The Runner's World Half & Festival for 2013 was held in Bethlehem, PA, October 18th-20th. What a beautiful venue; the town has been going through constant revitalization, but you still get to soak in all of the history. Based on the location of race events, I found the Sands Casino Resort and Hotel to be the most convenient place to stay. It was definitely not the cheapest, but staying there you could basically walk to everything, plus the starting line for the half was there.
As a recommendation for new and seasoned runners, don't make the noob mistake I did. I figured the hills wouldn't be any worse than what I trained on near my house, and I didn't really study the course or the grading. That hurt me big time, as I trained on hills a lot less steep than what I ran on, and the super hill in the Half killed me.
Shake Out 3 Mile Run
The Shake Out 3 Mile Run was free to anyone...you just had to show up and sign a waiver. It was held on Friday by the Runner's World staff. It was really fun and we did just over a 3 mile trail run. If I had realized it was so close, I would have ran over instead of driving. However, I knew I would be doing enough walking with the expo and for the non-racing stuff, so it was probably smart I drove over...plus parking was free for this.
5k Race
The 5k race started out right on schedule, 8am. The National Anthem is my absolute favorite pre-race "thing" that really gets me going. Sorry if that seems cheesy, but it motivates me like crazy. And then followed by some older dance music right before the gun. The course itself was fun. There was 1 decent uphill, with an equally steep downhill. The bridge was a very gradual uphill / downhill, so I don't count it.
Personally, I had set a goal of coming in under 23 minutes. I got 23:20, which was still a PR for me, but not what I was aiming for. The uphill was a little more challenging than I had originally thought it would be, which based on my TomTom info, is where I lost the 20+ seconds.
10k Race
The 10k race also started on time, 9:30am. Since the National Anthem had already been done for the 5k, they didn't do it again. I am embarrassed to say I wasn't paying much attention and I forget what song they did; I think it was God Bless America. Anyway, the course included the same starting leg and finishing leg of the 5k. This was really nice, as I visually knew when to kick at the last mile. The course had 1 extra uphill and downhill, both of which were fairly steep, but nothing too crazy. The first uphill started at 0.3 miles in and was 2/3 of a mile long, but 100 ft. elevation gain. The second uphill was around 1.8 miles in and was about 0.9 miles long, but had a slight downhill half way through, with a total elevation gain of 134 ft.
I was prepared for the first hill, however, and the second wasn't too bad since I expected it after dealing with the 1st hill and knowing there were 2 uphills. My goal was 9:30 min/mile since I figured I would be dead from the 5k and wanted to make sure I would be good for the half the following day. I was energized like crazy and I ended up getting a 50:54, or an 8:11 min/mile pace and destroying my previous best. So, 2/2 on PR's for Saturday.
Half Marathon Race
The Half Marathon started at the entrance to the Sands Casino. This was nice because I literally rolled out of bed less than an hour before start, got my free continental breakfast, and walked through the heated casino and was at the starting line. This was nice because Sunday morning was a good 8 degrees colder than Saturday.
There were 4 uphills for the half. The first one was around mile 1 and was about 0.5 miles long with an elevation gain of 74 ft; not too bad. The next uphill was around mile 2.2, and was even shorter. The next 2 uphills were technically part of 1 super long gradual uphill, with a few mini and short downhills before continuing the climb. This started around mile 3.8 and went until about mile 7.7, with a total elevation gain of about 172 ft. After that is was basically downhill until the end.
My goal was to beat my Philly Half Marathon time, which meant doing better than an 8:30 min/mile pace. I was kind of on track until mile 6, which was the start of the worst part of the super long hill. I was able to regain my pace a little miles 7-9, but my legs were completely shot and my mile times exponentially jumped up after mile 9, causing me to finish with a time of 1:53:12, or an 8:38 min/mile pace. Still not bad mind you, but I wanted to not only complete the Runner's World Hat Trick, but I wanted to get a Hat Trick with PR's. Nice dice; so 2 out of 3 PR's for the weekend.
Expo
The expo was pretty good. I am used to the gigantic expos for the largely publicized races, like the Rock 'n' Roll series races for example. So the expo was mini comparatively. However, for a smaller venue expo it was really good. The best part was really the seminars. Having the runner's world staff and other pro's giving advice was priceless. To add insult to injury (for my half race), I had gone to a seminar on proper fueling, and what did I NOT do for my half race...properly fuel of course. Hah! Oh well, lesson learned and kind of funny looking back. The pictures are of the ArtsQuest building where the expo was held and the 3 story spiral stair climb for swag pick-up (the blown glass sculpture was AMAZING!). The start and finish lines (except for the half start), were here as well.
