Glass City Half Marathon - Race Report

This was my 4th running of the Glass City Half Marathon held in Toledo Ohio and for some reason I just seem to run this race in the odd numbered years! When I first ran it in 2019 I was coming off meniscus surgery in 2018. Back then I was simply happy to finish the race which I did in about 2:10+. Each succeeding two years my race time improved but I never was able to break the 2 hour mark. I won the 70-74 AG two years ago just barely missing the 2 hour mark too. So this year, I had hopes of breaking two hours and winning my age group again. As it turns out, there were two too many runners in the race this year and they each were over 70 years old. The full story is below.

Thousands of runners line up very early on a Sunday morning to run a marathon or half marathon in Toledo.

Background

The Glass City Marathon and Half Marathon races are extremely popular races with runners attracting several thousands of runners from across the country for both races. The course is relatively flat, meanders through some of the most beautiful residential areas, finishes inside the University of Toledo stadium, and is extremely well organized with plenty of crowd support along most of the routes.

Back in January I signed up once again for Glass City, after all, it’s an odd numbered year so I guess I was mandated to do so right? 2024 was my most enjoyable year of running topped off with a fantastic trip and race at the Wineglass Half Marathon in Corning, NY. I was seeking to extend my running enjoyment. But real-life kicked in. Winter in Michigan is never easy especially if you are training for a long-distance race. I was also mentally fatigued from training too. It was tough to focus on a race occurring late in April when April seemed so far away!

Nonetheless, I did my best to continue to try to train despite the conditions. During this time I knew I should have been running more tempo or threshold training runs, I should have been running longer long runs but, my brain convinced me to back off and do those runs the next week. Then the week after that etc. This sounds worse than it actually was for I was still able to get some serious training in. Wednesday night runs with the Ann Arbor Track Club at an indoor track were very valuable and helped me through the worse part of winter running. Running long on Saturday morning group runs helped too. It’s always easier to run with others in a group.

So, I still had hopes of breaking the 2 hour barrier and winning my age group. Gone was the initial goal of breaking the 1:50 mark which I did at the Wineglass Half Marathon. I simply refocused my targeted goal to breaking the 1:55 mark and hope that it still might land me on the finish podium after the race.

Pre Race

Unlike before, this year I booked a hotel near the race start. It meant I had to arrive to the race expo on Saturday afternoon, pick up my race bib, do a little race shopping, and then head to the hotel. Where I stayed was not exactly a four-star rated place but it sufficed for what I needed to do. My problem was with my gut. I had been experiencing some abnormal issues which had me concerned most of the evening before the race. The good news was that by early morning (4 AM) when I needed to wake-up, I felt good. So, on with my pre-packed, pre-race meal and supplements.

My only real issue with this race is the 6:30 AM start time. This means i needed to arrive, park, and wait in the dark for an hour in my car. There was the mandatory wait in the porta-john line too. Can’t forget that important task.

As the race’s start time approached the darkness held on. Temps were as predicted at 40 degrees and the sky was clear so it would at least be sunny. My rule for as how to dress to race in these conditions is that, when temps are 40 and rising, sun shining, and minimal to no wind, then I should wear a racing singlet, shorts, and a hat. But standing in that long porta-john line changed my mind. I switched to “Plan B” and changed into a normal T-shirt to wear. As it turned out either shirt would have been fine, but I did get a little too warm during the final couple of miles.

I finally was able to get to the start area. I was assigned to corral 2, or the second wave, but the corrals were not well marked. I did however see the 1:55 and 2:00 pacers so I figured I was close enough. Following some warm-up (literally) runs I found my spot in the corral. The race announcers were loud and their music was blaring. I thought I heard someone nearby call my name? It took a minute, I finally turned to behind me and there was my much younger brother Keith! He has managed to stay active over the years too. He explained that he wasn’t sure how he would run this morning due to recent injuries etc. It seemed like we each would be happy to finish a bit less than 2 hours!

Then the gun went off for the first wave, followed by the second wave, but my group wasn’t moving yet? I guess I lined up in the 3rd wave. No big deal, better to start on the slow side anyways.

The Early Miles

Despite starting with runners that intend to run about the same pace as me I still found that I had to dodge around some. I felt the start was a bit too slow. This of course raises the age-old fear every racer has and that is that they feel fresh and therefore they start too fast only to pay the price later in the race. Nonetheless, I was running about an 8:30 pace. This was the same way I started the Wineglass Half back in October. All good, except I knew my training would not support my Wineglass pace.

At about the one and a half mile mark the crowd began to thin just a bit. We were also running by a large Catholic church on school at 6:45 Sunday morning too! How appropriate. Standing along the side of the road were two young priests with a bucket of water and a sprinkle wand. They were throwing water on the runners and blessed us all as we started our journey. Nice, and even a bit funny except the temps were still hovering around 40 degrees and my very chilled arms were bare!

Around the next turn at about the 2 mile mark I was beginning to get frustrated with a crowd of runners who were hogging the road and running a bit too slow! Then I saw the 1:55 pacer sign. Just another reason why I hate pacers in races and believe they should not be permitted. I wiggled my way thru the crowd and told the pacer to loosen his group up! I also thought that was not a smart move on my part for now that I passed them so early in the race meant that I simply could not let them pass me at any point further. For the next few miles that move kept me motivated to stay ahead of them for the next 10 miles or so.

The Middle Miles

This is where it really got fun! This is where the heart of my half marathon story lies. As the route turns back to the race start area you are greeted by a nice long line of crowd support. Crowd support in any race is always helpful but at Glass City it coincides with the part of the race where you really need to start to focus on your mental game too.

