She Runs by the Seashore

It’s now become a tradition for me to pace the Rehoboth Seashore Half Marathon each December. This race will always hold a special place in my heart as my first-ever marathon in 2013 and a race that’s always been a lot of fun on a scenic route — that year and every year since. 2024 was my seventh consecutive year pacing the half marathon at this race with Beast Pacing.

My most common pacing time recently has been 2:45 for the half marathon, and that’s what I ran for this event, on Dec. 7. As a pacer, I needed to get to the race an hour early (6 a.m. for the 7 a.m. start), and I made the early drive from my home in Salisbury. It takes about an hour in the early morning during the off-season. I also served in the role of team lead for the pacers, putting together the signs, bringing them to the team, and making sure we all arrived.

This was the third half marathon I paced during 2024. As a pacer, I have a goal time that’s slower than my full-out race pace, and hold that up on a sign so that people can see where I am throughout the race to use me as a guide. I wear a pace band that lists the cumulative time that I should be at each mile. I use my watch, but I can’t solely use that because I end most races with slightly more than 13.1 miles on the watch, and I still need to cross the finish line under my goal time — somewhere between 2:44:00 and 2:45:00 (but not 2:45:01).

Before the race, I did a 1.11-mile slow warm-up. I’ve been tracking my running using CityStrides and knew I was close to running every street in the city of Rehoboth Beach. Since I got there early, I had a little extra time anyway, and it was cold — my second cold race weekend in a row. The previous weekend, I’d run the NCR Marathon. That was my 18th marathon, and this was my 18th time pacing a half marathon. After my marathon in May, I did a test run of seven miles a little under my pacer pace the weekend after to see how it felt. This gave me confidence that I’d be able to pace the 13.1 miles the week after running a marathon.

After photos with the Eastern Shore Running Club, I lined up in the corral. I found a spot in the area of a sign listing my approximate pace, but unfortunately, the spot I picked placed me behind the 3:00 half pacer. I talked to a few people around me and we figured we were good, but this did stress me out until I passed him about a mile in, so next time, I would definitely move up earlier as not to cause any confusion or stress.

Because of this, my first mile was a little fast, at 11:48. Although I try to stay as consistent as possible, my first mile is sometimes a little fast, because I need to make sure I’m lining up with the mile markers. Even though my watch beeped for the first mile at 11:48, I didn’t actually make it to the first mile marker till slightly later. I like to hit the mile marker slightly early so that I don’t risk having to make time up at the end.

The race starts by the bandstand, takes runners down the main stretch through town and then into a residential area before heading onto the boardwalk around Mile 2. It’s a flat course — the only kind of course I pace. We continued up the boardwalk and then continued heading north up to the entrance to the Gordon’s Pond Trail. It was there, after about 4.5 miles, that after a turnaround, marathoners turned right and half marathoners continued straight to head back the way we came.

Because of the out-and-back, I was able to cheer on some friends and see some fun holiday-themed outfits along the way, including Buddy the Elf. During the race, I also saw the people I’d talked to the prior weekend at NCR; one was running the marathon and one was running the half at Rehoboth.

After the out-and-back section, we headed along Henlopen Avenue to the Grove Park water stop and then continued onto the Junction and Breakwater Trail — first a paved section and then the crushed stone section. The crushed stone section is another out-and-back, and a little after the Mile 11 mile marker, we continued onto a different section of the trail than the way we’d come. I always enjoy the Flag Alley section, running under all the state flags.

For the first year that I can recall, I was passed by the female winner of the marathon. I am usually passed by a handful of male marathoners, which is always impressive, but this was the first time I could remember being passed by a female marathoner, which I thought was pretty awesome. According to the results, Anna Gevirtz ran 2:50:02 to win (and of course had started before me — by about six minutes). I also saw Mike Wardian in his effort to run an age group record for the 50K (there was a 50K only offered to him and another runner for this attempt). He didn’t get the record, but he ran 3:21:24 for a 50K — a 6:21 pace — a pace that’s a lot faster than I can even run one mile.

While I didn’t question my ability to finish the half marathon in just under 2:45, I did start feeling my marathon from the week before, more so around Mile 9 or 10-ish.

I enjoy run-walk intervals, but whenever I pace races, I do a consistent run pace so I can be a moving target. However, I do walk the water stops, and I’m also paying attention to the cumulative time compared with the mile markers. So, my mile times are not always exactly the same, but I try to keep them close.

After that first mile, every mile started with a “12” until Mile 12, when I felt like I was a little ahead. I ran that mile in 13:11. However, then, it seemed like I had slowed down a little too much. I ended up with 13.3 miles on my watch and ran the last full mile in a 12:17 pace, with the last 0.3 in an 11:39 pace. It is hard to intentionally hold yourself back at the end of a race, but I do try.

During the race, I didn’t have anyone who I ran with the entire time, but I did have several people who I was regularly near.

I crossed the finish line in 2:44:48, right where I wanted to be. I waited for the 3:00 half pacer to come through and got his and the 3:00 marathon pacer’s signs, then brought them back to my car. Then, I headed back to the post-race party. I was still trying to log new streets, so I was able to run 0.6 very slowly back to the party. I hung out with Diana, Grant, Kimberly and Latonya at the indoor party inside The Cultured Pearl and had a beer there and some food afterward. I always enjoy the full food spread at this race. I went into the tent for a little bit of the party, but then decided to be on my way.

After leaving the party, I ran a very slow 2.39 miles to finish out all of Rehoboth’s streets (I’d logged the rest of the streets during previous runs in Rehoboth over the years). I realized that I had just a tiny, tiny bit left in one other spot, so I drove over there and ran a little under 0.2 mile. One of my 2024 goals was to run 100 percent of the streets in another town or city (I’d completed nearby Henlopen Acres and Vienna, Md.), and I knew I wasn’t going to achieve my other goals, so I wanted to accomplish one of them.

I also got my annual photo of my medal at the beach before heading back to Salisbury.

This race is always fun, but after the marathon the week before and then this half marathon, I was happy to then take a racing break for a while. I haven’t done a race since, though I did complete the Winter Tour. My longest run since this half marathon has been just over 11 miles, as part of the Tour. I’ve been enjoying running shorter distances!

I’ve been busy, and because it took me so long to have a chance to write this post, registration is now open for the Dec. 6, 2025, race, if you’re interested! Rates are always lowest early on; visit the site here.

Splits

Mile 1: 11:48
Mile 2: 12:20
Mile 3: 12:36
Mile 4: 12:10
Mile 5: 12:19
Mile 6: 12:10
MIle 7: 12:53
Mile 8: 12:24
Mile 9: 12:07
Mile 10: 12:42
Mile 11: 12:19
Mile 12: 13:11
Mile 13: 12:17
Last bit (watch had .3): 3:29 (11:39 pace)

Final: 2:44:48 / 12:35 pace on results; 2:44:50 / 12:24 pace on watch