A1A Half Marathon Recap

Who doesn't want to run a half or full marathon that runs along the ocean at sunrise?  That's what you get with the A1A Marathon and Half.  My husband grew up going to a time share on A1A, so this was an obvious choice for his first half marathon.  

It starts nice and early at 6 am- but that's good to avoid potential heat and humidity issues if it were to go later, especially for the full marathoners who have six hours to finish (the half course stays open as well as it is the same course).  With such an early start, my husband and I got a drop off at the start around 4:45.  We were anxious about porta potty lines and bag check so we wanted to be pretty early.  Race instructions also encouraged runners to get there early to avoid any traffic issues.  Luckily it was smooth sailing as we got to the start area with no problems.  There were plenty of porta potties and bag check was an easy process.  No stress!  

We were in the corral roughly 25 minutes before start.  A great rendition of the National Anthem was played on a saxophone and off the wheelchair racers went!  

My only complaint about the starting corral was that people didn't start according to their pace/expected time, which is not the race's fault as they asked people to, but it did make for a lot of weaving in the first mile as I dodged slower runners and even some walkers that had lined up at a 7:00 or better pace. 

The only MAJOR hill happens in the first few miles when you run if a drawbridge overpass, so it was a nice and relatively flat course.  They had aid stations and bathrooms nearly every mile it seemed, which is really convenient for runners.  

The course itself is pretty.  We got to run through some nicely lit up streets before hitting the beach, being welcomed by a statue of a snowman made of sand.  

There was a rough headwind once we turned on to A1A.  My husband estimates 20mph sustained with gusts, but I don't know for sure.  That's where I realized a PR was likely out of my grasp as a plodded through the wind.  About 4.5 or so miles in we turned into a park that was very pretty and virtually wind free, so it was a nice break before returning to A1A and pushing through a few more windy miles.  I can honestly say I was never more excited for a turn around point than I was when we finally saw the sign for the half marathon.  The wind wasn't nearly as bad as we started back in the direction of the beach and the finish line party that awaited us.

Having run on A1A a lot while on vacation, I was familiar with the landmarks and knew about how much farther things were, but the miles dragged on as I was tired from attacking the wind.  Luckily there were a fair amount of people out cheering, especially as we hit the park, and it kept me moving.  Crossing the finish line at 1:46:56 was well off of my goal for the race, but I tried to stay positive.  Weather conditions weren't the best, but it was the first half I ran nonstop (minus to tie my shoe) since I hurt my foot last August.  So hopefully this meant some new PRs are in my future.

The finish line area felt a bit chaotic.  Once we received our medals we were inundated with all sorts of goodies- Mylar blankets, water bottles, towels, Gatorade, water... All as we were hurried through the chute.  I was super excited to see the sand sculpture finishing area.  I took another girl's picture and she took mine.  

After that I went back to watch my husband finish his first half in under two hours!  It was exciting to see him finish and capture a finisher pic for him. 

 

The after party was pretty cool.  It was right there in the park on the beach.  There were lots of free samples of things.  Including some wine from Barefoot that I enjoyed.  They had a tortilla/taco building area and burgers among the usual fruit assortment.  A live band entertained runners as we celebrated our accomplishments.

It did get a little crowded as more and more runners flooded the area, but it was definitely a nice party.

The medals were spectacular.  They were three tiered, with a blue sand dollar, a fish with the race name, and then a turtle that opened like a locket with a runner mural inside.  You can tell they take great pride in creating a medal that captures the spirit of Ft Lauderdale.  

I really liked this race and would recommend it.  The people were great, the race support was awesome, and the finish area and party are perfect for those runners who enjoy the beach.  I am definitely thinking about returning if it fits into my race schedule again!