Leaving downtown Anacortes about 100 half marathoners plus some other 5 and 10K runners headed south to the beginning of the Tommy Thompson Trail. This 12 foot wide walking/running and biking trail follow the shoreline around Fidalgo Bay. Close to the three and half mile mark, half marathoners cross a foot bridge over to Cherry Point, up the very steep hill, and around the refinery. (see map in another posting). The views over to Bellingham area was really nice.
Just past the 9 mile marker, runners once again cross the foot bridge and ran back towards town the way we came out, ending at the end of Commercial Street.
Personally, I liked this run and the course. For me, since we don't have a huge amount of flat roads to train on here on San Juan Island, I find that running a flat race is challenging. The hill running, which includes working hard going up and taking it a tad easy on the way down, doesn't condition those of us who train here to run the steady pace of a flat course. Oh well.
After arriving, by the 6:00 am ferry, to Anacortes I ran from the ferry landing into down town and race center. Total of 4 miles. The 5K, 10K and the half marathon all started together at 9 am. My goal of running the half marathon was to, basically, get some long miles in. last week my long run was with Laura T and was close to 15 miles. I wanted to run 17 as a way to prep for a 20 miler on August 4, again with Laura in her prep for her 50K on Vancouver Island the end of August.
Running the 4 miles into down town Anacortes, as well as the race, accomplished my daily running goal. I was satisfied with my 2:06 finishing time, though, I did want to run under 2:00. I also wanted to run the first 10 miles in 90 minutes. At the 9 mile mark I was in range, but needed to really push the 9 to 10 mile, which I did by running a 8:30 pace, but was surprised that my split time was 10:45 and 10 in 1:33. I think the 9 to 10 mile was marked long.
In summary here are my thoughts on the Art Dash Half Marathon:
- Good, flat and quick course.
- The one steep hill, which came about 4.5 miles into the race, was a good challenge. This baby was steep.
- Numerous aid stations were about every 2 miles.
- Great volunteers at the aid stations and at busy intersections, which was really great.
- Finish line was fun with African Drums and great snacks.
- Great dri-lite T-shirt.
- My only wonder was how accurate the course was marked. If the course was long, it wasn't by much.
Nichole Johnston, Race Director, and her crew deserve much praise for this nice event.
Race Instructions.
Runners at the starting line waiting for the start!
