I knocked off my eighth state, Maine, a few weeks ago at the Old Port Half Marathon. To say that this race was gorgeous would be an understatement. My performance was better than I expected. Summer training has been hit-or-miss due to the new job and move to NW Ohio.
I explored the city of Portland the day before the race. It was a blast! The Portland Head Light State Park is a very cool place to spend the afternoon. Packet pick up was smooth at the Maine Running Company. I loved the tech shirt and the glass mug I purchased.
Race morning was pretty smooth. I parked at one of the downtown garages and made the half mile trek to the race start along the Eastern Promenade. The first of two snafus occurred as I realized there was no bag check and had to run back to the car to stow my gear. No bag check? Seriously? Not a big deal, but I'm also not a fan. The second snafu was one I was at least aware of. The women's race started at 7:30 with the men's race starting at 7:45. Many people, including myself, were frustrated by this odd bit of race management. First, I want to run early. It's hot outside. Second, what purpose does this serve? Simply have a corral start if you're concerned about people lining up correctly. Many of the people in the second wave (you had some mixing due to people running with loved ones) were frustrated having to dodge some of the runners from the first wave during the second half of the race. Oh well. At least we knew ahead of time.
The second wave headed out and I started a little fast at around 8:00. The scenery and the cool breeze off the ocean felt great. Despite that, I had to dial it back some. We ran along the Eastern Promenade until the first bridge, near the Back Cove. I was feeling good and occasionally took off the headphones to enjoy the sites of Portland. The air felt clean and I just enjoyed being there. We continued our way north parallel to I-295 and hit the second bridge. Again, gorgeous views! My three mile time was just under the 27:00 mark. This is right where I needed to be and I kept it at that pace for the duration.
I loved the trail portion near the 5 mile mark. It was probably only a half mile long or so, but it was definitely a much needed break for the legs. This served as the turnaround point and we made our way back towards Portland. My favorite part of the course was the roughly three mile stretch (around the 7.5 mark to the 10.5 mark) looping around the Back Cove. This was a beautiful part of the course. The legs appreciated the crushed limestone surface this late in the race. Another thing that struck me were the number of people out and about on a Sunday morning. People were out jogging who weren't in the race, cycling, walking, etc. Portland is a very active community and a breath of fresh air.
We then made our way back along the Eastern Promenade towards the finish. I was feeling the race at this point and got into a mini-battle with another guy. He beat me out with about a half mile to go, but we did pass plenty of people along the way. The ending was at the Maine State Pier (very cool) and I came in at 1:54.31. Not a bad time considering the inconsistent training. My sub-2 hour half marathon streak extends to nine!
The post-race festivities were some of the best I've seen. A live band was playing actual music (Beatles, Rolling Stones, etc.). Pizza, fruit, ice cream, and Shipyard Brewing Company Beer were in abundance. Each runner was greeted with a cold towel and sports bottle filled with ice water at the finish. Nice touch. This was a great race and one I'll definitely consider coming to again.
Next race: Carey Twilight 5k- Carey, OH
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