Shipyard Half Marathon

Portland, Maine

Saturday, June 23, 2018

On Saturday. June 23, 2018 I completed the Shipyard Half Marathon in Portland, Maine.  The temperature remained about 60 degrees with no wind and intermittent drizzle throughout the event beginning shortly after the start.  The course consisted of 7 miles of paved city streets, 2 miles of paved bike paths, and 4 miles of sand and fine gravel bike paths that were closed to traffic or had a dedicated lane with police stationed at any place where participants and traffic shared the roadway.  The first 4 miles were hilly roadways as was the last 2 miles.  The part in between was almost flat.  Volunteers were at every place where there was a possibility of going the wrong way and they were very diligent to see that all participants went the correct way.  Water/Gatorade stations were located from 1 to 2 miles apart with plenty of friendly efficient volunteers taking care of the needs of the 2821 finishers in the half marathon.  This was the second time that I have done this event; however, this time the start and finish were in the downtown area of Portland and the previous time the start and finish were at an unused ferry terminal.  As a result the parking was a problem.  The first time there was plenty of free parking near the start/finish.  This time everyone had to park in lots and garages that charged a large fee and all of the garages were supposed to open at 5:30 but none opened before 6 AM and by then many streets were closed to traffic.  The race director wanted everyone to be parked by 6 AM for the 7 AM start which had to start on time so streets could open at the time promised.  There were parking meters on some of the street but had at most 2 hours allowed and there were many parking enforcement people giving tickets when meters expired.  There was a time limit for the first 4.5 miles and a bus picked up those who did not make this time limit.  Usually time limits are based upon when the last starter reaches the start line, but not this event which based the time on the gun so faster participants had more time to reach the point than the slower participants.  It is unlikely that I will do this event again.

 Before the Exposition

Exposition

Before the Race

After the Race