Half-Marathon #22: Walking with Friends at Divas' Temecula Race

One truth about the folks who get up before sunrise to walk thirteen miles for no reason other than that they can is that are friendly bunch. Negativity is noticeably absent. Kindness and encouragement pour from their lips to land on friends and strangers alike.

Being surrounded by hundreds, thousands or tens of thousands of fired up folks is as addictive as the euphoric joy experienced with each successive step of the last tenth of a mile to the finish line. The day before the Diva race in Temecula, two beautiful spirits from Florida walked over to my girlfriends and I: “I have to take your picture.” We never asked her to explain. We all understood. The four of us—two pediatricians, a social worker and a teacher—were taking pictures with the abandon of pre-teens at a Taylor Swift concert.

The Diva race attracts women from across the country to experience a walking, jogging, running party in pink. Bib pick-up comes with a pink tutu and silver tiara. The pink boas are handed to us just as we get to the finish line for your Diva photo op.

This was my first Diva race. It is definitely a celebration of the powerful, the pink and the pretty in all of us.

Our group of four will definitely take off for another Diva race. We’d love to see you join us. Check out Walk That Half! to get started.

 

Diva crew. Our two new friends from Florida.

Half-Marathon #29 on The Strip at RocknRoll Las Vegas

It was around mile five when I let it fully sink in that I was walking in the middle of one of the most iconic roads in America. Movies like Casino, Leaving Las Vegas, the Oceans 11 franchise and on and on. A road whose pavement was tread by people from all over the planet, celebrities of every ilk.

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Half-Marathon #24 "You Got This" at the Los Angeles Marathon

"You got this!" This is the most often spoken encouragement. I love it for it's simplicity and wide applicability. It doesn't matter if you are walking, jogging or running your heart out. Doesn't matter if you are at the front of the pack or at the back. "You got this" warms the marathoner's soul whether it is heard once or hundreds of times in a race.

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Half-Marathon #21 - Operation Jack Virtual Half Marathon

Your city. Your race.

While other folks were taking advantage of after-Christmas sales or enjoying a third helping of Christmas leftovers, I was completing my twenty-first half marathon. Operation Jack benefits Talk About Curing Autism. Sure, I’m a half-marathon fanatic, but that’s not the only reason to race the day after Christmas. I wanted my challenge* medal.

Virtual races are a cool option if you can’t make it to the actual event. I was up till 2am Christmas Day and appreciated the option to skip waking up at 6:30am to get to a 7:30am race. That said, virtual races are a unique experience and one I wouldn’t recommend to anyone who hasn’t completed at least five, preferably ten, actual races.

Bolsa Chica Wetlands

Pluses

  • You pick your race time. Expect to complete the race on the same day of the regular race. Beyond that, you are in control of when you start. Most virtual races do not require that you start at the exact same time as the regular race.

  • You choose the location. I completed a virtual half marathon in July, 2017. One of the places I enjoy walking on hot summer days is the Bolsa Chica Nature Preserve along the coast. The Shoreline Half Marathon was smack in the middle of a heat wave. I chose a favorite location, starting at the cooler part of the early evening and finishing just as bonfires were lighting up at Bolsa Chica beach. It was a beautiful walk.

  • You get all the swag and the finishers medal.

Minuses

  • You’re on your own. At regular races, the organizers provide water, electrolyte drinks and port-o-pots along the route. With virtual races, you bring what you need and plan out locations for nature calls in advance.

  • You are your own medical support. By the time you’ve completed five or more races, you know how much training you need to complete the race without any difficulty. This is important. Actual races will generally have paramedics on stand-by. They are ready to transport anyone who can’t finish the race to the finish line. See the recommendations below to keep safe.

  • There are no volunteers cheering you along. Wait till you’ve completed several races and built the mental endurance to complete a half-marathon.

  • Finisher medals are at the official finish line. Virtual racers receive their swag in the mail. Many race organizers are busy people with full-time jobs and regular lives. Don’t expect that your medal and swag will get dropped in the mail the moment you confirm that you’ve finished the race distance via email.

