​This year I ran over 665 miles (according to Strava). While I did not explicitly set a mileage goal for 2018, I was hoping to get over 500 miles and I sailed clear over that.

So to make 2019 more interesting for me, I’m going to now set a goal to run 1000 miles.

One. Thousand. Miles.

Since I already covered 665 miles this year, I’m sure a bunch of you are thinking, “What are you stressing about? That’s just a little more than what you ran in 2018.”

If you’re thinking that, you would be right. In pure mileage terms, it isn’t that much more. For me, the main block is more mental than anything else. I’ve never run that much in my life and who knows that might happen to me or my body in the coming year. It might be easy for some but to me, it’s still a metaphorical mountain.

On top of the unknowns, I’m trying to balance my time with other training such as swimming, cycling, strength training and plyometrics. More importantly, I’m also first a husband and a father. That’s a lot of balls to juggle in the air and more opportunities to drop something.

But then again...

I never ran 665 miles in a single year and I did it this year.

I never ran a half marathon and I did two of them this year.

I never completed a duathlon and I did two of them this year.

I could not swim the length of a pool and now I can swim over 1000 yards without stopping (albeit poorly).

I did this all while being a husband and a father.

This year has been a year of firsts for me and as long as I keep setting goals like this, I’ll keep pushing myself to be a better me.

Thank you 2018, you made me a better person. Let’s do this 2019.

First and foremost I want to thank the great people working on Martha’s Vineyard during the weekend of the half and full marathon. Everyone I met was so helpful and polite. I understand that this is a tourist spot and their livelihood depends on their hospitality but the people I ran into there genuinely went out of their way to help me when I needed it.

Pre-race day.

I arrived on the island the day before the race to pick up my bib and swag. The tent for this was at Waban park, which was also the finish line of the race. There was a single tent with different sections based on your bib number. You had to find your number by looking at this giant printout sheet on a separate table. My suggestion to the organizers is to email the numbers out beforehand to reduce this overhead for some of the runners. After figuring out your number, getting your bib and swag was easy enough - no drama there.

Morning of the race.

Transportation to the starting line from Oak Bluffs, where I was staying, was easy to get to and there seemed to be more than enough buses to shuttle the runners from Oak Bluffs to the high school. Once at the high school though, things seemed to get a bit chaotic. Everyone was packed into the cafeteria or hallways and there seemed to be people standing in lines but not entirely sure why they were in line. Since this was my first race, I wasn’t sure where I was supposed to go next or do next. Luckily everyone there was very nice and I was able to get some pointers from some more seasoned runners.

I headed outside about 20 minutes before the race to warm up and get ready. I wasn’t really sure where the gear drop off was - cue me asking around some more. After finding the truck and dropping off my bag - I was good to go.

The race was broken up into 3 waves; fast runners up front, medium paced runners in wave 2, and yours truly in wave 3. The waves and their pace range were clearly marked so you knew somewhat where you were supposed to be. There were also a ton of pacers with signs there too so you could just find the one with roughly your time and hang out there.

The issue I had with the waves was that it really wasn’t a wave. It seemed as though once the race started it was just a slow push forward to the starting line. It felt a bit like cattle being herded towards an opening in the fence.

Moo….

The race itself.

The race itself was pretty straight forward. Aside from some initial confusion of where to actually run (jogging path or the actual street) everything was clearly marked. There were a ton of water stations staged throughout the course and some of them gave out some gels too. I did notice only one first aid station though but maybe there were more and I just didn’t notice any other ones.

One major annoyance that I found out after the race was over was that the tracking for the runners was not working. I don't know what was wrong but my wife and family weren't able to track me at the designated checkpoints.

At the finish, everything again was clearly marked and there was a ton of food, drinks, and first aid at Waban park. No complaints there. All in all, it was a fairly well organized race.

So would I run it again?

I thought about this long and hard and decided that I would not run this again if the logistics remained the same.

Don’t get me wrong - this is a great race and I would recommend it at least once to other runners because running on the vineyard and along the coast is breathtakingly gorgeous. However, the race is scheduled very early in the tourist season and the weather is likely going to be a game of chance every year. Also, from what everyone tells me, the island doesn’t get to 100% operational capacity until memorial day weekend. At least half of the stores or restaurants had signs saying that they won’t be open until late May.

Now if you’re there to just run the course and go home, then this will probably be fine for you. However, I wanted to make a weekend out of it so I left the island feeling a bit disappointed. I get it though, at the height of tourist season, the cost to block off hotel rooms and other logistics will probably be prohibitively expensive for many people so they had to get in early, which is why I don’t fault the organizers.

However, for me, I ran it and checked off a bucket list item. I don’t think I have a need to run it again myself.

If you haven’t subscribed to my instagram account yet, please check it out to see some of the sights and food I had while there.

Places I would recommend on the vineyard if you do go:

• Martha’s Vineyard Surfside Hotel (Melissa there is awesome)
• The Cardboard Box (amazing dinner and drinks)
• Martha's Vineyard Gourmet Café & Bakery (late night donuts and giant apple fritters)
• Slice of Life (great food and awesome desserts)