This past Saturday the funmeters were pegged to the max at the Ie Island half marathon. Holly and I signed up with some friends to participate in this exciting and scenic race...
Ferry Ride to Ie Island
Pre-Race Meal
We had to sign in by 1:00 p.m. and the half marathon didn't start until after 3:00 p.m. Each participant was issued a pre-race meal ticket. Instead of power bars or energy gels, the meal options were soba noodle soup (pictured above) or a bento lunch with fishcakes, sausages, rice and other unidentified creatures from the sea.
Ie Island's Got Talent
Only in Okinawa would you see a clown running in a race on a sunny 75-degree day in full custome while juggling.
We Are The Champions!
Despite all of the heat and humidity, we all completed the race and only one person in our group puked. During the first half of the race it was pretty warm with no clouds, little wind and high humidity. Luckily, some clouds blew in for the second half of the race. What really saved us were the sponges soaked in ice water that they would hand out at the aid stations. I can hardly describe how good it felt to squish the cold sponge on my head and enjoy the sensation of the water trickling down my body parts.
Holly's Faithful Running Companions
For months, Holly has been running with Melanie and April between 4 and 5 o'clock in the morning.
Icing on the Cake
To top of our already wonderful experience, Holly kicked some trash on the run and won first place in the women's 30-39 age division with an amazing time of 1 hr 35 min in the heat of the day. You can view Holly's certificate of completion above along with her race t-shirt and winner's medallion. In addition to a big sweaty, stinky hug from Jason, Holly also received a nice hibiscus plant, 225 grams of Ie Island brown cane sugar and a package of Ie Island sea salt. OK, so the prizes aren't as big as the Boston Marathon, but we'll build to that. Way to go Holly!!!
