Date: September 26, 2021; 11 AM but it did not start until 12 pm (note the race is typically held in April)
Distance: 13.1 MI
Place: Madrid, Spain
Weather: I dunno . . . prob low 70s F
Official Time / PACE: Let’s just say that I finished
Swag: Tech T-shirt, finisher medal, a goody bag with gu and sunscreen

Pre Half Marathon:

If I do another international half or full marathon that crosses multiple time zones, I need to give myself at least 48 hrs before running the race. Then again, I probably should not have hung out very late the night before the race. More on that later.

The hubby and I took an overnight flight from NYC to Madrid and went to the expo straight from the airport since the expo hall was 3 subway stops from the airport. While the expo was pretty organized, I gotta say that I was a bit disappointed because I did not see much Rock n Roll merchandise; however, there was a lot of EDP (the co-organizer) branding for the race. Normally, I would not care about this, but I really wanted to buy a 13.1 mi (sorry, I mean 21 km) mug as a souvenir. The ONE time that I was willing to spend money at a race expo, there was nothing that I really wanted to buy.

Then again, we did not spend too much time at the expo because we were a bit tired from the overnight flight from NYC to Madrid. So maybe that merchandise was in some random corner or box in the expo hall.

Half Marathon Time:

The instruction book told us to be there at 10:30 am for an 11 am start, BUT the organizers were running late . . . really late. The hubby did warn me by saying nothing in Spain starts on time. I guess that I should have listened to the Spaniard and slept in for another 15 min.

The start

Since I was super tired and hungover, my only goal for this half marathon was to finish . . . which I did – YAY. Overall, I found the course to be nice because it was fairly flat, and we saw some nice sights running through Madrid. Since I was irresponsible and hung out super late the night before, I was disappointed (but not shocked) that I had to walk quite a bit during the race.

While I understand the complexity of organizing a large full or half-marathon, I was very annoyed that the restrooms were not in the locations indicated on the map. As soon as we started, I needed to pee ASAP. No worries, the first rest area was located around 6K. Sooooo, yeah there was no rest area to be found. Maybe I was supposed to pee in the street. At least, I found one at 12K – PHEW. Using that rest area is kind of what destroyed my time, not staying out till 3 am ;), because I had to pee AND take two poops. Huh, two poops? After pooping, I started running again, then realized that I did not get out all of my poop, so I had to run (well, swiftly walk) BACK (about 800 m) to the previous rest area to finish pooping.

The Experience:

While running, I noticed that crowd participation was pretty limited. This could have been because of a couple of reasons.

-The full marathon started at 8 am. By the time the half marathon started, many of the elite marathon runners had finished or were finishing.

-Maybe marathons just are not that popular in Madrid. Unlike NYC and other major marathons, I did not really see many people wearing their medals or finisher T-shirts throughout the day after the race.

-We’re still in a pandemic. The hubby was telling me that Madrid had just fully opened up two weeks prior to the race.

-Also, where was the finisher concert and post-race beer coupons? Perhaps, this did not happen because of COVID, which I fully understand.


Perhaps, NYC marathons have spoiled me, but I was concerned that some of the major streets still had traffic moving on the opposite side of the road. What if one car or truck loses control and drives over the very small median

The organizers at Lantern Run say that they have "stripped down the event so you can focus on the run", and I will say this is very true. From my understanding, these races are capped at 25 participants for each wave. I think the half marathon had four separate waves starting at 8:30 am, 9 am, 11 am, and 2 pm. Since the other slots were full, I went with the 8:30 am wave, and there were about 6 or 7 other runners so it was a very, very small race. This race was more like meeting up with a running group and doing a weekend long run. The race does not have bibs, so you kind of blend in with other runners who are not affiliated with the race. Also, timing is done by a stopwatch, pen, and paper . . . very old school.

The course for the half marathon was pretty simple. We started out on Pier 45 on the Hudson river, ran south to Pier 25 and looped it, ran north to W12th Street, ran south to Pier 46 and looped it, then to Pier 45 and looped it, and this route was repeated four times. Since you loop this course 4 times, the scenery can become a bit redundant; however, I think it's easier to mentally compartmentalize a half marathon because it's easier to break it down into four 5Ks. I will say that the views of the Hudson River, New Jersey, the Freedom Tower, the Statue of Liberty, and the beautiful architecture of NYC's West Side were quite breathtaking. The weather for our run was sunny with temperatures in the mid 30's F; however, the headwinds were quite strong.

