Race Review: Charleston Half Marathon

I may have made the often-questionable decision to live in Ohio, but I do, at least, have the common sense and decency to try to leave as often as possible during the winter months for destinations less cold, less brutal, and less gray.  My parents, my husband, and I have started a tradition of visiting a warmer destination for a half marathon every winter.  We’re in our third year now, and the list of races I want to run just keeps getting longer!  It’s still not as often as I’d like, but I have fantasies of a life in which I go wherever I want for as long as I want when the Ohio winters get too long and frustrating.

I spent last weekend with my trusty half marathon travel companions in sunny Charleston, South Carolina with two goals: 1) run the Charleston Half Marathon and 2) eat a lot of good food.  (Spoiler: I found time to accomplish both.)  It’s easy to have a good time visiting Charleston, but we were especially lucky to have unseasonably warm weather.  Ok, Charleston Half… so far, so good.

I arrived on Friday and checked in at the Charleston Marriott which was the perfect place to set up shop for race day.  We were a stone’s throw (read: 6 minute walk) away from the starting line which made for a much easier race day morning than we normally enjoy.   Instead of worrying about what time to leave the hotel and when our last bathroom stop would be, we just got to hang out and go through our pre-race rituals until we were ready to head for the starting line.

Ok, technically that wasn’t true for all of us… One of us (my mom) was run/walking the 5k, and in an unusual twist, her starting line was located farther away so that it could share the finish line of our point-to-point race.  Despite having years of experience as our designated race day driver for countless races, and despite having previously managed to drive us for over 24 hours through rural Kentucky in an all night relay race, my mom was convinced that on the 15 minute drive to her starting line she would either A) take a wrong turn and getting permanently lost or B) never find a parking spot and circle around indefinitely without doing her race or seeing us finish.  It’s hard to imagine a scenario like this playing out in a world where all you have to do is scream, “HEY SIRI!” for immediate back-up…

But I’m getting ahead of myself.  Let’s talk about the EXPO!!  Held at the Charleston Convention Center, the expo was intimate and easy to navigate.  I had trouble deciding between two souvenir hats, and then I chickened out and bought neither… I just think I’ll know the right hat when I see it!

We could have been in and out quickly, but we indulged ourselves in the luxury of wandering around and sampling some organic Washington state apples, brought all the way from Washington by the lovely people from the Rainier Fruit Company, one of the race sponsors.  Have you  noticed that it can be hard to find an organic apple that’s not kind of soft and unspunky?  They were actually seriously good, crispy sweet apples.  And also, I love free apples.  We took advantage of the helpful help desk where one of the extra-nice volunteers whipped out a map to show my mom exactly the Plan A, Plan B, and Plan C she should use for parking the next day.  And when she’d achieved that to my mom’s satisfaction, she also helped us download the Charleston Restaurant Association app to guide us through Restaurant Week.  What a food week for Charleston! There’s too much to say… I think I’ll write a separate post about that.

So what does one do to kill time the day before a race?  Well, last year we tried out the following strategy: Walk miles up and down the foothills of Asheville, North Carolina.   So, that strategy turned out not to be optimal.  This time we went with a different plan.

1. Lunch at Five Loaves Cafe – Mmmm.  I wanted everything on their menu.  I’ll elaborate more in my restaurant post 🙂 
2. Visit the Angel Oak Tree.  It’s, you know, a really really old, really big oak tree.  It was worth the short drive to Johns Island, and you’re not allowed to climb it, so you won’t wear out your legs for the race.  You could, however, pack a lunch and eat on the picnic tables if you’re so inclined.
3. Grocery store for race-day supplies like bottled water, hard boiled eggs, and cereal.  Harris Teeter is a good choice, and one of the race sponsors.
4. Relax and read on the warm, sunny patio because it’ll be months before we get to do this again.  (The Happiness of Pursuit by Chris Guillebeau in case you’re interested.)
5. Early dinner, and hit the sack!

On race morning, the air was warm, the sun was coming up, and it was shaping up to be a beautiful race day.  My mom left the hotel and arrived at the starting line (successfully, I might add!) about an hour before the race start.   Having cleared that obstacle, she was free to enjoy the day!  As a side note, there was limited parking at the 5k start, and they requested that only those people registered for the 5k should park there.  All marathon and half marathon finishers were asked to park at the starting line and use a complimentary shuttle to return.  We were, of course, in the lucky camp of half marathon runners who travel with a 5k runner for just such occasions.  #smartplanning  May I recommend that you find a 5k runner to travel with?

