VA Wine Country Half Marathon Race Review (long)

[mrshandy]

So I decided to do this race last year and created a team with MRTT (Moms Run This Town) people. I was a little worried that we weren't going to get the minimum number of 6 and they were going to charge us extra fun fees. But thankfully we got enough people and ended up 7 on our team.

Pre-race
I lucked out and got a ride with one of my team members. But damn it was early, we all met at 445 and I got up at 355. We finally headed out around 5 (after I had to run home since I forgot one of my teammates bibs whoops). We got there around 6am for a 7am start. Thankfully, the weather gods had shined down on us and although it was hot and humid, it was cloudy.

Traffic getting into the parking lot actually was not too bad. We all got out and started walking towards Doukenie winery for the MRTT multi-chapter picture. Picture done and then off to the bag check. I headed towards the start line and stopped at the porta-potties. I found a great line that went by pretty quick. Then I made my way to the start line met up again with some of my MRTT friends and then saw my friend K who had signed up at the last minute. We're similar pace so we decided to run together. It was a nice size race (about 1850). I was a little annoyed that there were no corrals/pace areas, nothing to distinguish pace except for the 1:45(and up) pacers. How hard is it to just have a sign indicating paces?

Race
Off we go, a hill to start and then some rolling hills mostly down hill. I knew we would be facing them on the way back since the course was kind of like a lollipop. I didn't really have much of a goal for this race. I knew a PR wasn't in the cards with the weather and hills. So I just wanted to run however fast my legs wanted to go. Crowd support was minimal but I expected that. The water stations were every two miles and well stocked. The scenery was beautiful, cute houses, rolling hills, VA countryside. Around mile 4-5, we switched to packed dirt/rocks and were running through the woods. At some point we turned and made our way towards another winery. At the end of the road we turned around. K and I decided to stop for a second and enjoy a shot of wine that was offered to us. It was yummy!

Pace so far was around 8-8:30, which was fine. I was just trying to have fun. Mile 7.5 K told me to take off since she was going to slow down a little. Somewhere in there we transitioned back to road. Not sure where. But mile 11 my legs felt like lead. I'm not sure what happened. Mentally, I wanted to go faster but physically my legs would not move. I recovered with the next few miles and made it up a few nasty hills. I finished with 1:51:27. Not too bad. They even said my name as I finished, which was neat.

Post race
I got my medal. I caught up with K who finished a few minutes after me. Then we waited to watch everyone else finish. There was nice crowd support at the finish line, but it was easy to maneuver. Finally it was time for my favorite part of the day, the wine festival. I had paid $25 extra for this. There was a line to get our glass, which was a little annoying since the line to just buy a ticket to the festival was tiny compared to the people who had prepaid. Somehow I ended up with two tickets even though I only paid for one, but who am I to argue? My friend K was looking into buying one so I gave one to her. Yay!

They had 15 wineries tasting 1-3 wines. It was awesome. I love wine tasting so it was neat to combine two of my favorite things. I tried most of the wineries since my H was kind enough to drive out with the kids and pick me up. I told him not to come until later since he wasn't going to do the tasting and I didn't want him there bored and cranky. We met up with some other friends, tasted wines and enjoyed the music.

Finally I met up with H and the kids we enjoyed a few more glasses that we purchased from the winery, while sitting in the grass where the kids played.

Pros
Wine tasting and running
Beautiful course
Fun after party
Neat metal and bib
Nice size race, just enough runners to feel special and not too many to feel overwhelmed. My friend M got 2nd in her age group. I got 10th. Our team finished 7 out of 20.
Easy bag check and porta-potty line

Cons
Expensive ($95 for the earlybird team registration, wine festival is extra)
Packet pick up was annoying (the only free one was like an hour away on a Friday during the day, $10 to pick it up in Arlington, $15 the day of) I opted for Arlington I figured I would spend that much in gas anyways
Some logistical problems (traffic can be difficult if you get there later than 6, my friend K took a shortcut to make it on time)
Some rough parts of the course

Overall I think the pros outweigh the cons. It was a really fun day. I love races that have a big party afterwards. The scenery was beautiful and a great running companion. I think I'll sign up again next year. I used Xmas money and will probably do it again to help me stomach the cost.

[cinco]

Congrats! It sounds like a fun day! It isn't too far for me, but every time I consider it I balk at the price. Darn Virginia being expensive My aunt lives right there and it is a beautiful area.

[ilovecandy]

congrats.

[itsme]

Congrats on a great run. It sounds like a fun one.

[gt7301b]

Nice recap, it sounds like a great race. I just wish they would mail me the packet so I didn't have to drive out that far to pick up my packet or pay extra to pick it up earlier.

[mrshandy]

Jun 2, 2015 17:58:56 GMT -5 gt7301b said:

Nice recap, it sounds like a great race. I just wish they would mail me the packet so I didn't have to drive out that far to pick up my packet or pay extra to pick it up earlier.

True. People can pick it up for you, which is what most people in our group did. In arlington you could only pick up one other person.

[mandiespharm]

Nice recap! sounds like you had a good time!

[sadlebred]

Congratulations!!

[bostonmichelle]

Congratulations! Nice recap. It sounds like a fun race and afterparty.

[thom]

Great job mrshandy!! Sounds like a lovely race. I think I would also deal with the price tag to enjoy the scenery & the wine.

[cole]

Congrats! Sounds like a great day!

[jeaniebueller]

Sounds like a great race!