It’s been a bit since I did a race, so I was a little nervous but also really looking forward to this one. This is part of a BAM (big ass medal series). As you’ll see with the picture of the medal, they weren’t lying.

Race took place on Holden Island, right off the coast of North Carolina. The race organizers did a great job with this – great communication, easy packet pickup, free race pictures that you could download from Facebook. Instead of a t-shirt, they gave a “trucker” running hat with registration. Great design and I really loved getting something other than a tech shirt. I saw people wearing hats from previous races – almost makes me want to do another of their races to collect more hats.

This part of North Carolina is certainly not a vegan mecca. After searching Happycow and looking online, I was really out of luck. Ended up at a place on the water where my choices were side salad or fish – I opted for the oysters (sorry to all the vegans out there).

Early start since the bridge to the island closed to traffic before the race. Only 32 degrees in the morning which I wasn’t really anticipating. Luckily, it was a small enough race that parking was close to the start line. I stayed in my car with the heater on until 10 minutes before starting time. Lovely course (aside from the many turnarounds – not a fan of hairpin turns in a race). Although the bridge was a decent incline, it was definitely worth it because it provided great views of the island.

Crazy enough, my sister-in-law’s mom was also running the race and she actually recognized me somewhere around mile 7. Quick beer at the finish line (it was a little too cold to linger). Due to weather, ended up getting rerouted out of the Fayetteville airport which was really tiny but luckily had a small restaurant where I was able to get a BLT (without the B) and a beer.

Glad to have another one under my belt. Wish I could have spent a little more time exploring this part of North Carolina – maybe I’ll have to go back for another one in the BAM series (and continue my hat collection).

18 down, 32 to go!