We did it…again! We ran in the 2008 Sarasota Half Marathon! The race was held in Sarasota on March 2nd @ 6:00 AM. (Keep in mind we’re usually not even out of bed by 6AM – let alone ready to run a race that early! We had a whole “family affair” this year – Margaret and Ron (Theresa’s parents), Tammy and Megan (Theresa’s sister & her girlfriend) AND Jeanine (Theresa’s Aunt) ran the race too. We all told Jeanine she was crazy as she was running the FULL marathon. The rest of us ran the half marathon, fondly known as “The Halfer”, which is MORE than enough if you ask us! Margaret and Ron are die hard runners and blew the rest of us out of the water with their finishing times - 1 hour 56 minutes for Margaret and 2 hours 6 minutes for Ron. Ryan and Meg ran the entire race shoulder to shoulder, finishing in 2 hours 28 minutes. Theresa and Tammy got separated a couple of times but finished the race together in 2 hours 53 minutes. Jeanine finished the full marathon in only 4 hours 37 minutes.
The weather was a bit cool at the beginning but it made for a nice start. It was also very dark - it’s a miracle no one was trampled! About half way through the race the sun was rising rapidly. A rising sun means rising temperatures. Fortunately, those of us running The Halfer were well on our way to finishing the run before the temperature was too unbearable. Jeanine on the other hand wasn’t so lucky. She was still out on the course around mile 19 when the sun was really blazin! Not to worry though, there were plenty of water stops with cold water, Gatorade and even cool sponges to keep the runners from overheating. At the finish line was more water, snacks, and even beer for all of the participants. Everyone hobbled around the after party looking at all the booths that were on display and hoping for some give-a-ways. Once we discovered that there really weren’t many freebees it was on to Starbucks, an after race tradition.
We followed up the race with a hearty celebration. We kicked off the party at the beach house rental where Theresa’s family was staying with lots of Beer and good conversation. Then it was on to Rotten Ralphs for some all you can eat fish and chips…and of course more beer. Once our stomachs couldn’t handle any more we headed back to the beach house for some celebratory champagne, 8 bottles to be exact. What a day!
The weather was a bit cool at the beginning but it made for a nice start. It was also very dark - it’s a miracle no one was trampled! About half way through the race the sun was rising rapidly. A rising sun means rising temperatures. Fortunately, those of us running The Halfer were well on our way to finishing the run before the temperature was too unbearable. Jeanine on the other hand wasn’t so lucky. She was still out on the course around mile 19 when the sun was really blazin! Not to worry though, there were plenty of water stops with cold water, Gatorade and even cool sponges to keep the runners from overheating. At the finish line was more water, snacks, and even beer for all of the participants. Everyone hobbled around the after party looking at all the booths that were on display and hoping for some give-a-ways. Once we discovered that there really weren’t many freebees it was on to Starbucks, an after race tradition.
We followed up the race with a hearty celebration. We kicked off the party at the beach house rental where Theresa’s family was staying with lots of Beer and good conversation. Then it was on to Rotten Ralphs for some all you can eat fish and chips…and of course more beer. Once our stomachs couldn’t handle any more we headed back to the beach house for some celebratory champagne, 8 bottles to be exact. What a day!