Cape Cod Trail Race and Half Marathon – Looping the Pond

The Cape Code Moves Half Marathon is a beautiful race that starts at the Camp Hayward YMCA and loops around Spectacle Pond in Sandwich, MA.  I mean, who doesn’t love a good sandwich?

This was the first of four races I intended to run over the next 11 days.  It was fun to start at a YMCA with a smaller race.  The family was able to get some breakfast, it was a safe and quiet place to wait for me to run.  And, wait they did.  This is an all trail race run on, well, trails!  So, this wasn’t my fastest time.

The Four State Challenge

Four half marathons in eleven days.  Sounds easy enough when you sitting behind a desk in the comfort of Encinitas, CA.  But, then, at some point you need to actually go run the races.  And, drag the whole family through what will end of being 1,600 miles and four states in the car.  Just like all big goals, you have to put one foot in front of the other and charge it.  And, that is precisely what we did.

• Race #1: Massachusetts – Cape Cod Trail Race and Half Marathon – Looping the Pond (THIS ONE!!)
• Race #2: Vermont Sun Half Marathon – Endless Beauty
• Race #3: New Hampshire Half Marathon – A FAST Country Stroll
• Race #4: Maine Half Marathon – Counting Miles

Adventures Before the Race

We flew into Boston on the 19th and spent a few days in Cape Cod and made a trip over to Martha’s Vineyard.  On the way south to the Cape, we swung by a Target and loaded up on all the essentials, cooler, food, etc.  Definitely one of our best decisions.  Although, I must have loaded that 60 pound cooler in and out of our rental car 15 times.  Who needs a gym?

Our first stop was a little town Hyannis, MA where we spent two nights.  The town itself is AMAZING and gave us access to both Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket.  We only had time for one so we jumped the Vineyard Lady Ferry to to the Vineyard!  Martha’s Vineyard is one of the coolest places I have every been.  I totally get the appeal!  We walked a TON, and the kids, for the most part, did a great job of keeping up with minimal complaining.  Well done kids!  Incredible start to the trip.

I ran this race on the way out of town, as we left Massachusetts and headed north up towards Vermont.

On Spectacle Pond … And the Kids

One of the things I worry about when I drag my family to these events is, will there be anything for them to do while I’m out for 2 hours or so?  In this case, the YMCA had a great setup!  First off, they had breakfast and a warm place for everyone to sit and relax.  Second, they had bathrooms!  HUGE with two small kids.  And, third, lots of fun things to do.

I’m not sure if the kids will remember that visit to the YMCA in Cape Cod, I certainly will.  And, fortunately it was a fairly easy stay for Amy.

The Race

The more and more of these races I do, the less and less I research them.  All I look for is 1) does it have a race medal and 2) is it in a state I have not run yet.  If so, I’m in.  So, I didn’t know this race was going to loop around a pond three times.  Honestly, I didn’t mind that much, it was fun because every time I can around the corner through the finish/start line, I got to see my kids and my wife waving and cheering me on.

But, by the time we were done with the final lap, I was DONE and just wanted to go.  Nothing like finishing a half marathon and jumping into a car for a six hour drive.  Awesome visit Massachusetts and here comes Vermont!

I’ll definitely be back here, what a place!