Wednesday, May 31, 2017

Race Report: Buffalo Half Marathon 2017

Disclaimer: I received a free entry to the Buffalo Marathon as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador) and check out BibRave.com to review find and write race reviews!

I just got back from Buffalo, New York where I spent Memorial Day weekend with family and represented BibRave for the 2nd year in a row at the Buffalo Marathon.  I had a blast running last year and I couldn’t wait to get back with one goal of ringing the PR bell as I crossed the half marathon finish line.  If you’ve been following along, you saw this goal slip further and further away from me due to injury but I was determined to go and take advantage of a fun weekend of running (and walking) with my cousin Melissa.

I got into town on Friday afternoon after a long solo drive.  Within the first few hours I already had some of my favorite Western New York foods: Tim Hortons, a sub from Wegmans and of course… chicken wings!


Saturday morning was the John Beishline Memorial 5k.  Melissa originally signed up to run with her boyfriend Mike and told me I should too.  Before my injury I thought it would be a good shake out run opportunity but now this became the main focus of the weekend for me.

The race sold out at 1,200 runners so there was a pretty big crowd for a 5k.  I told Melissa I would stay with her for the whole run and that’s just what I did.  We started with Mike and lost him about half way.  The race ran through neighborhoods and headed back around Niagara Square to finish in front of the convention center.  We jogged.  We walked.  And then we ran through the finish line.  I had a blast! 



After the 5k we had a full day of activities that included picking up our half marathon bib numbers at the race expo, a trip to the outlets, nail appointments, pasta for dinner and an early bedtime.

Sunday morning was half marathon morning and my 4:45am wake up call came way too early!  Ali got to Melissa’s apartment at 5:15am and we headed to the start line.

Since I wasn’t cleared to run more than 4 miles I decided that I wouldn’t start the race and I would run the second half with Melissa.  I’ll admit that I had a ton of guilt doing this.  It didn’t feel right.  But I was a registered runner and I took the timing chip off the back of my bib number so there would be no record of times and check points.  Once I saw Melissa and I started running with her, I was happy I made this decision.  She was having a rough day (her ankle had been bothering her) so we ran/walked the rest of the course.  The weather was beautiful, the sun was shining and we probably did way more walking then running but I didn’t even care.



Melissa crossed the finish line in 2:58:59.  She was way off her goal but happy to stay under 3 hours.  After the race we met back up with Ali (she was a DNF 😥) and enjoyed a Mile 27 beer brewed by Flying Bison especially for the Buffalo Marathon.  Pretty cool, right?


So what’s next for me?

I will probably run the Falmouth Road Race in Falmouth, MA on August 20th but my next goal race will be Rock ‘n’ Roll Philadelphia Half Marathon in September!

Rock ‘n’ Roll Philadelphia
Philadelphia, PA
September 17, 2017
Use code BIBRAVE 15 for $15 off the half!

Did you run the Buffalo Marathon? Head on over to BibRave.com and post your race review!

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