This was my first year running the Annapolis Classic Half Marathon. I ran the Zooma 10K earlier this year and had a great time, so I was really excited about coming back to Annapolis in the fall.

Since I live in Philly, getting my race bib was a bit of a hassle. There were various pick up locations for bibs - maybe too many - and when City Sports was announced to go out of business, the organizers changed all the locations to a different running store. My sister lives in MD and she was kind enough to pick up the bib for me, but it really was a hassle. Then I found out that morning that we could've picked up the bib on race day, so that wasn't communicated well...

The race was on a perfect Saturday morning. It was chilly, but I knew that it would warm up around 50 - great running weather! The race doesn't have corrals, which really threw me off because I wasn't sure how to line up and I didn't want to start too fast. Unfortunately, even though I was apparently behind the 2:20 pace group, everyone was flying and I got caught up.

The race is actually quite beautiful - downtown Annapolis is very scenic, so the first 6 miles of the race are awesome. Things start to change after you go up the Navy Memorial Bridge...which is a HUGE bridge! I have to admit by the time I got to the top, I was beat. But then once you were off the bridge you encountered hill after hill after hill...and none of them were easy.

I knew about the hills but knowing about them isn't the same as running them in real life! I really struggled. The fuel stations were adequate along the couse, but the mile markers were NOT. There were not markers for every mile, and the ones I did see where 0.4 miles behind my watching - this makes things even tougher mentally.

The other thing about the hills is that they are out and back....so you're going over these hills twice. It's just a boring part of the course and drags on way too long. I had nothing to look at to distract myself. Thankfully a friend found me and helped me push through the course.

Protip: When you get to the stadium, you're not done yet - you have to run all away around the parking lot to get to the finish. Torture!

After the race I made my way to the after party, which had delicious tomato soup, bananas, bagels, oysters, and beers. Half marathon finishers get a really nice long-sleeved 1/4 zip top. There was a live band and I really enjoyed my (alcoholic) cider and grilled oysters.

All in all, it was a good race - but it's not for the faint of heart! I thought that the organizers could have done a better job communicating how to line up with the pacers (somehow the 2:20 group finished before me even though I finished 2:15), bib pickup, and signage of mile markers. I'd give it 3.5 stars.

This year, I participated in my first Tough Mudder race with 11 other coworkers. I've been running races for a few years now but wanted to see what all the fuss was about the Tough Mudder.

I carpooled with a few teammates to Coatesville on a VERY CHILLY Sunday morning. The signs were easy to follow and we made our way to the parking lot. Our start time was at 10 am so we were one of the last corrals.

Checking in was easy (I forgot my ticket, oops!) and it was cool to see all of the military support as we waited to warm up for the big event. Everyone was hyped up and in a great mood. Thankfully the sunshine made the chilly weather (low 40's) not so bad at times.

The course itself was pretty tough, with some obstacles a LOT harder than others...but the great thing about Tough Mudder is that it is a team effort. Our team was huge, so we always helped each other and stayed together the whole way. But we also helped other people climb over walls, and various mud pits, and vice-versa. It was refreshing to have a team spirit, which you don't really find when running a typical road race.

Long story short, the race was 10.1 miles long. If you didn't want to do an obstacle, you could skip it with no penalty. I skipped a few that involved water towards the end since it was so cold. But I did NOT skip Arctic Enema...phew! There were also buses along the course where you could warm up, which was much appreciated.

You only had to run a mile or two, tops between obstacles...the running wasn't bad at all. There were some VERY steep hills, and some pretty awesome trail running in the forest, but I think it wasn't too challenging for people who don't run all the time - you could always walk. Some people did get muscle cramps on the course, which was pretty scary.

The Electroshock Therapy is the last obstacle before the finish...and it's TOUGH! But just keep moving quickly and before you know it, you're a tough mudder! You get a headband for finishing (when you're a repeat mudder, you get different headbands), and a finisher T-shirt. This year the shirts were cotton, NOT UnderArmor, which definitely felt like a rip-off.

Everything was organized well, I got my free Shock Top Beer, but they nickel and dime you for everything! $10 bag drop, $15 (or more) for parking, $20 to spectate...and I paid $175 for registration in July for an event in October. Crazy.

I would definitely do a Tough Mudder again in the future because it was a lot of fun to just go for it and challenge yourself, but I'm in no hurry. I think I'd like to try the Spartan...that seems to be a lot more challenging. I'm just glad I didn't get hurt along the way!

I absolutely loved the 1/2 Sauer 1/2 Kraut Half Marathon! My boyfriend ran it last year and he loved it, so this year we both decided to participate!

The weather was forecast to be very hot and humid, but thankfully running through Pennypack Park in the Northeast Section of Philadelphia made conditions not as bad as they could have been! Thank goodness for shade! There were plenty of stops to pick up water or Gatorade and there were volunteers dressed in German attire.

The course is absolutely beautiful along Pennypack Creek along a bike path and full of hills that were quite challenging! There is one section where you're on a very narrow trail where you get to dodge branches and horse poop. Everything was clearly labeled so it was impossible to get lost.

The race was so much fun and I loved the energy of everyone involved in the race! When I finished there was plenty of watermelon, Twizzlers, duplex cookies, and even homemade coffee cake...definitely beats bagels and bananas! Then at the afterparty we had free beer and bratwurst with sauerkraut! Everything was delicious.

