Revel Half Marathon

Revel White Mountains Half Marathon – Race Recap

I typically only write race recaps for marathons, but since I originally signed up for the full and this trip turned into a pretty amazing runcation with our Fleet Feet family, I decided to recap this one too.

This year, I was honored to be selected as an ambassador for the Revel Race Series. Several Travelers employees signed up, along with our Fleet Feet crew—and Xin, my first official one on one client, whom I coached specifically for this race.

We were lucky enough to book the same house we stayed at in North Conway, which comfortably accommodated 12 of us. It had a spacious kitchen perfect for group meals, plenty of bathrooms, and an awesome downstairs game room with ping pong, pool, foosball, and even a sauna.

We arrived Friday afternoon, did a quick essentials run for groceries, and settled in while waiting for the rest of the Fleet Feet crew to arrive. After lots of laughs and a hearty dinner, we turned in for the night to prep for Saturday’s shakeout run.

This was REVEL’s second year in New Hampshire and the first time the expo was held at Cranmore Mountain Resort. The shakeout run started just steps from the expo. I helped lead the run with Jimmy—who, I later found out, is a well-known Instagram influencer and running coach. Over 100 people joined us for a 3-mile out-and-back on a scenic paved trail. After a group photo and a motivating speech from Jimmy, we hit the trail.

Afterward, we headed to the expo. There was a giant REVEL sign outside for photo ops, and bib pickup was seamless. The race shirts were a soft technical material. I stopped by the ambassador booth, picked up some great swag, and met Austri Biddinger, our main contact. The expo had a nice selection of branded merch and race-day essentials, just in case anyone forgot socks, belts, nutrition, or glide. We hung out for a bit, chatted with other runners, and watched dark storm clouds roll in—rain was clearly in the forecast. The good news? It was about 20 degrees warmer than last year.

That night, we hosted a Fleet Feet family dinner with over 16 people. We feasted on steak, chicken, pasta, warm bread, and salad. Angie and Diane were in the kitchen prepping everything, and I tried to help… which almost turned into a disaster. I started cleaning dishes and poured dish soap into the sink—without realizing that Diane had the pasta draining in it! She rushed over, stopped me just in time, and Angie rinsed everything thoroughly. All I could think was, “Those bubbles won’t feel good on race morning…”

After dinner, everyone turned in early. Alarms were set for anywhere between 2:00 and 2:45 AM depending on which distance people were running.

I woke up at 2:45 AM, feeling prepared. But as I put away some dishes and used the bathroom one last time, I glanced at my watch—and panicked. It was 3:45! We were supposed to leave by 3:30! We all grabbed our check bags and ran out the door. Once we got to the bus pickup, I realized I had left my breakfast and hat on the counter. Rebecca, in full angel mode, offered me her hat and half of her bagel. I was so grateful—it took the edge off a stressful start.

At the bus pickup, we ran into Kerry and Jess. While waiting, we saw a woman in tears—she’d gone to the wrong pickup location and missed the marathon shuttle. She only had minutes to get to the correct spot, and traffic made that impossible. I felt so awful for her. After all that training and traveling, to miss your chance to run the full? Heartbreaking.

We arrived at the half marathon start line just as the rain picked up. I was grateful I had packed umbrellas, heat shields, shoe covers, and my NYC poncho. Rebecca’s bagel saved me again—I always preach "nothing new on race day," and my usual breakfast (bagel, PB, banana) was back at the house.

After staying dry with heat shields and hand warmers, it was finally race time. I chatted with Diane from Manchester Running Company, but then... my stomach started to rumble. I considered using the porta-potties but the lines were long, so I decided to take my chances mid-race.

Once we started running, I felt good. My goal was to run strong and dedicate the race to my son, who’s currently in basic training. Thinking of him lifted my spirits. He’s always been my biggest fan—every time I finished a race, he'd say, “Mom, you’re a machine.” I kept replaying that in my head, and my splits got faster. When I saw a 7:45 pace, I remembered what Kim would say: “Don’t let it freak you out—go with it.” So I did.

Eventually, my stomach won the battle, and I made a quick stop at a porta-potty, losing about a minute. But I jumped back in with “Ballroom Blitz” playing in my head, keeping my cadence strong. The miles flew by, and I finished in 1:45:18. I was thrilled!

Reggie messaged me right away: “Congrats! You placed 1st!” I smiled, thinking of my son again: “Mom, you’re a machine.”

After changing into dry clothes, I met up with Diane and grabbed some snacks while tracking the rest of our crew. I was so excited to see Kim was crushing it and on pace to BQ, and Xin was running strong too. Marissa from our Travelers crew PR’d on the half marathon —everyone was having a great race!

As the finish line neared, I grabbed my cowbells and left to cheer. Kim came flying through with a huge smile. I snapped a photo and ran him in—realizing quickly I was not dressed for running, and my sweatpants nearly fell off! Next up was Xin. She raised her arms with the biggest smile when she saw me. I ran her in too (with my pants securely tied this time). Angie and Karthik followed shortly after.

I gave Kim a big hug—I was so proud of him. Then I found Xin, met her family, and learned she’d PR’d and also beat her time by 10 minutes from last year's REVEL race. I was so proud of her and to have coached her. Having her have a positive experience, and to me, that moment was priceless.

Back at the house, we relaxed and began packing up. Then—my phone rang. It was my son. I hadn’t heard his voice since he left for basic training. I tried not to cry but completely melted when I told him about the race, and he replied, “Mom, you’re a machine.”

It was the perfect end to an unforgettable weekend.

Shake out run!

Here is a photo of Paul from his first week in Basic Training.

There were very few photos of me. I never took off my throw away shirt. This was the one time that I lifted my shirt to expose my bib number.