Snohomish River Run Recap

Yesterday I ran the Snohomish River Run half marathon and I earned a PR! 2:18:26, took 3 minutes off of my fastest time!
As I predicted this year's race was much better organized than it was in the 2012 race. There was plenty of parking close to the race start and the day of packet pick up seem to go very smooth. I was even able to go back to my car to stay warm and get ready for the race after picking up my packet. 

All lined up and ready for the race to start!

The prerace introduction seemed like it was fun but I was maybe 50 feet away and couldn't hear the speakers so that is something that could have been a little bit different. They went over the racecourse and I couldn't hear them which was sad. 

Waiting for the pre race announcements.

Race lineup!

The race start was a bit confusing I'm just glad that I was towards the back otherwise I think I would've gotten lost! We had a flip our start location from where we were standing for the race introduction to get in front of the race start, then headed up about a quarter of a mile in the direction that we were just standing, we then had a switchback and headed back towards the start, then we were on our way. But I kind of liked it because it made the 1st mile go by so fast! 

Can't really see it but hopefully this clarifies the start.

The Lowell Snohomish River Road is a very flat smooth road and is perfect for a half marathon, at the turnaround point at Rotary Park we ran through a gravel parking lot and then on a trail, the trail was kind of hard to run on because there were so many tree roots pushing up the blacktop. It was like Russian roulette for your ankles because the tree leaves were covering the trail so it's very hard to see the spots where the tree roots had pushed up the blacktop. So I had to slow down quite a bit in the section just to save my ankles.

 On the way back the race was still going well but then I ran into some terrible wind and that slowed me down quite a bit too because I was running directly into it, along with all the other runners of course. But thankfully the weather held and there was no rain! I'm not sure how that happened but there are definitely no complaints and I'm very glad it didn't rain!

When running into the finish it was very very crowded and there were even people walking in the race course that I had to avoid. This part made me kind of upset because I felt like it was very rude that they were walking in the race course when they're still runners coming in. The reason why it was so crowded it was because the start and finish we're in the same spot as the award ceremony and there wasn't any room for people to stand and wait for the ward ceremony to start and not be in the way of the race course finishers. It was so crowded in fact I didn't even stay after the race I left right away. I didn't like leaving early but I didn't feel like fighting the crowds. 

My legs were pretty tense and I was freezing! Yay Space Blanket!

Over all the race was phenomenal this year. The aid stations were fantastic and evenly spaced out, they offered water, a sports drink and gel packs. Which I thought was really nice. I would definitely recommend this race to anyone who is a beginning marathoner or someone who is looking to PR.

After the race Anthony and I went to Maltby Cafe, our favorite breakfast spot, for some delicious food! 

My Oktoberfest yumminess! 

Anthony's California Scramble, so good!

I really just wanted that cake! But managed to say no, somehow! 

We weren't the only racers there either! I saw at least a dozen Snohomish River runners there! I guess it is definitely the go-to spot for refueling after a long run!

Last but not least! I am officially a Half Fanatic! I am so excited about this! It has taken me a couple of tries but as of yesterday I have finally done it! My Fanatic InSane Asylum #9279! Look me up! 
My Profile Link!

Thank you so much for reading! 

Keep on Running!