I made my annual trek across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge at the Bay Bridge Run on Sunday, Nov. 12, and while I had a run that I was happy with, it was also rewarding for me to be able to set up our branded Eastern Shore Running Club tent and meet up with so many club members afterward.
I’ve run across the bridge nine times (once as a teenager) and walked across once as a kid. We’re in the third year of the event being run by Corrigan Sports Enterprises. Each year, the Eastern Shore Running Club (of which I’m president) has had a large enough team to qualify to have a tent at the finish. However, the last two years, the tent was provided and we didn’t bring any snacks, which made it a little harder to find each other. This year, I dropped off our branded tent on Saturday and picked it up after the race Sunday. I also brought snacks and drinks purchased by the club for members to enjoy.
This Bay Bridge Run was different for me than in years past. Normally, I spend the weekend with my friend Veronica. However, she was unable to run this year, so I made it into a family weekend instead. On Saturday, I dropped off the tent, tablecloth and supplies before heading to the Anne Arundel County Fairgrounds, where packet pickup was this year.
Veronica and I usually do the VIP package (thank you, Veronica!), so I was a little worried about the lines, but I thought this packet pickup was much better organized than previous years. The line was nowhere near as long as it has been in the past, and I was in and out pretty quickly. I put a hoodie and joggers in my gear check bag so I wouldn’t get as cold after the race.
On race morning, I left from my mom and stepdad’s house, a little under an hour away from the parking lot I purchased a pass for, Anne Arundel Community College. There was a bit of a line to get in, but the bus ride was smooth. Then, we saw the first porta-potty line — one single porta-potty with a line of at least 20 people. When we got off the bus, there was another bank of maybe 8-10 porta-potties and I spent half-an-hour in line. Then, when I made it to the front, I got the porta-potty that didn’t have any toilet paper and ended up getting a wad of toilet paper from a guy in front of me who had gotten it from his partner.
However, while I was in the line, I did get to meet Antin, who recognized me from my blog (check out his blog here). He said he’s run some races after hearing about them in my blog, which was flattering and fun to hear!
Once I left the porta-potty, I heard someone saying there were more porta-potties closer to the start. Really?!
Because of the wait, I ended up starting two waves later than what I had signed up for. Veronica and I usually do the 7 a.m. wave, but because I had a longer drive to the start, I’d moved my start time back to 7:30 a.m. I ended up starting at 8 a.m.
Because the waves are not time-based, I ended up behind people of varying paces and had to do some weaving, especially at the beginning. I’m definitely in support of people walking the course, but not everyone was toward the side to make it easier for runners to run the paces they wanted to do.
I was hoping I’d be able to run the course in under an hour after running 1:00:33 at the Mike Sterling 10K in September. However, I also knew that I would lose some time on the incline of the bridge. I’ve run fast times at the Bay Bridge Run in the past, though.
I’ve run this course so many times that I knew exactly what to expect, and the same thing happened that happened last year. My first two miles were slower, my third mile was not as fast as I felt it should be, and then I tried to pick it up.
I always enjoy the opportunity to run across the Bay Bridge because it’s a unique course that you can’t normally run. The bridge is important to me, as I grew up on what the Eastern Shore side calls the “western shore” (we never called it that), and now I live on the Eastern Shore.
I ran the first two miles in 10:12 and 11:18. Then, I made up time on the downhill, as I planned to do. My next four miles were all in the 9s. Because of the various waves, I got to see various friends while we were on the bridge — Carla, Kristin, Jordan, Steve and Joe. Then, I ran for a bit with Matt, who had the same goal of coming in under an hour. I also saw Susan near the end of the race.
There was a lot of EMS support ready to step in if needed along the way, and I later found out that the Salisbury Fire Department was among those out there.
I felt pretty good during the race, but the uphill section I think took a little bit out of me, and it was clear with about a mile or so left that I wouldn’t be making it under an hour. However, I beat my Bridge Run times from 2021 and 2022. I also enjoyed the chillier weather, particularly compared to the hot temps at the Ocean City Running Festival two weeks prior.
My official finish time was 1:01:59, a 9:59 pace. My watch never seems to be at 6.2 miles for this one, so I did run just a tiny bit extra till I had 6.2 on my watch. My watch time was 1:02:08, a 10:01 pace.
I got my puzzle-piece medal and water and headed to the Eastern Shore Running Club tent. It was easy to get my gear from the bag check, and I recognized one of the volunteers from the previous day and thanked her for volunteering. I stayed at the ESRC tent for a while, had a few snacks and chatted and got photos with various friends. I also got to meet up with my friend Colleen, who went to my high school. We meet up at this race each year.
I was also able to share information about the Eastern Shore Running Club with people who stopped by the tent, including one from Snow Hill and one from Pocomoke. I also provided some info about the Turkey Trek 5K at Pemberton Park, which I used to promote for work, to another runner.
Then, it was time to board the bus. Or, so I thought. The bus line was crazy. I’m not sure if it’s been like this in previous years, because Veronica and I did the VIP package and were able to park at the finish. However, this year, I waited in line for at least half an hour. There were not different lines for the different color-coded parking lots, and there were two very long lines; the one I was in wrapped around.
Nobody knew what line we were supposed to be in, so I basically just checked that there were others hoping to go to the green parking lot in my line. We were also told different info by different staff. After waiting so long, I wasn’t going to get in a different line, so I just merged when I got to the appropriate point. Then, when our bus left, it wasn’t even close to full. I think the staff were just trying to get things on track, but I think this mass confusion could have been avoided. I wouldn’t have minded waiting in line so much if I knew that I was in a line for my specific destination.
After stops at Rise Up Coffee and Trader Joe’s (where there were more lines) and another stop to pick up the tent, tablecloth and cooler, I was ready to get home — although I did make one more stop for a burger at Rude Burger on the way back. I enjoyed the run, but it was a pretty exhausting morning.
Hopefully next time I run a 10K, I’ll be able to break the one-hour mark.
Splits
Mile 1: 10:12
Mile 2: 11:18
Mile 3: 9:42
Mile 4: 9:23
Mile 5: 9:44
Mile 6: 9:55
Last part (.2): 1:51 (9:02 pace)
Final: 1:01:59 / 9:59 pace on results; 1:02:08 / 10:01 pace on watch
She Runs by the Seashore 