A gorgeous day unfortunately started at 5:30 am when my alarm went off. Had to get up, shower, get dressed, and go out the door. Two friends to pick up plus a Dunkin’ Donuts stop, then off to NH.

The race started from Kittery, Maine, followed Route 1A south through Portsmouth, NH, Rye, Hampton Beach, and ended in Salisbury, Massachusetts. Twenty miles along the coast covering 3 states.

Even though we travelled I separate cars, we all pretty much managed to meet up in the parking lot, parking next to each other.  For the 20 milers, we boarded a bus from this lot, and headed up to Traip Academy. They housed everyone up there until the start of the race–11am. Having done this race in the past, I know the bathroom options can be somewhat limited–this year was no different. There was one indoor bathroom, and then maybe 10 portables outside, for 750 registered runners. That’s tough.

Other than bathroom issues, the lot of us hung out in the gym of the Academy. My friend Jon and I discussed the possibilities of us running barefoot for the race. While we had both done barefoot running in the past, neither of us had been able to do serious miles since December. But we mulled it over and convinced each other to try it out. I packed my shoes into my Nathan pack, and Jon used his as “gloves,” on his hands.

Waiting for 11am seemed to take forever, but really I wasn’t complaining about it. It was nice to be sitting somewhere warm and surrounded by my friends. At 11, we all filed out of the school and down the street to the start line. Jon and I walked barefoot, and waited in a sunny spot next to the mass of runners. We had decided that we would just stick close to each other, in case one of us had an issue.

Mile 0:

With no major fanfare, the race began. This was a new start line for me, since the last time I did this, they had us start in Portsmouth because of one going reconstruction of the Memorial Bridge. But the bridge did get finished recently, and we were able to run over it and through the streets of Portsmouth before hitting the coast road.

At the beginning of the race we saw some of our fastest people head out to the front of the pack, while I was happy to stick with a core group of our middle-packers. The course was beautiful, as was the day. Fairly quickly we came upon the newly reconstructed Memorial Bridge on the edge of Portsmouth. Jon announced, “Hey we’re a third of the way done!”

There were little groups of cheering fans as we weaved through the streets of Portsmouth’s tourist district.

As we rounded Foye’s Corner, we got into a very narrow winding bit of Route 1A. We were told to stay single file through this stretch, but no one really paid any attention to that rule. This road eventually spit us out on the coast, as we headed toward Rye Beach. It was somewhere near the ocean when my ankles first started to ache.

Mile 7:

Rye Beach is home to the Wallis Sands State Park/beach. This was the starting point of the half marathoners, and also the first point on the race that we were able to find porta johns.  A quick hop across the road, with Jons help so that we didn’t get run over, and a little cold run through a snow bank. Once out, we were back running down the road. 1/3 of the way done, officially.

Jon and I walked a few more times on occasion when my, or his, legs were bothering him. We kept hearing people behind us exclaiming, “oh ouch, ouch!” Most likely referring to our bare feet.

Although near the half way point, Jon opted to put his shoes back on, in hopes that his pains would subside. While I still had pains, they were manageable–outer side of both ankles, but that was about it.

Near there was a couple who had set up a table filled with free baked goods. We both stopped and grabbed a few things, something banana related. That was perfect! I love having actual food during a race, which most likely comes from running ultra races. 

12-15 miles:

I was feeling my ankles on both sides, having to stop every few miles. Jon stuck with me the whole time, walked with me as well. At one point Sheri zoomed by us, she was definitely saving her energy for the second half of this race.

15-17 miles:

As we ran past the closed store fronts of pre-summer Hampton Beach, I saw a familiar shirt, our blue DSR shirts, with all the quotes on the back.  It was being worn by Lu, he was walking but in good spirits.  During this time my need for the second pit stop grew. Baked goods are great, but they don’t always settle well. The second stop for porta johns was at our original parking area, near the hotel. After a quick stop, we walked to the car so that Jon could get his hat. The wind had picked up as we neared the Massachusetts border. In the lot we found Cory, grabbing stuff out of a car. He had obviously finished awhile ago. As we came up on him, he saw us and asked, “Oh did you guys finish too?” 

I replied, “Nope, still in it, just needed a pit stop.”  We had a laugh, and got back on the course. 

Within 5 min we passed Lu again. 

18 miles:

The last few miles of this course were the ugliest.  We crossed the bridge near Massachusetts, and were headed down a fairly busy road.  There were tons of cars that were stuck in the traffic backup from our race, as well as busses that were shuttling runners back. 

I was not feeling strong at all at this point.  My ankles still hurt, and I wanted to get to the finish line so I could stop.  As we ran by busses, I told myself not to look up.  Sometimes when I’m not feeling strong, my mind will believe that everyone looking at me, is looking at me with disappointment.  This is hard to do, to keep my eyes down, and I did finally give in on the last bus.  I looked up.  And boy was I wrong…  No disappointing looks.  Just half of the Davis Square Runners, screaming like madmen, banging on the glass, and being as encouraging as ever!  Damn, did I need that boost! 

With a big smile on my face I was running a little faster.  At some point Jon had to walk, but he encouraged me to keep going.  I think he knew I had to keep running, I had the energy in me.

During this time I also spotted Josh—who didn’t run that day, but drove up to cheer us on! 

19-20 miles: 

Running on my own was lonely, so I was happy to see Steve ahead of me.  He was also walking at this point.  When I caught up with him he told me his back was bugging him, but he started running along side me anyways.  We chatted, he wondered how I was able to get over all the bits of broken glass.  Just as we talked about not having issues with glass or sharp rocks, I tripped over myself, essentially stubbing my toe on the pavement.  I looked down to see a bit of blood from the broken skin.  With 0.5 miles left, I opted to keep going, why stop now.

Just before we turned the corner, I saw other members of our crew—Adrian and Beth who did the half, and Anna, Sheri, and Jonathan from the 20-milers. 

I turned the corner, and crossed the finish line, with Steve right behind me. 

Finish line:

After crossing, and saying hi to friends, I quickly headed over to sit down on some nearby steps.  I knew I had to deal with the cut on my toe.  The first aid kit I have in my bag was very helpful, and I was able to irrigate the wound with water from my Camelbak.  Cut bandaged up, I saw Jon who had come in, and was eager to get out to the road to cheer on Lu.  Remembering how much familiar faces helped me, I wanted to make sure Lu saw some familiar faces too.

Post race party was sub-par, but the bar downstairs made up for that.  Overall a fun race, and a beautiful course.  I would do this one again!

Place, Time, Name

13.1:

120  1:58  Beth

256  2:19  Adrian

20 milers:

22  2:11  Cory

43  2:20  Mike

58  2:25  Jonathan

60  2:26  Betsy

216  2:48  Andy

219  2:48  Suzie

256  2:54  Hannah

259  2:54  Fernando

299  3:00  Anna

356  3:08  Hannah

449  3:22  Sheri

507  3:32  Ashley

536  3:40  Su

537  3:40  Steve

554  3:44  Jon

569  3:51  Lu