This was the 8th annual Operation Jack race. Every year, I have registered for the marathon. However this year, I finally wised up and registered for the half marathon. 99% of the course is on concrete, so it just beats the crap out of my body every year! Just like last year, I thought this would be a great opportunity to break out a new pair of shoes. So I took out my pair of Brooks Ghost 9 for this race.
After I got ready, I grabbed my stuff and gassed up the car for the drive out to Dockweiler State Beach. I arrived at the parking lot at about 6:30 am. To my surprise, it was only $3 to park. I got parked near my usual spot in the parking lot. They weren't quite ready to bib and t-shirt pick-up, but once I got my stuff, I quickly went back to my car to get out of the chilly wind.
Race shirt
Bib
$3 All Day Parking
I went back out to use the portapotties. Before going back to the comfort of my warm car, I went over to see the early starters for the marathon begin their race. It looked like the usual suspects were there!
Early starters
When the start of the race grew closer, I got my stuff ready and waited at the starting area with some of my friends and the other participants. Since this might be the last year of this event, Sam and his family gathered at the starting line to say a few words. Then the race director had some last minute instructions before we were released a few minutes after 7:30 am.
My friends
The Felsenfelds
From the get go, I kept it at about an even 8 min/mile pace. That pace felt comfortable for the most part until about 10k into the race. Since I had the Dopey Challenge coming up, I pretty much shut down the race and just jogged it in. The same issue with my left ankle was causing the discomfort. It was uncomfortable even switching over to a jog. Thankfully I had enough to get in just under 2 hrs for my final half marathon of the year.
Finish: 1:59:10
Click here for my Garmin data.
I was very glad to finally reach the finish line and collect my finisher medal. It was another year of pounding the concrete for a good charitable cause. This year, the medal had a nice Bible verse on it.
"Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God's grace in its various forms." - 1 Peter 4:10I stuck around to wait for some of my friends to finish. We chatted a bit about our race experiences. As we were about to leave, my friend stopped at the California Half & Full Marathon Series table to pick up her challenge medal. Apparently I had run enough races to qualify for the 4 race challenge medal. I qualified by running Run to Remember LA, Los Angeles Marathon, and Operation Jack. The guy handing out the medals told me that the Los Angeles Marathon counted for 2 points while the half marathons counted for 1 point a piece.
Medals
Medal side 1
Medal side 2
4 Race Challenge medal
Well, as I have mentioned earlier, this might be the final year of this event. While I don't particularly enjoy the unforgiving concrete surface or running over the occasional sand drift on the race course, I do like supporting this worthy cause to raise money for Autism research. I hope that Sam will be able to hand off the race to someone else so that Jack's legacy could continue. I think it might be easier if the race date was changed as 12/26 doesn't always work well for everyone.
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