This has been called "America's Friendliest Marathon." Absolutely one of the best run and most supported races I've ever done. We had about 50 people from our local Galloway group registered for either the half or full, and many of us were staying in the same hotel, just a couple of blocks from the start.
Drove up Friday morning with 3 of my friends/teammates and had a fabulous pasta lunch at a restaurant recommended by the hotel. Then took the shuttle to the Expo. Typical expo stuff, with one major exception. Since the Richmond marathon was the official race for the Runner's World Marathon Challenge, the entire staff of RW was there. Since DH and I had been doing Yasso 800's as part of our speedwork, I went over to meet Bart Yasso in person. That was really cool!
Stopped at Starbucks before going back to the hotel (haven't mentioned that it was cold and raining and WINDY) to warm up, then went back and got everything ready for the next morning. We all met up for dinner, then were in bed before 9:30 (after checking the forecast several more times and crossing our fingers that the rain and particularly the WIND would subside by morning!
)
Had discovered the previous night that the hotel restaurant didn't open until AFTER we needed to leave for the race, so we had a bagel in our room and headed to the lobby. Had watched the local news station that was covering the marathon and they'd assured us that it wasn't raining, but the wind was 5-15mph. Threw on a jacket since we'd be waiting for over an hour - the half started at 7:30 and the full at 8:00, but we were all going over together. The group met for a photo, and out the door we went. Surprise! It's still drizzling. Oh well, at least it's not pouring.
Met up with the rest of our group at the start line, said good luck and goodbye to the half marathoners, and got in line for the portapotties.
(I said above that this was the best run race I've ever done. Here's my only complaint. Toilet paper. Even at the start line, many of the portapotties had none. It got worse as we went along the course.)
Then it was time to line up for our start, and in no time we were off. Took about 3 minutes to cross the mat, and after all these months of training, we were running the marathon!
There were 5 of us initially who'd trained together (should have been 6, but my roommate had injured herself earlier in the week and switched to the half at the expo.) We set our watches to do 2:30R/1:00W, and made a vow to keep ourselves on pace (meaning not too fast!) early in the race.
The route was absolutely spectacular. Lots of historical Richmond in the early miles, then across the James River and down to Riverside Drive right next to the river. Thanks to Tropical Storm Ida, we were literally RIGHT NEXT to the river. As late as Friday night, officials were concerned that they might have to alter the course due to flooding. We were maybe 20 feet from the river at some points, but the view was amazing. Gorgeous old homes to our right, raging river to our left for a couple of miles. All along the course, there were either bands or locals camped out to cheer us on. There were at least 3 "party zones" with tons of people, food, water bottles, and bands.
We all did fine for the first 10 miles, then 4 of us stopped for a potty break. Anita went on, and we never saw her again until the finish line. At mile 12, we realized we were looking at our watches way too often to see when the walk breaks were coming, so we opted to go to 2R/1W. All along, we were on target to finish in 6:00, and that had been our goal all year, since I was the only one who'd actually completed a marathon previously, and I'd mostly walked Disney so I pretty much considered this my first serious attempt.
By mile 13, I was tired of running. Seriously reconsidering the Goofy idea. Told Phyllis and Brenda I was pulling out of Goofy and just doing the half. Right around that time we passed the house where the owners put out boxes of Krispy Kreme donuts for the runners. Picked up one of those (our group leader had tipped me off to that one!) Struggled through 14, 15, 16. Somewhere in there we crossed back over the river and got passed by a guy juggling 5 balls. That was a real downer! At mile 19 a coach for a local running team handed me a Peppermint Patty and quite possibly saved my race. It was just what I needed at a really low point in the run. That kept me going until our next portapotty stop at mile 20 (still no toilet paper), and after the water stop at mile 22 some kind locals were handing out cups of Yuengling! I started to pass, then thought "what the heck?" Grabbed a cup, chugged the couple of sips, and immediately felt better. I think it was the emotional boost of the community support, or maybe I just needed the alcohol, but that was absolutely the turning point. I'd been really struggling to keep up, and from that point on Brenda and Phyllis were struggling to keep up with me!
Renee had long since decided to do her own thing, and we were leapfrogging with her for miles. Around mile 23 Renee and Phyllis ended up together, and Brenda and I realized we were feeling really strong and we left them behind.
After we passed the 25 mile mark I got almost deliriously happy. If it hadn't been for wanting to finish with at least one of the friends I'd started with, I probably would have taken off. But we'd spent the entire year training together for this race, and I was determined that we'd finish together, especially since I'd thought they'd be waiting for me just a few miles earlier. Our pace got faster and faster, and we turned the corner toward the finish line (which is a serious downhill) and sprinted (and I do mean SPRINTED) for the end. Every person who spoke to me that last mile must have seen the biggest smile.
If they told me I looked good, I told them I felt great! I can't wait to see the pictures from that last mile. We crossed the finish line in 5:53:45, with several of our teammates there to cheer us on. Then turned around and went back to scream for Phyllis and Renee. Anita caught up to us - turns out she finished in 5:29, so she absolutely did the right thing by leaving us!
Medal, mylar blanket, water, pizza, group photo of the 5 of us with our medals on. Then another trip to Starbucks for a much needed peppermint mocha before we hobbled off to the hotel.
Our Galloway group leader hosted a champagne happy hour in his suite last night for all of us, then a small group of us split off from the large group and had a very quiet and very nice dinner together.
I highly recommend this race - apparently the full course is much prettier and has more perks, but either race is well worth the money!
Jackie
GO! WISH Team GO! 
) Waiting at the start I was happy with my decision. There was a wind and it blew right through you. This was a small race, only about 300 people between the half and the 8k. We all started together and at mile 2.5 the 8k turned around and ran back while we continued on.
I never thought I would see the day that I would win something at a race!
Not bad for a last minute decision! 
At least there was beer, and no end to great dining options!
but here's my race report.
~50 days to WDW!!! 
