I have a new favorite city and another state under my running feet.
I ran the
Baltimore Running Festival Half Marathon on Saturday and fell in love with the city. I also rekindled a friendship with my former coworker April. It was a great weekend all around!
It started on Thursday, Oct. 15. I flew up and got to Baltimore in time for the Baltimore Business Journal's 40 Under 40 event, where I saw my friend April. We had worked together in Atlanta 10 years ago.
Here we are at the event.
April and me
After the event April and I took a little detour along the inner harbor. It's just as beautiful at night as it is in the daytime.
The USS Constellation at night
Baltimore's Little Italy at night
My hotel wasn't far from Baltimore's Little Italy, and we did eventually avail ourselves of a couple of restaurants there.
The next morning I was on my own to pick up my race packet, but I had a couple of hours to kills, so headed toward the inner harbor. There is a 9/11 Memorial on the waterfront that honors Maryland residents that lost their lives on that day. A piece of the Twin Towers structure is there as well.
Baltimore's 9/11 memorial
I also took a tour of the
USS Constellation. I thought I'd be among a lot of school children, but I almost had the whole ship to myself that morning!
On the deck of the USS Constellation
Manning the guns on the gun deck
I'm invited to the captain's table!
The captain's quarters
The ship is a marvel. It is still under renovation, but I could explore all four decks. What I realized is I'd never make a good sailor (too claustrophobic) and men were a lot shorter in those days! I had to watch my head on the last two decks.
The race packet pickup was at M&T Stadium, where the Baltimore Ravens play. I had to queue up to get into the stadium, but it was a lovely fall day.
Early fall colors
At the expo, I ran into Blue, the mascot of the Baltimore Running Festival. Here we are:
Blue and me at the expo
The Raven's football stadium is right next to Camden Yards, where the Baltimore Orioles play. It's a beautiful stadium, and look at that spectacular sky!
Walking through Camden Yards
Babe Ruth's statue
What I didn't know until I walked through Camden Yards was that George Herman "Babe" Ruth was a native of Baltimore, and his statue is right in front of the baseball stadium.
Welcome runners!
The welcome mat was certainly out for the runners in town that weekend! Race organizers said the race fielded runners from all 50 states. I headed back to the Baltimore Business Journal after lunch and found Oktoberfest in full swing.
April enjoying Oktoberfest
We headed out to see a little more of the town. We walked up to the original Washington Memorial, which predates the one in Washington, D.C., by several years. Our legs were tired and we waited for the free public transit bus.
Waiting on the bus
The next morning I didn't have to rise and shine so early, since the half marathon started almost two hours after the marathon started.
The Baltimore Marathon started at 8 a.m. at the football stadium, but the half marathon started at mile 13 of the course two hours later. I walked to the start with Christie, Heather and Lori, who I met at my hotel. All three were race walkers, and I'm embarrassed to say they can race walk faster than I can run!
Christie, Lori, me and Heather
Soon we were underway.
Ready to start
Of all the crazy things I've ever had to do during a race, about half way through I to check into my return flight to Atlanta via Southwest! I thought I would have been finished with the race by 11:30 a.m., but since the race started so much later, I wasn't finished. Thank goodness for mobile apps!
There were times when I was so ready for the race to be over. Parts of the race were hilly. Parts were kind of boring. Lake Montecello was nice, but I was busy checking in on Southwest! Prospect Park and Clinton Park were both lovely.
Before I knew it, I was headed back toward Camden Yards and then at the finish!
Across the finish line
April was there at the finish to catch me shortly after I crossed the line.
Finisher!
Finisher's medal
The day turned rather breezy and overcast. April and I headed back to Little Italy and had a late lunch at Amiccis. Of course, I had to have a glass or two of chianti.
How every half marathon should end
We also attempted to head over to Fort McHenry, but with the road closures as a result of the marathon, the free transit bus wasn't running a regular schedule, so we got to the fort a half hour before it closed! All we could do was see a bit of the fort from the outside.
Fort McHenry from a distance
I had a great time in Baltimore and there was so much more I wanted to see: Edgar Allan Poe's home, Babe Ruth's home, Fort McHenry (for real!), and other places. Like many of the cities I've visited in my chase to run a race in all 50 states, Baltimore is one I'd love to return to. There's so much more to see!
Turns out I acquired a little BMore pride while I was there!
