Fools Dual Half Marathon Recap

Since I decided not to run the Boston Marathon this year, I was looking for a half marathon right before the race, and laded on the Fools Dual Half Marathon, which took place in Gloucester and Rockport, MA. I hadn't run a race in that area before but it's supposed to be beautiful, so I decided to give it a try.

It was a nice and crisp morning, very good for running. The race was fairly low key, with a little bit more than 500 runners. The race began quite slow - which was a surprise. Usually people sprint at the beginning, but this group didn't make that mistake. The course was an out and back along the northern side of Gloucester and Rockport, with beautiful views of the ocean, inlets and houses lining the streets. It was also really, really hilly. The entire thing was rolling hills. It was up, down, up, down - with no flat surface at all. The wind was also very rough on the way back, but it was still a lot of run to run. I ended up finishing in third place, so during the second half of the run many of the other runners were cheering us on (the benefits of an out and back course).

If I'm not running Boston next year, I'd definitely consider doing it again. But I'd have to make sure I do some hill workouts beforehand.