• February 28st, 2015
• Long Beach, California
• Rock the Marina
• Sharon: 2:53:54
• Tim: 2:26:40

 

31 down only 21 to go.

My favorite part about this race vs. last weeks race (Fourmidable) was that I could walk the next day. And it didn’t rain. All week the forecast predicted rain so I was prepared for an Oregon moment. I wore the running rain jacket that Tim bought me as part of my incentive package for moving to Elkton. He knows how much I love running clothes. A slight downside to our HM project it that, because we get a tech shirt just about every race, I will never again be able to justify buying another running shirt.

Because this race started at 6:30am and was in Long Beach we had to get up at 3am, again. Our upstairs neighbor must hate us when an alarm goes off at 3am on Sunday morning.

This race is put on by Charlie Alewine. He puts on inexpensive, small, low key events every weekend in much the same way A Better World Running does but he also has t-shirts and trophies. He is a really friendly guy and his races have a great casual vibe. We need to find a group like this in San Diego. This was the smallest race we have ever been in. Only 6 people in the HM and 8 in the marathon.

The course was both a loop and an out and back. It was a loop around the park and then an out and back along the marina, 3 times. Tim ran with me for the first loop so I didn’t get lost. Even so, I may have gotten lost if another woman in the race (Jackie) was not running just in front of me for most of the race.

I could tell from the start that I was going to be slow. My legs felt heavy after the first mile. That’s a sure sign that I wasn’t fully recovered from last weeks race. Tim said his legs didn’t feel fresh either. I’m not surprised. My legs were – it’s hard to walk – sore until Thursday.

This was a beautiful run if a little crowded. The race started at 6:30am so there wasn’t much traffic or many people for the first loop. There was some sort of rowing event going on and I found myself dodging walkers carrying oars. Also traffic picked up and it became more challenging to cross the road that connected the park loop to the marina.

I caught up with Jackie and we ran together for a loop around the park. It was nice to have someone to talk to. She was doing the race with her friend but, like Tim, her friend was faster than her so they just cheered each other on the out and back. They are doing the LA Marathon only 2 weekends after this race.

I stopped to fill my water bottle and take a puff on my inhaler and Jackie pulled away. I managed to keep her in sight which is probably what kept me from getting lost around the park. She slowed down the last mile so I managed to escape being last but only by 30 seconds.

Even though his legs were heavy and he ran with me the first loop, Tim won a trophy for 3rd place. Yay Tim. If he hadn’t run with me the first loop I think he would have gotten second. Tim seemed rather embarrassed to have won a trophy for what he considered such a slow time.

This was a fun race. People hung around afterwards to talk and eat. The woman who won was doing this as a warm up for the LA Marathon. In fact, everyone but me and Tim, who did this race, will be running the LA Marathon. We have been talking about doing a Marathon towards the end of this year. I’m trying to push for Tucson as out first full marathon because we could party with our Tucson friends afterwards.

Cons

• I found the course slightly confusing
• Had to cross a busy street
• Dodging rowers walking with oars

Pros

• Friendly race director and runners
• Scenic, mostly flat race
• Inexpensive
• Nice medal and T-Shirt (and trophy)
• Good food
• Early Start

I would definitely recommend this race. It was a lot of fun. Very casual but still well organized. We hope to do some more of Charlie’s races in the next 5 months. We both enjoyed this race and really liked the race director.

Please leave a comment or ask a question.