Drake Road Races: Half Marathon 2023 recap

Some would call me a glutton for punishment.

I'm referring to my yearly return to the hilly race course of the Drake Road Races Half Marathon. While the route has changed a few times in the eight years I've been running it, it has ALWAYS been very hilly.

Given the time of year (ahem, #SpringInIowa),the weather has always been a wild card as well. I'm not bemoaning unseasonably hot weather either. Instead, it's usually unseasonably cold and crazy windy. Thankfully, the past couple years have blessed us with clear sunny skies, but there have been numerous years where it was cloudy, damp, rainy and gloomy.

And yet, I keep going back, year after year...

Affiliated with the Drake Relays, the Drake Road Races kick off the start of the week-long Relay-related events in Des Moines, Iowa. Where the Relays themselves attract pre-qualified athletes at the elite, collegiate, and high school levels, the Road Races are for more "common folk" runners. 

As mentioned, I'm no stranger to this event. I first ran the 10K (back in 2013), and returned for the half marathon in 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019 ,2021 and 2022. All events had to assume a virtual format in 2020, so I ran the virtual 13.1 on the actual race weekend (on my hometown streets). Then, a few months later, I "biked" the virtual event when the swag arrived ( me, myself and my healing stress fracture). 

This year, the event was celebrating its 55th birthday. The start time for the Half and the 10K was 7:30, and the 5K started at 7:45. Barb and I arrived on the scene shortly before 7:00, allowing ample time to use the (indoor) restroom facilities and do a few pre-race warm-ups before heading to the start line.

just lunging in the parking lot...

While this race is fun, and well-supported along the course, I never go into it with high expectations. The course is very hilly, with a lot of twists and turns. Also, the weather is almost always less than ideal. Most years, we've had damp and blustery weather conditions. The April wind is a solid given, LOL. This year we had the cold temps mixed with full sun,  so it was actually quite comfortable after the first mile.

Holy Brrr, Batman!

After the pre-race potty stop, we'd gone back to the car to keep warm. When we returned to line up, it was difficult to squeeze back onto the street. We wound up getting pushed back, almost to the back of the herd. 

Once the National Anthem had been played, the first corral of runners was released, so that helped thin-out the crowd a bit. Still, it was a major clustered mess! It wasn't until after we'd made the turn onto Cottage Grove that I was able to run a more normal pace and take my usual longer strides (it felt like I had been tip-toeing and zig-zagging most of the first mile). That said, the awkwardly slow-ish first mile wasn't a bad thing because it prevented me from going out too fast (#GlassHalfFull). 

I had not looked at the race course map, so I was taken by surprise when we made the turn onto Cottage Grove. Usually, that first mile goes a bit further south and then turns west, onto Kingman Blvd. Due to some road repair and construction, the usual long stretch on Kingman had been cut in half with this little detour. This was a major improvement, in my opinion, because the (previous) 1.5-mile segment on Kingman seemed to last forever (both going out and coming back, 11 miles later).

It was near the  2.5-mile mark when both the 10K and Half runners turned south, now on 44th Street. A short ways later, the 10K runners made the turnaround and headed back to the finish line, at Drake Stadium. The Half runners turned west again, this time heading into the Waterbury neighborhood.

Other than a slight incline at the start, the route had been fairly flat up to this point of the race. Once we finished the third mile, though, things took a turn for the hilly, starting with a joyous twisty downhill jaunt through most of the fourth mile. I noticed a pair of porta-potties up ahead, and saw a person come out of one of them. I wasn't desperate for a potty stop (yet), but I knew I'd probably be needing one before the finish line. As soon as I started to veer off, towards the porta-potty, wouldn't you know it? The guy ahead of me did the same thing...and he got there first, leaving me to wait for the other one to open-up. I paused my Garmin, but guessed it was about a minute of lost time while I waited and then took my turn.

Back on the road, I readjusted my "rolled-and tucked" gloves to my other hand (I'd taken them off after the second mile), and grabbed a quick sip of water at the 5-mile water station. Overall, I was still feeling good! I hadn't been paying attention to the elapsed time on my watch, but I was checking the splits every time it beeped at the mile-marks. I wasn't trying to hit any specific paces, since I usually just run-by-feel, but I do like to know how my splits are faring. They're usually all over the place on a hilly race course such as this one... and the split for the (hilly) sixth mile verified that (I also had walked for a few seconds while digging my Honey Stinger chews out from the awkward shoulder pocket of my jacket).  

So, onward! 

The second half of the race was much like the first...the miles just kept ticking by, and my energy seemed well-sustained. The wind didn't feel too treacherous to run against, but it did feel very cold  when it was in my face.

Did I mention I was committing a big race day faux pas? I was not only wearing a new pair of shoes (I'd done a few runs in them, but they were a new model I'd recently added to my running shoe repertoire), and I was also wearing the event jacket (#gasp!). Sometimes you just gotta go with your gut, and my gut was telling me the comfy shoes would be great and the stylish jacket was flannel-lined, so it would be a warm defense against the morning's cold temps and wind. Side note: it turns out a LOT of other runners had the same idea with wearing the event jacket also.

free race pics!

