Saturday, April 27, 2013

Ocean City Half Marathon
Ocean City, Maryland
Saturday, April 27, 2013

On Saturday, April 27, 2013 I race walked the Ocean City Half Marathon in Ocean City, Maryland. The start at the Ocean City Boardwalk saw a temperature of 50 degrees, sunny skies, and a slight breeze for the approximately 1800 participants. The finish temperature was near 60 degrees which meant the weather was wonderful for the event. The course was a point to point route from Ocean City to Assateague National Wildlife Refuge which is known for its wild horses. The course was relatively flat except for a high level bridge between miles 12 and 13 leading onto Assateague Island. Water/Gatorade stations were located about every two miles and were manned by an adequate number of enthusiastic volunteers. Police and firefighters controlled the traffic at intersections and other key places throughout the course which had a mixture of dedicated lanes, shoulders of roads, bike paths, and sparsely used rural roads. The event was very well organized and fun to do. The one negative aspect of the event was the bus transportation from the finish line to the awards ceremony at Seacrets Night Club. Each bus was used twice which meant the finishers in the last half the field, which included me, had to wait more than an hour before they could be transported. I was very happy with all the other aspects of the event.

Thursday, April 11, 2013

Naval Aviation Museum, Pensacola Naval Air Station, Pensacola, Florida

Naval Aviation Museum, Pensacola Naval Air Station, Pensacola, Florida

Naval Aviation Museum, Pensacola Naval Air Station, Pensacola, Florida

Naval Aviation Museum, Pensacola Naval Air Station, Pensacola, Florida

Naval Aviation Museum, Pensacola Naval Air Station, Pensacola, Florida

Naval Aviation Museum, Pensacola Naval Air Station, Pensacola, Florida

Light House, Pensacola Naval Air Station, Pensacola, Florida

Kite plane, Pensacola Beach, Florida

Fort Pickens, Pensacola Beach, Florida

Fort Pickens, Pensacola Beach, Florida

Tuesday, April 09, 2013

Flying Saucer House, Pensacola Beach, Florida

Gulf Coast Half Marathon
Pensacola Beach, Florida
Sunday, April 7, 2013

On Sunday, April 7, 2013 I race walked the Gulf Coast Half Marathon in Pensacola Beach, Florida. The temperature fluctuated from the low 60’s to the upper 60’s with sunny skies and some breeze in exposed places. The course was flat with water/Gatorade stations located every 1 to 1.5 miles with plenty of enthusiastic volunteers taking care of the needs of the participants which numbered approximately 1700. Police ensured that traffic and participants remained separated. The event was very well organized; however, the miles were not measured very accurately according my GPS watch and the GPS watches of at least 10 other people that I talked to after the finish. Everyone stated that the total distance was between 1/3 and ½ mile too long and that marked, measured miles measured anywhere from 0.8 miles to 1.2 miles. Many others who did not have GPS watches could not figure out why their pace changed so greatly from mile to mile until they heard about the GPS readings. I was also disappointed to see that the overall and age group awards consisted of drinking glasses that were exactly the same for everyone with no designation of place or level. Despite the above mentioned issues, I still managed to enjoy myself. Another thing worth mentioning was one of the houses along the course. It had a box shaped base with a house that looked completely like a flying saucer mounted above. It even had two little aliens looking out one of the windows. I have posted photos of it in my blog.