Run and Ride Cedar Point Half Marathon Race Report

June 28, 2017 / Nicole Huston
Updated Mar 2, 2020

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race half marathon cedar point ohio

I recieved another awesome pacing gig with Beast Pacing. My first time pacing a race was back in December at the Islamorada Half Marathon in Florida. This time around I was in the position of "float," basically meaning I was a back up in case there were any no-shows.

I got to the race by driving up the morning of from Columbus. With the 6:30am start and a little over a 2 hour drive, I had an early morning…

The early start time ended up being well worth it as I got to see the sunrise over Lake Erie.

Race morning packet pick up was quick and easy. The only issue was that the volunteers weren't aware of all of the swag they had to hand out, so I had to go back later and ask for the rest of my gear. Luckily I remembered I was missing something! I don't blame them though as this race had A TON of race swag to keep track of and hand out.

We waited around for all the pacers to show up. After everyone arrived I got to pick my group for the day. I picked the 2:00 pace group since I had skipped my group long run with MIT the prior morning to get breakfast with my mom. The 2:00 pace for a half marathon is only a few seconds slower than my typical long run conversation pace so it fit into my training well.

More runners began to show up as I explored the park and took in the rising sun.

Cedar Point even had a welcome sign at the entrance for all of the runners. How cool is that?!

At around 6:10 the pacers reassembled to line up in the corral. The temperatures were already quite toasty. It was going to be a hot one! Another great reason for the early start of this race.

The course of this race was very cool. I had some serious nostalgia going on as I spent one summer during my college years working at Cedar Point operating Power Tower. Runners actually got to go through the park! It was about 3 miles around, and there were several water stops along the way. One thing this course had plenty of was water and gatorade stops.

After exiting the park runners moved towards the Causeway. This section was windy with Lake Erie on both sides and few trees.

Then the race turned right near the employee dorms and headed towards downtown Sandusky. This section was an out and back with the exception of a small loop at the end. Around mile 8 it was heating up fast and I was actually starting to miss the wind.

What surprised me most was how pancake flat this course was. The only inclines were on the Causeway. And even that wasn't bad. Overall I thought this would be a great course for a PR.

As the other pacer and I headed back towards the finish we passed several runners who were feeling the heat. Today was NOT a good day to pass up on electrolytes and water.

As the finish neared I had my usual worries about the course being too long or too short, which would throw off my final time. But as the finish got closer and the clock came in sight my confidence came back. I was right on pace.

Final Time: 1:59:29

This race had a ton of post race food: bagels, gatorade, water, chocolate milk, and more. You weren't going to be hungry. I loaded up on the gatorade making sure I would be able to last during the next adventure: entering the park! An option during registration included a park pass. That in and of itself made the price of the race well worth the cost. But if that wasn't enough…

Race Collections

How cool is all of this race gear? A snoopy designed tech shirt, a running hat with reflective strips, a 13.1 magnet, a BUFF (this item was my favorite), and a medal featuring snoopy in a roller coaster car!