Running the Bucharest Half-Marathon

A half-marathon = 13.1 miles/21 km

Yesterday (May 18, 2014) I completed the Bucharest International Half-Marathon. After training for this event for over four months, these are some of my reflections.

I did not grow up a distance runner. Throughout much of my grade school years, I played soccer and basketball and then kind of tried my hand at distance running by doing a small 5k in college. My brother, Conner, ran cross country in high school and a year or two in college, and I once got to attend a running competition that he ran at Sewanee College in Tennessee.

In early January of this year a facebook friend posted a half-marathon training plan that showed up on my home page, and because I knew the Bucharest Half was coming up in May, I snagged it as my own. That was a good move - getting a training plan that I felt comfortable with and could still fit into my ministry schedule (long runs on Saturdays). I also began reading a lot of Runners World articles about running tips and personal anecdotes. By the end of March, I was ready to run a 10k race in the Old Town area of the city, and that was a major confidence-builder. After that race, I really began to feel like perhaps running the Half was nearing the realm of the possible.

Running the Old Town Bucharest 10K Race on March 29, 2014

Saturday evening, May 17, Jessica and I attached my race bib onto my cool blue running shirt and I strapped my round, white running chip onto the shoe laces of my right running shoe. Climbing into bed at 10:30, I'm pretty sure I didn't fall asleep until around midnight due to pre-race jitters.

We live very close to the location of the start of the race at 8:30, so we didn't need to leave our apartment until 7:30 am. So I awoke at 6 am, took a shower, ate a light breakfast, and Jessica and I did our devotions before walking the 15 minutes to the race. Then the craziness that I could not have planned for began.

Arriving in front of the large Parliament Palace (2nd largest building in the world, behind the Pentagon) a bit before 8:00, I showed Jessica where she could get coffee after the race started and I stopped by the port-a-potty before finding my "corral" spot where I was supposed to stand. At least that is where we thought I was supposed to stand.

The disorganization of the race's start was due to several factors. No one was checking bib numbers to line everyone up according to number. Intermingling with runners in the "corral" were spectators taking pictures and talking with the runners. There was also no indication (that I could hear) of when we were actually supposed to start running - all of a sudden I saw everyone running forward and the ticking clock said two minutes had already elapsed before I even passed the start line.

The route of the Bucharest Half is gorgeous, cutting straight through the heart of the city! Bucharest is pretty flat, and so the course wasn't terribly strenuous on my quads or anything like that. If you're familiar with Bucharest, the track goes up Unirii Blvd., passes Pta. Alba Iulia, circles the National Stadium, goes back down Decebal and Unirii Blvd. to the People's Palace, goes up the Splai to Pta. Unirii and circles back, climbs (the only real elevation change) up Calea Victoriei a bit and circles back to the Splai, goes down to Eroilor, then circles back up the Splai to finish back at the People's Palace.

The half-marathon course is in yellow.

The good news was that, by the time I circled back to the People's Palace (before going up the Splai to Unirii), I heard Jessica shouting my name and taking a picture! This was about 2/3 of the way through the course, so that was awesome!

Every five kilometers or so there is a water/aid station, and every ten kilometers they also had little pieces of fruit (bananas, apples, oranges). The first time I grabbed an outstretched cup and took a sip while jogging, I thought, "This water tastes like lime." It was actually Gatorade. So I learned that at these stations the first table gives Gatorade and the second table gives water. One down side is that, due to a lack of trash bags, everyone just throws down their plastic cup (or if you're lucky you'll get a bottle) anywhere they please, and so everyone is dodging cups like thousands of little land mines. The second time I decided to get water, I made sure to get a water bottle and so I just kept that one for the rest of the race - taking a few sips every few km or so.

I did have to walk a couple times once I hit the two-hour mark. The most I had ever done in my training was 11 miles in the shady Herestrau Park, and so I needed a couple short breaks towards the end (between Victoriei and the finish line). Although the official times have not been posted yet, I'm pretty sure my time was around 02:22. The finish area was also littered with cups and fruit pieces. But waiting for me with her camera was my beautiful wife who was cheering for me for nearly 2.5 hours!

So, a few concluding thoughts for you readers who have stuck with this post till the end:

1. Yes, I am glad I decided to run the Bucharest Half. I found a joy in running that makes me wish I had been running for years.
2. Amidst the disorganization of the start and finish line, the joy of having run a race of this distance is something I consider a genuine accomplishment.
3. Training for this race has put me in what I am pretty sure is the best shape of my life!

Would I sign up for another half-marathon? Without a doubt. I am actually thinking and praying about doing a 15-mile race in West Virginia at the end of August.

Anyone want to do it with me?