Pikes Peak Ascent and Marathon, Aug 18-19, 2001 - 53 reports
La Luz Trail Run - Sandia Mtn Wilderness, NM - August 5, 2001
Mt. Fuji Climbing Race - Fujiyoshida, Japan - July 25, 2001
Salt Lake City Marathon - Salt Lake City, UT - July 24, 2001 - 2 reports
Kendall Mountain Run - Silverton, CO - July 21, 2001
Summer Roundup 12K - Colorado Springs, CO - Sunday July 8, 2001 - 13 reports
AATRA/MA Trail Running Challenge - Deer Valley Resort, Park City, UT - Sunday, July 1, 2001
Vail Hill Climb - Vail, CO - July 1, 2001 2 reports
US Fila SkyMarathon - Aspen, CO - Sunday, June 24, 2001 - 4 reports
“Asia’s most beautiful run.” - Mongolia - June 20, 2001
Comrades Marathon - South Africa - June 16, 2001
Pilot Hill Trail Run 25K, - Laramie, Wyoming- June 10, 2001
Double Trouble Trail Run - French Creek State Park, Morgantown, PA - June 10, 2001
Horsetooth Mountain Trail Run - Horsetooth Mountain Park, Fort Collins - June 10, 2001
Mile High 24-Hour Run - Chatfield State Park - Junr 9-10, 2001
Old Dominion 100 miler - Woodstock, VA - June 3, 2001
Steamboat Marathon - Steamboat Springs, CO - June 3, 2001 - 3 reports
Montana Marathon - Helena, Montana - June 2, 2001
Squaw Peak 50 mile trail run - Orem, UT - June 2, 2001
Wyoming Marathon - Wyoming - May 28, 2001 - 3 reports
Sulphur Springs 100 Mile Trail Run - Ancaster Ontario, Canada - May 27-28, 2001
Vancouver International Marathon - May 6, 2001
Cleveland Marathon - Cleveland, OH - April 29, 2001
Boston Maraton - Beantown, MA - April 16, 2001 - 3 reports
CAI Westland Halve Marathon - Holland - April 8, 2001
Umstead 100 - Raleigh, NC - April 7-8, 2001
Golden Gate Marathon - San Francisco, CA - April 7, 2001
Canyonlands Half Marathon - Moab, UT - March 17, 2001
Napa Valley Marathon - California - March 4, 2001
L.A. Marathon - L.A., CA - March 4, 2001
Old Pueblo 50 - Tucson, AZ - March 3, 2001
Mt. Taylor Quadrathlon - Grants, NM - February 18, 2001
Austin Motorola Marathon - Austin, TX - February 18, 2001
USATF Cross-country National Championships - Vancouver, WA - February 17, 2001
“Mardi Gras” Marathon - New Orleans, LA - February 4, 2001 - 2 reports
Rocky Raccoon 100 - Huntsville State Park, TX - February 3-4, 2001 - 2 reports
Colorado FROG Backyard Challenge - January 14, 2001
20th annual Avalon (Catalina Island) 50-mile Run - January 13, 2001 - 2 reports
Walt Disney World Marathon, FL - January 7, 2001
Swift Skedaddle Snowshoe 10K & 3K , Copper Mountain, CO - January 7, 2001
Turquoise Lake 20 mile Snowshoe Run, Leadville, CO - January 6, 2001
New Years Resolution Run - Auburn, CA - January 1, 2001
Ancient Oaks 100 - December 9, 2000
Rock Canyon Half Marathon, Pueblo, CO - December 3, 2000 - 5 reports
Seattle Marathon - Seattle, WA - November 26, 2000
La Luz Trail Run - Sandia Mtn Wilderness, NM - August 5, 2001
Andy D reports:
I was using this race as my final preparation for the Ascent. The first mile
went great as I was in perfect position about 150 yards behind the leaders.
Then after a few sharp curves, the road suddenly forked. There were no
markings or course officials of any sort present and the road was so curvy
we could not see the leaders, who were just ahead of us. We then made our
best guess and took the left fork. This detour cost a large group of us
about 20 minutes. When we arrived at the first water station we were in
397th place out of 400 runners. A quick glance up the trail revealed an
unending mass of walkers/joggers blocking the trail. Passing these
cumulatively and individually large masses proved to be anything but easy.
