The First Watch Locomotive Half Marathon in Kennesaw, GA on December 9 was my last race of 2018. This was first time running this race and I served as the 3 hour pacer. Just like the Barb's 5k on the previous day, it was another cold and rainy race day. I was excited about the race since I love pacing and there was the promise of pancakes at the finish. I began and ended the year running in some interesting conditions. Hopefully, 2019 brings better running conditions.

The expo

The race hosted an expo and free pasta party on Dec 8, but I did not want to travel to Kennesaw twice. I live about 30 min from Kennesaw so I opted for race day packet pick up. It was also raining all day so the motivation went out the door to travel for free pasta. Race day pick up is one of the many things I like for races.

Race Day

The race started at a office center at Barrett Parkway and there was tons of free parking. Thanks to race day pick up, I was able to grab my bib and shirt an hour before the took off. It was cold and raining so the attendance was super low. I am not sure how many people ran, but it seemed like it was less than 100 (I could be wrong though).

A few runners would run with me for a bit, but I ran mostly alone for the entire race. The rain was an opportunity to break in my Gasparilla jacket. The course was not very scenic which was fine. There were plenty of water stations throughout the race. I finished in my pacing time limit, but there were no pancakes. After 3 hours of running I was really looking forward to enjoying warm pancakes.

Overall, it was a great race. The terrain was mostly flat, with a few rolling hills. We received free race pictures (another race perk that I love). I would probably run the race next year. Hopefully, the weather will be so much nicer than this year and I will get my promised pancakes.