Race report by Polly Jansen
March’s unpredictable weather makes one anticipate warmer days, spring flowers, singing birds and the Caesar Rodney Half Marathon! This year’s race found 6 Wanderers making the trek to Wilmington, DE for the 49th annual event on March 27, 2011.
Past race conditions have presented in the 20’s and windy, in the 40’s and rainy and in the 70’s and sunny. What would this year bring? With temps topping out in the low 40’s, blue skies and sunny conditions, one had to count their blessings!
The Caesar Rodney course is notorious for its blistering fast first mile (downhill) and it’s slap-in-the-face last mile (uphill). One might say at the half-way point, “Wow! This is going to be the fastest half marathon of my life!” Oh, contraire! The second half of this gem is the real test: an uphill, switch-backy jaunt through Rockford Park. A challenge for the Wanderers? Heck no! They’ve been doing hill repeats all winter to prepare! This year’s course had a few alterations, which the veterans of the race claim made it slightly more difficult (a fabulous explanation for slightly slower times!)
On-course, note-worthy extremes included the lovely waterfront and boardwalk followed by a pile of trash near a warehouse with a lot of barking dogs (one could only guess what was going on inside!) All-in-all, the Wanderers turned in some stellar performances, with Judy Broadley and Linn Watson making their half-marathon debuts in amazing times! Louis Secreto (#1 sherpa) provided some much needed support, encouragement and expert photography along the course.
Here are the final standings:
- Noah AnStraus: 1:49:16
- Judy Broadley: 1:57:30
- Ken Evans: 2:15:47
- Polly Jansen: 1:33:45
- Chris Verry: 1:27:11
- Linn Watson: 2:03:32
Photos by Louis Secreto
