As I teased in my last post, there was a milestone coming up in Clearwater. The milestone still occurred, but it took a detour to the east.
I last time I ran a race in Ocala was 2013. When a Facebook notification informed me that this year’s event was scheduled one week before Clearwater, I registered at the last minute. I really like running in Ocala, even though I would be taking it on “lone wolf.” This was the 20th anniversary of the event, and I was hoping they would be doing something special to commemorate this crowning achievement.
I drove up Saturday morning, and picked up Jen. The expo was outside the Paddock Mall in Ocala, and the plan was to go to Gainesville after that. I was disappointed that the race shirts were not as nice as I would have hoped. After all, it was the 20th anniversary; why not do it up? They were white polyester, with nothing on the back. As we made our way to Gainesville, Swampcon was taking place in the Reitz. This was the second-time Jen and I stumbled into this, which was way cool (Jen’s opinion may differ). After checking out the renovations to the O’Dome, we met up with Mary, Pam and Joe for an early dinner. I was a little tired from a full day of driving and sightseeing, and hit the sack pretty early.
The race did not start until 7:15, so I did not have to get up at the crack of dawn. It is about a 15-minute drive from Jen’s house, and I arrived around 6:30. With 189 runners entered in the half, and 75 runners taking on the full, this may have been the smallest race I’ve ever participated in (262 and 111 respectively when I last did this race in 2013). It was a very comfortable 56° when the gun sounded, which was 15 minutes after the start of the full. Many of the Turtles have told me they do not participate in this event, because the course takes place on roads they regularly run on during the week. To me, the course is very scenic, with lots of farms, cows and horses to look at. I decided not to do intervals, but I did walk up most of the hills.
From a physical standpoint, I was feeling great. I saw Angela at the beginning and Haidee towards the end. They were both gracious enough to volunteer their time at the water stations. I also saw Angel after I crossed the finish line, and she placed first in her age group. That’s quite an accomplishment. Teri ran the full, but I did not see her at all.
Now about the milestone…I started running in 1996, but did not compete in my first half marathon until 2007. Fast-forward ten years later to 2017; Ocala officially became half marathon number 40. Along with 16 full marathons and one ultra-marathon, there’s still plenty of gas left in the tank.
KEEP TRACK OF MY RUNNING ON
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