Crabs Everywhere!!

At the Baltimore Race Expo

Crabs, running, Baltimore's inner harbor, and a flippy-style medal. Sure, I'll run the Baltimore Marathon!

The decision was made.  Caroline and I traveled separately and met up on race day.  I stayed in the inner harbor and she stayed with a friend in the area.

But.. race day.  The expo is HUGE. Like Boston Marathon HUGE.

Baltimore, MD, here I come!  I flew into BWI, picked up my rental ride, and made the drive to the inner harbor area.  As a side note, if you are not traveling outside of the downtown area, consider using public transportation.  The train takes you into downtown Baltimore for roughly the cost of a grande coffee at Starbucks.  And of course, there are the sportsball teams!  mentioned staying solo in a hotel during this trip.  I knew this trip would be expensive.  And yes it was.  But I was super close to the race start and finish.  And a Starbucks.

I met up with a runner that I met at the Hatfield McCoy marathon at the expo and later for dinner with a few other fellow runners she met while traveling.  Had some crab cakes for dinner at Philip's seafood, then went to retire for the night - after consuming a pre-race day beer.

The inner harbor is set up well in advance pre-race with multiple races: a 5K that starts before the marathon, a marathon, and a late-start half marathon.  The concept of the late-start half was awesome.  I did not feel the course was too crowded with how everything was organized and the aid stations throughout were packed with snacks, beverages with electrolytes, and interventions to make your race comfortable (Vaseline, Tylenol, water, ice, etc.).  The energy from the supporters and runners was amazing.

The race starts behind Camden Yards. Take some photos!  This place is amazing.  Poe, the Baltimore Ravens mascot is part of the pre-race shenanigans.  Some of the treats on the course include running past the Under Armour headquarters, seeing some animals in the Maryland Zoo in Baltimore (don't forget your selfies!), a stroll near Johns Hopkins University, and the infamous Lake Montebello.

The after party was sponsored by Dogfish Head.  Two beers- hells yeah!  Beers along the inner harbor? Incredible. Flippy marathon medal?  Fantastic.  Chip time: 5:06:12, with an average pace of 11:41 per mile. 

Bonus: I went to Alexandria to see my dad and bonus mom!  This is the only reason I had a rental ride.  

Overall, I loved this race and it still is a top 5.  While I would not do 26.2 again, I would like to do the Baltimoron-athon.  The 5k and half marathon in the same day.

Curious about the gear, pros and cons? Here is a readers digest synopsis of my experience with this race:

Shoes: Topo Flylite 2

Compression: Whatever I purchased on a large on-line retailer

Pros: Race setup, aid stations, crowd energy, crowd support, the Baltimore Zoo (I took a selfie with a SKUNK!)

Cons: Cost of lodging & valet parking

Race injuries: Nasty blisters on my great toe

Rating: 5 out of 5 running shoes.  I loved this race.  Corrigan Sports, the race organization, is well-organized.  I look forward to the Deleware Running Festival in 2021.

I will start adding in cost of travel in future blogs because this adventure is expensive and requires a bit of planning to be and feel successful.