Run with Scissors was back in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park (CVNP) again this year. Yay! I ran my first marathon ever at this race in 2016 and the double marathon in 2017. Then, I switched to volunteering at the race because they needed volunteers at the race.
This year they changed the start time for all race distances. The double marathon started at 9am, the marathon started at 3pm, and the half marathon started at 5pm. I did not know that when I signed up for the marathon and T. told me about the new start time.
Leading up to the race, I was really busy with the study abroad program and other stuff. I also tried to make sure that the pain in the right knee was taken care of before it got worse. So, I was not sure if I could /wanted to run the marathon.
The morning before the race we stayed home because I wanted to reserve as much energy as possible for the race and I just knitted all morning.
I showed up at the race about 2:30pm, picked up the packet, talked to friends, etc. The weather was actually perfect for the long run. It was in mid 60 and once the sun went down, the temp dropped to 40s but it's still not too bad.
I started running with T. thinking I could be DFL in this race but who cared? I also thought about dropping at the half marathon and just ran home because the half marathon point was at Oak Hill, which was about 2 miles from my house LOL
But the weather and the company were too good to quit. Another runner, M., joined us and ran with us the whole time. The aid station captains also did not let me quit LOL
The sun went down when we were about the halfway point and passed R's aid station. The temp dropped and I had to put on gloves and a headlamp. We were chatting and running the whole way. However, once it got dark, I slowed down even more.
We also ran into a half marathon runner who missed the turned and ran extra miles (oops). We were told that many people missed the turn and got lost. The course was also longer than the distance advertised. I heard that the half marathon was about 15 miles. For the marathon course, my watch said I ran 27.4 miles.
I finished about 10pm. It took me 7 hours to run the marathon. I was lucky to have T. and M. with me the whole time (except for the last 2 miles when we did Pine Grove trail. I ran faster because I wanted to get it over with).
Crossed the finish line and someone handed me the mug. I could not remember who it was because it was dark.
I heard that Run to Share did not make any profit from putting together this race because the costs were too high. So, I made an extra donation to help the organization. I know that my money will be put to good use.
Overall, RWS was fun and laid back. It represents the idea of trail running and the trail community in NE Ohio. The people and the volunteers were very friendly and nice (in fact, I knew all the volunteers at the race). This race will always have a special place in my heart and I will continue to either run or volunteer at this race every year.
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