Race Day:
3/25/2007
Weather:
Windy and Chilly! When we woke up in the morning the weather was pleasant; mid-40’s and sunny. I guess that doesn’t mean much at the Jersey shore, because where it was pleasant for us near the finish is was very windy on the rest of the course. Overall we trudged through a steady 20 mph headwind throughout almost the entire course, with serious gusts over all the inter-island bridges. But, with a 9:00 a.m. start, the organizers made the best of it. Not much the officials could do with the weather except (as Dave suggested) reverse the route as determined by the weather.
Course:
Outside of the weather, this was a perfect point to point. The course ran from historic Cape May, NJ, north to Wildwood, Wildwood Crest, Avalon, Stone Harbor, and then to Sea Isle City, a.k.a. Paradise (where I’ve most of the summers of my life). For most of the race we traveled on the closest road to the beach, except through Wildwood and Sea Isle City, where there was a boardwalk.
The scenery was great and I would have appreciated it more, had the wind not taken up most of my concentration.
Overall the course was flat with the exception of the inter-island bridges, but they weren’t all that bad. The roads were good, however be prepared for sever crowning. I tried to run on the sidewalks or the far edge of the road to save my knees.
All the towns we traveled are summer beach towns so there aren’t a lot of people down there in March. However, for 600 runners the crowd support was good. After all Dave and I came equipped with our own mobile cheering squad. So all was good! Medal:Medals are good… After all that wind, I’ve never wanted to feel a medal around my neck so badly. Personal
Experience:
Dave is running Boston in three weeks, so this was a training run for him, therefore I was happy to reign it in and block the wind for him. Dave and I crossed the finish line in 3:41, but it was special because we did it together! Not to mention the family was there at the finish to congratulate us!
Conclusion:
Switch the direction of the course with the weather and I might be back. Otherwise, I’m very happy I did this race for reasons of personal significance, but I have no desire to suffer like that again.
Final Grade: B
3/25/2007
Weather:
Windy and Chilly! When we woke up in the morning the weather was pleasant; mid-40’s and sunny. I guess that doesn’t mean much at the Jersey shore, because where it was pleasant for us near the finish is was very windy on the rest of the course. Overall we trudged through a steady 20 mph headwind throughout almost the entire course, with serious gusts over all the inter-island bridges. But, with a 9:00 a.m. start, the organizers made the best of it. Not much the officials could do with the weather except (as Dave suggested) reverse the route as determined by the weather.
Course:
Outside of the weather, this was a perfect point to point. The course ran from historic Cape May, NJ, north to Wildwood, Wildwood Crest, Avalon, Stone Harbor, and then to Sea Isle City, a.k.a. Paradise (where I’ve most of the summers of my life). For most of the race we traveled on the closest road to the beach, except through Wildwood and Sea Isle City, where there was a boardwalk.
The scenery was great and I would have appreciated it more, had the wind not taken up most of my concentration.
Overall the course was flat with the exception of the inter-island bridges, but they weren’t all that bad. The roads were good, however be prepared for sever crowning. I tried to run on the sidewalks or the far edge of the road to save my knees.
All the towns we traveled are summer beach towns so there aren’t a lot of people down there in March. However, for 600 runners the crowd support was good. After all Dave and I came equipped with our own mobile cheering squad. So all was good! Medal:Medals are good… After all that wind, I’ve never wanted to feel a medal around my neck so badly. Personal
Experience:
Dave is running Boston in three weeks, so this was a training run for him, therefore I was happy to reign it in and block the wind for him. Dave and I crossed the finish line in 3:41, but it was special because we did it together! Not to mention the family was there at the finish to congratulate us!
Conclusion:
Switch the direction of the course with the weather and I might be back. Otherwise, I’m very happy I did this race for reasons of personal significance, but I have no desire to suffer like that again.
Final Grade: B
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