Registration was $50 bucks; technically, $53.95 when you register through Active.com. The organizers will ship your race swag to you via USPS. My swag bag included a super soft race shirt, a water carabiner, some candy, a drawstring tote, and a general finisher's medal. I will say that it was a bit anti-climatic to receive the medal before finishing the half marathon. I had some USPS issues with shipping (not the organizers' fault). Whenever I contacted the folks at Lantern Run by email, I received a response within a few hours, which was well appreciated.

I definately think that I would run another Lantern Run race in the future.

Rockapulco Run has a series of near-monthly races that take place on the boardwalk that is adjacent to Rockaway Beach. This particular race was very small with only 69 finishers. The low number could have been due to the very cold Saturday; I belive temperatures were in the low 20's.

Before running race, I was a bit anxious because there was not too much information about the race; e.g. the course, fluid stations, elevation (I assumed it would be flat, but you never know), etc. Now that I have completed my first one, I would not mind running another Rockapulco run in the near future.

Race registration of ~$50 included a regular T-shirt, a medal for finishers, one free drink at a local bar (Rogers Irish Tavern), and a small post-race brunch (pasta, an egg casserole, fruit, and a muffin).

The race's course was pretty simple: start at B116th -> B120th -> B57th -> B120th and repeat. The fluid stations, which were on B57th and B116, was a guy handing out water bottles. Since the weather was in the low 20's, there were not many spectators for this half marathon. Also, the race pack was pretty spread out so you did not really see too many runners during the race. So this would be more of a race where you will race against the clock instead of other runners.

It was nice to participate in a very low key race without 100s to 1000s of runners; it felt more like doing a long run with other folks. Since the race was small and there was a post-race brunch at a bar, it was nice to talk to fellow runners after the half.

Basic details:
Total finishers: 5,160 - 2,745 men; 2,415 women
Date: Jan. 4, 2020, 8 am
Location: Central Park, New York, NY
Weather: 48 F, 98% humidity
Top time (men): 0:29:23
Top time (women): 0:34:18
Swag: Long-sleeve technical T-shirt

This 10K is named after the man who was critical in establishing the New York Road Runners, the organization that sponsors many races in NYC.

The #JoeK10K pretty much gives you a full loop tour of Central Park. Since the race begins just below the 102 St transverse, you face the steepest part of the race within the first mile of the race. Although the hardest part is finished ~1.2 miles into the race, you will face a few rolling hills as you travel through the west side of Central Park.

Although there was some precipitation (mainly a misty haze), the weather was pretty mild, which is nice (and surprising) during the first week in January in NYC. Overall, this is a pretty easy breezy run without much fanfare. I'm actually suprised that NYRR does not do more (e.g. raffle) for this race since Joe K was so implemental in establishing the New York chapter of the Road Runners Club of America. Perhaps, there is not much fanfare because the race is typically held during the first week of January, and the weather can be quite frigid in NYC.

Due to some digestive and back issues, my performance was not nearly as great as I would have liked.

Like usual, NYRR was pretty good at having a well-organzed race. The volunteers at the fluid stations kept plenty of water on deck for us back of the pack runners, and bagels and apples were provided as post-race snacks. I look forward to running it next year . . . Hopefully, in an uninjured state.

When you register the Fred Lebow Half, you never know what the weather will be like on race day. Snow? Icy rain? Subfreezing weather in general? Or, all of the above?

Fortunately for us, we had race conditions that were pretty clear, sunny, and 40F. Although NYC had a bit of snow the previous day and night before the race, New York Road Runners (probably in conjunction with New York City) cleared all of the snow and most of the slush from the course by race day. If you have run any of NYRR 10K+ races, then you pretty much know the course. Because of the fresh snow on the fields and in the trees, the scenery of Central Park was quite beautiful. This year's course differed because we had to climb Harlem Hill (about 0.4 miles uphill) three times. In previous Fred Lebow Half Marathons, runners had to do the hill only twice.

In typical, NYRR fashion the race was pretty well organized with plenty of water and Gatorade at almost every mile. At Mile 6 and 12, Honey Stinger gu were provided to the runners. A week or so before the race, I found out via one of my Facebook running groups, that NYRR had to modify the course because of construction in Central Park. I was a bit surprised that NYRR did not send emails about this change to the registered runners. NYRR did make the announcement on its website and through social media, but I think NYRR should have informed us via email too. Since a few folks picked up their race gear before the course change, they learned about it the day of the run.

The swag consisted of a warm beanie (typically for this race) and a stopwatch medal. The stopwatch is a shoutout to Fred Lebow (one of the people who initiated the NYC Marathon), who can be seen in statue form looking at his stopwatch on the east side of Central Park.