I think it was near the 9-mile mark when I saw a few friends at the designated water stand. It's always fun hearing your name called out and exchanging a few smiles and high-5's. My energy was still feeling good, but I dug out a few more HS chews near the 10-mile mark. Besides, I'd just made it up another big hill and thought a little extra boost for the final 5K wouldn't hurt.

As mentioned, some street repair/construction caused the route to be altered slightly. When I got back to Kingman (now approaching the 11-mile mark), it was a relief to know the usual long stretch to the 12-mile mark would be broken up. That was a really good thing, because it felt like those comfy new shoes were starting to give my left "bunion" a blister, LOL.

I passed a group of college-aged (I assume?) guys who were cheering and clapping for me, just before the start of the final mile. They offered me a beer, but I politely declined. 

Ahhh, the final mile! A great feature of this hilly half marathon is that the final mile is mostly downhill! Somehow, no matter how far I've run, there's always some mojo in the vault, and my legs kind of take on a life of their own in the last mile of a race. Just before we turn back onto Forest, there's almost two solid city blocks of Drake University students lining the street, with music, cheers and lots of excitement. The finish line fanfare is almost intoxicating (even with a good 1/4-mile left to go).

Once back on Forest, now going straight west (into the wind), it's a short distance to Drake Stadium. A quick (very quick!) jaunt downhill, then a lap around the famous track (known as the Blue Oval)...

 and across the finish line. Whew!

So, how did I do?

Well, it wasn't a 13.1 PR, but it was good enough for a Drake PR! My official time was 2:04:32 (50 seconds longer than my Garmin, due to the potty stop), but that was still under my previous Drake PR of 2:04:33 (but just barely, LOL). I'll gladly take it!

As always, the splits tell the true story:

Mile-1 - 9:58 (the slowest mile)

Mile-2 - 9:12

Mile-3 - 9:16

Mile-4 - 8:46 (major downhill)

Mile-5 - 9:20 (gradual hill)

Mile-6 - 9:41 (BIG hill)

Mile-7 - 9:16 (back downhill)

Mile-8 - 9:29 (and back uphill)

Mile-9 - 9:08 (whee! nice downhill)

Mile-10 - 9:28 (any guesses?)

Mile-11 - 9:25 (still climbing)

Mile-12 - 9:16 (the mojo is kicking in)

Mile-13 - 8:53 (big finish!)

(final .26) - (9:21)  

   

My stats:

***4th (out of 9) in my AG (again, the podium eluded me, LOL)

***106th (out of 266) among the females

***391st (out of 670) overall

Another side note: the three gals that finished ahead of me were crazy FAST. We're talking finish times of 1:53:34, 1:54:21, and 1:56:20. YOWZA!

Amazingly, while I did feel tired (I'd just run 13.2 hilly miles in the wind after all), I didn't feel totally spent. I guess that means I should have/could have pushed a little more...but, I'm just not that kind of a  runner. I love to run strong, but I don't "need" to finish with an empty tank. That works for many, but it's not my gig.

I took a few minutes to grab a Gatorade and do some stretches. I got a pic with Griff II, he's the honorary "King Bull Dog" of the Drake Relays (also, in case it's not obvious, Drake University's mascot is a bulldog).

I found Rachael, and a few minutes later we found Barb.

(pic courtesy of Rachael)

As mentioned, this year's jacket is topnotch! The joke was I couldn't just say, "It'll be easy to spot me, I'll be wearing the event jacket" because so many others were wearing them too. It would be nice if the jacket had the Half Marathon designation on it, but that's certainly not a deal-breaker.

...and the medal is legit, too. 

A few other things worth mentioning...

**The majority of the race course is through residential neighborhoods. There are numerous police officers controlling the traffic and every intersection. 

**As with the residential setting, there are many people spectating, on their front lawns. Many are offering beverages.

**There were numerous water stands along the entire race course, almost at every mile mark.

So, yeah, this race is a great one! There's something empowering about returning to a tough race, year after year. Even when my finish times are slower than in previous years, I still feel invigorated taking on the challenge of conquering all those hills (and the wind!). And, when I do come close, or set a new PR? The sweet taste of victory is mine (please excuse the melodrama, LOL). Seriously, though, it's truly a reminder of what a precious gift running is, especially distance running. It's a gift I don't take for granted. End of story.

So, that's what went down at the 2023 Drake Road Races Half Marathon. 

Do you have a favorite race that you just "have" to do every year? Do you feel empowered by taking on tough race courses? Or, do you prefer a less challenging race course in exchange for a faster finish time? Have you ever worn the event swag to the actual race? 

I'm linking this with Kim and Zenaida for the Tuesday Topics Link-Up

By the way...are you following me on social media? 

Let's connect : Facebook Instagram  Pinterest Twitter