Race The Lake Half Marathon

 Cooperstown, New York

Saturday, June 9, 2018

On Saturday, June 9, 2018 I completed the Race The Lake Half Marathon in Cooperstown, New York.  The weather was nice for the event which had approximately 350 participants in total for the Full Marathon, Half Marathon, and 5K, of which 204 were in the Half Marathon.  The half marathon was a relatively difficult point to point course on two lane highways and county roads that were not closed to traffic which was somewhat moderate.  Participants were expected to be on the right side going with the traffic.  There was not much shoulder and the shoulder that did exist sloped to the right and often had poor footing which added to the difficulty of the journey.  For the most part participants were either going uphill or downhill as very little of the course was flat.  There were 5 or 6 somewhat steep up-hills of less than a tenth of a mile climb plus a steep 300 foot climb between mile 8.5 and 9.5.  Of course for every uphill there was a corresponding downhill.  Two state highway patrol officers drove their cars back and forth along the course to help control the traffic which for the most part shared the road with the participants.  Water stations were located at 1 to 3.5 mile intervals and consisted of 1-2 tables with plenty of friendly efficient volunteers taking care of the participants.  There was some kind of electrolyte drink offered at two of the stations, but did nothing to refresh me.  The event was very well organized and everyone seemed very friendly.  Even though my performance was not as good as normal, I managed to earn second place in my 70 and over age group.  As a side note Cooperstown, New York is where the Baseball Hall of Fame is located; however, it had nothing to do with the event.

Before Exposition

The Exposition

Before The Race

After The Race

The Race Director and Staff