My second marathon is what really cinched my love of marathons, but it took a little bit of persuading to get there. I was so excited and enthusiastic after my first marathon in Baltimore that literally within a week of finishing it I went online, found the nearest marathon that was held in the spring, and signed up for it. The marathon happened to be small, not well-known, in the middle of York, PA. The entire training period also happened to be in the middle of my senior spring semester, where alcohol was prevalent and motivation was sparse.
I ended up doing a long run once every two weeks, and took more than my fair share of days off after spring break, also known as my one week bender in Panama City, Florida. I made the decision about a month before the race to not do it. I had other things to worry about, like my 30-day trip to Europe in June, and my huge cross-country move to Phoenix, AZ to start my new job in August. I was just going to chalk it up to jumping the gun a little bit in the fall and not having enough solid training under my belt.
Obviously, being me, I managed to guilt trip myself, and tested myself by attempting a 20-mile run 3 weeks before the race. Interestingly, the run was much easier than my last 20-mile run in my previous training. I had picked up a few extra pounds my last semester, so I was surprised, but I decided that I was going to go through with it. I had already paid the $60 anyway, which I probably would have spent on late night pizza and beer.
Swag: 3/5
The day before the race, I went up to the Holiday Inn in York to pick up my packet. The expo was ridiculously small compared to the one for Baltimore; I walked right in and was out in less than three minutes. They had a handful of things for sale in the back. The shirt was very nice considering the price for the race, and some coupons, but not a whole lot other than that. It is a low-budget race put on by a family in honor of their beloved late father, so totally understandable.
Course: 3/5
The race was started by Sean Potts, whose father, Bob Potts, was an avid runner and passed away a handful of years ago. The race is dedicated to the memory Mr. Potts, and is located entirely on the Heritage Rail Trail that runs north to south, York to Maryland Line. It starts at York College, in the parking lot near the stadium.
Race day was a little chilly, in the 50s, and very foggy. Over the course of the race, the sky cleared up and it became sunny and warm. The starting time was 6 am, so we planned to leave around 5, being about 25 minutes away. We had some family visiting for my sister’s high school graduation, so it took longer than anticipated to get ready and we didn’t end up leaving til 5:20 and arrived with about 10 minutes before the race started. We parked literally right next to the start line. There were about 10 porta-potties in the parking lot, which was sufficient for the number of people there (I managed to pee once before the start, even though we got there with so little time to spare).
The race had fewer than 600 participants, a teeny tiny fraction of the size of my last race, so there was no crowding problem. The race didn’t even utilize chip timing, as they claim that it takes no more than 12 seconds to cross the starting line from where you are when the official clock starts.
The course was really gorgeous. The first mile circles through the York suburbs, and after that it’s about 13 miles on the trail. It felt like the first couple miles of trail were slightly downhill, with miles 8 to 13 or so uphill. This was good because it made it so that we were running downhill a good part of the way back. There was also a tunnel that we had to run through around mile 6 and mile 21 that I thought was really cool for some reason, even though it was extremely dark and we had to be careful with our footing. Although 25 miles of the race is on a trail, it is a trail of compacted gravel and dirt, with the occasional crossing over the old train tracks. We ran until about 13.5 miles, then turned around at a bench dedicated to Bob Potts, and ran back. The course finished with about 300 meters on the York College track.
Medal: 4/5
The finishers’ medals were in the shape of a train, which was cute. Get it? Because the race is along the old RAILROAD. Very fitting, very thematic, very precious.
Difficulty: 1/5
It’d be hard to get an easier marathon than this one. Completely flat, pretty shady, almost entirely on a soft trail. This race is ranked one of the top races for Boston-qualifiers, because it is so flat.
Water Stations: 4/5
There was a good number of water stations along the course; sometimes there would be one every mile. Every station had water and Gatorade, and half-way through they were handing out packets of Gu. I liked the frequency of the stations since I didn’t feel very well-hydrated before the race and it got very warm later in the morning. The course was about 85% shady, but there were a couple parts that were in the sun. By the end of the race, my ponytail was completely wet, like the entire thing was wet from the heat and humidity and sweat, so frequent hydration was essential.
Accessibility: 4/5
Considering a lot of other races where the journey to the start line is a bloody, endless nightmare, I was so unbelievably pleased to have pulled into the spacious parking lot 10 minutes before the gun, wandered over to the line with the other handful of runners, and go off. Very casual, almost, which I did not hate. Marathons are stressful enough without having to add in the atrocious process of finding a place to leave your damn car for four hours.
There were definitely fewer spectators consistently standing along the course than there were in Baltimore, because the trail is surrounded by trees and so the course itself is not easily accessible (thus 4/5 stars), but there were several points where family and friends could drive to see runners as they passed. My aunt ran the last 4 miles with me, and although the trail was not closed to bikers and other runners, the very few non-marathoners on the trail did not interfere at all with the race.
Food: 5/5
Since it was a smaller race, after finishing I was able to reunite with my family right away, as they were standing at the side of the track. And then came the fun part. THE POST-MARATHON FEAST (followed shortly by the post-marathon poop, which no one ever talks about because they are too classy but I am not and I think it deserves a little bit of appreciation). The runners got free soft pretzels, bagels, fruit, and pizza after the race, and I was ECSTATIC (also keep in mind that this was right after college and I was a chub-monster and food made me ecstatic in general).
Affordability: 5/5
I chose this race in the first place because of the proximity to my mother’s house, but also because of the incredibly low price tag. I paid only $60 for this, which, if you are a marathon runner you’ll know, is impressive. I have paid more than that for a five mile race.
Organization: 5/5
For such a small race, the volunteers were incredible. Many of them dressed up in costumes and a couple provided musical entertainment for the runners. The race organizers were in constant communication with runners via email in the weeks leading up to the race, getting to the expo was easy peasy lemon squeezy, and race day went off without a hitch.
Despite my lack of adequate training for this race, I definitely noticed a huge difference in the way I felt. My time was about 10 minutes slower than my last marathon, which was okay since I went into it with no time goal whatsoever. I felt really good and relaxed for almost the entire race.
This marathon isn’t very well-known and I was not quite ready to run a full marathon, so I am so incredibly happy I managed to find it and decided to run. It was a beautiful, flat course with amazing people working to make the race run smoothly. My mom and I did a similar type of race last November on the section of the trail that runs through Maryland, each doing a half-marathon leg. That race didn’t even compare to the ease, fluidity, and communication of this one. Unfortunately, the marathon has been discontinued by the Potts family because of the incredible time commitment, so I am glad I was able to be a part of its last year. Thank you to the Potts family.
