unusual thing is that they had 2 bibs, one to wear on the front of your shirt and one to wear on the back.
Beautiful morning by the river while waiting for the race to start
The race is in Georgetown so one of the logistical difficulties can be parking. The race worked out an arrangement with several parking garages so you can get discounted parking in those garages, which is a nice touch. You just have to remember to print out the parking coupon to bring with you. We just chose to go early and there was plenty of street parking. We got there at 6:30am for a 7:30 race start.
And there was already a crowd when we walked to the race start area. But there were a lot of port a potties and no line at that point, so that was a definite plus. A friend of mine tried them 7 minutes before the race start and while there was a line at that point, she still managed to make it back by the time we went off so the line couldn't have been too long.
They had a heart and briefcase to take photos with before and after the race :)
There are no official corrals but there are signs posted to mark paces and where runners should place themselves. There was a 5k and 10k and one of the new things this year was that they started at the same time so we were all mixed in together. There was also a fun walk and they just started behind the runners, no separate start time for them either.
Last year's course on the left and this year's on the right
The other big difference is that they changed the course this year. Last year, the course was a simple out and back in Georgetown. This year, the race started and ended in Georgetown but went toward downtown for the running. I didn't like it as much because of all the turns and switchbacks.
It also felt like it had more uphills than the previous course, though it still wasn't too hilly. And it was probably in my head just because of the heat.
One good thing is that there was more shade toward the end of the course than there was last year. You can see with my splits where I flagged in the middle of the race because of the heat but gained a bit of momentum at the end due to the shade.
Here are my official results.
Fun fountain at the waterfront where runners were cooling off after the race
My favorite thing about this race is that it ends at the waterfront and they arrange for a couple restaurants to be open early for brunch. We had brunch at Farmers, Fishers and Bakers afterward and their buffet spread is amazing! We enjoyed every bite as well as every sip of our celebratory mimosas.
Happy to be almost done!
So would I do this one again? I think so. It was really well organized and the proceeds go toward the American Heart Association. In addition, I'm not in Georgetown much so it's a new area for me to run in. And the risk of heat is going to be there for any race in June. Plus, I enjoy all the legal puns on the various race shirts from the large law firms that participate :) We'll see what the course looks like next year but my distaste for this year's course is probably mostly due to the heat.