On more than one occasion, I was forced to physically knock people out of
the way when they refused to yield to the faster runner. The race beLa Luz Trail Run - Sandia Mtn Wilderness, NMcame an
exaggerated fartlek workout. Despite these factors, I ended up in 20th
place. If one simply cuts the 20 minutes off my time and does not account
for the added time of passing the hordes of people, I would have been 4th
Mt. Fuji Climbing Race (Fujisan Tozando Kyoso) - Fujiyoshida, Japan - July 25, 2001
Randy L reports:
- Length: 21 km, 3006 m (9770 ft.) altitude gain to top at 12,383
- Course: Well, the level parts where we ran across the patios of the
mountain huts were really, really welcome. The steep 8 km hike down from
the summit to the bus kind of sucked.
- Checkin: Not to be missed is having 15 smiling teenage girls
simultaneously shout “ohio gozaimas” (good morning) as you approach the
registration tables. I could have run for free, except I was too far into
trying to force my 5,000 yen (about $40) upon the 15 teenage girls before I
figured this out (the Japanese runners had to prepay).
- Water stops: Every 5 km until the last road, then you’re on your own.
Some runners bought something at one of the huts.
- Organization: Geared for elite runners, with a cutoff time that only
allows 1/3 of the runners to finish officially. No age group awards.
Champion chip for results and splits. Nicer buses than Pikes Peak Ascent.
- Shirt: You can buy your own. But they gave us a nice “Lucky Bell,” plus
a keychain and certificate for finishers.
- Expo: Parking lot in the rain.
- Post race feed: Outstanding! They gave us a bento (box) lunch after we
hiked down to the bus. Then soba (noodles in miso soup, sort of like ramen
only much more robust) back at headquarters. Plus fruit and this really
awful vitamin B drink.
Well this may be the first R report for a Thursday run! The race was on Wednesday, 7/25, and since it was out of state that should count, eh? My summary in a word: “relentless". This mountain never lets up. Margie Allison described it as “21 km of the 16 Golden Stairs". It wasn’t really that bad. I think only the last half was that steep. Sorry if this is too wordy for some...it is my first “memory dump” after returning to email.
At the start I was about in mid pack, but everyone ran like it was a 5K. I could barely keep up! We ran about 1/3 mile level to the center of town, then commenced the uphill. It never let up from there, steadily increasing the gradient until it maxed at about 25% for the last quarter of the distance (the average for the whole race is 14.3%). I know I went too fast in this stretch, but I just couldn’t believe I should be letting mid-packers go. I settled on a heart rate of 168 as an aggressive compromise for the first 7 km, yet people were steadily passing me. I didn’t reach equilibrium with the pack until the gradient steepened to the point where most began walking.
At the second water stop, Umagaeshi, the official splits show I was in 876th place out of 2,100 starters. This was about an hour into the race and half the distance, but only 22% of the elevation gain. At least I think it was Umagaeshi. Since I can’t read the Japanese Kanji characters, I was pretty much in the dark as to location the whole way.
By this point everyone was walking most of the time, so I turned to my power walking mode and began steadily passing people. The trail soon narrowed to single track, much of the time running straight up the mountain in a V-shaped ravine 15 feet deep, cut by hundreds of years of erosion on this ancient trail. We were in deep forest up to the 5th station, which provided welcome shade on a clear morning. Passing became a constant challenge with a lot of sweaty body contact, accompanied by “sumimasen” (excuse me) and "domo” (thanks). I constantly reminded myself to take the tangents, frequently passing 3 or 4 people by sticking to the inside of each curve. By the 5th station, I had gained 200 places to about 675.
After almost 2 hours I began to run out of gas. At the 5th station, there was a welcome spread of food including empan (rolls filled with sweet bean paste), bananas, grapes and lemons (there were lemon slices at every water stop). I took a couple of minutes to wolf down a lot of food and water, miraculously feeling much better after that. This was to be the last real water stop until the top, despite having over half the elevation still to gain.
After the 5th station we joined the mainstream hiker’s trail to the top, since there is bus access up to that point via a different route than ours. We also broke out of the trees into a tilted volcanic moonscape of variously colored gravel. The trail became wide enough for 3 or 4 people side by side, with enormous highway-grade embankments to hold back the slopes. There was a solid line of people switchbacking up the mountain as far as I could see both up and down. Clouds were streaming across the slopes above us, but it never rained. We spent the entire day surrounded by clouds, never able to see up or down more than a couple thousand feet or so, but frequently in sunshine. I wondered if my sunscreen would be effective after so many hours of soaking wet skin, but the only sunburn I got was 3 little dots through holes in my watchband where I didn’t put any on.
