April Fools Races Weekend in Atlantic City

This past weekend we participated in the April Fools race in Atlantic City! We love this race and this is the fourth year in a row we've participate.

Besides the fact that the race is a reason to go to Atlantic City, we like it because there is both a 7K and an 11K.  They are both out and backs on the boardwalk, and with such an easy course and short distance it makes for the perfect race even if you don't train much during the winter months.

Here are some highlights of the weekend.

The past few years we've stayed at the Tropicana but this is the first time we stayed at the Trump Taj Mahal. We chose the Taj Mahal because not only is it a beautiful resort, but it is located on the Boardwalk and is right next to where the Start/Finish line of the race is located.


For the past few years packet pick up was in one of the ballrooms of the host resort. This year it was inside the Nike Factory outlet store.  There was literally no where to park. We did see one parking lot but it cost $10. That would be fine if we were going to be there all day but to pay $10 to park for 5 minutes was ridiculous. We ended up parking at the gas station across the street. We had our mom wait in the car as we walked across to get our packets. Thankfully they let us pick up her packet with just her ID.

Packet pick up was very quick because there were a lot of volunteers working. The only negative was that they ran out of shirts!!!! We both registered for this race back in December and we registered for an XS race shirt.  They only had one XS shirt left. We asked if people were exchanging shirts and they told us and I quote "oh no, no one would ever exchange for an XS". Which we thought was funny for them to say.  We left with one XS and one S and were on our way. We were actually planning on wearing this race shirt for the race UNTIL we saw that it said FINISHER on the back.  We found this comical and had a good laugh about this. We thought it was ironic that we recently wrote this post about wearing Race shirts but now we knew better than to wear this one BEFORE the race...haha.

We knew there was a good chance that it was going to rain on race day so we all came prepared with our rain jackets for running. Of course it was pouring as we approached the start line. This race is an out and back all along the boardwalk. We were told to be careful because the boards were very slippery.  I was not expecting all the puddles though.

We were shocked to see how many people were wearing the race shirt...lol

We all ran our own race. Our mom hadn't raced since last year's Tinkerbell Challenge so she did more of a run walk for the 7k. I surprisingly ran the entire race. I can't remember the last time I ran the entire race (besides a 5K) so I was pretty proud of that. I always like running on the boardwalk and unlike most runner's, I am a fan of out and back races. It always gives me a sense of "how far I have to go". Because of the rain there were less spectators and the music trucks were not out. I missed this because something wonky was going on with my ipod and I lost my music. I don't know if it was because it got wet or what. I also lost a few seconds on my time because I stopped to mess with my hood and head covering as they were blowing and I thought I may have lost my headband.  I adjusted myself and continued to run. On the way back, I got caught up in talking to a gal who seemed to be running the same pace as me. She was doing the race today and then the half marathon the next day so that started a chat about race challenges.  After a while I thought "what am I doing, I need to run my OWN race and not keep pace with someone else".   I tried to pick it up a little from there on.

After a very rainy race!

I like how this race posts statistics and race pace averages. I was pleased to see that the average finisher time for the 7K was 53 minutes and I came in at 44. I finished 9 minutes quicker than the average finisher.....YAY! Although I had mixed feelings about this because this is the EXACT same time I came in at the very first year I ran it. Perhaps I was being more cautious because of the rain???

After I finished I surprisingly met Mar from Mar on the Run! I knew she was doing the half but wasn't sure if she was running this race. Had the weather been nicer we probably would have chatted a little longer.

Lacey ran the 11k. She unexpectedly placed in her age group last year and didn't even know it until she got an award in the mail.  Now that she knew that she had it in her to possibly place, I know she was going to try to do her best. According to the stats, she finished 21 minutes sooner than the average finisher at 52 minutes (and some change)and that was enough to give her a 2nd place finish in her age group and 7th female overall!


It continued to rain even after we finished. We went into Margaritaville for a beverage and then walked shivered on over to the awards ceremony so Lacey could collect her 2nd place award.  Last year she won third place, so she was pleased with a "silver" finish this year.

I know the rainy pictures don't make this race look very fun, but this really is a great race weekend if the weather cooperates. We don't go to Atlantic City to gamble but we do appreciate all that there is to do. Who can resist a walk on the boardwalk and when its dry enough, putting their toes in the sand. AC has some great shopping with both high end stores and outlet stores and has some of our favorite restaurants, like Rain Forest Café. So yea, it can be a great weekend.  Oh, and despite what some may think, the boardwalk and resort areas are very clean and well maintained.  I'm definitely looking forward to going back and spending some time there this summer. -M