Has anyone run a long race in the rain?

I'm running the Hartford Half Marathon tomorrow. It's supposed to be in the upper 40s and very rainy. I'm debating what to wear. If the weather were nicer, I might wear short sleeves because I tend to get hot and sweaty while running. I don't know how much the rain will make it feel cooler. Any recommendations?

I normally run with my Garmin GPS watch and my ipod nano. I wear the ipod on an arm bank, but I don't think the case is waterproof. Do you think both of them will hold up ok in the rain?

Any other advice for running in the rain? At this point, I'm just hoping to finish and not be miserable.

Also, I tend to get blisters in the same area on my feet during long runs. Someone recommended covering my feet with vaseline. I've never done that before. Is that something you recommend trying for the first time during a race?

Re: Has anyone run a long race in the rain?

My entire half ironman run (a half marathon) was in the pouring rain but it was in July so it wasn't cold rain. I would probably wear what you normally wear for a race in 40 degrees but add a very light waterproof jacket on top, if you have that. It shouldn't make much of a difference in your body temperature and worst case scenario, you can tie it around your waist to throw it to a friend/spectator.

I don't run races with my iphone (I only listen to music on training runs but race without music) but if I am running in the rain with my iphone, I have it in a protective case or a ziploc bag. As for your watch, my Garmin is actually waterproof so I would say its definitely fine and they make the watches expecting that it will be rained on.

I wouldn't use Vaseline on my feet but I would use body glide. I'd make sure to get your ankles, back of foot, in between toes, etc. They say "nothing new on race day" but I would say a anti-chafing balm would be helpful. I'm a bit fearful of Vaseline as my coach has always told us to avoid using it.

Re: Has anyone run a long race in the rain?

Yep - last Saturday, I ran the Entenmanns Half in rain, wind and oh yes, floods!! It was not as cold as it will be tomorrow, but I find what works best for me is to dress as I normally would for that temperature, minus the rain. The more clothes you have on, the wetter you will feel. At least the water on your skin won't be as annoying as wet clothes. Or, you can carry something that you can tie to your waste. I wore a hat to help keep rain out of the eyes. Also bring a disposable poncho (CVS, Target, Rite Aid, etc.) or just a plain garbage bag to wear while waiting at the start to stay dry.

As far as blisters....as Rachel said, body glide is great. I added vaseline too, I had read that as a tip for rain. I basically used both and just really over did it. Inside of bra, inside of socks, any area that is prone to chafing. For the half I ran, we had to literally run through 3 huge flooded spots in over the ankle deep water. One was at mile 3, so my feet basically were immediately wet - I did not get one blister.