With the humidity, my clothing was completely soaked after the first half hour. I’ve never felt a Coolmax shirt dripping wet from sweat in Colorado! My favorite mark of distinction now is the rust spots on my shirt from the safety pins. I carried a single-use camera in a mesh pocket in my shorts. The viewfinder was always too fogged to see through, although by keeping the lens facing out it stayed mostly clear. I’ll post some photos on a website after I get back.
At one of the 7th station huts, a young woman was yelling my name. I guess she picked me out as a “gaijin” (foreigner) and found my number in the race booklet. At least it got me running across the stone patio of that particular hut. Interestingly, I was listed as “L. Randy” which is in keeping with Incline Club tradition. Most gaijin got the same reverse treatment for their names, since Japanese typically write the family name first.
By the 8th station, I was in about 600th place, having gained another 75 places. I was starting to be concerned about the cutoff time, a new experience for me. I had 45 minutes to climb the last 1,200 feet, and it was looking like a long way up there -- I still couldn’t make out the top. It had been rock scrambling since the 7th station, and I was having to use my hands to prevent balance errors. But around the 9th station, the rock turned back into gravel and the gradient began to ease slightly (to 18%). Finally I could see the top and my confidence increased.
I reached the summit in 4:16:05, 14 minutes ahead of the cutoff. I was in 538th place, and another 200 made the cutoff behind me. Looking down from the summit, I could still see a solid line of racers who had no chance to finish officially. It seemed sad to me that the race couldn’t be more accommodating to regular people. We didn’t have the Pikes Peak Ascent’s cheering crowds and announcer at the top, but we did arrive into a highly commercial, bustling city street atmosphere. Vendors were hawking their wares as we walked past a line of huts offering food, drink and accommodation. The race supplied water here, and I bought a 16-ounce bottle of Pocari Sweat for 500 yen (about $4) to drink on the way down. My 1000 yen bill was still soaking wet when I handed it to the unfortunate salesman. Glad I didn’t try to feed it into one of the vending machines.
After a detour to see the crater, I headed down the descending trail (separate from the ascending trail). I can see why they don’t include the descent in the race, although it makes for kind of a bummer to have to hike down after you finish. There’d be a lot of dead hikers knocked off the trail by runners if we were racing down. This trail is MUCH busier than Barr Trail. I jogged most of the way through loose soil and gravel, reaching the 5th station in an hour. There I collected my spare clothing bag (marked with permanent ink after last year’s rain-soaked debacle) and a bento (box) lunch of rice balls wrapped in seaweed. I was soon on a chartered bus filled with chatting, laughing runners, arriving at race headquarters by 2:15 in a driving rainstorm. Last year’s winner was just presenting his 3 trophies (6 feet tall) back to the organizers in exchange for smaller, but still impressive, permanent trophies. After a meal of soba noodles in miso soup, I walked the 2 km to a train station and my ride back home.
In retrospect, I didn’t give this race enough respect beforehand. I thought it would be a slightly longer version of the Pikes Peak Ascent, ending at only 12,380. But I wasn’t prepared for the steepness, and the lack of breaks. I’ll really value that stretch before Barr Camp in the future! Although the average gradient is only 14% compared to Barr’s 11%, it doesn’t account for the long, gentle stretch at the start. Thus for the last half, the gradient averages 23%.
Given that I only have 7 more years before I hit the age cutoff of 55 for this race, I think I’ll obey the traditional Fuji credo, “A wise man climbs Fuji once, but only a fool climbs it twice."
Salt Lake City Marathon - Salt Lake City, UT - July 24, 2001
Craig H reports:
Crunch time. Four marathons and the Pikes Peak Ascent within 69 days. The
first one went well. I’ll take the 3:29 considering the course was called
the 6th most difficult in North America. I’m not sure I’d agree with that
ranking. It’s WAY behind Pikes Peak and Wyoming.
There was certainly nothing too standout about this event.except maybe the 0245 wake up call to catch the 0330 bus to make the 0500 start. But there is something neat about having completed a marathon by 0830.
The biggest surprise was the “supposed” incentive to hit mile 25 by 0830 so you could run down the Pioneer Day parade route that had tens of thousands of people lining it. The actual big surprise was that it appeared the crowd was clueless to that fact that the marathon was taking place. They were totally oblivious to the run.
The side trip was to Moab, Utah and Arches National Park. Really impressive landscape. Definitely worth the short detour. Awesome rock formations and geology!
