I really enjoy these smaller, local races. The effort required to put on a great race with limited man power and resources is great and there's a greater chance that something may go wrong. Yet even if something unforseen does happen it only adds to the charm of the race and the sincerity of the race directors (and crew)efforts. And that really sums up the Ben Moore Memorial Half Marathon - a great effort and lots of support from Race director Ron Bowman. Here is a bit of information about Ben and the procedes of the race taken from the the race website -
Ben trained hundreds of runners to successfully complete their first marathon. Those of us who benefited from Ben's inspiration and guidance want you to join us in a memorial run in his honor, on some of the same routes Ben led us on for 20 years. We want to see Moore's Marines "Graduates" wear their shirts to be eligible for special awards. Proceeds from the race will go to the Anne Arundel County Auxiliary Police who Ben was a part of for many years, Chesapeake Hospice House who provided compassion and support for Ben and his wife, Betty; the Wounded Warrior Project for whom Ben was a kindred spirit, and Rude Ranch Animal Rescue. A new beneficiary this year will be the METAvivor organization for Stage 4 Breast Cancer awareness. JOIN US to Honor Ben and support these worthy causes.
Indeed a worthy cause(s) to race for.
It was a beautiful morrning to start the race - with rain coming only towards the end. But the beginning was cool with lots of sun. I didn't bother tapering for the race or taking an easy workout the day before - I wasn't sure how I was going to run it - either pace Moca, run it as a slightly faster than usual long run or actually race it. Since my legs are still on the mend from Catoctin racing was definitely my last option - especially ater hearing about how hilly the course was. Why did I think Annapolis was flat? It's not. At least not along this course which Ben used to train himself and others for the Marine Corp Marathon. I can see why he picked it!
About five minutes before the race started I decided to try and break 2:00. I honestly don't know why. I wasn't suddenly feeling fresh and ready to go - I just wanted to and I wanted that hard effort so close to a successful run on Catoctin and a tough week of training. I figured I could hold a 9:05 pace and slip in just before 2 hours. But a conservative start and the downhills made for a bit slower going for the first several miles and it was only at the 8 mile make that I decided to turn it on just a bit. The uphills were strong but the downhills still a bit tough on my recovering quads - so there was some tag going on with other runners on the ups and downs with me losing out to two races who kept pace with me for the last three miles. It made for great fun though!
The course itself winds through several neighborhoods (that all had hills!) and played some mental games with you as just when you might think it was the final stretch back to the start there was another detour through a neighborhood. Great mental training (I kept telling myself.)The neighborhoods come with the added benifit of kind people yelling support and for this (and for them) I am grateful- thank you all for coming out!
So in the end I manged a 1:57:11 (a bit more on chip time I think)on a pretty tough course on tired legs. It was an 8:57 pace and a great workout and even better race. The RD and crew worked really hard and had a tremendous amount of enthusiasm that the races seemed to pick up on and fule their efforts. A big thanks to you all.
Moca ran a strong 2:32 on her first run since Catoctin - she looked strong and smooth through out and as usual made friends along the way. She bonds well in pain!
It was a good time and I'm happy to have made the effort to be there and look forward to running it again next year. I'll build up my milage from here and prepare for a busy fall with Stone Mill 50 looming ahead this November. Every race counts!
Thanks for reading.
Eric
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