Phew, long enough race name?
Let’s rewind to Saturday night. My dad and I got a room at the local Holiday Inn and were hoping to get to bed around 8 or 9PM since we had to be up at 4 to get to the shuttles. Well, apparently there was a family of elephants staying one floor above us because between the hours of 9 and midnight, it was a barrage of thunks, loud talking and doors slamming. But surprisingly, the alarm went off at 4 and we slowly got bounded out of bed.
Since we had registered late, we were on the first shuttle that left the finish line at 5AM. Yeah, early shuttle? Sure, but no sleeping in. We were on the first shuttle and made it to the start line at 5:20ish. There were spot lights on, Panera Bread coffee aplenty and music playing. The port-o-john situation could have been better though. With 2,500 runners, we definitely need more than just 15 stalls. Hopefully they will note that for the next years.
And thank, thank goodness that the weather was ideal. It wasn’t that windy and the temperature was in the mid 40s. I had capri’s, a long sleeve tech shirt, throw away sweat shirt and ear warmers. I also grabbed a cup of coffee to get me warmed up but unfortunately it left me having to use the bathroom at an inopportune time: 25 minutes before gun time. And the line was looooong. But I knew if I held it in that I would not be comfortable during the race. Thankfully my dad and I made it in and when we got out, the lead runners were off. We had no problem catching up. I think that it somehow gave me an adrenaline rush too that I never lost.
The miles weren’t all marked and I only saw the 2 mile marker at the top of the bridge. I didn’t have my watch with me either so I didn’t know my splits. The first 2 miles seemed so quick too that I began to wonder if they were even marked correctly. Going up the bridge, I kept it slow and steady and made sure to keep my head down as much as possible so as not to psych myself out. It worked because I had SO much energy at the top of the hill! I coasted down to the 3 mile marker and ended up bursting ahead the last mile. I was picking people off left and right. 
When I crossed the finish, the clock was reading 40:22. At least the gun time was faster than 10 minute miles. And they finally got their timing chips working and they posted the real results today. Apparently, before, my gun time and net time were the same and I knew that had to be wrong. My actual time:
Stats
Time: 37:30
Pace: 8:56
Division: 90/227
Overall: 950/1962
After I found my dad (who finished about a minute ahead) we headed back to the hotel for showers and breakfast. And I had to work last night until 10PM. It was a loooong day.
Overall, I so much enjoyed this race and loved that I got to be a part of a group that ran over the Newport Pell Bridge for the first time since the 70s. My only complaint was the bathroom situation. Otherwise, a great race and I would definitely run it again.
Updated with pictures!
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Congrats on your race!
Great job- I’m guessing it was a 4 miler? That’s my favorite running distance, along with 5ks
Oops! Forgot to put the distance.
Yes, it was a 4.2 mile race.
Great job on the race! You are right, that is the longest title ever haha
Congrats, Alaina! I would love to do a 4 mile race- it’s my favorite distance
So cool! I will definitely keep an eye out for this race next year!
congratulations on a great race. boo that you didn’t get to sleep more the night before and had such a long day. can’t wait to see the pics/views from the bridge. i love bridge runs!
Great job!
I probably walked passed you while you were waiting in that port-a-potty line…it was LONG! Great job on your run
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