Flower City Half Marathon 2025

This was the the alternate plan

Last year we ran the Seneca 7 with our yoga studio. Always the same weekend as the Flower City Half, you have to pick one or the other. Our team didn’t get in on the first try for Seneca 7 because it filled up so fast, so we decided to run for charity. Then, 3 of our members had a conflict pop up. At the time, we hadn’t even confirmed all 7 members - we just knew that Scott and I were in and the owners and their daughter were in. So, we could now switch to recruiting 5 teammates, OR sign up for the Flower City. We love this race and hadn’t done it in some time, so we opted for the latter.

Savoia and date night

We headed up to Rochester for packet pick-up mid day, hitting the mall briefly, followed by a trip to our favorite Italian bakery, Savoia Pastry Shop. While at the mall, we ran into our neighbor and struck up a conversation. When we wrapped it up, Scott reminded me that the bakery closed soon. If we race there we can arrive 5 minutes before closing. Challenge accepted. We dashed out of the mall and darted off to get cookies. True to the GPS estimate, we arrived with just a few precious minutes to secure our cookies.

We had made a reservation at Veneto on East Ave for dinner having learned from prior big races that it is essential to plan ahead.

We could drive to the start

Our hotel was a 15 minute walk from the start of the race but the weather forecast was for wind. It was a chilly start for late April but pretty decent running weather if it wasn’t so windy. I struggled with what to wear and started whining the night before about the wind. Scott said, “we could try to drive to the start” which was super sweet but gave us both a laugh. Driving a mile to park before running 13 was ridiculous. I stopped my whining and we walked to the start.

Wind, wind and more wind

Because it was so windy but also with a forecast for the temperature to rise, and full sun, I had a hard time deciding what to wear. I chose a vest with a long sleeved shirt, an ear band, and gloves. By mile 3, I would regret all my choices. First, the earband had to come off. I shoved that into my vest pocket. By mile 5, the gloves were off and shoved in my other vest pocket. But then, the pockets were bouncy feeling and it was distracting so I shoved everything into the pockets in my leggings. That surely looked silly but made for easier running.

The wind was spiraling around though, so I regularly pulled my gloves on and off. With the continued full sun, I ended up wishing I had chosen short sleeves and my vest, since I couldn’t take the vest off and wrap it around my waist.

Post Race Thoughts

After this race, which was not a super fast time for me, I started to wonder if I might be ready to consider trying to run faster again. It wasn’t an unpleasant run, but I wasn’t exactly pushing myself very hard either. Scott was 3rd in his age group (something that is pretty common for him) and I was just out for a run.

Looking forward to what half marathon #4 will bring!

View my Strava flyover. See official results. View results by age group.

Let’s spectate the Seneca 7

Elizabeth had a team running in the Seneca 7 so we brought the rest of our Italian cookies and zipped up to watch her near the Scale House Brewery. We arrived in advance of her team, which allowed us to find a good parking spot and greet them with cookies as they pulled in. Elizabeth was the next runner, so we had a few minutes to chat with the team before their runner arrived and she was off! This event is so full of great energy.

After watching Elizabeth, we took a quick side trip to our favorite brewery on Seneca Lake; Two Goats Brewing. While there, we met a fun couple who had only recently retired to the area, and shhh - this is against Seneca 7 rules - saw a couple of teams from the Seneca 7 enjoying some drinks. After our sandwiches, we drove slowly home, enjoying the beautiful views.

Another race in the books! 2 left for our 5 half marathon 2025 stint.