Bayshore Half Marathon - Traverse City, Michigan
The Bayshore Marathon was my first half marathon of the race season. This was my first time doing this particular race. Back in December, I knew I wanted to register for the half marathon. I thought I had all the information ready to get registered, only to come to find out I forgot to add my birthday to my registration profile. I scrambled to get everything together only to find out the half marathon was already filled. I think it sold out in about 20 minutes! I had heard good things about the Bayshore Marathon, so I was still determined to get registered for a race. I ended up getting registered for the 10k and began training for that distance...
until... The beginning of April, by a stroke of luck there was a runner who had registered for the half marathon that wanted to downsize her race to the 10k and was willing to make the switch with me! I Of course I jumped at that opportunity, and quickly revised my training strategy.
Pre-Race
I started to get things ready to leave the house around 2:30am. I didn't get a hotel nearby, since it was only about a 3 hour drive to Traverse City. I figured the weather was going to be on the cool side at the beginning of the race, so I made sure to dress in layers I could peel off as needed. I had a sleeve-less shirt, with my trusty 'Do you want it?' shirt over that, and a hooded sweatshirt as the outer layer. I was lucky enough to have new socks to go along with my semi-broken in Brooks Ravenna 6's.
I got to the race about 2 hours prior to the start. Fortunately, it was easy to find a close parking spot to the school where we needed to pick up our race bibs and shirts. You needed to know your race bib number to get them. When I got my race bib, I was also handed a clear drawstring bag and was told to write my race bib number on it using a marker. Apparently, this was my drop bag. I can't say I've done a race where you were handed a drop bag before. A drop bag (at least for this race), is where you can put stuff you're not going to run with, like your warm-up clothes, and have the bag transported to the finish line waiting for you. It turned out to be a very handy way of having my extra stuff taken care of.
I made my way back to my car, got in and turned up the heat. It was a little bit colder than what was forecast, but not too bad. I took the time to start focusing on the race and took in the race atmosphere. Even though I got there early, there were already hundreds of runners and spectators milling around the high school. I noticed that there were school buses already coming and going from the parking lot to take us out to the peninsula where the start of the half marathon was located. For those of you not in the know, a peninsula is basically a stretch of land that comes out from the mainland like a finger, but is mostly surrounded by water on three sides. I knew I would have to get on one to get to where the start of the half marathon was, which was another cool first for me. Usually the start line is somewhat nearby the parking lot otherwise. To clarify things, for the Bayshore Marathon, the half marathoners get on a bus to take them to the start line and have to run back to the finish line (near the parking lot).
After seeing a bunch of people line up near the buses, I figured it was go time. Little did I know the line to get on a bus wrapped around the school! I think it was a ten minute wait before I was able to get on one of the buses. The wait wasn't too bad, even if it was a bit on the cool side, and everyone was in high spirits which was awesome. You could already feel the anticipation in the air...
Fortunately, my bus made it to the starting area with some time to spare. I was able to get a short warm-up in with my hooded sweatshirt on to help stay warm. During my warm-up, I noticed a group of runners near a moving truck handing people on the truck clear bags. I figured out this is where you hand them your drop bag. I put my hooded sweatshirt in the bag and handed it to a guy on the truck. I didn't know where I would be picking my bag up at. I told myself to worry about that after the race, and to keep focus.
Before the start of the race, the race officials raised a United States of America flag and had our national anthem played through speakers. I made sure to take my hat off and sing along. There were a group of guys nearby that not only didn't take their hats off, they kept talking throughout the entire national anthem! I think people like that should be slapped upside their head. You need to show respect during the playing of a national anthem, even if it's not your country's anthem playing. The national anthem is only a few minutes long. Taking your hat off and being quiet (even if you don't know the lyrics), isn't asking much people!
After the national anthem, runners began making their way to the start line. There were pace signs to help people find out where they should be. I didn't see any pace signs for anything past the 9:00 minute mile. This caused confusion for a lot of runners as 9:00 minute milers and 10 minute milers were bunched up together. I tried to find my way into this group of runners. I estimated my goal pace was about a 9:30 minute mile.
Race
The race started on time at 7:30 am, and the first mile was very congested (like most races). There were some hills along the way. From what I learned, we get the hills out of the way early with the rest of the course being mostly flat. The hills weren't that steep or long, which was kind of a relief. We weren't running along the East Arm Grand Traverse Bay shoreline yet. There were a few people cheering along the course already. The first mile had a lot of fields for cherry tree farms, so I knew the people cheering had made a point to come out this way to show their support. My first mile time was a lot slower than I was hoping for. I mean, I knew I wanted to go out slow, but not that slow!
The second mile was mostly downhill, as we made our way to the shoreline. The large groups of runners started to thin out making it easier to move around. I think between the slow start and knowing the shoreline was close, the second mile went by pretty fast.
Not long after crossing the second mile mark, we hit the shoreline. I started to get into my rhythm and focus more on the race. I looked to my left and took in the beautiful scenery of the crystal water as the sun rose in the clear sky, as nature came alive and greeted the morning. I knew in my heart this was going to be not only a good race, but a memorable one. There is just something about a race where you feel like a part of something much bigger than yourself. Along the way on the right, there were people cheering us on as we ran by. Some people had speakers along the road playing music, and others had home made signs cheering us on. One of the most memorable signs I came across was a little kid holding up a sign that said 'hit this for extra power' with a star in the middle of a circle. It's great to see people cheering us on, but seeing the kids getting involved is extra special. I tried to give high fives to as many kids that I passed as I could.