Recommendations

o   Plan your route. Google pedometer makes it pretty easy.

o   Use a pedometer app to track your distance. Double-check that you’ve enabled the location service on your phone for accurate tracking. Even if you plan your route, your app will allow you to make on-the-spot adjustments if you need to take a detour or alter your plan and still meet your distance.

o   Share your plans with someone. Most races require you to provide the name of an emergency contact. Since you’ll be racing on your own, let at least one person know your start time, route and expected finish time. Let the person know the latest time you’ll call to either report that you finished your race or to adjust your finish time.

o   By your fifth actual race, you’ll know whether you need a mid-race bar or energy gel to keep you moving. Bring everything you need to finish with you. Roo Sport is my favorite race pack. It’s less bulky than a fanny pack and has plenty of compartments for phone, keys and a gel or two.

o   Identify locations of public restrooms at least every couple miles.

o   Have a back-up ride. No matter how well you plan and train, life can throw you a curve. Have your Uber or Lyft ready to roll or a friend on stand-by. Hopefully, you’ll never need it.

o   Be safe. Race organizers plan their routes and staff them with volunteers. I’ve walked very small races in natural settings where I was out-of-sight of others for a quarter-mile or more. Still, I felt very safe because there were organizers on golf carts along the route and I knew someone would come find me if I didn’t make it to the finish line. Choose a safe route with little potential for surprises during daylight hours.

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Visit calhalfseries.com for more information.

*For those of us participating in the California Half and Full Marathon Series Challenge, it was the last race of the year to complete and pick-up challenge medals. This series includes a few dozen races in both Southern and Northern California. In addition to the usual finisher’s medal, anyone completing 4, 7, 10, 15 or 20 races from the list of included races earn an additional challenge medal. The catch is that you can only pick up the challenge medals at one of four races at year’s end—two in Southern California, two in Northern California. Operation Jack is the absolute last medal race.

A Walker's Guide to Half-Marathon Etiquette

Show up, race, celebrate and go home. Whether you run or walk a half-marathon, that remains the same. Still, here are a few tips with walkers in mind to make your first and your fifty-first half-marathon a pleasant experience for you and fellow racers.

Stay Right - Leave Space to Pass

The ranks of half-marathon walkers are growing, but I haven’t found one yet specifically designed for walkers. Stay to the right, to allow the runners passing from behind a clear path.

Late arriving runners and walkers who’ve warmed up and quickened their pace may come fast from behind. It’s a courtesy to not interfere with their best time by giving them space to pass you automatically. On small parts of the course, avoid walking three and four abreast.

On out-and-back courses, expect the race leaders to head your way. In larger races, motorcycles or bicycles may precede them and ask that you move to the right well before they pass you. In smaller races, it’s our job to stay alert for the fast runners heading toward us and make sure we give them plenty of space. Just a few seconds can mean the difference between qualifying for a prestigious race or not.

Know the Course

Race volunteers switch positions and are reassigned throughout the race. It’s is not their responsibility to know the course. Don’t get upset with the folks who are volunteering their time if they can’t tell you how far along you are, when the course changes or where the next port-o-potty is located. Almost every race has a link to the course on their official website. Find it. Know it.

This is even more important at smaller events when runners are long gone from the course and we walkers may come to forks in the course with no one ahead of us to follow. Give race organizers feedback if additional signage or volunteers would make a difference at next year’s event.

Music

Many races now discourage headphones. They can interfere with hearing emergency vehicles, last-minute race changes and other participants. Some racers try to get around this request by listening to their music on speakers. I’ve watched participants attempt to enliven the race for others with loud songs blaring from their wireless speaker. I’ve also watched the faces of fellow-racers who wish they could just pass the guy and get some peace. We don’t all like the same music.

My worst experience was sharing the same pace with a woman who was listening to an audiobook narrated by the most uninteresting voice in the world. I jogged quite a ways ahead to ensure she couldn’t catch up to me a fourth time.

