San Diego WHM Race Report.

Last Sunday I traveled down to San Diego for the Women's Half Marathon. This is part of a series put on by Women's Running Magazine, and for the last two years I have run the event in Scottsdale, AZ. Okay, wait, let me restate that. It USED to be put on by Women's Running Magazine, but was bought by Competitor Group last year. I was worried that might change the way the event was run, but last year's AZ event went off extremely well even under the new management. I really look forward to running the WHM AZ each year. In fact, it's my favorite among the races I enter. I haven't ever done a race report on it because I was failing at blogging the times I've run it, but it is a great race with a great course. I was a little hesitant to jump aboard for the San Diego event, though, only because it's a brand new addition to the series. We all know that inaugural races can sometimes be, well...let's just say sometimes the first time is often when they figure out where the kinks are that need to be worked out. I don't like being a guinea pig!

I'm happy to say that the San Diego race was everything I'd hoped: small, well-organized, no visible kinks. Plus it had the bonuses of a beautiful course, perfect weather and some amazing members of law enforcement on the job during race morning. (No kidding, I saw many SDPD officers cheering for the runners, calling out to us by the name on our bib, and really getting into it. They were the best.) One thing they do at this race that stands out as incredibly smart to me is have Emergency Medical Teams (dubbed "Race Guardians") running right along with the runners. They appear to be spaced in pacing groups throughout, but I saw a couple of people in need of assistance and literally, someone was RIGHT there. If you just stopped and stretched, Race Guardians would materialize out of the crowd to see if you were okay. I like this approach. If someone falls or has a medical problem and it is a mile or more to the next medical tent that isn't awesome. By having the EMTs running, they were never far from anyone in need. Major kudos on this one, WHM!

I loved the course. Ah. Maze. Ing. It was flat and mostly gorgeous, running along Shelter AND Harbor Islands where the views are incredible. The first 7 miles ticked off super fast and I felt fantastic. There was a stretch between miles 7 and 8 that was less than stellar (Passing the airport. Boring and stinky from exhaust and jet fumes, but only for a mile) but everything else had spectacular scenery. I heard some folks were complaining about the "surprise" hill going over a bridge near the end...but though steep, it was a short hill, and good grief the whole rest of the course was pretty much a pancake. The last half mile was a little twisty turny and I had one brief moment of panic because I couldn't tell where the finish line was and I was SURE I should've been able to see it. I probably need to apologize to the nice SDPD officer that heard me blurt out some not so nice words at that point. Still, because I was nailing the PR I've been training my BUTT off for, by the time I finally did see the finish I am pretty certain I was pumping a pure adrenaline/endorphin cocktail through my veins. I seriously crossed the mat screaming, "I did it!! I did it!! PR!!! PR!!!" over and over. (There is a not so flattering race photo of me doing just that, mouth agape, arms flailing, horrid form. Wait, that describes about 99% of my race photos...) I'm very sure some people at the finish line thought I was a total lunatic, because as soon as I stopped screaming about my own finish, I turned around and started screaming for my friend who was finishing right behind me. My throat hurt from screaming. I'm sure they were glad when I moved on from the finish area.

For any ladies considering this race or this series, you should know that the medal includes a charm that can be detached to make a necklace. This is very cool...and less weird for your non-running friends than when you wear your medal for three days because you are so excited about your accomplishment. (I really wanted to sleep with my medal on after getting this PR, but the charm necklace had less chance of strangulation. Did I mention the medal is huge and heavy?) There is also a cookie buffet at the finish line. Here's a tip: do not cross the finish and immediately Hoover a chocolate chip cookie unless your stomach is much stronger than mine. (I learned that one running my first AZ WHM. Yeah, it was ugly.) Men are allowed to run this race, of course, but they don't qualify for any of the overall or age group awards.

I will definitely be back to run this one next year. Big thanks to the folks that put the WHM series on. It's a keeper! (And getting a new PR didn't hurt how much I liked it!) The only bad thing about it is I have to wait a whole year to run it again. 

San Diego WHM charm and AZ WHM charm

What's YOUR favorite race or race series? What do you like most about it?