Notes
Official time 1:34:33, placement in 50-54 division: 10/95. Goal before the start was sub-1:35, so I'm pleased with this. After the start, I was hopeful that I might get sub-1:32, but I didn't have the speed and power in the second half, when there were no more hills.
The finish was intense. Upon entering the 150' chute, I noticed someone right behind me. He started sprinting along side me, causing me to do likewise. We were both full throttle, and I managed to keep him at bay through the finish, but just as we crossed the line, his right arm smacked my left arm, right on my Garmin, knocking it off. It landed about five feet past the finish line. I pointed to it and someone tossed it to me from about 10 feet away. The pin was bent, but no other damage. I stopped it at 1:34:40, or about 7 seconds after crossing the line. We both congratulated each other for the competitive finish.
This was my first Old Port half. I would do this again, but only if the beer and pizza distribution is better afterward. Each bib had 2 beer vouchers and 1 pizza voucher, but it was difficult to take advantage of these incentives because the lines were long. This could have been avoided with better planning by the race organizers.
I have to make note of Tall Dave's blazing race a couple years ago. He finished 1:33 with a 7:06 pace, destroying the competition (23 runners) in his 60-64 division, including the second place finisher who crossed the line TEN MINUTES later. Wow!