Bengfort.com

Waking up at 4:45 AM on a Sunday is hard enough– it’s even harder when you’re about to go outside to 42 degree, rainy weather just to run a half-marathon. But that’s how we found ourselves pulling up to a giant parking lot filled with busses- in order to run the second annual Woodrow Wilson Bridge Half Marathon from Mount Vernon to National Harbor, across the Woodrow Wilson Bridge. Once we got moving, however, we warmed up a bit, apparently,  because we all PR’d the race and set personal records for our half marathon times in general!

This race is a point to point race to take advantage of running over the Potomac River via the Woodrow Wilson bridge. We were all bussed out of overflow parking at National Harbor the full 14 miles to Mount Vernon where the race started in order to run back. This meant logistical complications, but somehow we met our number one goal- finding the shortest line at the port-a-potties. Because of the cold morning, race officials started handing out mylar blankets– which were nice, except that there were none left at the end of the race when I was well and truly cold!

Devi and I ran together for the most part- which leads to some interesting questions about our times. We both crossed the 5 and 10 mile splits at the same time, yet my time is 44 seconds slower than Devi’s? Devi did take off after the last 3/4 of a mile in order to beat 2 hours, so our finish times should be different, but not that different. In addition, as you can see, Devi’s chip time and gun time are corrected for the time it took us to cross the starting line, so are Lala and Kylee’s, but mine are not? For that reason, I’m going to place my time at 2:00:28, unfortunately still not under 2 hours, but a bit closer- and that is the time to beat next year!

Kylee and Lala also ran this race last year- and they both beat last year’s times. Because last year was the first annual Woodrow Wilson Bridge Half Marathon- I think they have to make this a thing and run it for the next 50 years!

July 30– Nan and Mom complete their first 5 kilometer distance race in personal record times!

Mom seemed really excited when attending our races at the beginning of this year, and confident that she could also compete in them. We convinced her to put her money where her mouth was, and got her registered for the EC5k. Good friend and training partner, Nan Jefferies then jumped in to support her in training and compete herself! They had been training together for a few months before this race.

There were 244 finishers at the EC5K. The winning time was 17:29.4 and the last finisher came in at 61:02.4. The course was an extremely tough one- mostly downhill to start the race, but then a 167 foot climb in 1.44 miles, the total uphill elevation change for the race was 289 feet! At many parts in the race, runners went head to head, as the trail was split into two- even with less than 250 runners, this posed a challenge to those squarely in the middle of the race!

So what’s next? A 10k! Mom and Nan have already started training for the Clyde’s 10k, but they might also participate in a moonlight 10k, and the Baltimore Running Festival 5k.

On Sunday Morning, the Clyde’s American 10k was the first race of the 2011 for the Bengfort family, and the first official running races for both Devi and Mike! It was a beautiful day, if a bit windy and chilly at first, and a great day for a running race!

All three Bengfort.com participants beat their goal times solidly. Devi was attempting a 54 minute 10k, Ben a 56 minute one, and Mike a 75 minute 10k. The race was a relaxed affair and everyone felt pretty good throughout the run, except perhaps during the giant hill on 108 and the final climb on Little Patuxent to the finish line.

The full race results can be found at striders.net. Our personal race results are below:

Ben and Beci Finish the Fargo Marathon

Beci and I completed the Fargo half-marathon on Saturday this week, and actually both of us smoked it! Beci finished in 2:08:15 – which is less than a 10 min/mile pace! I finished in 2:32:45- which is an 11:36 min/mile pace- but considering that I only started running in February, and the most I’ve run since then is 5 miles- I feel pretty good about it! For those of you who don’t know- a half marathon is 13.1 miles, and it was pretty miserable the entire way, but also lots of fun.

One thing about Fargo marathons- it was cold! It was 33 degrees when we got to the race, and it couldn’t have gotten much higher than 45 the entire morning. Luckily I made it in before the rain started- but the poor marathoners got a dose of some cold water from the sky. I never got warm the entire race, even though I was moving (I did the first 7 miles in 70 minutes!) but I spilt a lot of water on myself since I took the water at pace, and that probably didn’t help much.

I can’t speak for Beci- but I think racing in that kind of environment is a lot of fun. There was a ton going on- Elvis impersonators, bands, lots of cheering crowds. It made it more fun than just boring running. The course wasn’t great since it was a loop- I actaully was passed by the first two marathoners that placed (they ran the marathon in about 2:20), but it was still a good environment to run in. I had a great time!

So now, I am just soaked in Ben Gay and waiting to recover!

Ben Marathon Finish

Beci Marathon Finish