2012 Race Recap

2012 was a big year in races for Team Tizzel. Holly added 5 more states to her 50 Marathons in 50 States goal. Race events brought us to Disney World 3 times and Oregon for the first time. Dave did his first distance beyond 5k.

January

For the past few years January has kicked off with the race events at Walt Disney World's Marathon Weekend. This is the focused event of our Team AllEars fundraising efforts for breast cancer. Dave's Duffy the Disney Bear outfit for the 5k helped us to raise over $6,000; and the team over $70,000. Holly had fun doing the half marathon with our friend Jessica on Saturday. On Sunday they ran together again, but Holly participated in the 13.1 mile relay with our friend Jamison as a partner while Jessica continued on for the Full/Goofy. There's no relay offered in 2013 so Holly may have scored her only chance for a Chip and Dale medal.

February

February brought two unique events. First, the Jost Van Dyke Invitational 5k. This is a 2 person race between Holly and our friend Dan over the hills of beautiful Jost Van Dyke in the British Virgin Islands. Next, we trekked a few hours over to Goshen, Indiana so Holly could participate in her first indoor marathon - the Maple Leaf Marathon. 204 laps around a track with 8 other participants.

March

Saint Patrick's Day Weekend was spent in Virginia Beach. On Saturday Dave and Holly participated in the 8k event. The next day Holly ran the marathon. These events were well-run, had miles of shoreline, and great  after-parties on the beach. This became a family event with Holly's parents, brother, and nephew cheering her on along the way. Holly's favorite race this year due to her whole family being able to watch her finish and the excellent post race parties.

April

Holly was able to squeeze two marathons into April. First was the Go! St. Louis Marathon. Two weeks later was the Kentucky Derby Marathon in Louisville. With Missouri, Kentucky, Indiana, Wisconsin, Illinois, and Michigan checked off we are running out of driving distance marathons.

May

The spring ended up being a busy travel time. A week after Kentucky Derby was the Expedition Everest 5k in Disney's Animal Kingdom Park. The night race combined obstacles and puzzles to create a really fun event.

July

Fourth of July morning kicks off with the Antioch 5k. This is a pretty big local race. Hot as heck this year. When Rock and Roll announced moving the Chicago events to July we thought they were nuts. It was warm, but not as bad as it could have been for a 5k (Dave) and half marathon (Holly). We had a fun day Saturday with Team AllEars friends and enjoyed the post-race Cobra Starship performance.

September

Back on the road this month. Labor Day Weekend was spent in central Oregon with the focus on the Sunriver Marathon. A few weeks later Dave participated in the Fox Lake 5k and got an age group award. At the end of the month Holly took off for Disney World to participate in the Tower of Terror 10 Miler - another night race. Dave stayed home for that one and attended Tizzel's Food and Wine Festival.

October

Back to Virginia for Washington's Marine Corps Marathon. A great event that Holly wants to do again. The only thing that brought the weekend down a bit was Hurricane Sandy and having to leave via rental car immediately after the race.

November and December

The winter brings shorter-distanced themed races to Chicago. November brought the poorest organized event: Hot Chocolate 5k (Dave) and 15k (Holly). December was the opposite with the Santa Hustle 5k.

2013 Plans

Currently in the plan for 2013:

• Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend - Dave and Holly are both doing the 5k and half marathon (Dave's first). Holly is adding on the marathon to earn another Goofy Challenge medal and unofficial Dopey title.
• Tinker Bell Half Marathon Weekend in Disneyland - Holly and Dave will both do the 5k and the half marathon. This will give us both Disney's Coast to Coast Medal. This will also be the end of Dave's half marathon career.
• Little Rock Marathon, Arkansas - We'll be joining a few friends for the race with the biggest medal in running. Holly will be doing the full while Dave snacks.
• Flying Pigs Weekend Cincinnati, Ohio - Pigs is a big race/party weekend. Dave is doing either the 5k or 10k (can't remember which one he registered for) and Holly is doing the 5k, 10k, and full which will earn her an additional medal.
• Chicago Rock and Roll Half - Holly should get something special at this one since it's her 5th Chicago RnR in a row.
• Atlantic City Marathon, New Jersey - Looks like a fun location for a race.

