York YMCA Half Marathon Race Report 5/15/22
This was only the 2nd in-person race I’ve run since MW 2020 Goofy; the other being a 5-miler last July 4th. I was using my deferral from the 2021 race (back injury during peak mileage week). The process from deferral to using the credit for the 2022 race was easy and seamless.
Work has been incredibly busy the past few months, and my plan to use my
@DopeyBadger 2021 training plan from the deferred race mostly fell apart. I did essentially none of the speed work, and only got my LR up to 9 miles, though that was about 12 hours after running 4 miles the evening before.
Packet pickup was available Friday, Saturday, and before the race on Sunday morning. It was as easy as the deferral process. I think it took me longer to find the pickup room in the YMCA downtown than it did to get my bib, shirt, and swag bag. Shirts were short sleeve and purple by Sport-Tek.
When you registered, you selected which heat you wanted to start in. Heats were capped at 50 participants each, with 10 minutes between them. You could start at any time during your heat’s block of time. There was also a marathon happening simultaneously. The marathon began at 0600, while the first heat for the half was at 0740. I chose 0750.
I’m familiar with the parking lot we could use race morning, so that wasn’t a problem. I arrived around 0700 and found a spot after going down a couple of aisles. There were 4 porta-potties outside the YMCA, I think. They also had restrooms available inside the building. The street to the east of the building was closed due to the starting line. Everyone seemed relaxed and most were just mingling around.
I never saw the elite start at 0740 but noticed some friends from my heat were heading through the chute and onto the course. Turns out, the starting officials were telling people if they were ready run just head through and start. So around 0745, I started my longest race in over 2 years.
A friend running the race for the 2nd time shared some advice about the start: it’s about a half mile on pavement with a slight downhill. He said people start out a bit fast because of this. Fortunately, I was pretty much alone, and I held an easy pace. The staggered start meant no crowding whatsoever as we ran down Newberry Street.
A left at the end of Newberry, then about a block to a right turn, and we were on the York County Heritage Rail Trail. Among those who passed me going down Newberry were 2 men who were chatting and running together. I’d seen them right before we started. As they rounded onto the Rail Trail, something fell onto the ground from the one on the left. I was trailing them by about 30 feet and snagged it off the ground as I came past. It was a car key. I tried to get their attention, but to no avail. I later found out that they were enjoying some Katy Perry at the time. Fortunately for me, they were not among those who flew past at 2-3 minutes per mile faster than I was going. A little speed and I was next to them holding the key up in the air. Turns out the owner had driven out from Philadelphia, and it was the only car key he had with him. The key was back to him, and they were on their way. I was able to hang with them about 50-100 feed behind for most of the first half of the out and back race.
About 4 miles in, we reached the Brillhart Station parking lot, where I go there 2-3 times each week to run. There was another water and gel table. Plus, the owner of the local independent running store was there cheering us all on. There were probably 50 people there. I felt a little pep in my step as I passed by. Around a mile south of there, we came to a spot where trail was almost totally wet and muddy. Only 1 track-wide was kind of ok. Being out and back for both distances, you could see people plotting passing strategies as they approached it. At 1.8 miles south of Brillhart, we went through historic Howard Tunnel. It was muddy and slippery on the south side of the tunnel. I think it was about another mile to the turn around.
The most vivid memory of the northbound trip was when a woman disregarded the traffic control staff a mile north of Brillhart and came close to hitting runners. I was trailing that group and saw it happen. Traffic control had her back up, and they held her until I’d passed by. A nice surprise a mile or so later: someone from the nearby houses put out a bonus water bottle and banana stand.
I was passed by several runners from the half marathon in the northbound part of the race, but I also passed several. My Garmin was set to show only lap pace, distance, and time. That way I wouldn’t think about the entire race pace and time. It felt like I was pacing consistently. Soon the finish line was in sight. Upon finishing, I noticed that the crowd was very supportive of all the runners. I looked at a few of them thinking maybe we knew each other or something. Just like Disney, they announced as many names as possible when you approached the finish.
Turned out the first towel and medal person was for the full. Got my medal and a large Gatorade logo’ d towel from the second person. One of my co-workers was there cheering on her daughter, who’d just PR’ d the marathon. Then I reconnected with the guys from the lost key, where we talked about the race, the key’s importance, and the Goofy and Dopey Challenges.
Post-race food was local deli wraps, chocolate milk, apples, bananas, chips, pretzels, iced tea, lemonade, and Gatorade.
My goal for this race was to finish. 2:36 like the MW Half in 2020 was the minimum. 2:30 was something I thought I’d most likely hit. 2:20 would’ve exceeded expectations. I finished in 2:23:05. My 11th half marathon. Didn’t realize I’d hit double-digits already.
There were 329 in the half marathon. The full had just over 200. It was well-organized, with several aid stations. The local health system had stretching stations at the finish, as well as on-course medical help and the local ham radio group provided communications across the length of the course.
I would do this race again. The surface is paved for the first mile south from the start, and then turns to crushed stone, although as noted it can get muddy and water covered in sections. I'm hoping to use this as a springboard to a PR attempt this year. Thinking about the 10 mile race on the same Rail Trial in August, where I always seem to finish in 1 hour and 32 minutes (like 5 times now, I think). Or perhaps a sub-2 half attempt in early October.
