Cape Canaveral Lighthouse Foundation 10K & Half Marathon
I signed up for the 10K in hopes of running it in under 1 hour. My PR at the time was 1:06:00 from this year’s Princess 10K. My training plan had me running this in a time of 58:52.
This was the first year of these races. The proceeds are benefiting the Cape Canaveral Lighthouse to keep it updated and add on to the historic site. The course is on the CC Air Force Base so runners and spectators must be a US citizen and supply either a Drivers License or a Social Security Number at time of registration. 10K runners were allowed one spectator. Half runners were allowed one spectator for free & could pay for two more @ $10 each. They had military and individual registrations. Over 500 military members participated! The course is a race on a space base. There were old launching sites and other historic things to see.
DH and I left around 4:20am and arrived in a backup of traffic to get on base at 5:15am. It took us 15 minutes to get through it and park.
I needed to get my bib so we made our way over there. It took 40 minutes! They really need to work on this process, and I bet it will be better next year! Military, 10K & half runners all had to wait in the same line. Spectators had their own line. They were digging out bibs, writing on and attaching bands to your wrist to get on bus to the start line and gathering up swag (shirt & hat). They really should have had three separate lines, the bands attached to the bib ready to go and swag already prepped. Because of traffic and slow bib pick up the race start was delayed to 7:15am. We got in line for the bus and got to the starting area around 6:35.
The starting area is located near the SpaceX launching area. They had plenty of porta potties, water, bananas and donut holes. The 10K and half runners all start at the same time and share the course all the way to the 10K finish line. There are no corrals so it’s pretty much a free for all. I positioned myself between the 2:00 & 2:10 half pace groups. Weather was partly cloudy, cool (for FL!) with a nice ocean breeze every now and then at the start, but full on sun with the second mile of the race. The Air Force color guard presented the flag and the National Anthem was sung.
Race started promptly at 7:15. Course is one way, flat and fast on base roads. There is no shade. Water stops and porta potties every 1.5-2 miles. They had one person handing out water and one person handing out Gatorade at the water stops. This is another area that needs improvement. On the second water stop I was handed Gatorade when he was calling out water. I didn’t realize it was Gatorade until I gulped it down. I can’t handle Gatorade when running cuz it gives me awful stomach pains which caused a slight issue for me in mile 6. I got the dreaded cramping, walked the third water stop and couldn’t get my pace back no matter how much I pushed my legs to MOVE to make up time. But even with a slow mile 6 I earned this today.....
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Splits: 8:50, 8:58, 8:58, 9:05, 9:13, 9:42, 8:18 (.20 miles)
I finished 11th out of 203 women & 4th in my age group (40-44).
They were giving out awards to top 10 women & men finishers for the 10K. It turned out to be a piece of a launch pad that had been dismantled. If I just dug in deeper and had not walked that stupid water stop I may have come in 10th place. For this space nerd it was a little heartbreaking, but the joy of my finish time continues to bring a smile to my face hours and hours later!
The lighthouse was open so we went and checked it out. I’m also a history nerd and would have liked to hang around inside more, but they were rushing us through. It was so cool anyway!
There was also a hanger open with military rockets and other items on display. Very cool stuff!
They bus you back to the parking lot, but they didn’t start running until 9:30 so we sat in the grass, watched the half runners cross the finish line and basked in the sun.
The End
ETA: I know I ran by scenic space related stuff, but I honestly couldn’t tell you what. I know the half got to run on a landing strip though!
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In looking at the sky this morning, looking at the report of pollutants/particulate matter in the air, and with the faint smell of smoke all around us, I think they made the right call. They had a breakfast party at the finisher's area where you could still eat all the food, collect your medal, and have a beer. I did not have a beer, as it was only 9a (yes I know, it's 5 o'clock somewhere!), but I think everyone was taking it all rather well (perhaps the beer was helping). The medal is so pretty - it is ceramic and made by a local artist. I've decided to hang it on the Christmas tree instead of the medal hanger. More good news from the weekend: the 5k yesterday was the most beautiful 5k I have ever run. Saw whales breaching off the peninsula as we went along. DH's leg is feeling good post-5k (he hadn't run in 8 weeks), so yay for that! And, it was great meeting @r2chewbaccad2 before the 5k!! We will have to come back and run this race another year!!
So much nicer than the alarm clock.
