Race #160 - Resolution Run Half Marathon - Travelers Rest, SC - 01/07/12

I feel like a complete underachiever since almost every other runner I know ran either an ultramarathon or a full marathon this morning, but I did manage to finish 1st of 17 in the 50-59 age group (less than two months from my 60th birthday) and 17th of 196 overall at the 9th Annual Resolution Half Marathon in Travelers Rest, South Carolina. This is a particularly hilly area near Paris Mountain and last year it was my second slowest half marathon out of the thirteen half marathons I ran, so my goal going in was to at least run better than I did last year. It ended up well, with this year's time being over 7 minutes faster than last year. The weather was spectacular for January 7th with the temperature in the mid 40s at the beginning of the race to around 60 degrees at the finish -- much better than last year's bone-chilling 22 degrees at the start of the race that was cold and windy throughout.

This is a fun race that's organized well by the local YMCA. They announced at the awards that we could sign up for next year's race today for only 15 bucks. That's a great deal for a half marathon registration and I was tempted but you never know what might happen over a year's time, although I hope to be back for my third year in a row then.


My Stats:

Time:  1:38:37
Pace:  7:32
Overall:  17 of 196
Age Group:  1 of 14 (50-59 age group)



Click Here for Race Results


Click Here for 160+ Free Photos from Greenville Online

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* RACE RATING  (100 Possible Points) *
**************************************

Note: With my new rating system there's not a chance of any race scoring near 100. If it's important to you, look at each individual category to see how points were earned (or not). Just trying to be more objective with the details. I generally like all of the races I run. If there's something that really rubs me the wrong way I'll mention it above.

RACE COURSE  (20 possible points)
3 - Chip Timing: (3 points if yes)
0 - Starting Mat: (2 points if yes)
2 - Water Stops: (at least 1 for 5k, 2 for 10k, 4 for half marathon) (2 points)
1 - Course Marking:  (0)bad  (1)good
1 - Course Scenery:  (0)bad  (1)good
1 - Mile Markers: (0)poor or none  (1)normal  (2)with clocks or time called out
2 - Volunteers:  (0)too few  (2)good
2 - Finish line: (0)mediocre  (2)pretty good to excellent
0 - Certified Course: (0)no  (2) yes
2 - Correct Distance: (0)no  (2)yes
1 - Partly or fully on unpaved roads:  (0)yes  (1)no

REGISTRATION  (6 possible points)
1 - Cost:  (0)expensive  (1)reasonable  (3)cheap!
3 - Race Day Registration:  (0)no  (3)yes

RESULTS  (3 possible points)
2 - Posted promptly online:  (0)no  (2)yes
1 - Clear link on website:  (0)no  (1)yes

AGE GROUPS  (13 possible points)
2 - 3 deep awards: (2)yes (0 for anything less)
0 - 5-year age groups (5 points) (0 for anything less) (had 10-year age groups)
1 - 14 and under group (1)
0 - 65+ group (1)
0 - 70+ group (1)
1 - Top Overall M/F:  (0)none or first only  (1)top 3 or better
1 - Masters Category(40+): (0)no  (1)yes
0 - Grand Masters Category (50+):  (0)no  (1)yes

AWARDS  (9 possible points)
2 - Overall Winner Awards: (0)none  (1)yes  (2)excellent
2 - Age Group Awards: (0)none  (1)yes  (2)excellent
0 - Door Prizes or Drawing: (0)no  (2)yes
3 - Finisher Medals for All Finishers: (0)no  (1)yes  (3)really cool medals

POST RACE  (7 possible points)
5 - Food for Race Participants: (0)none  (1)some  (2)adequate  (5)a feast!
1 - Entertainment:  (0)no  (1)yes
1 - Finisher times posted after race:  (0)no  (1)yes

REST ROOMS  (4 possible points)
2 - Porta Potties:  (0)no  (1)limited, long lines  (2)plentiful
2 - Indoor Restrooms: (0)no  (1)limited, long lines  (2)plentiful

T-SHIRTS  (8 possible points)
2 - T-Shirts: (0)no  (2)yes
1 - Design: (0)not good  (1)not bad  (2)nice
2 - Material: (0)cotton  (2)technical fabric
0 - Discount for no-shirt option:  (0)no (2)yes

PHOTOGRAPHY  (12 possible points)
5 - Professional Photography: (0)no  (5)yes
2 - Prices: (0)expensive  (2)reasonable  (5)cheap!
2 - Free Photographs (newspaper, etc.):  (0)no  (2)yes

PARKING  (8 possible points)
2 - Close to Start:  (2)yes  (0)no
2 - Close to Finish:  (2)yes  (0)no
2 - Plenty of spaces:  (2)yes  (0)no
2 - Free Parking:  (2)yes  (0)no

WEBSITE  (5 possible points)
0 - Dedicated race website (0)no  (2)yes
1 - No dedicated site but separate page on other site (organization, running store, etc):  (0)no  (1)yes
2 - Results or link to results posted on website:  (0)no  (2)yes

OTHER  (5 possible points)
2 - Shelter from Inclement Weather (needed or not): (0)no  (2)yes
0 - Swag (free socks, water bottles, etc.): (0)no  (1)yes, some  (2)excellent
0 - Part of race series or Grand Prix:  (0)no  (1)yes


TOTAL:  72

Comments

  1. DrewJanuary 7, 2012 at 9:24 PM

    It still amazes me how similar our half marathons times have been over the past 4 years.... I ran the Travelers rest course in 1:39:18 back in 2009..lol Its a very tough course... I actually ran it last in 2010 and it was 16 degrees.... I finished with my worse time ever (1:53:10) of the more than 50 half marathons Ive done since Oct 2008...that is my slowest time... Your results from today are EXCELLENT!!!
    Time: 1:38:37
    Pace: 7:32
    Overall: 17 of 196
    Age Group: 1 of 14 (50-59 age group)
    Congrats! Richard :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Richard HefnerJanuary 8, 2012 at 9:56 AM

    You're right about our times being the same so often, but you and I already know that because we've finished practically side by side so many times. I talked to a guy yesterday who mentioned to me that two years ago it was 16 degrees at race time. If I remember correctly, I just rolled over that day and slept in.

    ReplyDelete

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