Victoria Half Marathon

A few years back I decided I wanted to qualify for Half Fanatics.  To qualify at the minimum level you need to either run 2 half marathons in 16 days or 3 in 90 days.  I had managed to get 2 in 3 weeks previously or had my 3 in 90 days lined up only to not complete them due to poor and inconsistent training on my part or injuries that kept me from participating.  This year I decided was the year I was going to qualify. I love the half marathon distance, it's enough to feel like I've really put a good effort in but not enough to make me feel completely beat.

Last Saturday Mr. B and I headed up to Victoria, BC, Canada for the weekend so that I could run my 2nd half of my 3 to qualify for half fanatics.  My first of three runs was the You Go Girl! half marathon in Tacoma in September which I trudged through with a major head cold.  I was not going to be deterred from qualifying this year!

We arrived Saturday, via the Victoria Clipper, and were able to check into our hotel early and drop our bags before heading off to lunch and the race expo.  At the expo, I got my race bib and prepared to head into the exhibitor hall to see what other races were being promoted and to pick up new replacement bottles for my water belt.

One of the first booths I saw was for the Rock n Roll run series and they were offering $10 off the new RNR Portland Race next May and a free t-shirt.  Sweet!  The only problem was that the person running the booth had gone to lunch.  There was a hand written note that they would be back by 2.  It was maybe quarter to 1 at that point.  I figured I could walk around the expo and check back knowing that I needed to pick up a few things.  To my disappointment, there were no vendors at the expo selling goods outside of the race sponsor selling race wear.  In addition, the race had maybe 25 total vendors most of which were for other races so I had to go to a local running store to find what I needed for the race.

Rather than do a complete race report, I'll list out my pluses and minuses from the trip.  Mr B and I had a great time getting away for a few short days and I would love to get up to Victoria again soon

Pluses:

• Timing chip on the race bib so no potential of forgetting the timing chip in the hotel room
• km markings helped me with my pacing, although I had to do more math (running and math don't always go together)
• A hotel only 2 blocks from the start is a wonderful thing and early check in.
• Victoria is a very walkable city, no real need for a car unless you want to go see Butchart Gardens
• A mini vacation close to home
• Amazing chocolate milk drink with protein at the finish

Minuses:

• Very small and sparse race expo.  No opportunity for race participants to pick up any sort of gear except race merchandise.
• The exchange rate, now that that exchange rate is nearly 1 to 1 the higher prices in Canada make it a more expensive trip.  It seems like some retailers still have a different price for goods sold in Canada versus the US.
• km markings...did I mention above running and math don't tend to go well with one another?
• Smelling fresh baked cinnamon rolls at the 3km mark knowing I have 18 more to run
• Feeling out of shape
• The long slow incline in the middle of the race I had managed to forget.