Seven down, five to go. Course info follows.
Salt Lake City Marathon — 24 Jul 01
Entry Fee — $30
Link — http://www.desnews.com/run/one.htm
Course — Point-to-point. Semi-mapped but not too accurate. No course
profile to be found. Hilly. Better part of the first 11.5 miles is all up
hill. All downhill after that with a very slight uphill on the last mile.
Best tip — Throttle back at the crest of the course. The next two miles are
VERY steep downhill, and I saw so many blow their quads in this section. I
ran with a local who warned me about that section. From 13.5 miles you can
cruise. This may be the only race I never got passed in the last 13 miles.
Passed tons of folks who made the big mistake on the steep downhill.
Expo — Negative.non-existent
Medal — Weak.
T-Shirt — Weak.
Crowds — Pretty lame but then again it was pretty early.
Cliff Shot Stops — 3. Water every other mile.
Start temp — Cool (for the first mile) and VERY dark. Reasonable temps
overall but some years you can bake out there. Finish by 0830 and you’ve
got darkness or shade at least half the way.
Overall impression — Decent small event (about 750 runners) but surprisingly
lame for a big city like Salt Lake.
Laila H (soon to be B) reports: I missed the Barr Camp Trail run because I was helping Steve B. find Sam over the San Juan Wilderness area. I felt bad and decided to do a different race instead to make it up for the month of July. Well, what better choice than run the Deseret News Marathon that was coming to town. I signed up two days before the race (paid $5.00 more). On race day, I remember Steve’s encouraging words “you should do well with the hills because you are trained". Yes, not too much running done during those days, but lots of mountain trail climbing. So, I took off with confidence and the almost 11 miles of initial pure hills, were a piece of cake. Then comes a long downhill, which I decided I better try to run fast (downhills are my challenge). Still, at the half marathon mark, my time was 1:42, I sucked, I thought. I still was convinced that I had enough energy to keep pushing. By mile 19, my body started to feel tired, but I kept pushing. I had been passing lots of people (male & female) and nobody had passed me. I was getting very close to another woman and at this point, mile 20; I wanted to make it for an award. So, this woman was another of my goals to pass. I was so close to her since mile 16, but at mile 24 or so, I really started to slow down. She finished 2 minutes ahead of me. My time 3:19:07 (negative split by 5 minutes), 8th woman, 2nd place in age group... Almost made it for the cash Utah finishers award, the woman before me, was from Utah... Maybe next year.
Kendall Mountain Run - Silverton, CO - July 21, 2001
Scott R reports:
It has been a long time... However, I completed the
Kendall Mountain Run last weekend at was a really good
race in prep for the PPM (for those of you doing it).
There were only about 100 or so folks that raced, but
that was plenty especially when you consider the
scramble at the peak. The course was dry and very
tough. The race begins at approximately 9,300 ft. in
Silverton, and once out of town, starts heading up a
steep jeep trail. You cover almost 4,000 ft. in 6.5
miles up to a little over 13,000 ft. (with the last
100 meters or so being an extremely steep scramble to
the top). The race was well done and everyone was
extremely friendly. If you can find the time next
year, the beautiful drive alone makes the race
worthwhile. It’s a great race that will test your
high-altitude fitness and makes for a fun replacement
to the Sunday climb to the top of Pike’s Peak. I hope
to be back running with you all soon.
Summer Roundup 12K - Colorado Springs, CO - Sunday July 8, 2001
Laura K reports:
Oh, so it doesn’t count if someone else mentions you in their R report to
get your *, you have to do your own report...
Summer Roundup 12K — 7/8/2001 — This is one of those races where it helps to
know the course. For the first time I think, I actually had some basic race
strategy and it worked. Before the race, Tom K and I talked to Maddy for a
few minutes and she showed us her pacemaker. I was wondering how she would
be feeling during the race. That was evident after the first 1/2 mile! I
wanted to hold back on the first half of the course because I knew what was
coming. I run that loop in Bear Creek Park very regularly. I’ve run it fast
and I’ve run it easy so those hills don’t scare me. I think I was in 3rd or
4th going into the park. Thanks to the mental and physical strength gained
by training on Barr Trail, I was able to finish in 2nd in 50:34. That was
the first time I’ve been able to do a “come from behind."
