Yesterday I ran the Cellcom Green Bay Half Marathon in Green Bay, WI. I grew up in a small town just outside of Green Bay and we were back in town for a weekend visit to my parents, so it was a great chance to run this race for the first time.
The Cellcom is the “big” race in Green Bay and over 8,000 participants signed up to run this year between the full, half, and relay marathons. One of the usual race perks is that the finish line is located inside Lambeau Field, but due to stadium construction, the finish was moved to the parking lot just outside the stadium.
The race expo was on Saturday and was held in the atrium at Lambeau Field – probably the coolest venue for a packet pick-up/race expo for any race I’ve done so far. I’m pretty well geared-up, but it’s always fun to check out the vendors and see what’s new. USA Track and Field had a booth with some cool Team USA gear available just in time for the 2012 Olympics. Unfortunately, they were out of my size in the one shirt I wanted, but they did direct me to their online store. USA! USA!
Race day came early Sunday with a 7am start. The big issue this year was the heat. Temperatures were forecast to be in the low 70s at race, start climbing into the 80s by 9am. The heat would impact all runners, but I was feeling for the full marathoners who would see the temperatures continue to rise during the second half of their race.
By chance, we ran into the parents of a good friend of mine from high school. My friend’s mom had her excellent camera and was able to capture some great pre-race, mile 3 and finish photos.
The half marathon and marathon share the same course through mile 12, where the half marathoners head back to Lambeau while marathoners continue on. The course winds its way through the residential neighborhoods of west Green Bay (or more particularly, the surrounding village of Ashwaubenon). Thankfully, most of these streets are covered by big shady trees, which would be very welcome in the morning’s heat.
I somehow ended up with a “Preferred” starting bib, which let me lineup close to the front with the elites. Unfortunately, it wasn’t warranted. I started with a pretty aggressive pace – the same pace I recently ran 10 mile and 10k runs at – but by mile 2 I knew this just wasn’t going to be a great race day. The heat was already taking its toll and I had been fighting a dull headache and congestion brought on by allergies for a few days. So I cut my pace and just focused on running a good race, keeping a close watch on how I was feeling and making sure to not overdo it. By mile 5 I was still running at a pretty fast pace, but I knew I would hit a wall if I kept it up (slowing down is harder than it sounds). So from then on, I walked for one minute at each mile marker to force myself to slow down. This worked and by Mile 10 my overall pace had dropped by a full minute per mile (and at each mile I found myself looking more and more forward to the walk breaks).
Just after mile 12, we made the turn back towards Lambeau, bid adieu to the full marathon runners (I was really feeling sorry for them), and made the last push to the finish. I came in just under 2 hours, far from the race I was hoping to run but given the conditions of the day it was a finish I was happy with. I was tired, sweaty, and glad it was over, but overall not too worse for wear. Undoubtedly due to the hot conditions, I witnessed a handful of people on the course getting medical attention, so all things considered I was pleased to finished unscathed. I picked up my finishers medal, and had a complimentary after-race root beer (I passed on the brat – just didn’t sound good to me).
While the weather was a bummer, the race itself was really fantastic.The organization was excellent – there were 10 fluid stations on the half marathon course alone, and I’m pretty sure I stopped at every one after mile 3. There were also gel and fruit at a couple of the stations. Each station was well staffed with friendly volunteers and they were quick with cups of water and Gatorade. The spectators were also amazing. I wasn’t sure what to expect with the course winding through several quiet residential neighborhoods, but the residents and spectators were there in numbers. There weren’t the thick throngs of people you’d see at a major urban race, but at several intersections people were standing 4 or 5 deep and more importantly, there were people cheering along the almost the entire course. Additionally, several residents had put out hoses and sprinklers to help runners cool down – I didn’t keep count, but there were at least 20 or so places on half marathon alone. On a day like yesterday, these were greatly appreciated. We really couldn’t ask for more from all those who came out to volunteer and cheer us on.
The news of the day was that the race was canceled at 9:25am due to the unseasonably hot conditions. The cancelling of the race warrants its own post, but given that temperatures hit 90 degrees and that medical and emergency personal were stretched to their limits dealing with heat related issues, it was the right call (adding insult to injury a cold front moved in last night and today’s high temp will be lucky to hit 72). But aside from the weather the race was well run and a lot of fun, one I’ll definitely consider running again in the future.