Last winter, after spending a week in Jamaica, my friend came home and raved about the resort they had stayed at. The Couples Swept Away resort sounded like heaven. My husband and I had honeymooned in Jamaica in 2002 and it had been the perfect trip. We always talked about going back someday and after hearing Jaimie describe her trip, we started considering it more seriously.
Wayne & I decided that there could be no better way to celebrate our tenth anniversary than to be able to return to Negril together. So, Back when I was planning out the running events for the year, I was SO excited when I found the Reggae Marathon! It couldn't have worked out better that we were able to commemorate our milestone anniversary and be able to run the twelfth and final half marathon of the year at the same time!
So, in the wee hours of December 1st, we joined 1255 other runners from over thirty other countries at the start line. Although it was still dark, it was already warm. We wore light shorts & tops, slathered ourselves in sunscreen and had our sunglasses perched on top of our heads for the inevitable sunshine.
The Event
This was the twelfth annual Reggae Marathon. The Jamdammers, the local running club consisting of just over 100 members, started the Reggae Marathon Grand Prix Series with the overall goal of bringing middle and long distance running in Jamaica to world-class prominence. I think it's safe to say they've achieved that with registrants coming from so many countries to participate.
We picked up our race packages the Friday afternoon at the sports complex that was part of our resort. The nice shoe bag contained a couple nicknacks, our race bibs & timing chips as well as the cotton race t-shirt. That evening we returned to the sports complex for the "World's Best Pasta Party". As I said before, it was unlike any other and was a fun way to get into the race spirit (it's kinda hard to get in the zone when you're laying on the beach, sipping a drink and enjoying the sunshine!).
The support along the course was great! At each mile there was water and the Jamaican electrolyte drinks (they were very tropical but so quenching!). Even toward the end of our run, the drinks were ice cold....which was amazing because we were HOT! They have a unique bagged method of distributing the drinks. You grab the bag and then tear it with your teeth and consume it however quickly you want. It seems weird, but it really worked for me and I found that I didn't have to slow down to drink, BONUS!
The Victory Beach Bash in the finish area was awesome! And I LOVE my finisher's medal! I would highly recommend this run to anyone, although I wouldn't consider running the full. By the time the full marathon participants were done, it was HOT!
The Excuses
I am NOT a morning person. It's funny because my dad is not a morning person either. I remember once my mom teasing him because the only mornings that he is ever eager to get up are the days he is going hunting. For me, those days are my running days.
But, seriously, the Reggae Marathon started 'promptly' at 5:15....that's 4:15 at home! We had made arrangements to meet Jennifer (a gal who was running the full marathon and didn't want to make the walk to the start line in the dark solo) in the lobby at 4:30. So, there was no way I was going to get up early enough for my regular pre-race breakfast plan. Up at 3:30 (the Jamaican tree frogs were still croaking), we donned our gear and hit the continental breakfast for toast and coffee, but it just wasn't enough time before the race start.
As a result, around mile 4 my guts were churning. I considered running back into the resort lobby which was right there at that point on the course (and in hindsight I probably should have), but opted to wait and see if it would pass. It wasn't until just after mile 8 that we saw the next porta potty! Even though there were three other people in line, by that point I had no choice but to wait (who knows when the next chance would be!). Stopping cost us 10 minutes on our time, but I tell ya, I felt SO much better because of it!
It wasn't until we had stopped to stand in line at the biffy that we realized that we were DRIPPING wet! I have never ran in such humidity before. You could literally ring us out. An unfortunate side-effect it seems, is chaffing. I've suffered mild chaffing before, but being so damp meant that our feet blistered (I had four different toes blister), my sport bra left a mark all the way around my ribs, Wayne's shirt rubbed his chest and we both had chaffing from our short liners. While this all sounds very pleasant I'm sure, it wasn't really that big of a deal. We were definitely aware of the soreness and I'm sure it would have become more of an issue if we had had to continue much further, but by the next day it was mostly forgotten....mostly.
Unfortunately, my right IT band started bugging me about a quarter of the way through the race. I am upset with my body because I felt so good during the run in Vegas and had very little pain (if any) and that course was SO hilly and hard. Now here I was on a FLAT, much less challenging course and my knee wasn't cooperating. Running in pain isn't ideal, but it eventually gets to the point where the pain doesn't get any worse and you just push through it. I can see now that after returning from Vegas and receiving the thumbs up from my physiotherapist, I slacked off....and my finishing time suffered as a result.
BUT, this run wasn't about how fast we could complete it (although I would love to be able to go back next year and get a pb!). We were there to soak it all in and enjoy each second of the 2:25 it took us to finish.
The Best Part
EVERYTHING about this event was phenomenal! I have always laughed when people describe something as being epic (it seems like such a strong descriptor), but for me this trip was just exactly that.
