A medium-scale race that starts on the National Mall and traverses some of DC’s lesser-known neighborhoods. It’s early in the season, so the weather is usually cold, but this was REALLY cold. Still, a well-organized, thrilling half in the Nation’s Capital.
This was my second time running the RnR Half in DC. Last time was a ‘coaching’ run, helping my friend Kristina through her first half. This time was a somewhat spontaneous decision to run (signed up a week before). I was training well, had a few friends running, and thought it would be a decent test to see where my fitness was heading into the Spring marathon.
As is traditional with the RnR series, it’s a well-oiled machine. Registration on the website is flawless, bib pickup, while a bit of a pain to get to the DC Armory, was similarly well-organized. Pro-tip: Sneak out at lunch time instead of waiting until end of day Friday, when half of the participants show up to collect their bibs. There’s even a reasonable sized expo that tempted me into nearly buying a few things I didn’t really need. Full points.
Race morning is a challenge in DC these days, as the Metro is no longer opens extra early to accommodate the start. The race organizers backed the start up a bit to enable some Metro commuting, and it was critical to get to the station at opening to get on the first train. With an on-time arrival, there was about 30-40 minutes before the start.
Though the calendar said March, this was still very much Winter in the Nation’s capital. The starting temp was around 18F and it didn’t really warm up much during the morning. There was also a breeze in case anyone thought they might warm up along the way.
I had a bunch of warm, dry clothes packed in my bag and found the row of bag-check trucks. I faced a game-time decision as to whether to keep or ditch my jacket. I decided to keep it, which turned out to be a wise decision, as I was happy to have it for most of the race.
The start is a rolling one, emulating a race much bigger than this really is. 13000 or so half-marathon finishers (and a couple of thousand of marathoners, I believe) at a massive starting procession along Independence Ave., facing West toward the Lincoln Memorial. The starting groups went off in 2-minute intervals with rock music (of course) and a very enthusiastic starter. I have to say, it’s one of the better starting set-ups in the area.
Back to the full marathon for a minute. I truly believe they only have it to be able to say they have it–a feature of every race in the series. I have never met anyone who has run it and don’t really see why anyone would. The full marathon breaks off from the half at the 25-mile mark and meanders around Anacostia Park in what must be one of the least exciting marathon paths in the country. Given that the weather is pretty unpredictable, that 95% of the participants only do the half, and that the feature band at the finish (The Family Stone this year) starts playing well before the 4-hour mark…there’s just not a lot going for the 26.2-mile distance here.. It’s also not a significant enough Marathon that people will plan it as their first (compared with the Marine Corps Marathon in October) and not notable enough in the calendar for experienced runners to travel in and work it in to their schedules. Really, this is a half marathon event that also happens to have a full-marathon option.
The course starts off heading West on K Street, then wraps around the Lincoln Memorial behind the Kennedy Center with kind of a turnaround to the other side of the divided highway. It then continues North up Rock Creek Parkway to the 6-mile mark, at which you climb the only notable hill on the course. There’s an awesome veteran’s memorial association on that hill that holds flags, offers high-fives and generally cheers you on to the summit at Calvert Avenue. It’s one of the course highlights.
From there, it’s east-bound through Adams Morgan, Shaw, Howard University and what used to be called “Northwest One,” but I believe is now NoMa in light of its recent gentrification. The finishing stretch is along H Street, then on to RFK stadium for a pretty interesting, slight up-hill finish. While you don’t finish in the stadium, the finish turns a corner around a parking lot adjacent to it, and you can hear the cheers and the music for the last 3/4 mile or so. It’s sprint-finish inducing.
Along most of the course, there’s a decent crowd and music. I counted 8 different ensembles, the highlight for me being the drum crew at the bottom of the hill near Howard University (they were there both years). They’re simply awesome and you can’t help but pick up the pace when you hear their thunder.
Despite the cold and despite the lack of planning for this race, I decimated my PR. In fact, I was planning on crossing in the 1:45-1:50 range, so my 1:37, without feeling like I was working that hard, was really surprising. I went out pretty fast, was able to keep it up through most of the course and, apart from some slight cramping around mile 11, felt pretty strong through the finish.
The post race party is a bit overhyped. While it’s great to have two free beers included and the music is usually pretty strong, once you’re through the food buffet just past the finish line and off to get your checked bag, it’s beer or food you can buy. Not much of a party boys…bring some of the buffet food out to the lawn!
I shared a few beers at the finish with my friend Mike and, while we had planned to stick around to hear more of the band, it was just too bitter cold for a post-race party. Back on the metro and home, pretty content with the day’s effort and ready to start dreaming about someday, maybe, qualifying for Boston.