She Runs by the Seashore

Follow @vanessajunkin

Disclaimer: I received free entry to the Humana Rock ‘n’ Roll Virginia Beach Half Marathon as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to review, find and write race reviews!

The Humana Rock ‘n’ Roll Virginia Beach Half Marathon is next weekend! I’m excited to return to this race for the second year.

I made this half marathon part of my Freedom’s Run marathon training, which I wrote about in a recent blog post. I’ve been running more miles than I usually do in marathon training, which could help me, but it’s also been extremely hot and humid. I’m interested to see how I do at the race and I would love to beat my time from the St. Michaels Half Marathon this year, but I really think it will all depend on the weather for me.

Mostly, I want to have fun and enjoy the weekend, while feeling like I put in a good effort. I will also be running the Mike Sterling 10K in Crisfield the day before, so running two races in a weekend could also impact my time.

Before we get to the starting line, here are some fun facts about the race.

1. First of all, here’s the basic info. The 5K and Mile on the Sand are Saturday, Sept. 1, at 7 a.m. and 8:30 a.m., respectively. The half marathon is Sunday, Sept. 2, at 7 a.m. Each race starts at a different location within Virginia Beach (click the link for details). Expo hours are Friday, Aug. 31, from 1-7 p.m. and Saturday, Sept. 1, from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. at the Virginia Beach Convention Center. Here are all the race and expo details. 
2. Registration closes Sunday. If you want to run this year’s race, registration closes Sunday at 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time. For us East Coasters, this actually means registration closes Monday morning, but unless you are awake from midnight to 2:59 a.m., you’ll want to register Sunday if you haven’t yet. Current prices are $109.99 for the half marathon, $59.99 for the 5K and $29.99 for the Mile in the Sand. However, you can save $15 on the half marathon with code “RNRBRP2018.” Here’s the link to register.
3. The look of the shirts and medals has been released. Want a sneak peek at your shirt or medal before you receive them? The medals and shirts are fun and beachy. Here they are! 
4. Want to avoid the bathroom lines? Try 12th Street. Sometimes it pays to read race information. Rock ‘n’ Roll says the lines are shortest at the bathrooms at 12th Street. That and plenty of other race day info can be found here.
5. Get a deal while you’re in Virginia Beach. Various runner perks — discounts at local places — are offered to race participants. Check them out here. 
6. Enjoy the Chartway Federal Credit Union American Music Festival. If you’re running the Rock ‘n’ Roll Virginia Beach Half Marathon, you’ll get free entry to the Chartway Federal Credit Union American Music Festival, which is right in town. Featured performers include ZZ Top (which 5K participants can also see for free) on Sunday night, the Goo Goo Dolls on Saturday and Ziggy Marley and SOJA on Friday. Read more here. 
7. Enjoy the 2018 Experience. Rock ‘n’ Roll has made some changes across the race series in 2018, which I got to experience at Rock ‘n’ Roll Washington, D.C. earlier this year. From musical mile markers to new signage for corrals and on the course, you can read about changes and watch a video here.
8. Running? Let fellow Athlinks members know. Add yourself to the Athlinks start list here. You can see what other Athlinks members are running and set a goal time. I put 2:10 a while ago, and I’m going to stick with that, but like I said, I think my performance will heavily depend on the weather.
9. Read my recap from last year! I ran this race for BibRave last year, too, and had a lot of fun at the race and throughout the weekend. Here’s my recap.
10. Read BibRave reviews, too! Read my review and others on BibRave.com.

Look for me in my BibRave orange!

Learn more and register here. 

Follow She Runs by the Seashore on Facebook here.