This part of the course begins a tour of some very nice residential neighborhoods too. Some residents sit at the end of their drives and cheer. All admire your effort, and I believe secretly wish they could run like you, regardless of how fast or slow you are running. These neighborhoods remind me of the old Detroit neighborhoods circa 1950-60’s. But a word of caution to the runner. The streets meander and curve in such a way that it is easy to add to the length of your run if you do not pay attention to running the tangents. Running from the tangent of one curve to the tangent of the next curve is how the course is measured. So, if a runner stays along one side of the road or the other (as many runners do) then that runner is actually running a longer route. Believe me, it adds up fast in a long race too!

Back to the start area and that long road to the final turn leading to the finish!

OK, so I bring myself to the highlight of my race. I will spare the specifics and cut to the chase by saying as I approached the 6 mile mark my stomach had started to act up. I have experienced this in the past and I knew what I needed to do quickly was to find a porta-john or start walking! I remembered passing a porta-john about a half mile back. Did I really want to double back? Not really! Fortunately for me, as I had to slow my pace, I spotted a porta-john strategically located at the halfway point on the course. Only a runner can understand this simple yet ecstatic joy of spotting a porta-john just at the right moment!

I stopped, did my thing, but unfortunately it also cost me about 3 minutes in my final race time. Who knows how it might also affect my age group placing too? I simply had no choice. I did jump back into the pack of runners. I recognized some runners that I had previously passed in the early stages. The good news here is that the break gave me just enough of a chance to catch my breath and return to the race running a slightly faster pace than I was running than when I was forced off the course. So, run on I did.

The Final Miles

Ah, finally! This is where many runners believe where the race begins, regardless of the distance. So it also was in Toledo. The route continued to pass thru many fine and beautiful neighborhoods, the marathon runners had just separated from the half marathon runners, and if there are any hills to be found along this course, you can find them strategically placed here. This is where my lack of training for a half started to impact my running. A runner can take energy gels, fluids, and hope for some Mojo by low-fiving kids with their hands out along the way, but none of this can overcome the lack of sufficient training.

To help compensate, I started to walk a short bit along a few of the uphill’s. I found that shortly after I resumed running I would pass the few runners that passed me while on my walking break. These several short breaks at strategic points along the way kept me in the race and frankly allowed me to finish the race strong. I knew the route, I knew when I could afford a brief walk. However, I also knew when I needed to tell myself to avoid being a wimp and just keep on running! So, run on I did.

The final couple of miles feature a long straight away along the main road that will bring the runners back to where the race started. This straight route can play games with your mind. The good news here is that the end of this straight route is where runners take a turn at the traffic light and begin a mostly downhill route to the stadium and finish line!

Shortly after I made the turn onto this long road I spotted a runner up ahead of me. Something was familiar about this runner. I could tell he was struggling I thought I would aim to pick him off. Just as I approached him I recognized that it was my baby brother Keith! He must have passed me during my porta-john visit. I came up to his back and yelled “come on dude”! Then I sped by him thinking he would try to keep pace. After a few more strides, I decided that I could not let my much younger brother beat me!

The Finish

I was running strong as I focused on the final traffic signal that marked the beginning of my final kick along a nice sloping downhill. But once I got there, I realized that I probably just blew thru a little too much of my energy sources as I didn’t feel like was able to kick to the finish as I usually am capable of doing. Nonetheless, I kept pushing. I can’t say how valuable knowing the specifics of a race’s course is to a runner. If you know every nook and cranny, every crack in the road, the street curb you need to stride over, and off course the wonderfully green grass carpet of the football field that hosts the finish line, then you are capable of mentally crossing these points off your finish list and start to smile and raise your arms in celebration as you cross the finish line!

The Results

As I approached the finish line I saw the official time clock was approaching the two hours. That didn’t really mean much because of the wave start and the chip time scoring, I knew my actual official time should be well under two hours.

Runners should never look at their watch, indeed even stop their watch until they are at least several strides past the finish line. Runners instead should focus on not only looking good as they finish but also celebrate their finish regardless of their time. I stopped my watch and recorded an unofficial time of 1:52 and some change. This of course did not include my time spent in the porta-john. It wasn’t until I was settling in the post race tents, eating a crummy slice of cold pizza, but enjoying an oatmeal cookie, banana, and a bottle of water did I see that my official time was marked at 1:55 and change.

Happy to run and finish another fine half marathon!

I was very happy with each time especially given my race prep, gut issues, and frankly not exactly a strong desire to race this weekend. I also placed 3rd in the 70-74 AG, with my fastest time running the Glass City Half ever. So, no complaints whatsoever from this guy. There was no way I could expect to run the times of the two guys ahead of me in my AG and there was a significant gap between me and the 4th place finisher. As it turned out, my walk breaks were not only good and helpful, they also did not impact the AG finish.

Post Race Thoughts

The Glass City Marathon and Half Marathon are excellent races, very well managed, the course is fast, crowd and community support great, and more. But frankly, this will very likely be my last time running the Glass City Half Marathon. I suppose I should say never say never. My biggest reason for not running it again is that it is just a bit too far from me to travel to run there on race morning. It’s also a bit too close and expensive to stay at a hotel the night prior to the race too. I was extremely disappointed if not outraged at the condition and jacked up cost of the Red Roof Inn where I stayed. The hotels in the area bump their prices way up during race weekend. Then there’s also the recognition that I don’t have many races left to run in my older years so I believe I should choose some different venues to not only compete but to also enjoy. Regardless of my view, I highly recommend runners seeking new venues to certainly aim to run the Glass City races.

Thanks for taking time and interest in reading my post. I hope it may have inspired you to not only run a race but to also seek new opportunities to race too.

Coach Lee

AKA: The Running Architect