Mike L reports:
My goal was to get under 50 minutes (I did 50:48 last year). I went out too
fast at GOG so I decided to start easy and get my rhythm and then pick up
the
pace. It worked well until the big hill where I slowed but maintained my
cadence. My finish was fairly strong but not good enough to make up for my
slow 6th mile. I didn’t make my goal but I beat last years time finishing in
50:37. Overall, I felt pretty good about the race.
Larry M reports:
I couldn’t find my pick so I ran the Summer Roundup 12k? 8 miles — it was
marked in miles. Weather was nice. Trail was real lose sand. Upper Barr
Trail is better. For a change I started off at a nice pace, just a little
slower then last year’s pace. Well that shirtless old man (Don R) got ahead
of me again, but I passed him at two miles. However I forgot it was a 8 mile
race. Well, about half mile down the trail the shirtless old man passed me
again so this time I just sat back and waited. As we passed by Wally-mart
for the second time I noticed he was getting closer. Another Paramecia race?
(outkick the shirtless wonder at the end). Well, moving into the rolling
hills he got real close so at six mile mark I passed the shirtless wonder
again and pushed it as we headed for the barn. As far as results all I can
say is I won my age-group. A little slow and a little older. PPRR needs to
get a good finish and result program. There was a lot of Incliners at the
race! No way I could write all your names down but lots of you had on the
shirts and won awards. Way to go Incliners!
Dave R reports:
Goal time: 55 minutes, actual 57:45 (11th of 58 in age division)
Things done right:
— kept an even effort through the various terrain and then pushed the last
1.5 miles
— well hydrated
— did some speedwork sessions for the past two months
Things done not so great:
— needed more hill/strength training as I slowed too much on the steeps
— realized a little too ambitious with my goal time
The race began, like last year’s, at a fast pace. I thought the volunteers were great at the water stops. Saw lots of ICers. I basically held my pace for most of the race and into the hills about mile 5. I then slowly started picking off those in front. Just hanging with the rest of the IC shirts was the goal, but that helped me keep passing runners the last 1.5 miles. Spoke with Louise E and others afterwards. Was very satisfied with my finishing time and felt I gave it all I had. Next year, though, I will do more IC runs as I’ve only run with the group twice on Thursdays so far. So mark me up for an “R” for a Sunday run. It was hot but fun!
Linda R reports:
I just realized that I should submit a “race report” for the 7/8 Roundup
because it was a 12k trail race (I was thinking it had to be over 13mi).
So, here it is.
I thought at first I would be sent home because when the volunteers held up the pace per minute signs, there wasn’t one that applied to me! But being the “race rogue” that I am, I firmly entrenched myself toward the rear with the others who had a “yea, my time’s not up there either” look and figured I’d fit right in. This my was first time for the Roundup and before the race I couldn’t see how we’d end up over on Cache La Poudre St. based on where we were starting. I had no idea there was a trail that went under I-25! That’s pretty handy.
At any rate, I enjoyed learning of a new route to run since I work downtown and tend to go north into Monument Valley instead of south. The run itself was great, except of course for that last *#@!@*^%*^* hill toward the end! But I trudged up it in true Incline Club fashion....okay, well maybe not in the Incline Club fashion YOU’RE accustomed to, but the only fashion in which I could muster since I haven’t been a faithful club attendee, which was painfully (ah say PAINFULLY) obvious at that moment! I briefly thought of asking Dr. Rocket for some advice on the best way to tackle this hill, when I realized he was probably at the finish line about then!
Anyway, once I did finish and after standing under the water sprays for a little while, I spotted Larry M., who, of course, debated with me as to whether it was hot during the race! I’m sure you know his position was that it was, indeed, NOT hot that morning, neverminding all the sweaty, aromatic bodies lingering about, waiting for their awards.
Well, I did have a good time but remember feeling rather disappointed thinking that I had to forgo my “*” that Sunday. However, all is well now that I realize that is not the case!! Oh, by the way, Robert did volunteer for that race — does that count? : — )
Brenda W reports:
It was a wonderful Sunday morning, I would say 300+ runners attended. The
temperature, well need I say more. It was hot except for the few shady
areas along the creek. I finished 3rd female overall, first old lady. The
hills basically kicked my booty on mile 6. I don’t know what my finish time
was because the computers were not working and they did not announce them.
The overall women’s winner was Maddy T. and Peter Flemming won the men’s
race with a new course record of 41:15 I do believe. Being a flatlander
and only here to train for the summer, I find it very hard to breath
sometimes. I can hardly wait for Pikes Peak Marathon. I wish everyone the
best at what they do.
