A couple of my friends and I decided to run the Buffalo Half. We frequently travel to races to see each other and we all had high hopes for this one. We have each run races in NY before but not Buffalo even though one of us (not me) was from there.

I was the first to arrive and expecting the others throughout the day. We were staying at the Buffalo Grand Hotel (formerly Adam’s Mark). This was less than a mile from start/finish and that is the extent of the benefits of this hotel.

Early in one of the ladies had to cancel at the last minute. This was a bummer but it happens. Now it was time for some solo sight seeing since the other friend didn’t arrive until late in the evening. The town is very historic with lots sights to see and of course there is Niagara Falls right up the road but I’m getting ahead of myself, saving that for post-race fun.

My friends flight ended up being delayed and she didn’t get in until 2 am and about an hour later just as we were drifting off to sleep the fire alarm goes off. I sit up and look at her and say “I guess this is for real huh?” fast forward another hour or so and we are going back to sleep and it goes off again. YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME! We actually did finally get some sleep but not much.

We drag ourselves over to the expo and it is AWESOME! I have been doing a lot of local races and really missing the pre-race excitement of the expos.

Race morning, I am surprised at how small the race is, especially since it is a Full and Half. But the size doesn’t do anything to dampen the sprit of the event everyone is smiles and excitement. The weather had been really pleasant the two days before and I was expecting more of the same except that it was over cast the whole morning. The marine layer was so thick you couldn’t see 100 yards out. This was such a disappointment. I know we ran past some amazing views but I couldn’t see anything. What a bummer! Well at least it wasn’t hot.

We have all decided to give this race another chance next year.