Run Like a Champion Today


Next weekend marks the 25th anniversary of Sunburst Races in South Bend, Indiana. Last year some girlfriends and I headed down to run the ½ marathon.  I’ve got this thing about ending races in football stadiums so the “Hall of Fame to Notre Dame” race, heading from the College Football Hall of Fame and ending on the 50 yard line of Notre Dame’s stadium, was perfect.

The first hiccup with Sunburst was the race hotel, the Marriott in downtown South Bend. The location was excellent – literally out the door to the start. But the price was outrageous – over $175 for one night in Indiana. My husband still complains about the cost of that hotel, and the hotel itself was average at best.
Sunburst holds its expo outside the College Football Hall of Fame. It was lively and fun with lots of music and entertainment. I must say that the shirt for this race was not great. The design was cute, but it’s HUGE. I got a small, and I could belt it and wear it as a dress. It’s always disappointing to do a race and get an unwearable shirt.
the start- right outside our hotel

Race morning was beautiful, warm, and humid. The start was fun and festive in downtown South Bend. South Bend has a small but cute downtown.  The race ran through downtown a little bit and then branched out into neighborhoods for the most part.
and we're off!

The race then curled into a trail along the river which was scenic. There were people cheering everywhere, and at no point did you feel lonely on the course. Unfortunately there must have been a shortage of water because there was no water for about 2.5 miles between miles 7 and 9. With the high humidity that day it was a killer.
Late in the race (mile 12ish?) we got onto Notre Dame’s campus. I think the race could have been enhanced a bit if more of the course was on campus. The finish in the stadium was great. There was lots of cheering and entertainment, and it felt like a very grand finish. The fun finish (and a popsicle) almost made me forget about the humidity. 
finishing in Notre Dame's stadium

One very frustrating thing is at the end of the race there was also a walking event where walkers were coming onto the field parallel with the runners. As we went to get water and popsicles, we were battling the walkers for hydration. Don’t get me wrong – I am thrilled that so many people participated in the event. But when you run 13.1 miles in that type of humidity you shouldn’t have to battle a line with the walkers at the end.
my hard earned popsicle

Overall I enjoyed the race itself (with a few hiccups). Unfortunately I don’t feel like I saw any of South Bend as part of the course. In terms of running that town it was a little lacking. After the race my husband and I went around town and campus a little bit, and I wish we could’ve seen more of it during the run.
How would I rate the race? B (running out of water and battling walkers takes it down a notch)
How would I rate South Bend? C (I feel like I didn’t get to experience much of it and what I did see wasn’t much to write home about)

Comments

  1. AnonymousMay 20, 2011 at 5:50 PM

    Thanks for the review Samantha! We love our fans and appreciate your feedback. Sunburst 2011 on June 3-4 will be the 28th annual Sunburst Race, and we're looking forward to a great event!

    We're happy to report that we have tech t-shirts in both men's and women's sizes for the marathon and half marathon this year. I'm holding one in my hand and it's pretty sweet! The medium actually fits like a medium.

    We did receive several reports of water shortages last year, which is unacceptable. We've worked things out with our supplier, and this year we should be good to go.

    As far as battling the walkers for hydration - our event continues to grow in size and we're working to tweak those logistics to create a better experience for our participants every year.

    Finally, if you'll be in town for this year's race, check out downtownsouthbend.com and visitsouthbend.com - I'm sure you'll find plenty to see and do!

    Cheers,


    Edgar Diaz
    Sunburst Media Team

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Tell me About Your Third Nipple

Image
Last summer I had a friend describe me to a new acquaintance as such: he referenced a James Bond movie where Bond is impersonating someone who has a third nipple. Everyone who knew this person well knew about the third nipple, so he had to wear a prosthesis and pull it off. He finished the analogy by saying, "Samantha knows everybody's third nipple." It was one of the best compliments I've received in a while. Maybe ever. My entire life I've prided myself on sincere and purposeful interactions and relationships both in my personal and professional life. Have I always gotten it right? Absolutely not. But I put a lot of work into how I interact with humans. It's the reason I have solid groups of friends and acquaintances. It's the reason I've been able to build a successful consulting business. I put a lot of time and intention into people, and it matters. How do I do it...and why? If you know me you know I don't have a third nipple or  a colon. You
Read more

Can we Stop with the Negative Mom Culture?

Image
  A few months ago someone brought beverages to my house called "Mom Water". I'd never heard of it, and after looking it up (because you know I did not and would not drink it) found out it is fruit infused vodka water. It sounds disgusting.  On the Mom Water website they say they're trying to celebrate moms b ut I immediately jumped to the premise that being a mom is so terrible that we have to create a gross new wine cooler in order to cope. It made me realize I'm really over the negative mom culture.  I get it: being a mom is hard work. I've had late nights and early mornings. I haven't slept through the night in years. I've been thrown up on and given every virus known to humankind (except COVID surprisingly). My son was home for 15 months without childcare during the height of the pandemic. There were some very long days, and you bet I lost my patience. Sometimes I still do.  But it feels like we're in this place where it's trendy to compla
Read more

The COVID Destruction of Habits

Image
I love habits. Habits are my jam. With just a little research one can find tons of books and articles about the importance of habits for success. In February of 2020 my habits were down to a science. I woke up early to work out. I dropped my son off at daycare by 7:30 each morning and was at city hall by 7:45. I worked a full day of meetings before picking my son up (most days) by 5:30 pm. On Mondays I had city council meetings nearly every week. My habits were set in stone because my schedule was so busy. If anything shifted out of place my entire day could be shifted. That was not my jam. By mid-March 2020, when the world shut down, all my habits went out the door. In an instant habits no longer existed. There was no child care. There were no office hours. We were all home together for an extended period for the first time as a family. My husband and I had work to do, but it felt like summer camp. I would go for walks with the dog and my son between meetings. We would ride bikes, and
Read more