Robin F reports:
On Sunday, July 8, I was able to wake up early enough to make an appearance
at Penrose Equestrian Ctr for the 12k jaunt through trails of the city.
Temps were avg or slightly below under beautiful CO skies. There were lots
of fast runners. I was not one of them, but I saw some before they took off
down the trail, then later as they ran past me in the other direction.
This is the only race I have done since last year’s marathons, so I had little expectations. Last year I finished this course in 57:27. This was my only reference before getting to the race. Along the way my mind was preoccupied with calculations of how long 12k was in miles (the course was marked with mile markers, not km’s). I crossed the line at 59:02. Respectable, but I am still wondering where they added 95 seconds of length to the course since last year. It seemed to be the same course, but then I would have finished at the same time, right?
Next race: PPM. Gotta find that 95 seconds if I am going to beat last year’s time.
Tom K reports:
OK, so I guess urban trails count. Here is my “R” report for the Summer
Roundup, Sunday, 8 July, 2001.
This was the 2nd race in the Triple Crown series (I missed the Garden 10 miler due to tendentious). The 7.5 mile course started and finished at the Penrose Equestrian center, and ran through Bear Creek and Monument Valley Parks. About 6.5 miles of the course were on dirt trail, with the remaining 1 mile on pavement (mostly getting to and from the trails). The first 4.75 miles were flat, the section between 4.75-6.25 miles was mostly uphill, and the remaining section was mostly downhill. There were 339 male finishers, and 170 female finishers, for a total of 509 runners completing the race.
The weather conditions for the 7 am start were warm, but since we were shaded from the sun for most of the first part, it didn’t feel too bad until the last section where we were running through the exposed part of Bear Creek Park. I was still getting over a little “mystery bug” that had kept me feeling extremely fatigued over the previous week, but considering that, and the tendentious that had kept me out of any serious training over the past month, I felt pretty good, put in a quality run, and had a pretty decent race. I finished in 49:35 which put me 24th overall, and 1st in the 45-49 age group. The overall men’s winner was Peter Flemming who finished in a course record time of 41:15. Laura K was the 2nd overall female finisher in a time of 50:34. She finished behind the amazing Maddy Tormoen who (running with her newly implanted pacemaker) bested her last years time for a new female record of 48:35.
In summary, it was a good race, and a course that offered both a flat fast section and a hilly challenging section. But if you’re looking for a few extra roots, rocks, and several thousands of feet of vertical gain to challenge you, stick with the BTMR (the best little trail race in these parts).
Fred W reports:
I ran the Summer Roundup 12 K Trail race today. Tough last two miles but I got
an age group win. No official times available due to a computer glitch!
The Incline Club was well represented, and gave an excellent account of itself. A number of age group wins and places, and good overall places in the open division. Amongst those I saw were Kees (3rd o/a), Louise (another excellent time), Larry M., Glen A., Ben, Dr. Rocket and his good wife, and numerous others I recognize but am unable to put names too (another “senior" moment!).
It must have been beautiful on the mountain today.
Kees G reports:
SRU12K: I’ll make it short since you will get a million of these...
I guess the Americans were being beaten for this race with two foreigners in
the top 3! I was 3rd but actually one minute slower than I had expected.
All in all not too bad since I was feeling tired doing my warm up... not a
good feeling considering the race still had to start and that there is a
nasty hill for about a mile around mile 6. Running and tapering wise I did
roughly the same as before garden of the gods, but I didn’t do enough
sitting on the couch and eat bonbons in between. The incline shirts were
cool as usual, and people were telling us that they (or we?) were cool, and
were asking how to get them (the shirts... I assume...). I don’t know if we
made a good impression by pointing at the “when it’s hard go out and speed
up” but I think people got the message!
Steve S reports:
I just wanted to make sure I got my “R” for the Summer Roundup. 57:42, which
was great for me. I love powering by flatlanders on the uphills and crushing
their egos late in the race after they passed me on the flat section of the
previous mile. You rarely see somebody later in the race after you drop them
on a hill. Your pacing tips helped me during the race such that when the
last two miles came, I had enough overall energy and juice left in my legs.
Thanks. I even felt good enough that I didn’t kick at the finish to save my
legs for the BTMR. The 20 seconds I might have shaved off my time weren’t
worth it. I can make that time up (and more) during the PPM.
Louise E reports:
Seeing that the Summer Roundup Trail counts for a “R".
I would give my report as well.
