Let me start out by saying that last January when I returned from my trip to California for the Tinker Bell Half Marathon I happened to notice the following weekend... some of my Northwest runDisney friends posting pictures of themselves at another local Half Marathon that had the cutest medal (other then runDisney medals of course)! I decided right then and there that I had to do this race in 2015.
Image not my own...
So when the 2015 registration opened for this event... I threw my name in. I wondered how it would be to run another Half Marathon the next weekend after Tinker Bell in 2015... but then later in 2014 it was announced that my Tinker Bell Half Marathon Weekend was being moved to May of 2015. runDisney had moved the Tinker Bell Half Marathon weekend to Mother's Day weekend 2015 to make an addition to their race schedule... the Star Wars Half Marathon Weekend was announced - but that is another story. So my little worries about back to back weekends of Half Marathons disappeared quickly.
The Rain Run (so perfectly named for the Pacific Northwest) is a relatively small half marathon located in Redmond, WA. This is about an hour of driving from my home... one way. About as far as I like to go for a local race. The race was set to begin at Marymoor Park near Lake Sammamish. I had completed another Half Marathon (Lake Sammamish Half Marathon) that had this same start location but had a completely different route. I was looking forward to a new route and the opportunity to explore a different place all within the confines of an organized race. The runner capacity on this race according to their website was 700 runners and this race was sold out. At the start... it didn't seem to be that many people but I am never very skilled at counting groups of people when looking at a crowd. When I looked at the online posted results only 566 finishers are listed... still didn't seem like that many people out there that day. This made me a little sad too because I know some gals that had wanted to sign up after the race was full online... too bad for the no shows.
Other than the long drive south that morning of January 24th... all went well. I pulled off about a mile before I arrived at a Starbucks to use their nice restroom and then drove the rest of the way to Marymoor Park. Signage was easy to find and I never had any questions about where to park. My friend (Diana) had picked up my bib for me the day before and she was already messaging me on my arrival that she was there and waiting for me. Parking was a breeze... in fact I was was literally about 50 paces to the start line from where I parked. I do not like to be rushed on race days so I had arrived with plenty of time to spare. There was about an hour before the actual start. So I sat in my warm van waiting, used the porta potty (which there were plenty of), and scrolled Facebook for a bit before the start.
The actual start of the race was quite informal... no corrals... no real announcements other then to look forward to the cupcakes at the finish. This course was an out and back (not my favorite type of course) all on Park and County paved trails... no streets to deal with although the trail was not closed so we would be dealing with other bikers, runners, and walkers just using the trail that day...
The course was mostly flat and the weather that day was really nice for running. Overcast and cool... there was a slight breeze now and then that actually felt quite good. It sprinkled just a little bit a couple of times while I was out there but nothing to get you really wet or anything... enough to be able to call it the The Rain Run I guess. Like I mentioned before an out and back course is not my mental favorite but it was nice not being out on streets and having to worry about traffic or other things.
The clock time is different then the chip time... I started near the back of the pack.
Another FREE race photo!
One of my free race photos!
My cute model is my youngest... LUKE!
Next RACE... Hot Chocolate 15K in Seattle - March 1st!
What are the best treats you have seen at a finish line?
If you could have any treat at the end of race waiting for you ... what would it be? (my answer would be donuts)
I have yet to run a race where there are cupcakes at the finish line. I keep reading about said races but I am beginning to think they are a myth...lol. i've never got anything cool like cupcakes . I always get the dull banana! -M
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