About this race: Hercules on the Harbor is a 10k held in Stony Brook, NY. It is partially on road and partially trails, and is billed as the Island's toughest 10k. The race is held in support of the "Walk for Beauty," which supports breast cancer research and patient services.
A few weeks ago during one of our long runs, Kasey ran 6.2 miles straight for the first time and did a great job of it. So naturally, I talked her into signing up to run a 10k as a race. After checking the greater long island running club's website, I found the Hercules on the Harbor 10k. Kasey was on board so we both signed up, and when I mentioned it to Rachel she was interested as well, and decided to join us.
I made sure to pack my race morning bag before settling in to relax Saturday night, and I was really glad that I had everything I needed laid out when I rolled out of bed a little late on Sunday morning. I got dressed and headed to the kitchen to make myself a cup of tea before heading out to pick up Kasey and Rachel.
By 7:20 the three of us were on the road to Stonybrook, about a 45 minute drive from home. I went to college at SUNY Stonybrook and Kasey is a current student there, so it was a familiar drive for the two of us. Only one long turn later (its been a few years, what can i say?), we were pulling into the parking lot of the three village shopping center. We got there pretty early, so we went and collected our bibs and race shirts and then headed back to the car to hang out for a bit before the race started, as it was a little cold outside and I was wearing shorts and a tank top.
Once we had assembled ourselves, pinning our bibs to our shirts and applying some body glide, we headed to the race area about 25 minuted before the race was scheduled to start. We waited in line for the porterpotties for a minute, and once business was taken care of we tried to figure out where the start line was. The finish line was easy to spot, with the timer up and a pink banner hung for the first finisher to run through, but the start line was a bit less obvious. So, we headed towards the area that the most runners seemed to be waiting near, and it turned out that they were still in the process of closing the street down. Once the street was closed, the start line was established.
Kasey, Rachel and I lined up together, waiting for the start horn to blow. Finally it went, and we took off. Kasey and I planned to run together, and we would meet Rachel at the finish. As soon as we made the first turn, it was obvious that they weren't lying when they said it was going to be a hilly course. To distract us from these hills, the race had live musicians throughout the course. These musicians ranged from soloists playing the violin to front yards filled with a rock bands, to high school marching bands! It was really nice to have so much variety and so many great musicians on the course.
If memory serves correctly, there were 4 water stops on course. The first three were staffed by the cutest little Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, all decked out in their uniforms ready to hand out water. They were so sweet and encouraging at every aid station. I loved that the race got so much of the community involved.
While the first 4 miles of the course were through a residential community full of hills, the last two miles brought us onto a trail. The terrain change mid race was unique, I had never run a race that was split like this before. Right before we went into the woods, we passed a bagpiper playing, which felt a little ominous, but we headed into the trail. The runners were pretty spread out by this point in the race, and there were maybe 4 runners that Kasey annd I could see ahead of us as we entered the trail. First we were on a dirt path surrounded by trees, and then we made our way into an area that was more shrubbery and tall brush. Once we exited the trail, we had about a half mile to go on the roads before the finish line.
We had a downhill to the last corner, and then it was a straight shot to the finishline and it was done! Kasey had finished her first 10k, with only one brief stop for water along the way - before our next race we will have to practice drinking out of cups while running. We finished in 1:06 and change, and Rach came in just a few minutes behind us.
We hung out at the after party for a while, where they had a nice post race spread. One of the shops was even offering a free post race beer. While we didn't want the beers, we did collect the commerative mugs that they were giving out to the runners. I grabbed a post race bagel and some tomato soup as we hung out and enjoyed the beautiful fall day. I had been skeptical of my decision to wear a tank top and shorts for this race, but it wound up being perfect.
Soon enough it was time for the post race awards, and Kasey had completed the race fast enough to take third place in her age group! Not too shabby for her first 10k. After she received her medal we headed to the car to head back home.
Overall this was a super fun race, even if the only person who entered the Hercules costume contest was dressed up as the gingerbread man. If you are in on the fence about running this one, I suggest signing up! The organization was great, the course support was adorable, and the hills were the perfect amount of challenge.
Whats next? Well for me this was my last race before the 2017 NYC Marathon! As for Kasey - if things go my way up next will be her first half marathon.... we will see what the future holds!
The elevation map from this race - not too bad, but a lot less flat than my regular loop!
