Rehoboth Beach Half Marathon & Marathon

SteveRunRehobothWhat a great weekend I had at the Rehoboth Beach Half Marathon & Marathon! I opted to run the half since I haven’t had enough training volume due to chemo treatments. And I had never run this race which made it a fun adventure on race day. For me, there’s something to be said for having no clue where the road ahead leads. It was a fresh and new course for me which was awesome.

There were a couple of non race related details that made this weekend even more special. For starters we stayed with good friends Alan and Sue who live about a mile from the start of the race. It’s always great connecting with them, they are good people. Additionally, Alan was volunteering which meant he and I arrived at the start nice and early and parked about 20 yards from the start line! So I got to sit in a nice toasty car until it was time to shed some layers, warm up a little, and then hit the road running. What a perfect way to start a race.

The course itself was flat and fast and weather conditions were pretty darn good for a December morning in the Mid Atlantic region. We made our way through the streets of Rehoboth and spent several miles on a packed multi-purpose trail which gave the race a certain tranquil and back to nature feel. This was a well-engineered, well executed event with great volunteers and everything you want in a half marathon & marathon.

SteveBeerRehobothAs I made my way through the finish chute, Mary Beth – the Race Director who was announcing, made my finish extra special by calling out the fact that I had finished up chemo and was in the process of crushing cancer. That was meaningful.  And of course my wife Mary Grace was there to greet me as she always does with a huge hug and a smile.  Who wouldn’t race with a reward like that?

The icing on the cake was the kick ass after party consisting of a full breakfast and lunch spread and Dogfiish Head beer! It’s always a little strange throwing back a post-race beer at 10 AM. But then again, I did drink their Breakfast Stout. It must have been good for me.

All in all it was a great weekend with great company. I highly recommend this race to anyone who wants a quality half marathon or marathon in a beautiful seashore town without all of the noise and chaos of a big city race. I’ll be back next year for sure!

This was another exclamation point or knockout punch race for me. Let me explain. I underwent chemo treatments in July, August, September, and October. At the conclusion of each treatment cycle, I made it a point to do some kind of a race to send the leukemia a strong message. In July I raced a sprint Duathlon. In August I raced a 5k. In September I raced two 5Ks. And in November, in celebration of finishing up all treatment in October, I raced 2 half marathons. I’m not running away from leukemia. I’m running at it, over it, and through it in full blitz mode.

That’s a wrap for me for 2016. I’m sure I’ll jump into a holiday run or two before the end of the year, but year bigger races are done. Races for 2017 are shaping up. It’s going to be a great year with the return of much longer distances which I missed this year. Most importantly, it’s going to be a healthy year.

Happy Holidays to all.

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