The Inaugural Rock n Roll Providence Half Marathon took place in Providence, RI on August 7, 2011. This was a very nice trip. I have never been to this area and always have wanted to visit. I spent a couple of days in NYC, took a train to Providence, did a “Ghost Tour” in the city, rented a car and drove to Plymouth, MA. Even stopped and visited the famous Lizzy Borden house. I also wanted to experience an inaugural event. I was expecting some “headaches” or things not to run quite at 100% going into this event. The Expo and packet pickup went well. The only thing that did not go well was the weather on the morning of the event.

It rained from before the start until well into the afternoon. The whole 13.1 miles was run in the rain. The corral wave starts were eliminated and it was an all start. The first time I have been in an event like this and the first time I have been in an event where I was soaked the entire time.

It was a little cool with the rain, but not bad.

I loved seeing all the old and historic buildings around Brown University.

It was a mess to say the least, due to the weather and not the organizers.

I gave up trying to stay dry and accepted that I was going to be drenched the entire day.

There was some, but very little, standing water along the course.

Mile 6 and it was just as bad as Mile 1.

I took a seat on the park bench to look out at the river.

Running over the bridge was a piece of cake, even in the rain.

You cant help but to have fun in the rain. Mother Nature will always win in outdoor events.

The rain did get heavy every now and then, but no lightening.

The state Capital Building was in sight. This is where the childrens/family movie Underdog was filmed.

I was happy to finish. And happy to go back to the hotel. But even more happy that I was able to be at this inaugural event in a very nice city. The rain canceled some of the on course entertainment but that is expected when something like this happens. I have no complaints about this event, the organizers did the very best they could in a not so great situation due to the weather.