I’ve waxed poetically about how much I love running in a new cities. But, I love racing in new cities even more! It’s so fun to see the differences between each race and how the organizers handle the crowds, traffic while also getting to see the local runners.
As soon as Bo and I planned the trip out to visit Ryan and Amy, I hopped on Google to search for local races happening over the Labor Day weekend. We knew that we wanted a Saturday race so it wouldn’t affect our weekend plans and we wanted it to be a distance between 10k and half marathon so it could also serve as a marathon training run. Luckily within minutes I found the Over the Narrows Gig Harbor-Tacoma 10 mile race.
It fit all of our requirements including distance, new area that we’d never visited, great scenery, would push our legs more than we normally would during a training run, and would allow Amy and I to continue our tradition of running races together. In fact, this was the tenth race that we’ve run together!
After preparing peanut butter and banana sandwich and a half cup of coffee we hit the road. The race was over 45 miles away so it allowed us to enjoy the drive from Seattle to Tacoma while taking in some awesome Mt. Ranier sightings thanks to the clear day. Since the race was so far away we picked up our bibs this morning from the local Galaxy Movie Theatre. Who would have thought that a movie theatre would be a good place for a bib pickup but it worked perfectly! There was plenty of parking, plenty of bathrooms, warm heated area for stretching, and plenty of space.
We had enough time to enjoy a quick photo shoot before the race began.
I mention the heat because there was a 10 degree temperature difference between Seattle and the Tacoma area where we ran. It was 49 at the start and about 60 by the end which meant we had AWESOME running weather! Nice and cool which is a welcome change considering the heat back in New York City.
At 7:55 we headed out to the starting area, which included no corrals or fancy elite start. Instead the group of approximately 500 people all started when the organizer yelled go! We each had timing chips on our shoelaces which were only used to clock the time we cross the finish.
Oh the course. Where do I even begin. Luckily, we didn’t spend much time researching the race in advance or I think I would have been scared shitless. The out and back race took us through the Gig Harbor area, over the Narrows Bridge to Tacoma and then back.
We knew that the views would be gorgeous over the almost 2 mile bridge portion but didn’t really know what to expect for the rest of the course. We were literally running along the shoulder of the road under tall Evergreen trees which felt very Northwest. What we didn’t expect were the hills outside the bridge, which was a joke compared to these other hills. 
As you can see from the above, the hills were long as well, the two worst lasting more than .8 miles! The very last hill was just evil. The downhill at the beginning made it hard to maintain speed and definitely made me thankful that I ran in calf sleeves. Amy and I stayed together for the first 9 miles just smiling along and telling each other that we would push through. We didn’t talk during the run since we were pushing ourselves, instead we listened to our own pump up mixes and enjoyed the sights.
As you can see from the above pictures, I ran with my handheld water bottle which held a water and NUUN mixture along with 4 Margarita CLIFF Shotblocks. We weren’t sure whether they would have water stations along the course but were pleasantly surprised by the 3 stations which could be enjoyed both ways on the course. Due to the cool weather I ran in my New Balance jacket from Reach the Beach which I can tell will be a Fall running staple as the vented back allowed me to stay cool enough while the thumb holes kept it down while we ran.
Our pace for the first half was right around 9:50 which was perfect considering the early hill and my focus on keeping the pace slow so I didn’t bonk at the end. During the second half I did my best to keep the pace under 10:10 as I conquered the worst of the hills. As we came to the final mile I let Amy push herself ahead of me since I knew she had some gas. We both just wanted to be done. I meanwhile started focusing on people to pass during the last mile. This was a great way to take my focus off the last hill and push through. I ended up passing five of the women we’d been running with most of the race.
Ten miles later this beauty was well earned and a nice surprise at the finish. Ten miles done at a 10:01 pace!
Only in Seattle does a clear day call for celebratory pictures in Kerry Park after 45 minute ride back to the city! We have so much to celebrate, especially Bo’s first race back from injury! He kept a 9 minute pace which is AMAZING considering that he was out of commission for almost 3 months! His comeback is proof that swimming and strength training can definitely help keep you in running shape!
Hope you all have a great day! We’re heading out Woodinville for an afternoon of wine tasting!