Meanwhile, we got to enjoy a leisurely pre-race ritual at the hotel.  Albina, my go-to coffee barista in the hotel coffee shop, had my back when I asked her if she could use their toaster to toast my Ezekiel English muffin.  I’ve had a favorite pre-race (ok, pre-every-single-day) food for years, and I don’t prefer to mess with it.  Between that, a single serving packet of Justin’s Almond Butter, and one of Albina’s patiently constructed cups of coffee (with a couple ice cubes and room for cream, please?), it was like waking up at home.

We casually sauntered on over to the starting line to enjoy the crowd for a while with just enough time for a pre-race selfie!  

I don’t normally run with my phone because I don’t listen to music, and I don’t want to be weighed down (since I’m lightning fast, and that phone would make all the difference), but I’ve become inspired to try it for a couple reasons.  1) I’d like to be able to take pre-race selfies, duh.  And 2) My husband, Dan, and I have a tendency to wander around for ages after a race because we can’t find each other, and frankly, that’s just starting to get annoying.  After this year’s Turkey Trot, I thought I might get frostbite walking around looking for him.  So I ordered this super fantastic Running Arm Band from Amazon.com mere days before the race.  Thank you, Prime shipping!!  You know that rule about not trying new things on race day?  I made an exception, and you know what?  It worked out great.  I love my new arm band.  I’m going to have SO MANY MORE SELFIES!!!

And then we were off!  Sun shining, birds chirping, and my GPS watch still searching for satellites until nearly two miles in.  Do I need to replace it?  Or is that just a fluke?  Does anyone know?  It’s not like 100 years old, but maybe it’s aging a little…

For the first three miles, the race course grazed the water along the west coast of the peninsula, treating us to views of the majestic old mansions on one side, and the water on the other.  (I just learned that you can watch a virtual ride-through of the race course here!)The next couple of miles took us right through the downtown area – a good chance to spend some time thinking about where we wanted to eat or drink later.  (If you’re more organized than we were, then maybe you already have a reservation somewhere… Remember, it’s Restaurant Week.  Don’t be a procrastinator.)  The middle miles were easy and flat but light on the scenery without much to look at.  It was clearly the functional portion of the race, a way to get us from Point A to Point B, kind of like a metaphor for half marathons in general – excitement at the start, grinding it out in the middle, and finally renewed enthusiasm at the end.  During the last couple of miles, we found ourselves in a pretty little neighborhood near the high school by the finish line.  Imagine our surprise and good fortune when we heard the live band covering Tupac to urge us through that last half mile!

The finish line party was worth all the running!!  Included in our entries were tickets for shrimp and grits, and two beers (or mimosas!) a piece!  And let me tell you, they did not skimp on the beer selections!  We had CHOICES!  You would think you might not feel like shrimp and grits the minute you cross the finish line, and maybe that’s true.  But give it five minutes, and try again.  They were fabulous!

As with any good post-race scene, of course there were other foods too – more traditional refueling foods like bananas.  (There was also Diet Coke. I’m still confused about what that was for. I’ve not gotten the memo.)  Plus there were juices from Natalie’s Orchard Island. I’d recommend the Orange Beet juice because it’s a pretty color to look at and because beets are good for you and supposedly fight inflammation.  Oh!  And it tasted good too.   Other sponsors serving up food included The Boston Beer Company, who provided our beer samples from Sam Adams, The Traveler Beer Co., and Angry Orchard, as well as Community Coffee, and one of our favorite freebies, the boiled peanut people.  I wish I remember who or what organization was responsible for these, but I was too distracted by my excitement over receiving my first ever serving of authentic southern boiled peanuts.  They also served “plain” peanuts for the less adventurous… (so for dads, basically).

We hung around just long enough to learn that Dan won 5th place in his age group!  (Yes, they did.  They went all the way to 5th place with their awards.)  He’s my hero.  And the award was SO PERFECT!!  Custom beer glass.  As a friend pointed out, the post-race beers most certainly taste better when you drink them from a souvenir glass that you won.  Yes, sir, I love me some commemorative glassware.  All in all, our list of souvenirs was pretty cool!

On our way out, we paused for a final post-race selfie, and then it was on to bigger and better things (eating and drinking the city).  A great race in a great town!