We met Jennifer in the lobby and walked half a kilometre in the dark toward the sound of reggae music. The air was damp and warm as we gathered with the other runners. It was dark, but you could hear the ocean right there. It's impossible to describe how I felt as we got ready to run, I was just so excited and tried my best not to cry!
Just after crossing the start line with the reggae blasting, there were young Jamaican kids lining the road on both sides with tiki torches. Then, we headed off into the darkness toward Negril together.
We didn't have to go too far until we came across the first crowds of spectators. They were, no doubt, still out partying from the night before. It was a bit of sensory overload after passing through the second water station. There were groups of Rastafarians with dreadlocks and slouchy hats, blasting reggae music from giant speakers sitting on top of their vehicles, they waved and danced....and smoked. The smell of ganja was thick in the air. Everyone was happy!
We got to the turn around at the 5km point in Negril in 29 minutes and then made our way back the same way we had come. 59 minutes into the run, as we reached the 10km (our halfway point) the sun started to come up. We passed back through the tiki torches and continued past the shoot to the finish line. By this time my knee was really being a bugger. We were on our way to being able to set a pretty good time, but I knew I was going to have to slow my pace to compensate for my IT band....not to mention that it was becoming more obvious that I was going to have to make a pit stop! I encouraged Wayne to go ahead and get the great time that I know he is capable of, but he refused. I wouldn't normally have settled for that, but I made an exception just this one time....I'm so glad he stayed with me. Having him by my side made everything so much more fun to process and share....maybe it was the second-hand smoke, but we laughed and smiled and joked our way through the run (especially that last quarter when the going gets tough & I get emotional).
The second half of the course was more quiet and scenic in a natural sense. We ran past the Sandals resort that we had stayed at during our honeymoon. It gave us a chance to think back....man, we've done A LOT in ten years!
The sun was coming up behind us and the ocean was beside us. There were a few more vehicles at the side of the road blasting Jamaican music with huge rooftop speakers and the aid station workers were very nice. The road that we were running on is the ONLY road in the area. They had it shut down completely which meant that the workers who were making their way to the resorts were forced to walk partway to work. I felt bad, but they were happy and cheering for us....and it felt good every time we blasted past one of them! We knew they weren't runners, but still it felt like we were making progress!
As we turned to head back for the last 5km, the sun was up and shinning right down on us. Time to activate the sunglasses....trouble was they were wet with sweat and our clothes were too drenched to wipe them dry! Luckily, it was hot enough that it evaporated in no time at all!
We were both hurtin' units, but the finish line was getting closer. The last mile is Bob's mile. Bob Marley is such an icon in Jamaica and his music and the impact it had on the country were revolutionary. Throughout the course, the officials had posters with lyrics from his various songs.They sang true to me and the spirit of what we were doing there....I know it's just a run, but it was so much more than that to me.
We crossed the finish line and gave each other a giant smooch. We got our beautiful palm tree medals, had our timing chips removed from our shoes and headed past the misting tent, past the onion rings and straight to the Red Stripe station! Just as we cheersed and had our first sip of the most glorious beer ever, the announcers came over the intercom to let us know it was almost 8:00 am!
Next we waited our turn for fresh coconut water. The man grabbed one from the pile and hacked into it with his machete....."No worries mon!".
We took off our runners to assess the damage. Soaked our tootsies in the ocean and made our way back to the resort along the beach. When we met up with Jennifer later, she confirmed what he had suspected, running the full marathon was a scorcher! But she finished with a great time. Way to go Jennifer!
When we told Owen & Myles that we were running in Jamaica, they thought maybe we'd be racing against Usain Bolt.
When we told Owen & Myles that we were running in Jamaica, they thought maybe we'd be racing against Usain Bolt.
Kinda, sorta, right!?!
We spent the rest of our trip reading, laying on the beach, swimming, snorkelling, eating, drinking and dancing. We made some vacation friends who we took a shuttle to Rick's Cafe with. Wayne jumped off the 35ft cliff...and lived to tell the tale!
We took the catamaran trip and swam in some caves and took in the local seawall sights.
We also enjoyed the sports complex and tried to fend off at least a few vacation pounds by working out at the beautiful facility.
Wayne had tried to teach me to play tennis about fifteen years ago and I it didn't go so well! We decided that it was time to give it another shot. We had a blast and even played during thirty minutes of pouring rain....the only time it rained all week and there we were on the tennis court!
We are so fortunate that we are able to go away together for a week to reconnect completely guilt-free. Our boys were thrilled to be at home with their Grandma & Grandpa Stevenson. In fact, they were convinced that we were getting the raw end of the deal! And Grandma & Grandpa did a wonderful job manning the fort and they swear that the boys were perfectly behaved! Thank you Fran & Wendy.
As the sun set on the beautiful Jamaican beach our last night there, I couldn't help but shed a couple tears.
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