This was the first time either of us had ever run a night race. It turns out I definitely prefer to run in the morning. Nevertheless, the race was well-organized by Potomac River Running and there was a huge turnout. This was the 27th annual Rockville Rotary Twilight Runfest, and with thousands of runners lacing up, I think it's safe to say it's something of a local tradition.
I picked up our packets on Friday evening from the PR running store in Rockville and was pleasantly surprised to find out that the race t-shirt was actually a sleeveless tech shirt. Score! I was also excited to get a coupon for a free oil change in my goody bag, AND Sis-in-law gave me hers since she lives in California and won't be able to use it. Double score!
Saturday dawned cool (like 62 degrees cool) and drizzly, seriously unusual for the mid-atlantic region in summer. Neither of us was excited about the prospect of running in the rain and we waited all day for it to clear up. No luck with that, but I'll take cool and wet over hot and humid any day! We headed up to Rockville, arriving about 45 minutes before the start of the race. We opted to hang out on the sidelines rather than check out the vendors in the streets (still raining). However, we did get to try the new Bodyarmor sports drink made with coconut water. We had the raspberry blueberry goji flavor and my personal opinion was that it tastes a lot like cough syrup. I'll stick to Gatorade, thank you very much.
Race time finally arrived and we made our way to the starting area. Just like that the rain let up and we were able to run the whole race without getting drizzled on! We started out in the middle of the giant mob of runners and spent the first mile weaving around people and trying to find some open space where we could run at a comfortable pace. It turned out that made us run a much faster first mile than we'd anticipated. We were able to (mostly) keep our 9:15 pace throughout the race and finished in 46:57. We thought we'd be running around 10 minute miles, so we were very pleased with our results!
The logistics were all very well planned out. There were water stations and port-a-potties aplenty. The roads were blocked from traffic and there were enough volunteers along the course to make sure runners went the right way. The spectators were encouraging all along the course as well. There was even a rock band of pre-teen boys playing for us during mile four! So cute.
Running at night is very different from running during the day. First of all, it's dark! I found myself concentrating so much on trying to see the road and avoid potholes and other uneven parts of the course that it took away some of the excitement of racing. I'm sure my heightened attention to this was due to my still recovering sprained ankle, but I haven't been as worried about it during my regular daylight runs. Second of all, it's dark! One of the things I love about racing is checking out the sights along the course. I really enjoy running in new places and taking in the scenery, which is one of the reasons that I rarely repeat any particular race. It's harder to do that at night.
I think the best part of the race for me was the post-race food. Along with the usual granola bars, bananas, and bagels, we were offered Indian food (think naan bread and curry vegetable frittatas), chips and salsa, and beer. Yum! After chowing down we stretched a bit then decided to head home, picking up the boys along the way.
While Sis-in-law and I raced the night away, Bugleboy and his brother participated in the great American pastime. They watched the Nationals beat the Braves 5 to 2 while enjoying Ben's Chili Bowl and lots of brotherly bonding. Being the hard core Dodgers fans that they are, they both wore their hats even though they were far from L.A. watching Washington play Atlanta. Go Dodgers!
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