ORRRC Half Marathon

I love being able to schedule races around work conferences.  It's one of my favorite things.  I was in the Dayton area last week and stayed a couple extra days to catch up with some friends and run the Ohio River Road Runner's Club Half Marathon in Xenia.  This is my third time running this race (2011, 2012) and it never disappoints.  It's very well organized and for $25 you get great swag, a nice course, no traffic, and hot food at the finish.  But it is growing! It's up from 500 or so people in 2011 to around 1000 in 2014.

Getting to the race is a piece of cake.  I couldn't park at the YMCA this year, due to the bigger numbers, but we were diverted to nearby Shawnee Park.  It's only a few blocks away so no big deal.  The weather was perfect for early April.  Mid-40s and clear at the start.  I started right in the middle of the pack and away we went.

Miles 1-5: We start out from the Y and head north for a bit before circling back around toward the bike path.  I started out at a conservative pace and hit the first mile in 9:21.  The course was the same as previous years which was nice.  We hit the bike path for a short time before taking some country roads around the south part of town.  This is the only part of the course with any hills, thought the hills are certainly not anything major.  We turn back onto the bike path shortly after mile 5 and stay on the path for the rest of the race.

Miles 6-10: The next few miles are on the straightaway portion of the bike path.  I hit the 6 mile mark in 52:43.  That put me in a great position to keep my sub 2:00 streak alive.  I'm always amazed that I don't get bored during this portion of the course.  I think the fact that I don't have to worry about hitting tangents helps.  I can tune out the race and just go at my own pace.  We remain on the straightaway before turning toward Central State University soon after mile 7. This little side trip takes us to a turnaround at mile 8 and we go back to the main bike path, hitting it at mile 9.  Then we hit the same straightaway again.  I was picking up my pace a bit here and feeling pretty good, especially for the first half of the year.

Miles 11-13.1: The last few miles were a blur.  I passed quite a few people and picked up my pace.  At the 12.5 mark we come off the bike path and hit a side street for a straightaway finish at the Y.  I hit the timing mat in 1:52:11, good enough for 259/1059 overall.

This was a nice confidence boost, considering my inconsistent training this winter due to a job change and nasty weather.  I have a couple weeks to go until I hit a half in Canton and another in Columbus on consecutive weeks!

Next race: Pro Football Hall of Fame Half Marathon- Canton, OH