Block Island Half Marathon

New Shoreham, RI

Sunday, October 13, 2024

I was looking for a fall tune-up half marathon about a month out from Indianapolis Marathon on November 9.  It came down to Hartford Half and Block Island Half.  Clearly Hartford is flatter, faster, more established, certified, all the bells and whistles, etc.  But it comes with a higher price tag (even after factoring in the ferry price to BI) and I was feeling spurned by the HMF RD not getting back to me after promising to respond to me on whether I could run in and compete for the M60+ course record for "New England Finest".  I was very clear with him that I was not looking for a free ride of any sort, but rather just the opportunity to compete for the M60 course record.  He said he would think about it and get back to me, but never did.  Frustrating.

So I went with the charm of the Block Island Half.  It is a low-key half with very scenic backdrops, not to mention a friendly and responsive RD, Dave Sniffen of New Shoreham Recreation.  It is hilly, but this wasn't a goal race for me, so let's do it!

Race day:  With an 11:30am race start, I took the 9am ferry out of Narragansett, arriving on Block Island at 10am.  There were quite a few half marathoners on the ferry, and the two separate women sitting next to me engaged me in running conversation, which helped the time fly by.  Upon arriving on the island, my first time in two years, my first stop was WTAC Li'l Rhody long-time sponsor Block Island Sports Shop.  I had a good time catching up with owner Jim Ortel and his wife Marion, before heading out to the race start.

Picked up a sweet running hat
from Block Island Sports Shop
while I was there

First half:  After the short run to the Town Beach, check-in, change into race gear, and a few strides, I was ready to go, with plenty of spare time.  I actually had a childhood friend from SK (I lived in Indian Lake Shores, South Kingstown until I was age 12) recognize me and come up to chat and ask how my Mom was doing, which was pretty cool!

Debut of my New Balance New York City Marathon Elite V3.
Loved them!

The first six miles were an OAB on Corn Neck Road, north to the North Lighthouse.  At the start, a 24-year old blasted out and was gone.  I went out in 2nd place, but was passed by a 28-year old less than a half-mile in.  The weather was a warm 58°F at start, but there was a 15mph wind.  It was more of a cross-wind on the 6-mile north/south OAB, but would certainly be a factor later in the race.

Start of the 2024 Block Island Half Marathon
(Block Island Times)

Roads were open to traffic, but these are really quiet country roads, especially in the off-season.  I followed the guy in 2nd place (Sam) out to the turnaround, and he was in my sight the whole way out, although increasing the gap.

In the third mile coming into the turnaround, there was a 100' drop, not terribly steep, but greater than a 5% grade.  This would be my fastest mile in the whole race at 5:59.  I am not a fan of cone turnarounds, but at least this was at only three miles in, and now I could see my competition coming back at me.  Not to be complacent, but the 4th place runner was quite a way behind me already.

It was kind of fun to watch the runners coming at me, and the miles passed quickly until I was back at the start / finish / halfway point.  Just within sight of that point, an older spectator on my left evidently noticed I'm not a young chicken myself and as I passed by him as I was in 3rd place overall, he called out "Old Guys Rock!".  I loved it!

Splits were all over the place in the first half, ranging from 5:59 (downhill) to 6:38 (uphill).

Second half:  We turned off Corn Neck Road at sea level, and began a winding circuitous loop inland through the southern half of the island.  For a small island island race (126 finishers) in the off-season, there were more spectators than I had expected, but they certainly trailed off in the more remote second half of the race.

I brought and took one gel early in the second half.  The second half loop is the same as the Block Island Triathlon bike loop, except we run counter-clockwise, the opposite direction of the bike course.  I had done the triathlon enough times that the scenery looked familiar in places and I knew roughly what was coming next in terms of turns and hills.  I was in no-man's land for the entire second half, as I never saw another runner.

I had been running the last few miles at about 6:20 pace, but about Mile 10 it was time to face the music as we made a 90° turn to head uphill into the wind.  The 100' climb was pretty brutal into the strong headwind.  As I passed a couple (not in the race) walking their bikes up the hill, there was a slight temptation to just walk like them.  Mile 11 was my slowest mile of the day at 6:58.

As we rounded the corner heading towards the Block Island Airport, the wind had a lesser impact as we changed direction and I knew that pretty much the final two miles of the course would be downhill.  Just after the airport, still headed downhill, I saw my childhood friend (Susan) again, who was out on a bike now cheering on her daughter running.  She called out my name, and said something to the effect that I was flying, which certainly made me feel good.  The final mile just flew by (Mile 12 6:09, Mile 13 6:11), and I turned the final left back onto Corn Neck Road for a short sprint to the finish.

Final result:  1:23:40 (6:23 pace).  3rd overall of 126.  Full results here.

The Block Island Times photographer asked us top 3 finishers to gather
for a quick photo, and we did quickly catch up on the race

I went over to thank the RD for putting on the race, 
and explained I needed to leave early
(He asked me to stay for just a moment while
he got me my medal)

And a pretty nice award shirt in a blend material

Just a short visit to "the Block" today
as I took the 30-minute high speed ferry back,
but had a very enjoyable time and I'll be back to race for certain.
Hopefully in 2025.
(Reminds me to get going on my 2025 race schedule)