I assumed the weather would be horrible when I signed up for this race. "Oh, it will be 15 degrees outside and 60 degrees inside!" I thought. Of course we had the nicest weekend of the winter with highs in the mid-50s. But who would think that would happen? Despite it being nice outside, this was a great race. We stayed at the only hotel in Ada, The Inn at Ohio Northern, which was a remarkable place to stay. The price was reasonable and it was seriously one of the nicest places we have stayed prior to a race. The Inn's restaurant and bar was top notch. FW loaded up on the homemade kettle chips! We both give the inn two thumbs up.
Race morning was very easy as we had a five minute walk from the Inn to the ONU Sports Center. I quickly met up with my lap counter for the day, a cross country/track runner for the school. The entire team was there to count laps and give encouragement to the runners. Seriously, they were the best part of the race! They had a meet the previous night, returned at 1:30 in the morning, and were at the Sports Center at 6:30 to begin preparations. Yet they were energetic the entire time. They even made individual signs for each runner. That's pretty awesome!
FW gives this race two thumbs up because she was able to sit in the stands and watch the entire race. She usually gets to see me a few times during the course of a race but never this much. I was able to look up at her throughout the race to let her know what mile I was on or to even jump up and give her a quick high-five. It was a lot of fun for both of us! She took a few pictures throughout the event, plus the organizers offered some free ones.
 | |
| The ONU Track Team also created a sign for each runner! |
Let's get to my brief report:
I'll keep this report shorter because the course was always the same. The half marathon was 105 laps and the full was 210. I thought the race would drag on despite the enthusiasm from the student-athletes. But this seriously flew by! My lap counter did a tremendous job of cheering me on and giving me updates. She'd let me know when I had one lap to go until the next mile and then that I had hit that mile. It took the guesswork out of it and I was able to just run. I also liked that there were a few tables on the course for water, sports drinks and any other necessities like gels. The race does have cups of water, but I recommend bringing your own. I would grab my bottle from one table, jog with it for a bit, and then drop it off at another table. No waiting around at aid stations.
The eventual winner took off FAST! I spent most of my time trying to finish in second place. While it was hard to know where you were in relation to others, I knew I was passing everyone other than the eventual winner. My splits were very consistent.
Mile 1- 8:05 Mile 2- 7:55 Mile 3- 8:00 Mile 4- 7:44 Mile 5- 7:48
Mile 6- 7:59 Mile 7- 7:52 Mile 8- 7:38 Mile 9- 7:36 Mile 10- 7:55
Mile 11- 7:33 Mile 12- 7:47 Mile 13- 6:54
My final time was 1:42:06, good enough for 2/15 overall. FW was there to congratulate me on a great race!
FW and I cannot say enough positive things about this race. It's so well organized, easy to get to, offers great accommodations, the students are fun, and spectators can actually watch their runner run an entire half or full marathon. That's pretty rare. I definitely plan on doing this one again next year. The swag was pretty good, too. We received an awesome long sleeve tech shirt, cool clear medal, a small sports towel, and a water bottle.
I have another gap between races as I'm trying to run fewer than last year. FW is back in the gym with me and can hopefully do the next one.
Next race: Mardi Gras 5k- Lexington, OH
