I’ve said this a bunch of times. Rock n Roll Raleigh was my first half marathon back in 2014. I was inexperienced in distance running but I learned quickly. I didn’t run another race until the next year when my goal was to crack 2 hours.
I’ve seen the excitement that this race generates. I’ve seen families, friends, communities and strangers come together because of this race. But this year, two weeks after the announcement that Rock n Roll wouldn’t be coming back, I saw the thrill and excitement were gone.
The expo was in the same venue, but this year it was reduced to a skeleton crew of main sponsors.
Everything wasn’t bad. Ethan hit the Geico button and won me onto Team Geico.
The Toyota booth is always fun. They come up with some amazing ideas. The Tattoo actually made me think about getting a tattoo just like it.
The 5k on Saturday was great. We somehow avoided the rain. I somehow got one of my faster times. It’s a tough course run through Dorothea Dix campus. The uphill grind was tough but expected. With 800 runners it really felt like a hometown 5k Race.
Right after crossing the line, I jumped in the car and ran across town to support my wife and son in a Color Run.
As is tradition, BMR We Run Social and RocknBlog hosted a meetup at Raleigh Times Bar. After a little “fireball” it was time to get ready for race day. On my way home I realized how cold it got.
Race morning was different. It was something like 33 degrees and windy... and I couldn’t find my gloves again. I just wrapped two bandannas around my hands and focused on the race . It wasn’t too bad. We all huddled inside nearby hotels for warmth and coffee until the last few minutes.
No music at the start of the race. The rumor in the crowd was that they couldn’t start the music, which has become a signature part of this RnR, until 7am. Actually, many any other races also blast there music at start lines. So, a muted start to the final race.
I had to stop to tie my shoe before mile one. Remember to double knot.
Or get some lock laces.
It was great to see so many places and faces along the way.
I don’t know how I got a PR. The 1:50 pace group was way ahead of me and I didn’t feel great at the halfway point. It turned out that pace group was way ahead of pace and I had built up enough of a buffer that I even surprised myself at mile 11 when I actually crunched the numbers to calculate how close I was to my goal.
All hail team Geico and thanks for the post Race massage. A real game changer.
So that’s it. Go out on a high note, right? For me it was an almost somber weekend spent reflecting on the past years of running. If it wasn’t for Rock n Roll coming to Raleigh, I may have never started running marathons. I would’ve missed out on all the friendships, PRs and lost toenails. I wouldn’t exchange those experiences for the world.
For now, I’ll run local and get my RNR fix on the road. I hope to see these races come back soon.