We interrupt this trip report to bring you a recap of the Run Sunset Beach Half Marathon!
Now and again my parents ask me to come to North Carolina to pet sit for them. While taking care of animals if of course its own reward, I can’t help but also sneak in a race when I’m in town and scheduling allows. And here’s my dirty little secret: I will often deliberately steer my parents toward vacation dates that align with a nearby race. It’s cool; they know and they’re fine with it. 
Which is how I wound up snagging a last minute registration for the Run Sunset Beach Half Marathon in, well, Sunset Beach, North Carolina. Now, have I been experiencing some IT band issues near my left hip? Sure. Was it therefore a bad idea to sign up? SHUT UP. Runners gonna run, okay? 
You may recall I ran this same race last year. Was it worth a second go-round? Let’s dive in.
THE SUN RISES ON THE RUN SUNSET BEACH HALF MARATHON
I hopped out of bed a little after 4am, jumped in the car, and began the 45 minutes-ish trek down to Sunset Beach. This was made a few minutes longer by the mid-trip panic attack wherein I thought I had put in the wrong address; I pulled into a Wendy’s parking lot, confirmed that I had it right, and continued on my way. I repeat: does anyone know how to spell meteor?
Crisis thus averted, I successfully arrived at the staging area about 10 minutes after parking officially began. There was already a bit of a backup, but I was ushered into a decent parking space about 10 minutes after that. My car wound up within pretty easy walking distance of the start, and I easily meandered over to the trailer housing bib pickup for the morning.
One bib and race shirt later, and I was back in the car performing my final pre-race prep. Playlist, check; race fuel, check; gloves and car keys, check. I finally said goodbye to the warm car and headed back out around 6:20am.
AND WE’RE OFF!
Admittedly I probably succumbed to the siren song of car coziness a little too long (temps were in the high 40s to low 50s). Run Sunset Beach features a 1 miler, 5K, 10K, AND half, and seemingly 75% of all participants were in line for insufficient porta potties. Unfortunately I did genuinely have to pee, so I shimmied into line.
I may have never cut it quite this close: after using the bathroom, I squeezed into the race chute at 6:42 for a – wait for it – 6:45am start time. Wee! Hey, I made it, and that’s what counts.
One robot-voice countdown later, and we were off!
THE RUN SUNSET BEACH HALF COURSE MAP IS A THING OF BEAUTY
Here’s a niche runner thing: you wanna nod appreciatively at a course map? Take a look at the Run Sunset Beach Half Marathon course. It might be the most straightforward race you’ve ever seen.
To whit: we started off running toward the beach until we hit the coast line, at which point we performed a neat loop of the main drag and its associated roads. Our path took us through some neighborhoods before we were confronted with our first pass over a sizable bridge, because who doesn’t love a good bridge?
Once across the water we performed another much larger loop for many a mile, through suburban outdoor mall areas, more neighborhoods, and a subsection of beach houses. Every couple of miles or so we encountered a water stop, most of which offered both water and Gatorade. Pretty standard stuff, all things considering.
MY PERFORMANCE, BY COMPARISON, WAS AVERAGE AT BEST
And how was I doing with this pretty standard stuff? Pretty standard, really. The quixotic part of me goes into every race like “Maybe this is a PR day!!!” regardless of how realistic that notion may be. I knew with my IT band shenanigans this probably was not that day.
Still, I let myself push it for the first couple miles. You know, just in case. I kept up a decent clip for a good half of the half, but you just kinda know from the outset, don’t you think? The bounce wasn’t there. I was destined to be… fine.
Of course, that’s a heckuva lot better than BAD. My IT band held up surprisingly well for the entire race. Sadly, other surprise elements of my body decided to speak up instead. The top of my calf muscle began complaining around mile 6, which is weird because I’ve never had that problem before.
The good news is that it didn’t morph into a debilitating issue; more a nuisance that slowed me down a little. I think maybe it was compensating for the IT band being a weak point. Bodies, man. What can they do?
WORST MILE 12 EVER
Ah well! I trudged on, determined to keep up my fueling regimen and make it to the end. Only one thing stood between me and the finish line: that dang mile 12 bridge.
I had faced this bridge before in my previous Run Sunset Beach Half and knew it was coming. What I was not prepared for was the exciting edition of a headwind. A straight up headwind! On a bridge! At MILE 12! Oh the humanity!
Being as I wasn’t in pursuit of a PR and my exciting new calf malady, I elected to walk much of the incline and I’m fine with that. I think there’s something to be said for walking when it feels right. Nobody’s drawing up your running-to-walking ratios at the end of the race, you know? Do what feels right.
I did receive a boost from a couple of ladies who noticed I was wearing my Marine Corps Marathon pullover. “Yay MCM!” they cried as they passed. “Will you be there this year?” “Of course,” I replied. “Can’t miss 50!” So I already have some friends for that race. 
THE SUN SETS ON THE RUN SUNSET BEACH HALF MARATHON
Once you’ve crossed the bridge you’re practically on top of the finish line – barely a quarter mile remains. I stomped my way under the arch, and just like that I had another half marathon in the books.
Volunteers were handing out very nifty hammerhead shark medals, which double as magnets AND bottle openers?! I gotta say, Coastal Race Productions always brings it with the bling.
I always picked up a bottle of water, although I passed on the banana. (No point when Erika’s not there to give it to!) Our race bibs included tabs for barbecue and free beer, but I was already way behind on walking the dog. Also I was super cold even with my gloves and double shirts. Somehow there were people standing around in shorts and tank tops who looked fine? Regardless, I wandered back to the car and headed home. One of these days I’ll stay for the party. When I have more time… and more layers.
THERE’S NO AGONY OF DEFEAT WHEN EVERY FINISH IS A VICTORY
Maybe this sounds weird, but I feel kinda bad writing up these recaps when I didn’t do my best. Does that make sense? I don’t want to spend the whole time complaining to you about how I’m not a good enough runner.
On the other hand, I want to accurately log my experiences. So rather than force a cheery disposition, I’d instead like to reframe the idea of what makes a race worthwhile. No, I did not PR. No, I did not have a glorious, stress-free, pain-free time a la my most recent Marine Corps Marathon or the miracle that was my WDW Marathon 2025.
On the other hand, I showed up alongside the running community. I appreciate the volunteers and the spectators for their hard work, which deserves to be celebrated. And I did finish. I got out there and tried. I think that could be the thesis statement for endurance running, really: getting out there and trying. The Run Sunset Beach Half Marathon was but one attempt of many. I got out there a tried, and I will get out there and try again!
Don’t forget, you can follow FRoA on Threads @fairestrunofall and on Instagram @fairestrunofall. If you have any questions or thoughts, leave a comment or email fairestrunofall@gmail.com. See ya real soon!
One Comment