Last month I traveled down to Smithfield, Rhode Island to run the Sour Apple Half Marathon. This race was extremely local to me - about a half hour away! - which isn't very usual for the races I sign up for. It was nice to be so close to the race I was running for a change and that I didn't have to use up the majority of my day traveling back and forth. The race was put on by Ocean State Multisport which is an organization that puts on lots of races throughout southern Massachusetts and Rhode Island. I hadn't run one of their races before but I honestly had such a great time that I know I'll definitely be running another race of theirs in the future!
The morning of this race was SO HOT. Before we started, the race director brought all the runners in for a quick chat (the race field was so small that we could all gather around him! 😂) and let us know that the race staff had put his personal cell phone number on every one of the directional signs throughout the course and if for whatever reason we could not finish the race, to please call them so they could come pick you up. He encouraged the runners to "not be a hero" when it came to the heat, and if we had to take a DNF that day that he would provide a free race entry for next year. That was super encouraging and one of the reasons why I love to run these smaller races from time to time. I tend to prefer larger races, but things like that are not things that happen at bigger races at all!
Right before the gun went off for the start, a runner behind me said something that both made me laugh and kept me motivated:
"13 miles for breakfast, not bad!"
That phrase stuck in my head throughout the entire race and I'll probably always thing of it when I run half marathons from here on out! The course itself was extremely hilly and rural. The first two and last two miles were the only miles that were in neighborhoods. The rest of the course was through heavily wooded back roads and several farms. The good part about this was that most of the course was shaded which was honestly a life saver. I'm not sure if I would have been able to make it through the race had it not been for the shade.
Even though we were running through quite a bit of country, the race did a great job of providing plenty of aid stations (one about every 1.5 miles) and lots of directional signage so you knew exactly where you going. One of the BEST things that the race provided on the course was BLUE GATORADE! I swear every race that I've been to, if they've offered Gatorade it's usually always lemon-lime flavor, so it's really an exciting novelty when there's a different kind. I was so excited that I had to snap a photo. 😂
The later miles of this race were really the hilliest, which posed a fun challenge when you're totally gassed 😂 Even though I was tired and hot, I wanted to make the most of the beautiful scenery so I tried to have fun with it by snapping photos and commemorating the race!
One of the cooler parts of the race was that after you finished, they provided you a little receipt with your race results. I'm not really a runner that will put a lot of weight on where I placed or even really my time (#finishlinesnotfinishtimes), but it was cool to have a tangible piece of how my race went! The medal itself was adorable and colorful as well, so I was happy to have a couple of fun post-race takeaways.
While this race did not have a ton of bells and whistles, it was an extremely welcoming environment and the race staff and volunteers were excellent. The course was beautiful and the support on the course was top notch. Honestly, it was everything that I could possibly need in a race, and it was right in my backyard. I was super happy with how the day went and I will definitely be running another Ocean State Multisport race!
Oh, and also I was able to get some post-race Marylou's, which is always a bonus. 😉
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