I had time to think about all this, because I was running at a pace that was more than three minutes per mile slower than my normal half marathon pace. I had more time to observe, in more detail, all aspects of the race. Aid stations with volunteers helping runners. Runners encouraging each other on and stopping to give a hand when someone falls down. Everyone, from the fastest to the slowest, following the same rules. Everyone starting from the same start line. How fast one gets to the finish line determined mostly by what one has put into pre-race training. Running a race can't be faked. If only life in general were more like a race.
Then came Tuesday, November 8th.
This is a running blog, of course, and I have only very rarely deviated from that topic. And, I do apologize for the current deviation! But, this time, it just felt not quite right to write another race report, as if nothing had happened. I felt I had to at least acknowledge that, going forward, things are no longer the same, just as in Naomi Klein's This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs. the Climate. There are so many worrisome consequences from November 8th. But, most of all, I am worried for my children and their generation and all future generations. While other consequences--and, I am not at all minimizing their seriousness and immediacy--can probably, sooner or later, be reversed, the consequences of inaction or worse regarding climate change cannot. Physics goes on, regardless of one's politics. The consequences of physics affect everyone, regardless of one's politics. No wall will keep one insulated.
Life goes on, of course, even if changed. How one lives life goes on, even if changed. And, running goes on.
The Baltimore Half is part of the October Baltimore Running Festival that also includes a marathon and a 5K. Back in 2012, I ran the Baltimore Marathon part of this festival, with a rather slow time of 4:45. It was only my third marathon at the time. I have been wanting to re-run this marathon, ever since 2013 or so, when I really started to seriously train. But, schedule-wise, this marathon conflicted with the other fall marathons that I have been running the past few years in trying to BQ.
This year, my daughter and I decided to run the Baltimore Half together, in part because we could take advantage of the luxury of a place to stay the night before the race that was just minutes away from the start line. This was only her third half marathon, so I "paced" her. At a more than three minutes per mile slower pace, I was able to partake in many nice and fun aspects of the race that I normally would have just rushed by, such as high-fiving spectators and dancing to music along the way. :)
The Half Marathon and Marathon runners don't start together. The Half starts at around Mile 13 of the Full, at the northwest corner of Baltimore's Inner Harbor. For the next almost three miles (Miles 1-3 of the Half and Miles 14-16 of the Full), the two race courses are separate. They then merge just before Miles 3 and 16, respectively. The logistics of that merge needs good planning. When I ran the marathon in 2012, the merge occurred right at the corner of Eastern and Linwood Avenues (southeast corner of Patterson Park), with no transitional segment. Basically, the Half runners going east along Eastern Ave. and the Full runners going north along Linwood Ave. did a hard, 90-degree merge, resulting in some "traffic issues." I don't know what year the race organizers made the change, but, this year, there was a fairly long transitional segment, after the initial merge point, that was separated by a porous barrier. The latter allowed the two streams of runners to more gradually and smoothly merge. Kudos to the organizers!
The race course winds through many different parts of Baltimore, from the touristy Inner Harbor area to neighborhoods that tourists usually don't get to see. As I was running through the latter neighborhoods, I was thinking that it would be nice if some of the economic benefits from the city hosting the race could be shared with the various neighborhoods that the course winds through, perhaps in accordance with the percentage of the course that each neighborhood hosts (?). Beyond the more than $12 million that the Baltimore Running Festival has raised, since its beginning 16 years ago, the boost to the local economy over each Festival weekend from the many thousands of runners has also been significant.
My daughter and I had great fun running and finishing the Half together. The weather was near-perfect. Spectator support was nice and loud, along many stretches of the course. Some of that support came with snacks and beer! The volunteers staffing the official aid stations were superb, serving up water, Gatorade, and, at some of the stations, gels, bananas, and donuts (Munchkins). This was the first race I have run where the police was as enthusiastically cheering on the runners as were the spectators. Perhaps, it was an attempt to improve relationships with the public, post-Freddie Gray (?). Regardless, it was really nice to see that. One officer in particular was standing in the middle of the road, high-fiving runners to his left and right!
The last quarter mile was nicely located: Down S. Eutaw St., past the Oriole Park at Camden Yards, and to the finish line on Raven's Walk, just north of the Ravens Stadium. The finishers area was in the parking lots between the two stadiums. Food was typical and plentiful. And, beer! The organization of the finishers area was similar to that of the race in general--well done! My only suggestion for improvement is to move the finish line to inside of Camden Yards. That would be nice--though not likely. :)
The finisher's medal is quite unique, of a Maryland blue crab that opens to a scene of the Inner Harbor waterfront. The process to make the medal, with the pointy details, was quite elaborate, as
can be seen in this page from the race guide.
How has November 8th affected my running? Well, it has made me more energized--and, not just about running.
