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Today after work, I ran an out and back to Veteran’s park Dog Park–7 miles total. On the way back, I caught up to another runner at a stop light. I started across the street first and felt/saw him behind me for the next mile until I stopped at the next stop light. The other runner wasn’t there. I think that I imagined him behind me the whole way. It definitely helped me push the pace. I should imagine people behind me all the time. There were only a couple of dogs at the dog park, which was disappointing. Usually, it is a lot of fun to watch.

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Pennsylvania and New Jersey runners, make room on your calendar for the Uncle Dave’s Ice Cream Jog ‘n Hog on July 15, 2012. Run 2 miles, eat ice cream and run 2 miles back. It should be a lot of fun.

Uncle Dave’s Ice Cream Jog ‘n Hog
July 15, 2012
Race Begins: 8:30 AM
Junior Hogger Begins: 10 AM
Shady Brook Farm, Yardley, PA

July 15 is National Ice Cream Day. What better way to celebrate than to run the Uncle Dave’s Ice Cream Jog ‘n Hog. Uncle Dave’s has been making its own super premium, hand-dipped ice cream since 2007. Trust us, it’s some of the smoothest, richest ice cream you’ll ever taste. Held on the grounds of Shady Brook Farm just north of Philadelphia, this event will consist of running 2 miles, downing a quart of Uncle Dave’s ice cream, and then running 2 miles back. Spoons included.

Jog ‘n Hog is a proud supporter of the Bucks County Housing Groups Penndel Food Pantry. Racers are asked to bring one non-perishable food item to the race.

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There’s a nice write up here about the Superhero Half Marathon & Relay which will take place on Sunday, May 20th in Morristown, New Jersey.

Race organizers hope to assemble more than 1,580 caped runners, which is the current Guinness World Record.

I’ve run this race as part of a relay the past two years and it is a lot of fun. This year will be the first time that I will wear a costume. I’m looking forward to it. The weather forecast looks good. If you’re a runner in the vicinity of Morristown, it’s worth checking out.

Continue reading »]]> This was my 5 time participating in the Broad Street Run in Philadelphia. This is truly a unique race, which is embraced the the city of Philadelphia. The race has grown in size every year. This year there were over 40,000 runners. Logistics aside (overloaded registration that sold out in hours and the squeezing that many people into start/finish areas), the actual race was a lot of fun. The energetic spectators and volunteers really make this race. All the words of encouragement, cowbells, funny signs, high-fives and smiles added up to a great experience. I was genuinely happy. My goal was to run between 1:20:00 and 1:25:00 for the 10 miles. I was right on target and finished in 1:23:16.

Here are some photos from before, during and after the race.

Continue reading »]]> I’m excited that there are two brand new half marathons taking place in Mercer county New Jersey this November. Both races are a short drive away.

Princeton Half Marathon – Sunday, November 4, 2012
The Biggest Thing to Hit Princeton Since the Big Bang Theory. Our 13.1 mile course may be the most picturesque in the country, encompassing the D&R Canal, Princeton University, Einstein’s house and Lake Carnegie. Proceeds benefit HiTOPS Health Center, a nonprofit dedicated to adolescent health care since 1987.
www.princetonhalfmarathon.com/

Trenton Double Cross Half Marathon – Saturday, November 10, 2012
Welcome to the first ever Half Marathon that will take place in Trenton; it will incorporate the Capitol district, waterfront area, select areas in PA, 2 bridges, and a baseball stadium. The Half Marathon spans 13.1 miles and test the mettle of athletes from all over.
www.trentonhalf.com

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Today, I participated in the 3rd annual Unite Half Marathon at Rutgers. I drove up on race morning, parked near the finish line and walked a 1.5 miles to the start. I was there early enough that I didn’t have to worry about rushing to the start. I had a little trouble finding the pedestrian bridge to cross Route 18, but once I found that it was easy enough to navigate even without any event signs.

I ran into a friend in the starting area and also had a chance to say hi to another friend’s son who was getting ready to perform in the marching band at the race. I lined up in the starting corral at the end of the 9 minute/mile area, just before the 10 minute pace group. My goal was to run around 8:30/mile pace. Thankfully, the rain showers held off for most of the race. Towards the end of the race, I was happy that it was raining lightly because I was overheated at that point.

I crossed the finish line with a chip time of 1:52:16 (8:34/mile pace), which I was happy with. I had energy at the finish line and I suppose that I could have run faster earlier. I was concerned about pushing to hard early on. The main reason was I was cautious was that I had only ran once in the two weeks prior to the race due to severe allergies. With that in mind, I had a successful race.

The musical entertainment along the course was great, aside, from a song about laying flowers on someone’s grave, which was an odd selection. The spectators and volunteers were encouraging. It was great to see the other runners from the trail group out on the course. The course had several out and backs so I preoccupied myself with looking for people that I knew. Post race goodies included bananas, oranges, pizza, bread and cookies. It was nice to catch up with the other trail runners after the race and talk with my friend’s family who cheered us on during the race.

I’ll definitely do the race again in the future.

Official stats: My chip time was 1:52:16. I was 741/2667 overall and 89/207 in my age group.