Welcome to another edition of Fit Five Friday! Today I’m sharing a quick recap of the Ocean Road 10K.
2021 Ocean Road 10K Recap
Last Sunday, I was lucky enough to toe the line for the Ocean Road 10K. There had been so many race cancelations announced in the past couple of weeks, and I was holding my breath hoping this one would go off as planned. I ran Ocean Road in 2018 and loved it! In 2019 the race date was too close to the Chicago Marathon and last year …well COVID, so it was great to be able to run this one again. And, added bonus, I got to run another race with my brother!
The course is a point-to-point route that winds along the RI coastline, offering beautiful views of the ocean. It’s also a rolling course — nothing crazy in terms of elevation, but some of the long slow inclines definitely proved to be taxing for my recovering hip.
Hard to complain about views like this!
My husband J, who wasn’t running thanks to a hamstring issue, offered to drop my brother and me off at the start so we could avoid taking the shuttle and the long wait before the start of the race. J and I picked my brother up just after 6 on Sunday morning and had an easy ride down to Narragansett, arriving at the Point Judith Lighthouse before the 7:30 road closure. A quick trip to the porta-potties, a quick photo, and it was time to line up. Runners were asked to self-seed for the wave start, so we worked out way through the crowd to start in the 3rd wave. The race started at 8 and by 8:07 we were crossing the start line.
The first 5K
As you can imagine, I was very psyched to be running an in-person race and will admit to going out too fast. I appreciated the wave start as it really cut down on the amount of bobbing and weaving that typically happens at the start of a race. My brother and I took in the views and clipped along. Some of the local residents came out to cheer on the runners from on their decks – a special thanks to the person who set up speakers and blared the Rocky theme 🙂 J decided to drive the road parallel to the course which gave him a chance to park periodically and walk over to cheer us. He caught up with us the first time just after the first water stop after mile 2.
The first long incline came in the 3rd mile and by the time we hit the 5K mark, I could feel my hip tightening up. Ugh…
The final 5K
I had been using 4:1 intervals, but in the 4th mile, I needed to walk a bit more. I urged my brother to keep going. I stopped to try to stretch things out a bit and started again trying to keep him in my sights. I saw J again just after the next water stop. My hip was getting tighter and it must have reflected on my face because as this woman passed me she looked at me and said: “Come on we got this” and motioned for me to join her. I didn’t walk and fell in step with her. We chatted and ran – Nicole was also doing run/walk intervals and we were running at about the same pace so it was perfect. Soon we were passing under the Narragansett Towers and down the homestretch to the finish. We high five and thank each other for pushing to the finish. My brother was waiting at the finish line having finished just a few minutes ahead.
Final thoughts
This race offers a beautiful course and an overall great vibe. Getting dropped off at the start was a huge win vs. taking the shuttles and having a long wait at the start (the downside of any point-to-point race). Race organizers once again opted to offer rental mobile lockers vs. a traditional bag check – after my previous experience a couple of years ago, I opted to skip the lockers and leave my extra layers in the car…another benefit of getting dropped off at the start. Overall the race was well organized and the race directors did a great job of getting information out to runners before the race.
I would run this one again!
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So wonderful that your brother was also at the race! And that you had company from Nicole in the second half – that’s what I really love about races – the camaraderie that exists between friends and family, but especially strangers you meet out on the course! Sounds like such a beautiful course and so glad you got through it even with your hip complaining a bit. Well done!
Thank you Shathiso. I have really missed the camaraderie of a race – the running community can be so supportive!
Oh, those views are priceless! I’m so sorry your husband was injured, but that definitely helped you guys out. I love having a sherpa on race day. 🙂
Congrats, Michelle — hope the hip felt better quickly.
Thanks Judy. The views along the course were really beautiful – made for a great distraction.
So happy to read a race recap. I love a race with ocean views. This seems like a nice race. I’d do it if I lived closer. So nice to company. You are lucky that your brother is a runner too.
Hope your hip is ok. I want to read another recap soon. Lol
I’m so happy to write a race recap LOL! I think that you would like this course – you can never go wrong running near the ocean.
I am happy you had fun despite the hip bothering you. I wish you could see my Doc here. I hope you find a solution to your pain soon. Love that you get to run with your brother! thanks for the link up
Hopefully scaling things back will help give my hip some healing time. I do have so much fun running with my brother – I just now need to convince him to try longer distances with me 😉
Congratulations! It’s been great to see races coming back again. I’m sorry you had some hip pain on the course, hopefully you’re feeling better! And it had to be fun running with your brother!
I was so happy to make it to the start line – so many races have been canceling. I really hope things look more normal by the spring.
That sounds fun!!! I’m so glad you got to run this. Sorry your hip tightened up, but you finished strong (and so did your brother!). Nice bonus that you made a new friend along the way.
Hope your hip is feeling good now!
I’m so glad I got to do this too! I’ve really missed in-person races – it was fun being around so many other runners.
Yay for race recaps and running with your brother!! And making a same pace race friend. This all makes me so happy. (Plus do I spy your new Arc’teryx shorts?!)
Definitely a lot of fun all around! And yes the new Arc’teryx shorts have become an instant fave 🙂
I hope your hip is feeling better! Isn’t it a nice act of Fate (?) when we’re blessed with a fellow runner when we need a little extra mojo? It’s nice that you and her could stick together & finish strong side by side 🙂
Yes – so happy fate intervened – it was just the boost I needed!
Well done, and how lovely to run it with your brother and have mobile support, too! I hope the hip didn’t take too much of a punishment and you feel OK by now.
Thank you Liz! I think with some time off the hip will hopefully recover nicely.
Love it! I’m sorry your hip tightened up on you, but so glad you found a friend on the course to help get you through!
That medal is fabulous! Great job!
Thanks Jenn – despite the hip slowing me down a bit, I had a lot of fun 🙂