Trash

Race volunteers are amazing. They want us to enjoy the race, get the hydration and carbs we need and move along as quickly as we like.  While it is great to strive for dropping your water cup, wrapper or trash into the receptacles, stay aware of the race traffic around you. Better to allow the volunteers to pick up an errant cup or two than break up the rhythm of approaching racers to keep one cup of hundreds from hitting the ground.

Conversations

In my experience, racers are quite friendly. It’s nice to break up the monotony now and again. Pay attention to the body language of other racers, though. Some prefer to stay in the zone, while others invite company and conversation. The same person may be focused on making a personal record in one race and just strolling along to completion in the next.

Embrace the Cheers

The growing ranks of half-marathon walkers are a new fixture for some of the folks who have cheered at races for years. Sometimes the cheering supporters assume walkers are struggling to make it to the finish line, not realizing we’re on pace, on schedule and full of joy. Expect to hear “You got this!” more than a few times.

When I’m up for it, I give back a smile, thumbs up or thank you. These folks are taking time out of their morning just to show support. Don’t worry about it when you aren’t in the space to smile or reply. They know you are on a journey of thirteen point one miles and understand you’re focused.

Community

Half-marathoners are a community of individuals who love a challenge. We’re a group of both sexes, many races, lots of ethnicities and all ages. Unless this is a one-off challenge, expect to recognize other regulars at different races. Be kind, always. There are friendships to be made along the course.

The Opportunity

As I’ve settled into the unique race experience of walking half-marathons, I’ve become an avid cheerer of the runners on out-and-back courses. During my first few races, my focus was just on finishing my own race. As my confidence increased, I discovered that I was in the perfect position to offer encouragement to the runners heading toward the finish line. Now, it’s one of my favorite activities. As I walk toward the turnaround, I love giving a thumbs up or my own enthusiastic “You Got This!!!” to the runners passing in the opposite direction. They may not be able to acknowledge hearing you as the swoosh by, but it makes a difference.

Half-marathons can be a whole lot of fun with the right attitude and information.  

Walk That Half!

Half-Marathon #17 Overcoming Disappointment at the jetBlue Long Beach Half

Feelings are an inconvenience. I didn't feel like finding parking. I didn't feel like walking. Just not at all in the mood to walk 13.1 miles.

In retrospect, I know when my mood shifted. It was after picking up my bib at the Expo the day before. When you hit your third race in the JetBlue Half Marathon you are bestowed Beach Bum Club membership.

Upon registration I was informed I was special, eligible for Beach Bum Club membership. I love being special. What would I get for my prestigious inclusion? I fantasized getting a special greeting area with fanciful samples of something or other. Certainly, a special post-race space with sanctified water, banana pieces dipped in chocolate and fruit slices in the shape of flowers or simple animals. Membership has its privileges.

As I fast-walk through the Expo in search of the special door, I can't find it. I ask one of the lovely and helpful volunteers. "Over there. In the back corner." I see it and make a B-line straight over.

Just as I would expect, there are only a few people there. Funny, though. All I see are a few tables with a couple volunteers engaged in quiet conversation. There are no mimosas in sight. Another wonderful volunteer asks for my bib number and confirms that I belong.  She directs me to two chatting young ladies.

"Ah, what size are you? We are kinda out of some sizes." 

"What size do you have?"

Turns out the largest size they have is medium. I require a large and take the thin medium no-frills Caribbean blue t-shirt. I walk over to a slightly older volunteer sitting by herself near the entrance to the fenced in Beach Bum Club area.

"Are there any other perks besides the t-shirt."

"No." She adds a note of shouldn't you be grateful to, "You get a free t-shirt."

I walked off thinking, "Not even a negotiated $1 off a post-race beer?" I expected something special. Joining the Beach Bum Club had zero to do with my third registration. I wasn't looking for it until I told was a member.

The loss of something I didn't expect or care about, something I built up from a mountain of self-glorifying expectation, created a disappointed that carried over until the following morning. I even arrived late to the race.

By mile 12 I got over it. The JetBlue Long Beach Half Marathon was my very first half. In three short years it is seventeenth overall half. Smiles all around. The only feeling I have at the end of the race is satisfaction.