April Fools Half Race Day dawned sunny and warmer than the predictions had shown. I was ready to run, but not necessarily ready to race. I had PRed at the Shamrock, and already moved my focus to my post Atlantic City training plans. I dressed in my new Lululemon running tights and fueled up April Fools Halfwith my usual GPS E2. I used the casino floor restroom at Revel, even though there was a bank of Port-a-Potties outside near the Start, and had time for a little stretch before heading outside to find the Start had been delayed 5 minutes. Without corrals, and having seen Doug's tight Start Saturday morning, I knew I needed to be near the front of the pack and made my way through the crowd just before the National Anthem was sung.

We were off right on the delayed Start time, and I did have to work my way around a few walkers during the first mile. I hit Mile One with 1.08 on my watch and settled in for a good, long training run. No new PR, oh well, no big deal. The rest of the southbound portion of Boardwalk running was fairly uneventful, and the fast, flat course was forgiving on legs with the cushy wooden boardwalk giving them a little special treatment for the first and last miles. Early on, there were few pedestrians to avoid, and I easily ran the first 4.5 quiet, scenic Oceanside miles without any worries. After a slow Mile 1 because of the traffic, I clocked Miles 2, 3 and 4 at 7:38, 7:35 and 7:34 with a 5K time of 23:42.

We stepped off the Boardwalk at the Mile 4.5 mark and hit the road. The scenery was a little less interesting here, but I kept a steady pace, crossing the 10K mark at 47:21. I knew I'd hit a headwind at the turnaround point, and as I rounded the flag, there it was. Miles 6.5 through 9 were north on the road, with a headwind that wasn't quite as bad as the Shamrock, but a road that was more banked. I tried to find a flat line to run because my knee was starting to get a little grumpy, keeping my thoughts on returning to the wooden Boardwalk. My pace through this flat but angled road portion stayed right where I wanted it to be, in spite of the wind, and I was on pace to come in right around 1:39 again. Just fine with me.

Turning back onto the Boardwalk at Mile 9, my knee started to feel better and the big hotels gave good protection from the wind. My legs were feeling surprisingly good after facing the wind for 3 miles, so I thought about picking it up for the final 5K, shooting for a new PR. The softness of the Boardwalk made dropping my pace from 7:34 per mile for the first 10 miles to 7:19 per mile for the last 3.1 easy. Even with the faster pace, I had doubts about actually hitting my new PR because bikers, wanderers and morning walkers abounded on this return trip up the boards. Most non-participants were aware of what was going on and stayed out of the way, but there were, of course, a few to run around and a bike that almost hit me. It was a April Fools Halfgorgeous morning for an Oceanside run, the scenery coming back was just as nice as it was heading south and I looked at my watch only to realize I was on pace to PR for the second time this year. I ran my last 1.1 miles hard to see just how much I had left, and crossed the Finish Line with an official time of 1:38:42, 27 seconds faster than Shamrock three weeks earlier.

I felt good as I grabbed my medal, a water, a banana, a few PowerBars and shook my knee out post-race. I sat down for a stretch, happy with my performance, even though I attribute that mostly to the flatter course and lower winds. The April Fools Half Marathon had 1455 finishers (not sure how many were women), of which I was the 14th Female, 6th in the 30-39 Age Group and 66th Overall.

I wasn't the only runner who PRed at the April Fools Half, it was a big day for everyone I knew who was participating, as Hollie took a minute off of her previous PR and Charles lowered his by an amazing 12 minutes! Other important aspects of the race include gear check, which was available, and that the course had plenty of well staffed water and Gatorade stops. I did notice Port-A-Potties sitting next to the course at various intervals, though they didn't appear to be getting much use. Most of the route was pretty April Fools Halfquiet, and ACPD did a great job of keeping the course clear of morning traffic. Smatterings of fans on Miles 2-12 were dwarfed by the big group on the Boardwalk for the last mile and Finish.

We didn't hang out for the post race festivities, going to Johnny Rocket's once again and indulging in a second delectable post-race breakfast. With a final trip to the room, we loaded the car and headed for Philly after a wonderful Race Weekend in Atlantic City. Race organizers did a good job, and I think I'm a little spoiled by the Virginia Beach Boardwalk being shut down for the Shamrock (yes, that event is much, much larger which probably plays a role). The April Fools Half is definitely an event I would consider participating in again, though I worry if it gets too big, the runner traffic would be unmanageable and the course, one of the race biggest assets, would have to change.