Other Info
There was also a kids fun run and the Eukanuba Dog Run. Both were great and entertaining. The beer tent was awesome...nothing like some free beer after a race. Overall an awesome event, a great time, and I am hoping to do this again.
As a recommendation for new and seasoned runners, don't make the noob mistake I did. I figured the hills wouldn't be any worse than what I trained on near my house, and I didn't really study the course or the grading. That hurt me big time, as I trained on hills a lot less steep than what I ran on, and the super hill in the Half killed me.
Shake Out 3 Mile Run
The Shake Out 3 Mile Run was free to anyone...you just had to show up and sign a waiver. It was held on Friday by the Runner's World staff. It was really fun and we did just over a 3 mile trail run. If I had realized it was so close, I would have ran over instead of driving. However, I knew I would be doing enough walking with the expo and for the non-racing stuff, so it was probably smart I drove over...plus parking was free for this.
5k Race
The 5k race started out right on schedule, 8am. The National Anthem is my absolute favorite pre-race "thing" that really gets me going. Sorry if that seems cheesy, but it motivates me like crazy. And then followed by some older dance music right before the gun. The course itself was fun. There was 1 decent uphill, with an equally steep downhill. The bridge was a very gradual uphill / downhill, so I don't count it.
Personally, I had set a goal of coming in under 23 minutes. I got 23:20, which was still a PR for me, but not what I was aiming for. The uphill was a little more challenging than I had originally thought it would be, which based on my TomTom info, is where I lost the 20+ seconds.
10k Race
The 10k race also started on time, 9:30am. Since the National Anthem had already been done for the 5k, they didn't do it again. I am embarrassed to say I wasn't paying much attention and I forget what song they did; I think it was God Bless America. Anyway, the course included the same starting leg and finishing leg of the 5k. This was really nice, as I visually knew when to kick at the last mile. The course had 1 extra uphill and downhill, both of which were fairly steep, but nothing too crazy. The first uphill started at 0.3 miles in and was 2/3 of a mile long, but 100 ft. elevation gain. The second uphill was around 1.8 miles in and was about 0.9 miles long, but had a slight downhill half way through, with a total elevation gain of 134 ft.
I was prepared for the first hill, however, and the second wasn't too bad since I expected it after dealing with the 1st hill and knowing there were 2 uphills. My goal was 9:30 min/mile since I figured I would be dead from the 5k and wanted to make sure I would be good for the half the following day. I was energized like crazy and I ended up getting a 50:54, or an 8:11 min/mile pace and destroying my previous best. So, 2/2 on PR's for Saturday.
Half Marathon Race
The Half Marathon started at the entrance to the Sands Casino. This was nice because I literally rolled out of bed less than an hour before start, got my free continental breakfast, and walked through the heated casino and was at the starting line. This was nice because Sunday morning was a good 8 degrees colder than Saturday.
There were 4 uphills for the half. The first one was around mile 1 and was about 0.5 miles long with an elevation gain of 74 ft; not too bad. The next uphill was around mile 2.2, and was even shorter. The next 2 uphills were technically part of 1 super long gradual uphill, with a few mini and short downhills before continuing the climb. This started around mile 3.8 and went until about mile 7.7, with a total elevation gain of about 172 ft. After that is was basically downhill until the end.
My goal was to beat my Philly Half Marathon time, which meant doing better than an 8:30 min/mile pace. I was kind of on track until mile 6, which was the start of the worst part of the super long hill. I was able to regain my pace a little miles 7-9, but my legs were completely shot and my mile times exponentially jumped up after mile 9, causing me to finish with a time of 1:53:12, or an 8:38 min/mile pace. Still not bad mind you, but I wanted to not only complete the Runner's World Hat Trick, but I wanted to get a Hat Trick with PR's. Nice dice; so 2 out of 3 PR's for the weekend.
Expo
The expo was pretty good. I am used to the gigantic expos for the largely publicized races, like the Rock 'n' Roll series races for example. So the expo was mini comparatively. However, for a smaller venue expo it was really good. The best part was really the seminars. Having the runner's world staff and other pro's giving advice was priceless. To add insult to injury (for my half race), I had gone to a seminar on proper fueling, and what did I NOT do for my half race...properly fuel of course. Hah! Oh well, lesson learned and kind of funny looking back. The pictures are of the ArtsQuest building where the expo was held and the 3 story spiral stair climb for swag pick-up (the blown glass sculpture was AMAZING!). The start and finish lines (except for the half start), were here as well.
Other Info
There was also a kids fun run and the Eukanuba Dog Run. Both were great and entertaining. The beer tent was awesome...nothing like some free beer after a race. Overall an awesome event, a great time, and I am hoping to do this again.