Hope we see you out there in 2013!

Virginia Beach Shamrock Marathon Race Report and Video

Here's Holly's race report for Shamrock Marathon in Virginia Beach:

The quest for a marathon in all 50 states continues. We decided on the Yuengling Shamrock Marathon for a few reasons. Number one is that my brother lives in Virginia Beach and it would be good to see him. Number two my parents live kind of close and I figured they would come down and cheer me on as well. Number three, Yuengling sponsors it! These are in no particular order, LOL.

We got into VA Beach Friday night and went right to the expo to pick up our packets for the races. I was doing the 8k on Saturday and the full marathon on Sunday. This is called the “Whale” Challenge. If you do both they mail you a pin after the races. Dave was doing the 8k on Saturday. The expo was packed. We waited an hour to buy some official race merchandise. Normally I would have skipped it, but the stuff was cute and said “Yuengling”. We left expo and met up with my parents and brother and had dinner. Then it was off to bed to get up early for the 8k.

We drove to the 8k and then hung out in the warm Hilton and used the bathrooms. Very nice. Dave and I did the race together. I would jog ahead and then stop for a walk break and Dave would power walk right by. I don’t know how he can walk that fast. The course was nice with half of it right on the boardwalk with a great view of the ocean. My parents and brother saw us on the course. We finished up and got a cool medal, beer coozie, and best of all, 4 free Yuengling beers. Now I had the marathon the next day so had to behave, but the after party on the beach was awesome. It was a beautiful morning.

The next day was the marathon. The marathon started 90 minutes after the half marathon. When we got close to the start line we could tell that we were never going to find a place to park. Dave dropped me off and I was going to be solo from now on. Luckily I found a place in the Hilton to sit and even a free paper to read. Pretty soon it was time to make my way out to the start.

There were about 3,000 people in the full marathon. Before I knew it we were off. The first few miles went really fast. I was warm at first but eventually with the wind the weather ended up being perfect.

I saw Dave, my brother and parents several times during the first 11 miles. It was awesome to have such a big cheering section. We ran through one military area and the guys and girls there were very enthusiastic cheerleaders. It was such a great feeling. The run up the boardwalk was tough as it was into the wind. I was feeling pretty good and kept it up through mile 20. I started tiring here but I sucked it up and kept pushing. Unfortunately at mile 23, I got really dizzy and it freaked me out, so I stopped and walked and drank a bunch of water for a mile. There goes the PR! Right after that some college guys were partying and they gave me a Guinness! It was great! That is a first for me. We made the turn onto the Boardwalk and I passed my family and that was a very special feeling for me. The first time my whole family saw me finish a marathon. I finished in 5:23 and it is my second fastest time ever. I got a cool medal, finishers’ hat and sweatshirt and 4 more beers! This time I did enjoy some. The post race party on the beach was again awesome. I highly recommend this weekend to anyone. Great course, well organized, a bunch of races to choose from, great swag and the best post race party I have seen.

Dave's comments:
The 8k was fun. I enjoyed the beach party.

The first half of the marathon course was great for spectating. The road they were running on was open heading in the same direction as the runners so you could easily pull over at a few places. Parking was easy to find around Mile 11 (boardwalk area). We had trouble cutting back roads to mile 16 due to road closures and traffic volume. We missed Holly at that marker and decided to cut our losses and go wait by the finish line.

Great snacking opportunities: businesses were open on Atlantic at the start, Miles 5/6.5 were by a 7-11 and McDonald's, Mile 11 was on the Boardwalk and some of those restaurants were open. The finish line was at the Hilton so we hung at their outdoor bar until it was time to wait for Holly's approach. Great seafood (obviously) and some really good beer selections at local restaurants.