A half marathon ending at the base of the First Flight memorial, yes please!!
As an aviation geek with a running habit this struck a chord. While I did not fly in this time, I plan on landing at the adjacent First Flight airport (FFA) in the future.
The surrounding area is predominantly flat, making for a fast-running course.
The Wright Brothers conducted glider flights from the hill where the memorial sits from 1900-1903. Near the base of the hill sits the camp and hangar along with the catapult and four makers indicating the distances flown on December 17, 1903.
The distance of the first flight is shorter than the wingspan of a 747. That nugget amazes me; how far aviation and technology in general has come in that time is astounding.
The Wright Brothers kept meticulous notes of their flights and research, trial, and error learning from everything. It took time but they kept at it and persevered, a personal reminder to show up each day and make progress no matter how small.
The Flying Pirate Half Marathon and 5k is a smaller race, plan accordingly if special accommodations are needed for race nutrition. There are grocery stores in the area but no stores carrying race nutrition.
Race day was a beautiful, cool morning, I ran in a skort and sleeveless top and brought a small water bottle. My plan was to run 5:1 intervals (run 5 minutes, walk 1 minute) with resets and nutrition consumed as needed during walk breaks. Refilling my water bottle at the water stops and adding electrolytes as needed rounded out my plan.
The finish line for the race was at the base of the memorial. Seeing the memorial for the last mile and a half was a huge tease; I wanted to sprint but kept my pace and intervals dialed in until the last half mile saving energy for a nice sprint!
Distance running and flying are very similar as energy management is everything – if starting off too hard the pace will likely be unable to be kept up for the duration. Understanding personal cues for weather and overall health also play into the day.
If humidity or heat becomes a problem, slowing down is necessary. Depending on the distance, consuming nutrition such as energy gels, blocks or gels is also appropriate – knowing what works before race day is key to a successful race.
A memorable trip on many levels; bucket list, check.
More Information
First Flight memorial link https://www.nps.gov/wrbr/index.htm
Flying Pirate half marathon link https://obxse.com/flying-pirate