Rochester Half Marathon -Race Recap

This past weekend, I participated in the Rochester Half Marathon. This is Fleet Feet's premiere event of the season and it encompasses the 5K and Kids Marathon on Saturday and the Half and Full Marathons on Sunday. It is also the final leg in the four seasons challenge...thank god that's done!

We left a little late on Saturday but were able to get to packet pickup with about half an hour to spare. I wish it ran a little later than 4:00PM for those out of town. I picked up my bib and my race shirt and we headed to our hotel for the night. I did chuckle at this sign outside of the expo:

The taper crazy is real, folks!

Before I knew it, race time was here! The race starts at Maplewood Park on the north side of Rochester and finishes at Frontier Field. Parking is at the finish line and there are shuttles to the start. The school bus shuttles were well-run and plentiful.

I arrived at the start line with about an hour to go before race start. There were a ton of selfie stations for runners to take pictures in front of, a bag check van, and water for hydration. Here are some of the backgrounds:

They also had some photo frames that you could take your picture with:

Before I knew it, the sun was coming up over the horizon and it was time for the crowds to get to the start line.

Crowds of people at the pre-race staging area

The start line

The weather at the start was perfect. Sunshine with temperatures in the mid-sixties. I knew this would be a challenging course with four steep inclines, so I was glad the weather was at least cooperating.

I wish I could say that the race was easy, or enjoyable or fun, but gosh, this was a rough one. The course is challenging and I just didn't have my best race in me for this one. Even so, I was pleased that I finished in under 1:40. I finished 12th woman overall and 2nd in my age group.

The Rochester Half medal and final piece of the Four Seasons Challenge medal

It was a great way to end this season of racing in Rochester. All that's left this season is the Wine and Dine challenge...unless I add a few 5Ks to the mix :)

The best way to celebrate a race is with brunch:

Did you race this weekend? How did it go?

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