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The Get Pumped for Pets 5, 10, and 15k is in its 5th year and is a flat, fun, and fast course for all three distances. This year the race was on March 12th. Each run was an out-and-back following the Cross Island Trail in Chester, Maryland, very close to the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. There were finisher medals for all distances as well as kegs of craft beer (and fire pits) after the race.

The run benefits the Animal Resource Foundation, a non-profit corporation dedicated to saving and improving the lives of animals throughout the Mid-Atlantic region. You can visit their website here to learn more about their program.

With Shamrock only a week away, this was our opportunity for a 15k trial run. I insisted that we eat a good breakfast before the drive up from Salisbury to Kent Narrows (about an hour and a half away from us, on the Eastern Shore of Maryland). Neither of us really loves eating as soon as we wake up, but I am attempting to stockpile a good arsenal of nutrition. The rest of the plan was to conserve energy for the first half, and floor it the second half for some nice negative splits.

We started off slow and I insisted that we hold back even when Todd’s pace started to creep back to a faster pace. Some of our friends ran the 15k as well so it was great to see them in the lead after they reached the turnaround. We kept on running our own race, and I tried to keep a steady pace without using walk intervals.

When we hit the turnaround at the halfway point, we started running about a minute per mile faster every mile. It felt really good when we started to pass people, and one woman even asked, “Where did you come from?!” By the time we got to the finish line, we were running a good 4 minutes per mile faster than our first half! I was really pleased with our negative splits and finish time, and I felt really confident that we could bring that strategy to our marathon the next weekend.

After the race, we waited around in the freezing cold (thank you for the fire pit!) for our friends to receive their awards. A female finished first overall which was really exciting. We met up with our friends at The High Spot in Cambridge, Maryland, for a post-race lunch. We rewarded ourselves for a job well done with General Tso’s Cauliflower and an amazing salmon salad with goat cheese and pecans. It was a really successful day and a beautiful race despite the cold!

 

The St. Patrick’s Day Boardwalk 5k is a course I am very familiar with, as there are several running events throughout the year that are an out and back down the boardwalk. We both grew up near Ocean City and it never gets old to run alongside the Atlantic Ocean.

St. Patrick’s Day in Ocean City is a really fun party atmosphere, and there are people everywhere for the 5k run, the parade, and then party time! There were over 1,200 registered runners at the 5k, which appropriately started at Shenanigans Irish Pub on 4th Street. Todd and I stayed overnight at a hotel overlooking both the ocean and the bay, so we got up early to grab coffee and meet up with our teammates and Todd’s family.

We ran this 5k with our Athletes Serving Athletes family. It was another freezing cold day, and my athlete decided to stay home. I decided to run this race with Darren, a new athlete and sweet seven year old boy who has lived almost his entire life with brain cancer. He and his father recently joined Athletes Serving Athletes, and their enthusiasm is contagious. My heart was calling for me to join them for Darren’s first race, and the universe gifted me with that opportunity.

Darren brought his toy giraffe on the run, and our team learned a lot about giraffes and other animals as we ran up and down the boardwalk. Darren, Derrick, Tori and I had such a good time that the three miles flew by and before we knew it, Darren was ready to walk across his first finish line!

To learn more about Darren and the low-glade glioma astroyctoma tumor in his brain, which makes surgical removal nearly impossible, please visit www.darrenspack.com. You can also order a headband and support his family’s project to place a Touch2Play touch screen interactive game system for the oncology unit at Nemours duPont Hospital for Children. You can also send mail to Darren at: Darren Leonard PO Box 205 Church Hill, MD 21623. He loves letters, post cards, and packages!

Although I had run the Tim Kennard River Run route during the weekend training runs both this year and last year, this was my first year actually running the race. It was also Todd’s first time running the race, and his first official race with Athletes Serving Athletes. We both decided the Tim Kennard 10 Miler was the perfect way to start off 2017 races with our ASA family.

The Tim Kennard River Run is in memory of Tim, who passed away in 2004 and requested that this race raise money for children and animals. This year the money raised will go to charities that serve these purposes, like Coastal Hospice, Salisbury Horizons Enrichment Program, Coalition of Caring and VSCOA PAWS. It is a race that our local friends look forward to every year, so we were really excited to finally be able to run it this year.