The medal is very nice but I believe the same design is used every year, same as the T-shirts. We were able to buy some shirts from past years for only $2 to benefit charity so that was a great deal.

This is a great race that takes you off the usual path of the more popular road races in the city. The heat was ridiculous but I still had a blast! I'd highly recommend experienced runners to tackle this race!

This was my first time running the Zooma Annapolis 10K. My friend is a huge fan of the race so she invited me to run it with her. We made the drive down from Philadelphia to Annapolis the day before the race.

The Expo was held in a couple of conference rooms in the Loews hotel, with lots of vendors selling cute T-shirts, socks and such. Being the non-impulsive shopper that I am, I didn’t buy anything. When we got our bags from registration, I checked out the T-shirt and realized it was a bit snug. I wanted to change out the shirt to a medium but was told I’d have to take care of it on race day.

The race started out in the stadium parking lot and then we headed out to the street to meet our first hill of many. I was SO glad to know what was coming because it feels so much better to be able to anticipate what’s up ahead! Once we were running, the humidity really started to kick in, so I was a little nervous.
Unfortunately the mile markers did not line up with my Nike+ watch, so I always hit the mile before we came across the official mile marker. I didn’t want to stress too much about my pace, even though I had far off dreams of running a sub-60 minute 10K. The heat, humidity and hills were not going to make that easy for me! Still, I was surprised I was able to stay under or around a 10 minute pace under these conditions. You could never enjoy a downhill for too long because you knew there was going to be another uphill soon after! There was more than a couple of times where I told Jo I needed to slow down. There was even a point where she told me to stop slouching! My breathing was gradually getting heavier as the race went on. Still, I had flashing moments where I felt like I was in the zone. I had my water bottle so I sipped at each mile and occasionally stopped for water, trying to keep moving as best as I could.

The first 3 miles went by so fast, I couldn’t believe that I was already on the last half of the course! We got to the dock around mile 3 and it was time for me to hit my Clif Shotbloks. Unfortunately, this required me to walk, so I felt bad about losing some momentum. But the Shotbloks always give me a surge so I was happy to take it! We turned around a couple of corners and then came up to a very long hill on a residential street. It was endless! Around this point, the half marathoners took a left since they had a LONG way to go, while we went straight ahead. We had a decent descent once we reached the peak of that hill, but we were quickly coming to the big boy: The Naval Academy Bridge.

We only had to go up the Bridge halfway but that was more than enough! Jo told me to look to the side towards the water instead of looking straight up. It was SO steep! And meanwhile the sun was beaming! I was really tested here, and Jo told me later that she thought this might be the point where I’d walk…but I didn’t! I kept running. I was so happy when we made it to the top – the half marathoners went straight on as we turned around…I knew at this point everything would feel a lot easier! So around mile 5 I was supposed to pick it up to the end. It was a bit tough (because again, more hills!), but around the last half mile of the race, I found a surge. Jo told me to “Go, go!” and I went ahead. I still couldn’t see the finish line but I knew it was close. I had 2 more hills to climb before making it to the finish, but I was so happy as I heard them say my name over the loudspeaker. This is it!

The race was done and I enjoyed the runner’s high for a little bit. I got my medal and a bottle of water and waited for Jo who arrived maybe a couple of minutes after me. We went to stretch, take a couple of pictures, grab some food (they had hummus or chicken salad to choose from), and then go for a free post-race massage. My massage therapist was a really nice guy and did a great job! Unfortunately even with massage, Jo’s foot was hurting pretty badly. We ended up going over to drink our free Barefoot wine, and yes, I had one of each flavor! They were offering their Barefoot Refresh brand: Crisp Red, Summer Red, Perfectly Pink, and Sweet White. Summer Red was definitely my favorite!

Pros:

Well-organized race. Zooma did a great job with the race. While I would have liked more communication leading up, I thought for the most part things were done well.
Challenging course. As much as I may have complained, this race course was awesome. The map doesn’t do it justice. I really enjoyed running over the big bridge!
Not too many runners. After the crazy crowd of the Cherry Blossom Run, it was nice to feel like I could breathe during the race. This was the perfect size.
Great band. There wasn’t any music along the course but the post-race entertainment was really good. The band played Taylor Swift, Bruno Mars, and even Will Smith. It was a lot of fun!
Great post-race massage. It’s not often that I get to get a massage after a race and it was worth it!
Wine! We probably could have stayed and drank for a long time. They kept the bubbly flowing!

Cons:

Bathrooms were disorganized. I mentioned the mess earlier. Hopefully they don’t make this mistake in future races. I didn’t recall see any bathrooms along the course either, but I wasn’t really looking!
The crowds lacked energy. I was happy to see that people were out along the course, but they were SO quiet! Jo kept on telling them to cheer for us! So many times I could have used a surge from the spectators but most didn’t even clap!
Water stations were a little hectic. I know Jo got handed Gatorade when she asked for water, so that could have definitely been a problem if that happened to others. It looked like they added additional stations along the route due to weather, so I do appreciate that.

I definitely recommend this challenging race and hope to do it again next year! I give more details on my blog: http://www.runwithnoregrets.com/2015/06/zooma-annapolis-10k-race-recap/