First up on the weekend was ZOOMA in Amelia Island, Florida. The race featured a half marathon, 12K, and a 5K beach run. I was running the half marathon while Momma K took on the 12K.
I left work shortly after lunch, stopped downtown to pickup my Atlanta 10 Miler packet for Sunday, then made the 6 1/2 hour trek to Amelia Island. (Actually Momma K and I stayed about 20 minutes from the race to save $100+ on the hotel cost. Gotta save cash where you can, right?).
Just before mile 8, we exited Fort Clinch State Park and headed out to run along S. Fletcher Rd with views of some pretty awesome beach houses and of course the coast was just in sight as well. With Hurricane Matthew being just two weeks ago, I wasn't quite sure exactly what the island would look like. I had been following the status of the island on social media and knew that the damage was very minimal. It wasn't until I saw it for my own eyes that I really knew that Amelia Island faired well in the storm.
Yes, the sand made me feel like a baby giraffe running in the final stretch, but so worth it! This was by far the most beautiful finish line!
We got back to the car around 11am and started to make our way back to Georgia. It was a pretty uneventful trip that included several stops to eat and stretch out a bit. Muscle tightness and refueling & rehydrating were definitely the biggest concerns of the weekend. After stopping to have a carb-loading/refueling dinner with Papa J before laying out our flat runners and getting a few hours of sleep.
Thank you ZOOMA for an awesome (yet quick) time in Amelia Island! All of the staff, volunteers, emergency personnel, and fellow runners made it a wonderful more.