Garmin Marathon In the Land of Oz

Wickedly Fast Half 2014
I originally signed up for the full marathon, but ended up dropping to the half. Best. Decision. Ever… but let me back up.
The expo for this race is just absolutely horrendous. Situated inside the teeny tiny Hilton Garden Inn, you have to topple over everyone to get your packet. You also have to pick up your bib, then backtrack through the line of people to go and get your t-​shirt. Annoying. I thought about browsing the merchandise, but it was all just crammed into the tiny hotel lobby. Bah. (They do, however, offer race morning pickup)
The morning of the race went really well. Since we had run last year, we arrived early and entered through the back of Garmin. We parked easily and had plenty of time for potties. This year, they had a unique set-​up… they had put up caution tape between every 3 potties… I’m still torn on this idea. It is more or less genius, but if you get stuck in a slow line, you don’t have the high hopes of getting the stall 3 down instead when someone isn’t paying attention. The start was nice. in 2013 they had a really cool hot air balloon that I was hoping would be back, but perhaps it was the weather that nixed that one.
Now for the race: The course calls itself «Wickedly Fast», but clearly there is no governing body over false claims like this ;) This course has rolling hills and they were no joke!
I was able to stick with the 2:05 pace group for the first about 8 or 9 miles. They were really hauling it! My 10k pace was 8:44. that’s 1:54! Dang!
I was having a great race! I was worried I might burn out, but I was feeling very good the entire time. Unfortunately, the day had other plans for me. Around mile 8 it started drizzling and by the time I got to 9 the heavens had opened and it was a downpour. I have never run in rain this hard and it even hailed a tiny bit. I was drenched. My shoes were soaked and they felt like they weighed a billion pounds. The course at this point, also veers off of the roads and onto a paved trail that was just a tad slick with tight turns. Argh. It also wasn’t possible to really pass on the narrow trail either. Especially tough when you are trying to stick with a pace group. I lost a lot of time here because I was trying to be careful of my steps on the muddy trail and I kept getting stuck behind people I wanted to pass.
I ended up getting really frustrated at this point. I was definitely on track to PR, but now I’m struggling to keep up with the pace group, I’m nervous about slipping, I’m drenched and I can’t get around people. Grr.
The aid stations were also understaffed. I completely lost the pace group around mile 10 once I stopped to wait in line for water at an aid station. There was no Gatorade either which would have felt really nice at this point…(those poor marathoners.)
We eventually got back off the trail and into a residential zone. They had coned off a path about the size of the trail for us to stay on, but the roads were flooding and unless we were going to run single-​file, the section was way too small. At this point I was thanking my lucky stars again that I dropped from the full!
Finally the finish line: they had a cute yellow brick road set up (which was SUPER slick when wet) and even though the rain had tapered off, there wasn’t much of a crowd cheering. Even the announcer wasn’t really saying much. I got a medal (still in the baggie) and a water.
They did have the best beer tent I have seen at a race! And the beers were free! 312, Shock Top. great selection. THIS was a major win! But I was still soaking, so I got in a long line to get a mylar blanket. Just as I get to the front, they ended up turning everyone away. I was FREEZING. I may or may not have had a few choice words for the guy turning us away. I feel bad for it now, but that was kind of the final straw. I was so cold and we had another 45 minutes or so to wait for our last friend to finish. I know the race can’t do anything about the weather. I wasn’t mad about the rain, but I was mad about having to wait for water on the course, having no Gatorade and now having no blanket.
Afterwards I didn’t hear anyone else complain afterwards about waiting in line for aid stations or being told they ran out of Gatorade. I think the 2 hour pack is often the busiest, so I think they just weren’t ready for a rush. As for the mylar blankets, it probably wouldn’t have been an issue if it didn’t rain. and I also think they weren’t expecting so many new participants for the Heartland 39.3 series… but I’m still a little miffed.
Overall, I will probably run this race again despite my beefs this year. I do wish they would play up the Oz theme a little bit more. They do a great job of making little touches for the theme without going overboard, but I think they could really make this a great destination race and garner a lot more participation if they live it up a little.
Course: B–
Medal: A+
Organization: B–
T-​shirt: B+ (kinda cheapy, but cute)