Flying Pirate Half Marathon

At one point this morning, after awaking to the alarm at 3:30 a.m., we looked at each other and wondered why we continue to run these early-morning races.  That Paul Simon song was going through my head as we drove in the dark to the Walmart parking lot three hours later:

Still crazy after all these years

Oh still crazy

Still crazy

Still crazy after all these years

We were lucky enough to catch the shuttle to the starting line, sparing us a half-mile walk from the parking lot.  And then I remembered why we did these things!  900 runners were gathering together there, rock and roll was playing, and there was palpable excitement in the air.  Many of the runners were dressed in pirate costumes, and a woman brandishing a cutlass greeted us enthusiastically as we approached.  After a very beautiful singing of the National Anthem, hats doffed all around, we lined up and began running down Woods Road.

It is hard to describe all of the sights and sounds one encounters in a long race like a half or full marathon, the complete strangers one starts talking to - "Where are you from?  Is this your first time here?"  The miles reeled by quickly, the sunrise visible on our left, and then the long stretch down Bay Drive looking across Kitty Hawk Bay, the water shimmering beautifully this time of morning and a light breeze in our faces.  I kept passing, and then being passed by, a young woman playing terrible music, and my goal for a mile or two was to leave her behind; she caught up again in mile ten, but I sped up again, determined not to have to listen to anything but the easy conversation of other runners, the mockingbirds high in the trees, and spectators ringing bells and calling out words of encouragement.

We both drank water and Gatorade at every water station as the temperature continued to climb.  The course is a beautiful one and includes two pedestrian greenway trails, and at Mile 8, it circles around the imposing Wright Memorial at Kill Devil Hills.

At mile ten, the course enters the Nags Head Woods Preserve (see previous post), and as expected it slowed us both down.  Smooth, sandy stretches suddenly became rough gravel that threatened to turn ankles, and at one point I felt a sharp pain in my knew.  Martha had some trouble here, too, but we had driven the course yesterday and knew what to expect.  The final climb up over the sand dunes forced everybody to walk, at least at the first hill.  The Mile 13 banner was a welcome sight!

As I said in my newsletter, "Martha finished in 2:28:38, sixth place in her age group (out of 24 women).  I was happy with 3:06:27, fifth out of nine runners) – especially as this was my 20^th half-marathon – a nice round number!"  As I crossed the finish line, a fine, silvery, refreshing rain began to fall, and we hurried to take shelter as I ate a banana and sipped on some water.  And then the unexpected little shower stopped, as suddenly as it began.

On the bus we sat next to two 76-year-old runners who were an inspiration, Bill and Sally Squier, from Raleigh.   While I had run five miles last weekend, they had both run 50 miles - the Umstead Endurance Run.  And Bill had then run a 5-K yesterday.  It turned out that they knew our friend Dave Cockman, the ultra runner who ran from Murphy to Manteo several years ago and whom we had seen at the Myrtle Beach Half Marathon.

We returned to the house, showered and changed, and headed south to find some lunch to eat, since it was still so early.  We settled on Goombays, a place we had recently read about but never tried, and it was worth the drive.

And now we are back at Ocean Watch again on this Palm Sunday, listening to the sound of the surf, that wonderful feeling of accomplishment settling in.