Race 13.1 hosted the Inaugural BGR! Meet-Up at Race 13.1 Greensboro, NC on May 15, 2016!

“Race 13.1 is the southeast’s premier half marathon series that spans over 20 counties in 7 states in the southeast”.  Race 13.1 mission is “to encourage healthy living in America by bringing premier road races to mid-size communities while exceeding the expectations of our participants and giving back to the communities we serve”.   I love that they bring the perks and feel of a big race to mid size racing communities.

“In 2009, Toni Carey and Ashley Hicks-Rocha created Black Girls RUN! in an effort to tackle the growing obesity epidemic in the African-American community and provide encouragement and resources to both new and veteran runners. The mission of Black Girls RUN! is to encourage African-American women to make fitness and healthy living a priority”.

Turns out I’m a brand ambassador for Race 13.1 and one of the ambassadors for BGR! Columbia, so I wanted to be there to represent on both fronts. Also, BGR participants (half marathon, 10k and 5k) received a bonus medal and pullover with their registration. I run for bling and shirts LoL. I learned shortly after the race that some of the members that registered before the deadline never received their shirts. I contacted my contact at Race 13.1 and was insured that it would be handled (Did you get your shirt?)

PacketPickup

Was just that, packet pickup. I arrived Saturday afternoon and stood in line for about thirty minutes before getting my packet. It was clear that Race 13.1 was unprepared for the volume of folks picking packets up at one time (lessons learned). Hopefully next year this won’t be a problem.

Race Day

Headed out and met over 1,400 BGR! members for our photo op (it’s just what we do lol) at 6 am that morning.

In the midst of the crowd, I located some of my BGR! Columbia sole sistahs.

I didn’t have any expectations for this race, other than to finish what I started. Since I have found a new relationship with lifting, my running has fallen off the beaten path. I’m determined to pick it back up though. I realized how much I missed running, so I plan on incorporating 2-4 miles here and there at least twice a week into my regular scheduled program.

The course itself was a lot of rolling hills, inclines, and a couple of mountains. Funny thing is I didn’t even mind them at all. I did however mind running over half the course on concrete. Yeah I know I run on the street but there is a big difference and I surely felt that difference in my joints after the race. OUCH

Overall the race was great. The weather was perfect – chilly at start and then it warmed up quite nicely. It was awesome seeing so many people running that looked like me. BGR! was in full force!!

Race13.1 never fails when it comes to the after party 😊.  The music was jamming on the one.  They also had a nice setup for water, fruit and food.

 

Have you ever ran a Race13.1 race?  Where? Did you enjoy it? Would you recommend it to a friend?  Let me know in the comments below!!

If you have never ran a Race13.1 race before, I highly recommend checking one out.