After crossing the third mile mark, I told myself there was only ten miles left.
I got this... I could tell I hit my groove and was able to keep things moving at a steady pace. To help keep my mind going, I would find other runners that looked like they were running at a good pace and I would get behind them. I figured I'd let them be a pacer for me for awhile as long as I wasn't getting in their way. It's easier to keep up with something in front of you, than having to keep looking at your watch.
Sometime between the third and fourth mile we were told by the race officials to get to the right side of the road because the marathoners were starting to come our way. I was able to pick out Luke Humphrey at the front of the pack. Luke is a member of the Hansons Brooks Distance Project, a Michigan based elite running team.
The next few miles went by pretty fast. I was surprised when we hit the six mile mark. I wasn't feeling tired, or like I needed to stop and walk. I just kept pushing along. I didn't stop to get any water, Gatorade (or a beer as some people were handing out), or even Gu packets. I think it helped that the morning was still cool enough and I wasn't sweating a lot either. The course was still flat and straight as we ran along.
When I passed the tenth mile marker, I told myself there was only 5k left to boost my spirits. I mean, I've done 5k's so many times it's like second nature to me! I could tell we were getting closer to the finish by the scenery too. We were still running along the shoreline, but we weren't as close as we were before. We would be slowly making the turn inland towards the finish line.
Around the twelve mile marker, I could see runners across the street to my right. I knew there was a loop coming up that would pass North Western Michigan College campus. Mile markers aside, I knew when we hit campus, we were really close to the finish line now.
It was just before the thirteenth mile marker when I could hear the announcer over the loud speaker calling out runner's names and the crowd cheering them on. it was all my body and spirit needed to hear to drop the hammer and focus on the finish line.
I crossed the thirteenth mile marker and had my eyes on the opening to the high school track where the last 1 mile would be ran. As I entered the track, the stands were teeming with people cheering us on, and I felt like a super star. I looked at the clock and noted I was still under 2 hours! With people cheering and knowing I was going to get a personal best, it wasn't difficult to make that final push to cross the finish line. I crossed the finish line in 1:58:20, and got a half marathon personal best by 12 minutes!
Post Race
After crossing the finish line, I had to look at my watch a few times to help see my sub 2 hour time was real. I took a few minutes to let it sink in before getting my finisher's medal and began making my way to the food tents. There was a really good spread of food and drinks for the runners, including the usual bananas, bagels and bottled water. Then I was pleasantly surprised to see ice cream, pop, and Propel water too. Fortunately, there were multiple tables setup and the lines were moving pretty efficiently to get what you wanted. I grabbed a Propel water, banana, bagel and a Mountain Dew. I felt like the Mountain Dew was my celebration drink for finishing the race.
I figured since my body gave me a half marathon personal best, I didn't want to push it and made myself do a cool down. I did walk for at least five minutes before starting to stretch because as any serious runner knows, if you don't treat your body right you will pay for it later! I made sure to do my usual stretches, as those helped get me to where I was now. Being able to sit down and stretch felt so good!
While I was stretching I noticed a bunch of clear plastic bags in rows near a moving truck, so I guessed that was where we were supposed to pick up our drop bags. After a good five minutes of stretching, I made my way over to the moving truck. There were a bunch of volunteers helping out, so at least the lines weren't very long. I think I waited a couple minutes before they found my bag. My hooded sweatshirt was still in there - '
sigh of relief'! I took it out of the bag, put it on and headed to my car in the parking lot. I thought it was a pretty good system for keeping our stuff safe but accessible after the race.
Overall Comments
I really enjoyed the course. When people say a course is flat and fast, I typically don't believe them until I've ran it. Yes, it was a bit hilly in the first mile, but that wasn't bad at all. It's great to have a course get a hill out at the beginning of a race than have it be at the end where you're much more likely to 'hit the wall'. Being able to run the majority of the course along the shoreline was also very memorable and really gave this race a unique feel to it. I was grateful the weather cooperated where the sun was shining, and there weren't any clouds in the sky to threaten rain. It made it so much easier to enjoy the race, and the scenery of the bay made it extra worthwhile.
The drop bag concept was brand new to me, but I think it makes good sense. I wish more races could do something like this. It would help prevent so many clothes thrown along the course the volunteers have to pick up along the way. Knowing you could keep your warm-up clothes on until a few minutes before the race, AND be able to pick them up at the end of the race is huge. Although I would still probably recommend that runners keep their valuables at home, or locked in their car during a race.
Being bused out to the start line was a little strange to me, but in hindsight I can see how it helped keep the race course running smoothly, no pun intended. I can only think of one other time in my running career where I was dropped off and told I had to run back to the finish. I'm glad there wasn't a long wait to get on the bus, and the ride to the starting area didn't take long.
I liked how the finish line was on a track. It gives people the chance to sit in the stands to cheer on the runners, and get a good view of the runners as they finish. As a runner, I'm able to feed off of their positive energy and it helps push me to the finish line.
Would I run this race again - Definitely!
Would I recommend this race to others - Yes!
