Neuse River Bridge Run

Just posting a quick entry about the Neuse River Bridge Run Half Marathon that I ran a couple weeks ago in New Bern, North Carolina. It was a fantastic day overall as I set a new half marathon distance personal record with a clock time of 1:39:29. Sub 1:40 baby!! This was my second half marathon of the year and my finish time broke my recent PR which I set at the Myrtle Beach Mini Marathon last October.

The race started and finished along the picturesque waterfront of the Neuse River in downtown New Bern. Race day weather was about as perfect as you can ask for a half marathon. Mid 50's at the 7 am start, no wind and clear skies. A good portion of the course was shaded by trees and the only hills (modest hills at that) were in the first 3 miles. Personally, all of these factors combined was a recipe for success.

I had a bit of mysterious right leg pain that affected me during mile 11-12 but I hung in there and finished fairly strong and pain free. It was nice to have not only Michelle but my mom and Rocky, our boxer at the finish line as I crossed an overall 34th place of nearly 400 starters.

My GPS and tracing the course on gmap.pedometer.com both recorded a race distance of 13.25 miles but the race organizers assure me that the course was 13.1.

 

I went into the race with a goal time of 1:45 so sub 1:40 really made me smile. Of course, now I know how much harder I will have to work in the coming years to top that time. Perhaps I can find another flat, fast course for that attempt.

The post-race gathering was relaxing and the recovery foods including pizza and Natty Greene's Brewing Company bottled craft beer was a nice touch.

We finished the afternoon with a visit to the beach in Emerald Isle as I refueled with a brew from the other Emerald Isle.

Stay tuned as I potentially have another half marathon coming up in the coming weeks....

Today we lost Dan Wheldon

Two-time Indy 500 winner and 2005 IndyCar Series champion Dan Wheldon passed after being involved in a violent 15 car crash during the opening laps of the IZOD IndyCar Series World Championship at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

To me, no driver embodied everything that was good about the sport of IndyCar racing more than Dan Wheldon.

I met Dan on at least three occasions during the past 7 years that I attended IndyCar Series races he competed in. Each of those times reinforced to me why I love auto racing. Dan was not only an excellent open-wheel driver, he was a class-act personality that represented motorsport and IndyCar to the public like few racers can.

I'm so very sad for his loss today and my thoughts go out to his family, his team, former teams and the entire IndyCar racing community who mourn his loss.