The expo was Saturday morning and afternoon at Evolution Craft Brewing Company in Salisbury. We picked up our Rise Up on the way and headed over bright and early to help Vanessa and Mike, our fearless Eastern Shore Running Club leaders, set up the ESRC table. Jason from TriCycle and Run also set up a booth outside with all kinds of great products. Todd and I did not have to pick up our packets as Tim Kennard generously allowed us to wingman our athletes bib-free, so we spent the expo focusing on the great ESRC t-shirts, browsing, and watching the set up for the Rob’s Run for Kids. It was fun seeing all of the kids run in memory of Rob, who was struck by a car while running, and the donations raised at the kids’ race went to his foundation.

On Sunday morning we bundled up and met up with our Athletes Serving Athletes family at the Salisbury University Gym. It was freezing cold; the ice cubes in our morning water were still frozen in the truck when we returned from the race three hours later. We were grateful, especially for our athletes, that we were able to enjoy the pre-race festivities inside the warm gym. I was sad to miss the Delmarva Moms Run This Town photo at Sammy the Seagull, but I’m afraid I was getting ready with my team and just couldn’t brave the cold.

Todd and I both ran the 10 mile run with our athletes, Nathan and George, and our teammates, although the Tim Kennard River Run also features a 5k and a 2-person 10 mile relay. Athletes Serving Athletes was given a head start, which is always great because it gives us plenty of time to get out on the course and settle into our paces singe-file on the right side of the road before the rest of the runners take off.

Grizzly’s Race Report

I was fortunate enough to run 10 beautiful miles with one of the sweetest little boys in the world, George, but also with two of my very favorite people: George’s mother, Michelle, and Poppa Joyce. I ran the Annapolis 10 Miler with Poppa Joyce and Team Gabriel on a very happy, hot, sweaty day in August. On that day, he told our team that there was a reason we were all brought together on that day. On this very cold, windy day, I believe there was a reason we were brought together again. Both Michelle and Poppa Joyce are truly strong, inspiring people who approach the world with humor.

Todd’s Race Report

Todd here,  my first run with ASA was truly an inspiring event.  Seeing not only the athletes excited for a wintery run, but the community that surrounded them and the bond they shared was palpable. Being new to group I was a bit anxious even though I had met many of them before while spectating races or on my first training run through the Salisbury park a few days earlier. They made me feel welcome and like I was helping, like I was a part of something.

Nathan, my ASA athlete for the run, is a high spirited guy and a lot of fun.  He even got out of the jogger and ran a few miles next to his wingmen, who consisted of Terry, Zac and myself.  Even though the cold had our faces red we were all smiling.  There was plenty of good music, water stops, and cheering fans.   And besides the impromptu bathroom break we all needed at mile 7, it was a smooth run.  Watching Nathan cross the finish line is something I will never forget. I can’t wait to run again with the awesome ASA community!

Who We Are

We are Nicole (Grizzly) Adams and Todd Bellamy, two Delmarva natives who love running the trails and tracks of the Eastern Shore. We are both long distance runners who have together lost 200 pounds. In 2016 we ran our first marathons and ultra-marathons. We are part of an active and vibrant running community on the Delmarva and we hope to share our running experiences and our favorite places on the peninsula with our existing running communities as well as friends who may be new to running.

What We Do

We are both members of the Eastern Shore Running Club and Athletes Serving Athletes. When we’re not running together, you can find us camping, kayaking, fishing, and hiking all over Delmarva. We love exploring the Eastern Shore, especially the beaches. Grizzly is training for her first triathlon, the Nanticoke River Swim Triathlon, and starting a women’s league with the Delmarva Rugby Club. Todd can usually be found skateboarding at the skatepark or fishing everywhere from the Chesapeake Bay to the Atlantic Ocean. We also love cooking together and experimenting with new, healthy recipes. We work to lead an active and healthy lifestyle to maintain our individual weight loss (130 pounds and 70 pounds).

What We Want To Do 

We had this crazy idea to run through all three states of the Delmarva Peninsula – Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia. We plan to start at the Virginia/Maryland state line and run north to the Delaware/Maryland state line. We are still mapping out our course, but we estimate the run will be approximately 50-60 miles. Run Delmarva started with this idea, and we decided to just run with it and document not only this epic long run, but all of our favorite local races, trails, businesses, clubs, and friends who make running this peninsula so amazing. We really hope that our friends will follow along (or maybe even participate) in our run across Delmarva, and we hope that in the meantime we can keep building Run Delmarva as a resource for our local running friends.