I kind of went to fast and it is easy to make a mistake like that in that race because the first section is very flat and easy running. I realized the mistake very quickly and then eased in a comfortable yet not to slow pace. Even with all that I did very well. Took again 7 minutes of my time last year. Came in 16th overall of the women and 3rd in my age group.
Keith L reports:
Guess I’ll add my belated race report....the things one will do for an R!!
This year....slow @1:04:57. As I just posted on the forum, I’ve slowed
about 10% this year, probably due to overtraining(?), so I was nearly 6
minutes off my last year’s pace. I basically took June “off” in hopes of
recovering and have done no speedwork since April--and it really showed on
the hill--egads, I had to walk some it. Goal now is to finish the Ascent,
then start working towards the fall series.
Kelli L reports:
6+ miles / Mixed climbing and descending, lots of singletrack. Biggest climb
was at beginning of race. One gradual ascent was on pavement. Finish was a
singletrack, switchback descent into expo area. One aid station on course.
2nd overall female/44:13 7th overall race
This race was fun and fast. It was held in conjunction with the National Off-Road Bicycle Association (NORBA) National Championship Series (NCS) event in Park City, Utah. This is the first time that a trail running race has been held at an NCS event. It was cool to see some of the PRO mountain bike racers and the Outdoor Life Network commentators jump into a running race (at a bike event!). I was at the event for work, so I decided to jump into the race on Sunday morning. I didn’t know who would be racing, but a fast female runner showed up from Colorado. It made for a good race and I was happy with my finish. The race began with a mile-long climb (approx) in which I was the first woman to the top. The girl who finished in first took-off once we crested and flew on the descent. She put a slight gap on me, but stayed in my sights until the last descent of the race. I could bridge some of the gap on the climbs, but not enough to catch her. Overall, it was a solid race for me and I felt good about my effort. The event was well-run and the course was well-marked. It was cool to finish in the expo area of the mountain bike venue, with professional announcers giving commentary. I would recommend racing in one of these events if you have the chance. The prizes were nice, too. I won $ 75 for 2nd and a pair of Timberland trail runners. There were cash purses and Timberland shoes for the top-three men and women (125/75/50) and Timberland shoes for age-group winners.
The next venues in the series: Mammoth Lakes, California July 22 Mount Snow, Vermont Aug. 19
Vail Hill Climb - Vail, CO - July 1, 2001
Mike F sorta reports:
Indeed I did run the Vail Hill Climb. Time was 1:16:50, three minutes or so
behind Bob McA. Don’t know how far back I finished in age brkt. Pacing was
good. Finished with a little surge at the end, but not much left. Still
looking for some speed. Maybe at BTMR. Definitely ran better than at
Leadville. Headed in the right direction. P.S. Wore IC shirt. received
some favorable comments.
Glenn G reports (and sets a new record of 267 words per mile!!!):
Prelude:
Left Littleton at 5:30 A.M. The race started at 8:30 A.M. Third time I have
run this race. The race starts in the town of Vail, which I believe is about 7,500 feet in
elevation. It climbs according to the race description 2,200 feet to the top
of Vail Mountain. It covers 7.5 miles.
The Race:
The weather was beautiful for a day in the park, but a little on the warm
side for a race. I would estimate at 70 to 75 degrees and climbing. I have
ran this race three times before and the weather has always been fourth of
July weather, or as they say, hotter than a firecracker on the fourth of
July. I overheard another runner making the same comment before the race,
that for the last four race he had run, the weather was always clear and
sunny. No difference today. I always look forward to going back to Vail and
the Avon area. It does have a special effect, especially in the summer for
me. Maybe it is that it is close to a holiday, I get to run a race, and the
setting is in beautiful Colorado. It is also easy to understand why Cortez
named the territory (which later became our state), “color rado,” in
Spanish, translated into English for you gringos, “color red.”
There are always tons of tourists in Vail, in the summer, in fact I think sometimes there are more people that are not from Colorado when I go up to Vail. It is neat to think that this is our state when they are doling out all of the kudos. It also always adds an air of excitement for me, because everyone is always in a festive mood, being on vacation and all, and they also always seemed very impressed and encouraging to the runners that they encounter before and after the race. They make comments like, “what kind of race is this” and “oh you mean you actually run up these mountains?” You have to admit, you could say just about anything and I do believe they would believe you and it does make you feel kind of “stud-ly,” at least until the start of the race when the pain begins. But then you can kind of fantasize with the thought while you are doing the race. Anyway where was I?
