Ocracoke Island Run Fest Weekend

Ocracoke offers so much! And this past weekend (April 29-30) we had a chance to run/walk in four different races. On Saturday, participants could choose the Jolly Roger 5K or the Queen Anne’s Revenge 10K. I don’t run, but I can walk pretty much from dawn to sunset, so I opted for the latter.

So Saturday morning arrives, and I leave the house a little later than I intended. Then I shut the strings of my spare pair of shoes in the door. An extra minute and I am off. Halfway there (and yes, “halfway there ” is a half mile) I realize I forgot my race bib, so I turn around. An inauspicious start to my first-ever chip-timed “race.” (My 8 Avon Breast Cancer Walks– marathon on Saturday followed by half-marathon on Sounday weer all walk-only and untimed).

On my way again. Meet my friend Claire, and exchange good wishes for the morning. Claire is less than half my age, 6 inches taller, … so many things I am not! But we are the two new teachers at Ocracoke this year and we are a team! She will run, and I will walk. I walk. That is what I do.

And we are off! A double loop through the village for 6.2 miles. Over $40,000 raised for four local institutions. Lots of support from the community. So nice to hear “Go, Beth!” and “Ms. Laytonnnnnnnn!” while I am walking the route. Struck up a conversation with a walking partner from Virginia Beach. Makes the walk go faster. And then it is over. Certainly not the winner. Never my intention. I am walking, remember? ( Lest anyone miss this, I am by far the shortest person in this group! Geez! I really AM short, aren’t I!)

Back at “headquarters.” Party going on! Music. Cheers. And then the awards. And I “win” third place in my age group… they were nice enough not to mention that there were only three females n my age group. But hey! I did it and I averaged just under 16 minutes per mile. Not bad when I was not really trying to beat any record.

I should note here that Claire finished the 10K second overall among women and on Sunday was first in her age group! All while carrying out a move between houses during the hours before, between and after the races! So very proud of her!

So Saturday continues and I do laundry, walk on the beach (yes, I walk some more), clean house, and so on. Go to bed and –typical for nights before big walks– I don’t sleep. I mean really don’t sleep. Wake up about 1:00 AM and spend the rest of the night alternately thinking about tomorrow’s half marathon, making lesson plans, and trying to go back to sleep. Number three does not win. Never does.

Day two. Get up a little earlier. Manage to get out the door in one try. And we are off. First six miles are scenic, through the village. I walk with another woman whose goals are pretty much the same as mine: finish the walk, keep a good pace, don’t fall. She actually added “don’t die” but that was not even part of my picture! So I am already a winner!

Last seven miles are brutal. Full sun, straight up NC 12, around the campground and back down those three miles. I drive that route often and think it is too far too drive to the beach (perspective changes here); walking it is another story entirely! But I have left my conversation partner when we needed to go single-file, and so I speed up a bit.

In the last two miles I pass two people. One a large woman who also walked yesterday. Pretty sure she took a short-cut in the campground but not at all concerned about that. Proud of her for her effort. I am not passing her to “beat” her. Just hoping to match my split times from the 10K. And the end gets closer. A male is in sight. Whoa! So I keep moving, and I pass him. Not without greeting. Tell him I am hoping to beat yesterday’s splits. Don’t want to be rude! Hey, none of us at this point have any thoughts of winning anything other than whatever satisfies our personal goals. (Didn’t lie about my age, for example!)

After each race we were treated to a feast by Gaffer’s Pub, our host site. Delicious way to refuel! (Photo will not load)

And I make it across the finish line! My average time is almost the same as yesterday, for less than half the distance– 16 minutes per mile. I’ll take it! if I had not walked with people early on, I might have beaten that a bit, but part of the fun was talking to them! And I think that is a pretty darned good time for someone who is about to qualify for Medicare!

And I got second place for my age group in the Blackbeard’s Half Marathon because there were only two of us in the race! But I did it, and I told them going in that I was walking and I still was ahead of five other people– all younger than I!– and finishing was what mattered. (not to mention that later in the day I cleaned house, did laundry, walked another 4 miles, …).

It was a wonderful weekend. I am going to walk, whether there is an event or not. But this was special. The community support is unsurpassed. Participants paid to run/walk but four local groups benefited from that money. And we got the “bling” (t-shirts, medals, awards) and great food from Gaffer’s. We got the joy of hearing fans cheer us along the way, both people who actually knew us and those who were along for the ride.

So I got two cool t-shirts, two finishers medals, two awards for placing in my age group ((and yes I paid a lot of money for the privilege of taking part, but the money goes to local causes) … but I got so much more. Camaraderie with my fellow walkers. Support from and, yes, admiration from, my students and the community. (When you are the “new” math teacher in a place this size, everyone knows who you are!) Personal satisfaction in completing the walks.

And yes, I walked more miles after both days of the Ocracoke Run Fest. And yes, I taught school today. And yes, my quads are really sore! will I be back for next year’s races? You betcha!