To half marathon or not to half marathon, that was the question. You probably all remember that back in the
early fall we signed up for the Asheville/Biltmore Marathon. Well, once December came that quickly became
the Asheville/Biltmore Half Marathon.
The back to back halves in November took a lot out of us and come December
we realized our thinking that there would be plenty of time to pick up and
start a full marathon training schedule was…well…nuts. Once they sent out the notice that a half
marathon option was available, we jumped on it.
As it got closer to race weekend I started religiously keeping tabs on
the weather forecast. At first things
looked good, sunny and in the mid-50’s.
But it went downhill from there.
Each day the chance of precipitation crept up to the point that in the
days leading up to the race there was no way around it…it was going to
rain. It was just a matter of when it
would start raining. We were not going
to escape this event without getting wet.
I told myself and Ted that nope, no way, not happening. I was not going
to run in the rain. In fact I made the definitive statement that should it be
pouring the morning of the race, you would find me downstairs at the hotel, in
front of the fireplace, with a hot cup of something.
Last Saturday was absolutely gorgeous.
We arrived at the Expo around lunchtime and picked up our packets and
t-shirts. I happened to mention to the
lady at the waiver form table about the rain and her response was “It will
still be better than last year.” Last
year? I guess the high for last year’s
race was 20 degrees. Two. Zero. Even in the rain, it would be better because
it was going to be 20-30 degrees warmer. At that point I realized two things: 1. the
other 1,499 people registered for these races didn’t care one bit that it was
going to rain. Well, they probably cared
but it wasn’t going to stop them. And 2.
There was no way I was going to bow out without looking like a real wimp. It was on.
A quick lunch (Welcome to Moe’s!) and we headed up to the hotel. We made the decision when we registered that we
would splurge and stay on the estate at the Inn at Biltmore for the convenience
it offered on race day. Roll out of bed
and to the start line. Cross the finish
line and be in a warm shower within minutes.
Plus, OMG, that was hands down, the nicest hotel we have ever stayed
at. Clearly we had entered upper crust
here and I put myself in check to make sure I didn't do something stupid like scratch
my butt in the lobby (not exactly, but you get my drift). We checked in, put our stuff in our room
(gorgeous and private but I’m not going to publicly announce our room because I
loved it so much I don’t want anyone to snatch it up next year, cause I’m
considering requesting it.) We went with
one of their basic King rooms and it did not disappoint. Here’s a picture of the front of the hotel:
And the back:
Since it was so nice we headed down the hill to Antler Hill
Village. The first time we were at
Biltmore, we were too tired after touring the house so we skipped it. Check out
these views on our walk:
First stop, the winery. Or
rather, the winery shop and tasting room, although you can take a tour of the
actual winery. Now, I’ll admit that I
don’t like wine. Not at all. And I so wish that I did. Why?
Because it looked like so much fun!
And the smell was incredible, how is it that I don’t like the taste but
I love the smell? There were clearly quite
a few people hanging, tasting the wind, devouring the chees and crackers. I’d say most of them were getting blitzed in
the process. Seemed like a crime to leave
without a bottle. After that we looked
at some of the other shops, the farm exhibit, the Vanderbilt exhibit (small,
but lovely) and ended the afternoon with dinner at The Bistro. Pumpkin cannelloni…incredible. Time to rest up for race day.
I’ll admit that I tossed and turned a bit in my sleep that night (in one
of the world’s most comfortable beds). At some point I realized I was being
crazy…it was just rain…it wasn’t going to hurt me. I don’t know why it was
bothering me so much. And luckily when
we woke up, it wasn’t raining yet. That
was enough for me to get up, get dressed and head down to the start line. In my fear of the evil rain, I may have
overdressed a bit…compression knee socks, running tights, long sleeve shirt,
long sleeve half zip and gloves. This
meant I was not cold one bit at the start line, my big mistake in Raleigh. Our luck ran out about 5 minutes before the
start, it began sprinkling. However,
once we got going, I didn’t notice it was raining. In fact, big surprise, I was hot.
So let’s talk about the course.
Beautiful, even in the rain.
Actually, I was disappointed it was raining for the sheer fact that I
wanted to take some pictures as we were running along. I didn’t want to risk damage to my iPhone, so
it stayed tucked safely in the pouch.
The race began with rolling hills for miles one through three. Mile two was a slow steady incline that
almost got me, it had me wondering if I was going to be able to run through the
whole thing. Luckily that was followed
by a decline of an equal distance which allowed be to catch my breath. Then we rounded the corner at the gate house
and it was on. The run up to the
mansion.
If you’ve ever been on the
Biltmore property, we were running up Approach Road, two plus miles straight
uphill. Some areas steeper than others,
it was more the length of the incline than the degree. When we were training for the race, people frequently commented that it
was going to be tough simply because we would be running at a higher altitude
that we’re used to. Zebulon is 322 feet above sea level. This race had a top elevation of 2,338 feet
and featured an ascent of 716 feet. I
won’t lie, it had its moments. The rain
actually felt good when we were running up to the house. There were a lot of twists and turns, a few
of which faked me out thinking we had made it, only to go around the bend and
see yet another incline in front of me.
Finally, we rounded a corner and the gates were in front of us. All of a sudden we emerged from the woods and
saw this.
I may or may not have let out a “Hallelujah!” We ran around the front
of the house then down through the gardens.
This was the half-way point for the race. From there it was about two miles downhill,
which felt wonderful. When we hit the
bottom, I was spent. Thankfully the rest
of the race was flat, along the river.
There were some great views of the house up on the hill, again rain
prevented a picture. We made it to the
finish line and crossed with a time of 2:24.
Slower than my Raleigh time of 2:17 but still faster than my times at my
two first halves, which were each about 2:30 (we won’t talk about the Outer
Banks). I ran the whole thing. No pain
anywhere. And I felt pretty good
afterwards. This is a big leap forward
for me.
After we got our medals, fleece blankets (yup!), and our swag bag of food
we headed back up the hill to the hotel.
Splurging on the accommodations was well worth it when you are in a hot
shower within 20 minutes of completing the race. We relaxed for a bit and then spent the
afternoon touring Biltmore House (amazing how quick the ride back up that hill
was in the hotel shuttle!). That evening
we celebrated with a dinner in the dining room at the hotel. It was swank!
Us right before our celebratory dinner:
So all in all, I would give this race high marks. Staying at the inn
made getting there super easy for us, so I can’t comment on the shuttle buses
from the other hotels. Race swag, pretty
good. Nice short sleeve technical
running shirt and a nice fleece blanket at the finish. Other odds and ends included gloves to use
and toss at the race, a neck warmer, bag to use for gear check, two reusable
grocery bags, and lots of free snacks after the race. There regular public restrooms at the start
in addition to the porta potties, which is a big plus. Food and drink along the course was pretty
good too, I especially liked the sliced orange quarters. And the refueling stops were fairly frequent,
more frequent than the other races we’ve been to. I’d say the only drawback was the weather,
which made parts of the course a bit muddy.
Even some of our race photos came out nice, although I’m not sure the
cost is worth it. I was glad we ran the
half instead of the full. Obviously our
training level played most into that decision but considering the rain and the
what seemed to me to be a confusing full course, I’m happy. Had we run the full we would have finished in
a full out torrential downpour, probably full of mud too.
We’re already registered for next year’s race, Ted is going to go for
the full, I’m sticking with the half. We
plan on booking our room as soon as the official dates are announced. I think
Biltmore and Asheville has become a special place for us. Let’s hope the third
year is a charm for the organizers and they get a beautiful spring day.
