3.16.14 and 3.17.14: Each March, close to St. Patrick’s Day, we travel down to Virginia Beach to run the Shamrock Half Marathon. Why do we go every year? First and foremost, it’s a fast course that produces PRs (unless you are injured like me and run three minutes slower than last year). Despite this, the race maintains a laid-back and festive atmosphere, due in large part to the second attraction, the post-race party on the beach. Where else can you run a fast half marathon next to the ocean and then drink Yuengling to your heart’s content, all before 10 am?

These scenes capture the Virginia Beach Boardwalk the day prior to the race, as seen from my hotel balcony and on an easy three-mile run. The American Planning Association named the boardwalk one of its Great Public Spaces in America in 2009. The popularity of this place was evident on this sunny and seasonably warm day as people walked, run, and rode bikes along the boardwalk and parallel bike path.

The race itself runs north from the heart of Virginia Beach, heading north toward Fort Story and passing alongside the entrance to the Chesapeake Bay from the Atlantic Ocean. The race then returns to the resort area, finishing on the boardwalk alongside the ocean. Why no pictures of the race? First, it was a gray, dreary day, but more importantly, I follow a strict no phone/headphones/camera policy while racing. Unlike some recent stories about runner selfies that have made the news the last week or two, I believe that running a race means testing yourself to see what you are capable of (even when battling injury!) and it is impossible to do that if you are fixated on taking pictures of things around you. In the famous words of Steve Prefontaine, “To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift.”

Next up, Boston!