I Ran My Longest Race Ever in Pouring Rain and 30 MPH Winds. Here's the Gear That Held Up.

I WOULD GET lots of “Huh?” looks when explaining to people that I was training for an 18-mile race this year. This seemingly random distance for a race is actually a long-cherished tradition in my area, and within my family. The Long Beach Island 18 Mile Run began back in 1973 when a local resident organized a fun run on the Boulevard (the main road) from the south end (Holgate) to the north end (Barnegat Light).

Since that time it’s become a marker to the end of the summer season for locals and summer folks alike. After the 18 Mile Run, the traffic lights are all shut off, (some) businesses close for the season, and we know the cold is coming. And my family was right there from the start, running in the very first year.

My dad’s family moved to the narrow strip of sand that is LBI full-time in the ’60s, when my dad was only 7. He’s one of six kids, and his eldest sibling Stephen ran in that very first year. And he ran in a lot of subsequent ones.

It quickly became a big moment in my family, as everyone would watch Steve go by in Ship Bottom with “Brower Power” signs and then gather in Barnegat Light for the finish to celebrate him (and eventually other Browers who came to run in it over the years: my uncle Pat, aunt Mary, cousin Luke, and cousin Ben) in the shadow of Old Barney. Steve would go on to purchase a home in Barnegat Light, and race day became one big Brower party year in and year out. We haven’t had a Brower run it every year, and it had been a bit since one of us had.

Having turned 40 last October, my plan had been to finally do it. But last year a storm of epic proportions caused the race to be canceled, which is fairly rare since it’s rain or shine. But when there is two to four feet of tidal flooding on the race course, it’s pretty impossible to hold it.

This year, while we didn’t have tidal flooding, we did have 30 mph east/northeast winds (so, fairly straight into you) with pouring rain. While those weren’t ideal conditions, I was finally able to say I ran the 18 Mile Race and was the first Brower to do so in a few years. It was the longest race I’ve ever done and I was pretty dedicated to my training plan for the past 16 weeks.