Nike Women's Half Marathon: Washington, DC

 After being wildly surprised that our little group made it past the lottery process, I was thrilled to have the opportunity to run the Inaugural Nike Women Half Marathon.   From the "expotique" to a phenomenal course it was a unique and wonderful experience.  



One of the things that I am often struck by as a new runner is the course organization, planning and activities that are available for all of the different races I have gotten the chance to run.  And as my experience grows, I suppose so do my expectations.  I imagined from my other large race experiences that the expo at the Nike events would mirror those at Disney or even a smaller regional races like Spacecoast.  The expo for Nike was pure Nike, plus sponsors.   There wasn't an opportunity to purchase items like sweaty bands or extra GU/Clif Shots.   There was tons of cool stuff- but just not those extra items that I have picked up at an expo in the past- for those of you running this in the future or planning on Nike San Fran- just remember to pack those necessities in your bag. 



Entrance to Expotique at DC Waterfront

Bib pick up was very well organized.  They sent a confirmation email to all runners several days in advance.  I elected to print mine out but they also accepted the bar code with your smartphone.  I thought that was great- I know at the Disney races I always feel like I have one too many pieces of paper in my hands between proof of time sheets and waivers.  

Pickup was condensed into a long tent and so while the line looked really long it moved quickly.    Based on my time I was given a wristband for the 9:00-9:59 m/mile group but my running partners who have nearly identical times (we all submitted a 2:08 proof of time race) ended up in the 10:00-10:59 group.   

After picking up our bibs we headed to the "expotique."  It was a totally different experiance for me- they didnt have anything to purchase but had a paul mitchell hairstyling experiance, a bare minerals makeup touchup booth and they had snacks like luna bar samples and nuun.  The expotique had tons of Nike gear on display but in order to purchase a race shirt or other commemorative item you needed to head up the street to Niketown.   To be honest, the fact that they moved you out of the race area to a regular Nike store was a bit over the top for me- but I get it, if you are there, there's a chance you will pick up non-race Nike gear.

We made our way up the street and wow (!) was that a shopping experiance! It was crowded, the music was pounding and racers were worked up to a fever pitch, snatching shirts and buying $175 + race shoes (???????).   The race specific gear was really cool.  The logos were fun and there was plenty of stock in everything on the Saturday afternoon before the race.

I was also pleasantly surprised at the price-tags on the race specific merchandise.  Dri-fit t's were priced at $27, long-sleeved sweatshirts were $60- basically the same price as non-logo merchandise.  After getting our fill of the atmosphere and shopping we traveled into Georgetown for a delicious lunch at Dean and Deluca.  We sat outside, listened to a phenomenal jazz trio, and I remembered why living in a city provides unique, wonderful and surprising moments.



At the start line with the ladies

On race morning, it was a nice change of pace not having to get up at 3 am to catch a Disney bus.  We set out alarms for 5 am, headed to the metro at 5:45 and arrived at bag check around 6:15.  Bag check was simple- they had it divided by time and bib number. 
There were plenty of restroom facilities- so much so we had no wait and then we headed to our corral. 

This is where I think the fact that this was an inaugural race kicked in.  I moved back to start with my running partners in the 10 minute plus section.  The weird thing was we entered by the 10+ sign but all around us were 11, 12, and 13 minute plus runners.  They had volunteers checking corral wristbands but they didn't have any barriers between the different groups.  Nor did they give any space between 7 minute group, 8 etc.  The gun went off and all of a sudden all 20,000+ runners started moving forward.  This meant that we spent the first mile walking, the second mile dodging, the third mile settling in, and the rest of the miles trying to get back up to pace.  I finished about 4 minutes off my PR, but maintained an 8:50-9:30 pace for the whole second half of the race which made me feel great and told me that I have a PR in my future if I keep training.  So unless they change the start line set up, expect a great race with incredible views and tons of entertainment on course but don't expect a PR. 

At the Finish Line (with my heat sheet!)

 I strongly believe with a decent course (this course was amazing), some race support (good race support here), and running friends that all races can be great, whether they are big (Nike/Disney) or local 10k/half -marathons.   I would absolutely recommend this event and would run it again if I get the chance.  And I finally got a heat sheet- which might have been the best part of the whole thing.