I finished the inaugural Emerald City Half Marathon (Dublin, OH) today. Overall, it was a nice race.

The event started and ended at the Dublin Methodist Hospital which allowed plenty of parking. It was an out-and-back course on main roads as well as bike trails.

Temps were in the low 50s as we waited for the 7 a.m. start. Because we were in the back, we did not hear much. In fact, many people around us did not hear the National Anthem being played and talked right through it.

Because there were about 1,200 people in the event, it took only about 2 minutes for us to get to the starting line. (I’m guessing since we didn’t hear the start.) The first couple of miles were on main roads and about mile 3 we moved on to the trails through Glacier Ridge Park. This is where I finally warmed up and tossed my sweatshirt. Though I thought the course was mostly flat, Deb and I did notice that we seemed to be on a slight incline for the entire race. (I know, I know.)

Glacier Ridge is a beautiful park! I never go there to walk because it is fairly confusing and I’m afraid of getting lost. There are lots of prairie-like areas and then a very pretty wooded area. The shade was chilly and the sun felt great. This early in the morning it was even more beautiful.

At about mile 6.5, we turned around and went back the way we came. About mile 8 I could no longer ignore the pebbles in my left shoe and had to stop and get them out. That had to add at least 45 seconds to our finish time.

Most of the water stops were “manned” by groups of student athletes. They did a great job but the Gahanna Cross Country team was the best because they made a tunnel with their arms for us to walk through.

At mile 12 I left Deb and tried to zoom ahead. Actually, I just wanted to pass the woman in purple ahead of us. We tried to catch her the entire race! I caught and passed before mile 13.

The announcer was still at the finish when we got there.There was still plenty of water and bagels, though the fruit was gone. The report from Elaine, who finished about 20 minutes earlier, was that the bananas were rotten and the oranges were going fast.

Here are the couple “dings” for this race: 1) Though the shirts are cut for woman and mine fit, the design on the front is kinda ugly. (Deb gave hers away already.) 2) The web site said there would be on-course entertainment. There was none. 3) If you did this race alone, it would be lonely. 4) No fruit at the end, they would could have gone to the tavern for a free Bloody Mary. 5) The web site said water every mile and it was actually about every 2 miles. Still, because the temps were mild, this was enough water — it just isn’t what the web site said.

So the weather was beautiful, the water stops were well manned and fun, the course was easy to follow and very pretty, the course was flat, parking was easy and the shirt fits. Despite the few dings, overall it was a good event! I’ll do it again.

Sorry — no photos. I decided against carrying my camera today.
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Splits
14:19
14:59
14:33
14:12
29:34 (I missed the 5-mile sign.)
14:34
14:51
14:55
15:33 (Removed pebbles from shoe.)
14:48
14:38
14:45
1:07
Total 3:13 for an average of 14:46.

Considering I was scheduled for a long slow distance today, this isn’t bad. I’m planning to be much faster in Dayton at the Air Force Half in two weeks.

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