Portsmouth, New Hampshire, Seacoast Half Marathon, 11.13.2016
The Seacoast Half Marathon was probably the most beautiful course I have run to date. Unlike the big city races that I tend to favor, this race wound through neighborhoods of Portsmouth and provided gorgeous views of the New Hampshire coastline.
I was up early, around 6 am to make the hour and a half drive up to Portsmouth. It sure is nice to sleep in your own bed and save the cost of travel arrangements before running. The ride went smoothly with little traffic at that hour and no delays. Grant and I stopped for bagels on the way up and I began to drink some water. Bib pick up was at the Portsmouth High School. There was a bit of traffic pulling into the school but we were able to score a parking space right near the main entrance. I was about to pull up my bib number on my phone when I got inside, but a helpful volunteer pointed to the print out of numbers on the wall and I checked in without a hassle.
I wasn’t quite sure where to go from there so I stretched a little in front of the school before taking a lap around back. I stumbled on the finish line before realizing the crowd was heading uphill to the race start. I lined up somewhere between the 10 minute pace group and the walkers (I didn’t see any more signs to narrow it down) and prepared my music and my mind to run this distance one more time.
After the national anthem and some words from the race director that I couldn’t really hear, we were off. Like most races, the start was a little congested as we ran through some residential neighborhoods. The crowd support was strong at the beginning but become a little sparse as we ran farther away.
By mile two I had concerns about the race. A slight pain in my left knee began, and I reminded myself that it was way too early for things to start hurting. I tried to distract myself by singing to my music and focusing on what a beautiful fall day it was and that worked for quite awhile. I really appreciated the live music, silly costumes worn by some volunteers, and the great support at the water stops. Miles 4 and 5 were the most beautiful. Here was where we actually were running along the New Hampshire coastline. I considered stopping to take a picture but I was running slightly above my usual pace and I was hopeful I could maintain that speed.
The race continued on through some more residential neighborhoods and remained mostly flat with some rolling hills. Around mile 10 was when things started getting painful again. It was around then that I started to take walk breaks. I tried to keep them as infrequent and short as possible but there were quite a few in those last three miles. 
My knees were screaming as I approached the finish line. I scanned the crowd for Grant but couldn’t find him. A volunteer handed me water and my medal and I waddled over to find a clear patch of grass to sit on. Grant saw me before I found him and came and joined me as I vented about my performance. I was not able to capitalize on my strong start and finish around the same time as most of my other races. Final time: 2:23:01 Placing 860th out of 1120.
I did check out the food and refreshments available in the high school cafeteria, but frankly the line was way too long and the food looked a little mediocre to justify waiting for it. Instead Grant and I went to Flatbread where he worked many years ago to enjoy some delicious pizza before visiting Portsmouth. Overall I would recommend this mostly flat course with beautiful stretches of scenery. There were sections of great crowd support and quiet areas to get lost in your own thoughts. The medal was a little plain and simple but the long sleeve tech shirt was very nice. Portsmouth is a lovely city to spend an afternoon.
50 States. 50 Races. 