I ran this course faster than expected finishing in 1:27:23, 2nd overall, 1st age group and a new half-marathon PR..
Ran the first 9 miles with Anthony, a local 17 year old from Pasco High where Jenny and I graduated from. Did I mention the course is hilly. Living here, I know the roads and ran the first 9 miles of the course two weeks ago so I knew what to expect and planned accordingly. The backside of Frazee hill is like a roller coaster drop. We we actually hit 4:30 pace on the way down, we were flying. I figured Anthony would take off at some point, I was hoping it would be the last mile so I could give a go and race him. But he kept flying at the bottom of the hill and I let him go as I knew I couldn't keep up. He ended up beating me by about 4 minutes, so he was cruising sub-6 minute miles the last four miles. I am happy I ran the race exactly as planned.
The course was enjoyable and fun. It was nice running over hills with fields and cows instead of through boring neighborhoods and buildings. I was amazed at the amount of police they had on the course. Never seen so many. The only time we had to deal with traffic was on Blanton Rd. which didn't surprise me. There was the right amount of aid stations in the correct places. Good live band played at the finish area. The race shirts were good. I ran in it tonight and it was comfortable. Finisher medals were decent and on par with most smaller races. Awards ceremony started pretty much on time. It was so nice being able to go home, shower and eat after finishing and coming back for awards.
A few things about the race I would change or fix. I will go over that stuff later in the post. The Dade City Half Marathon was a good race and I will be back to do it again next year.
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| Off we go over the hills and through the woods... |
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| Anthony and I cresting the hill on Ramsey Rd. |
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| Looking good for the finish. |
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| Getting interviewed after the race. Need to find out where it is going to be. |
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DISCLAIMER: This is a first year race run by the USRA race management company that is in its 2nd year running races. They are putting races in some fantastic areas and I truly hope they are successful. These are things that could be done that I see at better races big and small. So, I am not bashing, these are just my observations that I do for every race I run. There were only about a combined 130 people for the half and 5K races so I know the organizers had to of lost money or barely broke even.
The race was mostly well organised with easy packet pickup and race day logistics.
Aid stations were adequate, but station workers need to be better trained. None of the volunteers were yelling out whether they had water or Gatorade and there was no organisation on who had what like the front person having water and the back person having Gatorade. After the 1st two stations, I started yelling out as I approached that I wanted water so they knew what I wanted and I knew where to get it.
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There was no time clock at the finish. Doesn't seem like a big deal, but some people don't wear watches or run a stop watch.
The medals and shirts were good. The awards for overall and age group winners was surprisingly poor. Neither me nor Anthony (who won) could believe the little acrylic trophies being handed out. Especially for the overall winners. These races cost $60-70, the winners deserve a good quality award for the effort put in. Even the engraved plate was generic and just said Age Group Award Winner with the race logo above. No date, no distinction of what place or age group. These things are a big deal to anybody who wins for the first time or regularly.
The course measured short on both my Garmin and also mapping on MapMyRun site which measured 12.94. It states on the USRA site that the course is certified but did not list a USATF certification number and it was not listed on the USATF site. I hope the course was right or my time doesn't look quite as good. We were running the tangents really well, so not knowing what part of the course was measured could cause the discrepancy.
These are all things that can be easily fixed and I am looking forward to racing again next year. Overall, the Dade City Half Marathon was a good event and I had a great time!
Congrats on the PR! My USRA half in Palm Coast was similar to yours in regards to aid stations, awards, etc. I did enjoy the smaller race and the scenic route they offered. I'll return to the Palm Coast one next year.
ReplyDeleteMy course wasn't short, but right on target. I think it said 13.18. Maybe you just ran really good tangents!