Monday, November 3, 2014

Snohomish River Run Race Report

I registered for this race as a package with the Women's Half race by the same company last spring. I don't precisely remember what the discounted price was but for two half marathons it was a good deal and I thought having to races on the calendar would help me build a base and keep me motivated.

This did not happen.

My spring half marathon was a disaster. This had nothing to do with the actual event which I thought was nicely run, well supported and had a flat route. Yes, the route was a little dull and had a SOUL KILLING switchback at the end. But I was crazily undertrained so it was not a shock that I struggled just to finish the race.

After that race I felt so demoralized and pissed off at myself that I . . .didn't run some more! We moved over the summer and the lead in to getting our old house ready to rent and finding a new house and then moving the kids and BLAH did not lead to steady running. I am a crappy summer runner to begin with so this gave me just the push I needed to do NOTHING.

Coming into this race I knew that my self-esteem could not handle a bad half like the spring event. I am comfortable with the kind of runner I am - very slow and steady - but quitting made me feel like I would never get going again. It shook my confidence. So I dropped down to the 10K for this event and let the half goal go.

This turned out to be a great decision as I didn't train well for this race either but I can do a 10K regardless. Leading into the race my longest run in a month had been four miles so this was not a PR race for me.

The Snohomish River Run is put on by the Snohomish Running Company. It is supposed to feature a fast and flat and certified course. They promote it as being very PR friendly. The women's event last spring was that very thing and a lot of ladies seemed to PR. JR ran the River Run last fall and had a great event and time in his lead up to the Seattle Marathon. The course featured an awful switchback at the end that made the last few miles mentally very difficult. It also had an awful lot of dull highway running. For this event, and I assume going forward, they moved the course. The start is now in downtown Snohomish and the course is a little more scenic with the run going over the bridge and along the river. The start was strange, however, because it began with an immediate switchback less than a quarter of a mile into the race right back over the starting line. It was confusing, congested and just plain weird. Anyone looking for a fast start was just plain out of the luck because people were confused by it. Also, the half marathoners had to dodge 10K runners who were milling around for their start. It made what could have been an energized start feel flat and frantic - it beats the hell out of finishing with a switchback but given that the road along the river does go farther it seemed like a weird choice. I imagine it had to do with road closures.

The controversy in this race was that the 10K turn around was poorly marked. Actually it was unmarked and was supposed to be manned by a race volunteer who was late. Many if not most people missed the turn. My garmin died on the run (we had a storm the night before the race so I was scared to plug it in and have a power surge wreck it) so I am still not sure exactly how far I ran - it was farther than a 10K but I don't know how much. Some one was at the turn around when I went by but I thought he was a race marshall and I went right past him. I do not understand why there were not big signs and a person there. Snohomish Running Company did offer all 10K runners a discount on a future race but they are being kind of rude on their Facebook page to people complaining. I am sure they are tired of the complaints but this was not a cheap race and is not a charity race. Having your only marking at the turn around be a person is dumb and easy to miss and people are right to complain.

The new course is not as flat as the old one but is still very flat for this area. There is a long but very slight and gradual incline on the route back with the only real hill being the uptick to the bridge. The finish was very congested and awkward. It looked like the had plenty of volunteers and after race food but the area was MUCH too small to support it all. There were tons of volunteers and spectators walking into the finish area and blocking runners because there was nowhere else for them to walk.

My race actually didn't go too bad at all. I took the first 3 miles easy, running around 12:30 per mile. I felt really comfortable until I missed the turn and felt like I had to push a bit to get back. I really pleased that I had the legs to do that at all and I felt great until after mile 5. I've been having a lot of problems with numbness and burning in the balls of my feet and they were on fire at that point. My last mile (or two because WHO KNOWS) were pretty slow and awful. My final time was 84:36 which is way off my PR but in the results it lists my pace as 11:39 which means they think most 10K runners went over 7 miles. I think the truth for me is probably somewhere in the middle and I had wanted to finish in under 80 minutes so I think I would have done that without the turn issues. I am not much of an eater after races so I headed out pretty quickly.

Pros: Parking is quick, easy and free. The event recommends parking at Snohomish High School but easy parking was readily available on the street even closer to the start. There were plenty of volunteers available and lots of porta potties (something a lot of races do not do well). The volunteers at the water stops were encouraging and helpful and they had both water and electrolyte mix available as well as GUs.

Cons: That switchback at the beginning boggles my mind, it made the start very slow and awkward. The course is still not very scenic given the location and the lack of route marks was ridiculous. Moving the route to downtown Snohomish didn't add any atmosphere and didn't help the route. The staff is probably tired of being harassed about the 10K turn around but their attitude in public forums like Facebook is off-putting (though the email they sent offering a discount was nicely worded and generous). The t-shirt is supposed to be a tech tee but isn't something I would run in and is quite small. It looks almost identical to the one from the women's race last spring and considering the gorgeous long sleeve tech tees that they gave out last year I think it is disappointing. The medal design is almost identical to previous races as well so not fun for collecting but they are very nice medals.

I am not sure if I will do this race again. It is very convenient to my house and decently priced. And I love a small race. But it feels like the event took a big step back in the move and I am not sure they understand that. Unfortunately Snohomish Running Company bought one of my favorite races Everett's Hero's Half  (it is not reassuring to me that it says the site will be up by 10/31 and it is not up on 11/3), and I am worried they will not run that one well at all.

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