Boats, Buses, and Running Shoes

How often do you get to boat under, ride over, and walk on the same bridge in a 24 hour period? That was us last weekend when we moved the boat to the Bay Bridge Marina in order to run the Across the Bay 10K. Sure, we could have drove to a parking lot like everyone else. But where is the fun in that?

This isn't the first time we've traveled over water for a race. In May 2012 we took a group to St. Michaels for the running festival. This trip was a bit colder but we had the best possible weather for a November trip and race.

We left Saturday afternoon with a crew of four (three runners and one cheerleader). From Baltimore we ventured south on the Chesapeake Bay and under the Bay Bridge.

Here we are directly underneath the bridge we would be running on the next day.

We had a fantastic view of the Bridge from our slip.

We were also very close to Hemingway's where we shared a delightful meal of multiple appetizers. I'm sure their outdoor seating area gets really packed during the summer months as this restaurant has an amazing view.

We spent a quiet evening looking at the Bridge.

And watching planes land at the Bay Bridge Airport.

We loved being on the outer edge of the marina for the view, however, I have to admit that I wasn't planning to rock around so much. There are break walls but they seemed to funnel all of the waves right at our boat. Not an issue - just an observation.

The race ran from the west side to the east side of the bridge. The race organizers were thorough and thoughtful in the logistics. There were shuttles to the start line from both sides of the bridge. The closest race shuttle to the marina was 6 miles away but Kent Island Transportation rescued us with a very early morning taxi ride. From there we boarded a school bus to the other side of the bridge.

In 10 waves, separated by 15 minutes each, we ran across the bridge with 15,000 other hearty souls. The only "spectators" on the bridge were the police officers stationed along the way for safety. A big kudos and thanks to the pair of officers blaring Journey's "Don't Stop Believing" about halfway across. I highly recommend this race. It was so cool to run across a 4 mile bridge that I have driven on so many times.

The finish line was a short mile from the marina. We were able to cheer on those still running as we walked back for our trip back to Baltimore.

Perhaps we should coordinate an Annapolis trip around a race next year?

Before you ask -- no, we are not moving the boat to Bermuda for their marathon.