My First Half-Marathon: Vero Beach Beachside Half Marathon

Vero Beach Half Marathon 

So Saturday, October 13th.  A day for the personal history books: my first half-marathon.  I was so thrilled that I would be taking on this event with my fellow ROTEr, Kimberly.  The race was about an hour and a half from our house, so I woke up at 4 am thinking- I feel okay, sleepy but okay which was reassuring for the 3am Disney marathon wakeup call I'm expecting in January.

I arrived at the race start at 5:50 and was worried that I was majorly late. According to the event website, bag check started at 5:00 am,  packet pick up at 5:30, with race start at 6:30 sharp.  But, I was able to get a great parking spot and headed for the check in pavilion.. First thing that went wrong (I'll let you in on a secret- there were many)- they had "misplaced" my registration.  I was relieved that I brought my receipt along.

Second interesting change from expectations (i.e. wrong thing 2) the race shirt in my packet- a white cotton t-shirt with black writing. Huh.  I could have sworn that they promised long sleeved tech shirts with that $85 race fee.  The fellow behind me asked where he could check his bag (as advertised) and was informed "oh we decided not to do bag check" (wrong thing 2.5) Oh well, I thought, moving forward lets get ready.

I headed back to my car, put all of my gear on, pinned on my bib and headed off to find Kimberly.  We made our way to the start line and I was excited that they had pace groups.  In the back of my mind I wanted to try to stay with the 2:00 group or at least keep them in sight, but my fear of running out of steam half way through kept me in the back of the pack.  At 6:30 am sharp we were off. The weather was great and I after reviewing the course map I was ready to run two bridges, see some beautiful water and eye several chic beach hotels for future weekend trips.


I started my Timex Run Trainer as we crossed the start line and began at a 10:12 pace.  My goal was to finish in 2:15 or faster, keep a race pace of 10:12-10:53 for the first 7 miles, then pick up to a 9:53 for the next 5, and finish at around a 9 minute pace.

As we made our way up the first bridge I saw the first mile marker. Hmm. But my Run Trainer said 1.55.  Okay. Shoot my gps messed up somehow.  As I was pondering this issue, I decided to ask several of my fellow runners about what their gps watches had to say.  

I heard 1.66, 1.45. 1.55 all within range of my 1.55. 

I felt so relieved. A volunteer must have just put the marker in the wrong spot and I am doing well.    At mile 2 I was looking for the first water stop.  They were supposed to be a mile markers 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, and 12.  No mile 2 marker in sight (according to gps distance) and no water.  No problem I thought- they probably laid out all of the mile markers and then realized they were off by about a half mile at the end and the last "mile" will be around a half mile. Well official mile marker number 2 came up and there was no water. At about mile 3 (gps distance) there was the water.  Perfect! Gulped it down, took my first walk break and kept moving.

I bet you all can imagine where this is going.  Instead of taking you mile by mile, I'll say this: 1) water? maybe, some water, maybe some powerade, maybe nothing and it was completely unpredictable. 2) The course was wrong.  It was just plain wrong.  I am not an experienced runner and I understand that a GPS watch is not the be all end all, but the course was off.  I stuck to my plan, I ran my 10:12's, my 9:53's and then my 9's (plus walk breaks for water).  And I also ran a 13.7 mile half marathon.  And had I run a 13.1 mile half marathon I would have made my time goal and just that, low on water and on energy was about enough to make my cry in that last half mile.

As I came down the finishing stretch, there were people and cars in the road blocking my way in and thankfully a few kind souls cheering, but nothing like the finish lines that I have grown accustomed to at the local 5k races I've done this year.  I felt so defeated.  By the course, by my time and by the fact that even the race organizers didn't care that I was finishing.   As I crossed the finish line I received my first half marathon finishers medal.  It reads "Beachside 1/2 marathon and 1 mile fun run" except that there was no fun run.  Come on. Come on!  I don't know what the race directors were thinking but when you put things in writing, when you certify a course, when you host an event- especially one which can have adverse health consequences for the participants (i.e. no water) you have to do, at the very least, what you promised in your advertisement.

Here is what the timing sponsor posted with the race results link:

*BEACHSIDE HALF MARATHON AND 10K NOTE:*

While the Half Marathon and 10K courses were accurately measured, all participants ran a longer or shorter distance due to absent Course Marshals at key intersections including the traffic circle at the beginning of the race. Runner’s Depot was responsible for course measurement and the timing/scoring of the race only. If you have any questions or issues with your time or result, please contact Runner’s Depot at runnersdepot@comcast.net or (772)-569-7364. For all other race matters including Course Marshals and race amenities, please contact Healthy Start at events@irchealthystart.org or (772) 563-9118. 

While the above posting  made me feel better (and not like a crazy person for being frustrated those last few miles), I most certainly will not run this event again.   Last complaint?  They ran out of all supplies at the post-race event.  By the time I got in, the breakfast participants had been promised was long gone.  I managed to find a much needed bottle of water and headed to my car to change.  I was so happy to watch Kimberly finish (she did amazing!) and chat with her and her family for a bit before driving home.  But without question, it was a poorly organized and badly managed race and disappointing first half.  


That being said, I am happy to have proven to myself that I could conquer a new distance.  I also found a new local brewery that I like. The fact that it tasted great at mile 12.5 means that it must be a delightful happy hour beverage.  Check them out at www.orchardislandbrewing.com I am looking forward to my next race, the Halloween Half Marathon in Jensen Beach, FL and now I have a time (and distance?) to beat.