I "ran" the inaugural Rock N Roll Providence Half Marathon in 2011 - it poured buckets! I tend to say I "swam" that half (feel free to go back through the blog to find the write up & pix). So when I needed another RNR event this year to hit my Rock Idol status I thought it'd be great to actually run it. (In hindsight I'm REALLY glad I did, as it was also the last RNR Providence due to low participation numbers and it was a great race.) It's a small race anyway, but there were just a few of us Rock N Roll Gypsies doing it as well, so not a lot a fanfare.
I met up with Sherry and Ted and we hit the expo then started asking at the hotel for "things to do". We were told we needed to check out Waterfire, so we made a dinner reservation and did a little walking around/site seeing until it started. While walking the set up gave us a better idea of what to expect.
There were boats putzing from fire pit to fire pit stocking them with wood. Our dinner was at an outside restaurant with basically front row viewing. Once the sunset and the fires were lit it was quite the show.
After dinner we did our typical race prep and crashed - I think I spent more nights in 2013 in a bed with Sherry than with anyone else!
Race morning was low-key. There was no VIP in Providence so we just met up at the startline and headed out for our run. This was Ted's 2nd half so I stayed with him - though the first half of the race he was killing me with his pace on the hills!
The final 4 miles he slowed up and needed pulling over the mental wall. Sherry took off early on but met up with us at the finish line.
We ran into Beth and Jim somewhere around the 5K point. And at the finish we also saw Mary and then met up with Marissa. Unlike 2011, 2013 was a beautiful sunny day at the finishline and the Gypsies that were there sat around chatting for a bit before heading our separate ways. Sherry and I had planned Providence as an in and out race, so we headed out Sunday evening. I left knowing that I'd done my last RNR Providence Half Marathon & the memory of my first in the pouring rain and my last with the fires coupled nicely with Providence's infamous Waterfire.
