Race Report-Miami HM

[emuni04]

Well, it was far from pretty, but here is a short summary of the Miami Half Marathon this weekend.

The race is large - I believe estimated at around 25k participants (marathon and HM combined). The starting line and corrals were a little chaotic, but I have found that to be the case at nearly every large race I have ran. There was a "DJ" spinning tunes at the starting line, which I thought was pretty neat. It was probably the most fun starting line that I have ever crossed. 

The weather was HOT. And HUMID. So that stunk. The course, however, is very pretty and scenic. Pretty flat course, other than a few inclines on the 2-3 bridges that you cross over. I actually appreciated those inclines as they broke up the otherwise flat course somewhat. 

I suppose there were an adequate amount of aid stations. I felt that a few additional water stations could have been added, but overall I can't complain. I did hear runners complain that the medical tents didn't have any ice, and those stopping in for ice were told to move along because they did not have a "real injury." Yikes.

The race T-shirt was cool and the finisher's medal is one of the best that I have ever received.

My only complaint (other than the heat and humidity that KILLED ME on the course) was the length of the race. My run tracking app showed that we finished at 13.85 miles and I noticed while lurking around on Instagram last night that quite a few people posted photos of their running apps - different versions- and all listed the mileage at or around 13.8. 

I read a lot of complaints from finishers about medals. We got ours, but apparently they ran out of finisher's medals and there is a big stink about it on their FB page.

Overall, my experience was okay. I finished with my second worst time ever (20 MINUTES slower than my goal time), but the heat/humidity pretty much guaranteed that. I think they ended up issuing an orange flag alert a few hours into the race. I made it to Mile 11 without walking, and after that did a combo walk/run to the finish. Overall, I'm  pretty happy. And sore.

Oh yeah, and I am DONE with half marathons for a while now

[pag41989]

congrats!

[thom]

Sorry about the crap-tastic weather. It's hard for me to fathom what heat & humidity is at the moment (1 degree above feels warm to me today!) but I KNOW I hate trying to race in hot & humid. Congrats on powering through & finishing it! When you say you're done for awhile, does that mean until next season? Otherwise, I'd totally recommend heading north if you can for some redemption later this spring.

[cinco]

Congrats on finishing in hard conditions! I always expect to be a little over in crowded races, but with 13.8 I'd definitely be suspicious!

[kellifsu]

Congratulations!

[katyintx]

Congratulations on finishing! Don't you HATE when courses are longer? The last 1/2 I did was almost a half mile long and I was so annoyed. And I can't believe the medical tents wouldn't have ice! I mean, it's a half marathon in Miami for God's sake!

[boston340]

Congrats on your race! You said the race shirt is really cool looking, what does it look like?

You say you're done with half marathons for now. Just wait...muahahaha!

[clseale]

I'm sorry. We got a heat wave this weekend. Even for Miami, it was unseasonably warm. It was warm & horribly humid all the way up the state. Heat I can do, but the humidity will still get me every time.

[emuni04]

Feb 3, 2014 15:22:17 GMT -5 thom said:

Sorry about the crap-tastic weather. It's hard for me to fathom what heat & humidity is at the moment (1 degree above feels warm to me today!) but I KNOW I hate trying to race in hot & humid. Congrats on powering through & finishing it! When you say you're done for awhile, does that mean until next season? Otherwise, I'd totally recommend heading north if you can for some redemption later this spring.

We are probably going to TTC #2 this spring/summer, so probably done for a year plus at this point But who knows? I will definitely be researching HM's up north the next time around!!!

[emuni04]

Feb 3, 2014 15:49:09 GMT -5 katyintx said:

Congratulations on finishing! Don't you HATE when courses are longer? The last 1/2 I did was almost a half mile long and I was so annoyed. And I can't believe the medical tents wouldn't have ice! I mean, it's a half marathon in Miami for God's sake!

Yeah, it was a little disheartening when the splits on my phone showed me running sub-10 minute miles and the splits on the race clocks were showing over 11 minutes! 

[emuni04]

Feb 3, 2014 16:01:11 GMT -5 clseale said:

I'm sorry. We got a heat wave this weekend. Even for Miami, it was unseasonably warm. It was warm & horribly humid all the way up the state. Heat I can do, but the humidity will still get me every time.

We were also hot in NOLA when I arrived back home last night. And gross and humid...yuck!

[emuni04]

Feb 3, 2014 15:58:32 GMT -5 boston340 said:

Congrats on your race! You said the race shirt is really cool looking, what does it look like?

You say you're done with half marathons for now. Just wait...muahahaha!

It was a tech shirt, blue with a V-neck. Nothing super impressive, I think I just liked the graphic on it.

[patches31709]

Because I found this article interesting -
www.clevelandmarathon.com/resources/userUploads/CertifiedCoursevsGPSAccuracy.SRV_1338321859.pdf

More likely than not, since the race is a certified course, it was your app that was wrong, not the course itself.

[shauni27]

congrats on finishing what sounds like a tough course! Last year I ran a half that was, no joke 40 degrees warmer than the previous two weekends before it and was SO humid. My goal was a PR, but it was my slowest race by 25 minutes as well. I was just glad I survived it!