Greg invited me to run this race and we wanted to go 1-2. But of course the allure of big money for the course record attracted an Olympic Trials Qualifier to the field. As a sub-elite, or a good club runner as some would call me, you always run the risk of running a smaller race that has a shitty course or very bad management. Overall the Delaware half wasn't that bad. The good: It was free to enter, we had an elite tent, we had free food, beer, and other swag from the race. The weather was perfect, at 54 degrees with a light breeze. This was the good news.
The bad news about Delaware: 1. The course was full of constant turns which were not all correctly marked. Greg and I had to slow to a jog once to figure out where to go. we had no bike escort. We also took a slight wrong turn at another spot because there was no one there to direct us and the marshals/police just ignored us since there were relay runners around us. 2. The relay runners. At mile three we slammed right into four-wide relay joggers who were impossible to weave around and we couldn't take the tangents. Seriously, what kind of race puts a relay right in the way of the faster half marathoners? It was obnoxious. It was obvious the race only cared about making a profit, jamming as many races onto the course as possible without regards to running a smooth operation. 3. The course-it was awful as far as the number of turns and the ELEVATION. We were cruising a 5:16 pace through 5 miles. at mile 6-7 we dropped a 6:01 climbing a hill. after that my legs were crap and Greg managed to get a gap on me on the rolling hills portion that I could not make up. by then the legs were shot and the downhill portion seemed not to help at all. see my splits and elevation below:
 As you can see from 6-7 sucked ass and I was never able to recover my legs:
splits: 5:24, 5:15, 5:12, 5:19, 5:18, 5:18, 6:01!, 5:30, 5:28, 5:28, 5:25, 5:20, 5:27, .25
The good news: 1. I made $150 bucks. 2. I was able to keep up with Greg for longer than I used to. 3. Here are the PRs of the top three in the race, their times today, and difference:
1. Andrew Weaver: 1:04:27 time today: 1:08:49 Difference: 4min 22 sec.
2. Greg Mariano: 1:08:31 time today: 1:10:24 difference: 1 min 53 sec.
3. Matt Deters: 1:09:45 time today: 1:10:55 difference: 1 min 10 sec.
So the course took its toll on everyone and obviously it wasn't just me with a slow time. It also mean, at least to me, that I can crack 1:09 for sure in a race with flat terrain and a few less turns.
Considering how sore and tired I am, I call today a very good race for me, despite my time.
Results
Course:
PM: 45 min. pool run
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