I arrived early as I had changed my mind about running this race in the
middle of the week, opting to do the Peak on Sunday. However at the last
minute on Saturday, I reconsidered and decided to keep my original
commitment, and to try to do the Peak on Tuesday or Wednesday of this coming
week. I always seem to confuse the start of the various races (Vail does a
whole series in the summer, and you can find out more about the remaining
race by logging in to the web site,
Anyway, from their last remark and the accent I surmised that they were from
the flatlands somewhere back east.
The starting registration was well organized as is usual for Vail
Recreation, who sponsors the series. However there were no port-a potties,
instead you had to climb the stairs to the visitor center, where the men’s
room had two stalls and a line out the door. Somehow I felt for the first
time in my life what it would feel like being a women in line at a Bronco
game back before the restrooms in the old Mile High Stadium had been
upgraded for women, several moons ago.
Mike Ortez was still the race director. I recognized one other ICer right
before the race started (have not met him, but I think his name is Brad).
Since the start was about to begin I did not want to interrupt the race
director’s last words to the runners. If Matt C. had been there it would
have been important, because the beginning of the course had changed from
those of you who have run the course before. Fortunately, Mike seemed to
know and recognize the elite runners and humorously gave the change of
course directions directly to Jeremy W., whom he assumed correctly, would
lead from start to finish.
This year the start consisted of a countdown, which I liked because it made
the starting of your own watch easier.
Soon enough we were off. And quickly the temperature began to rise. I would
estimate at the start the temperature had risen to 80 degrees. I knew I was
going to have to hydrate early and often.
My last and best time for this race was in 1996, 1:15.02. I came in 128
overall and 39th in my age bracket then.
I had calculated my splits the night before based upon the 1996 results
which I thought would be a good and fair goal for myself (after all I am
five years older than I was in 1996).
Well 75 minutes divided by a 7.5 mile race is ten minute splits so I didn’t
need to write this on my hand. I had already asked where the mile markers
were before the start and was told at the two, four and six mile markers.
At the two mile marker I was at 15 minutes, five minutes below my split time
of ten minutes (using my prior 1996 time as my base). Well it was still
early, too early to tell if this was going to be a meaningful day for me,
but I liked the start of my time at the first split. (But the fist mile in
town is pretty flat). I took a cup of water at the first aid station at mile
two and felt very good at this point.
Then at the four-mile mark my split time was 38 minutes. Two minutes below
my calculated split time of forty minutes (calculated using my 1996 prior
time as my base).
I was starting to feel a little warm and this time at the four-mile aid
station I took two cups of water. I did not stop, but drank them as I merely
slowed down. I felt a little more of the hill effects on the legs, but no
major pain.
This is about where the switchbacks get real steep, for those of you who
have also run this race before will also recall. There is especially one
major long climb (about a quarter of a mile). At this point the Hydro Hill
repeats and the Highway 24 bypass (or what I try to do to mirror these up
in Littleton) helped me a lot compared to the 1996 race.
Between the four and the six-mile marker, I somehow managed to pass four
pony tails. Two of them I recognized from the Turquoise Lake race, from
June 2. They had beaten me in that race and obviously were younger than
yours truly. I really didn’t expect to be able to hold them off until the
end. But then something happened. I knew what they were thinking. The same
thing as the last race at Turquoise Lake. I had passed them before on an
uphill. The next uphill they challenged me and I could hear several distinct
moans and second wind gasps. I knew they were going to try to re-take me on
this or the next uphill. With each challenge I thought of Matt C’s words to
us ICers, “go out hard and when it hurts speed up". Try it I said to
myself. I know they are hurting just based upon what I can hear from them. I
knew they were in a pain (so was I). But this time I kept saying to myself,
".when it hurts, speed up.". Three of the four soon began to drop further
and further back. Soon I could not even hear them. The fourth continued to
press me. She was right on my shoulder and I knew she wanted like crazy to
break me on a hill (she must of remembered that is where she had re-taken me
at Turquoise Lake). I kept saying, “when it hurts speed up". Soon the pain
was less. I mean it wasn’t getting worse, it actually felt better for the
"knowledge” of those words sinking into my psyche, “when it hurts speed up."
. I could hear the last pony tail literally talking to herself, “Oh G-d,"
and more groans and moans.I knew she was in pain. I just spit and actually
was starting to feel a reprieve in my legs. Then suddenly I could see
another quarter of a mile level section. Okay I said to myself. She couldn’t
take me on the hill, now I am going to break her on this flat section for
sure. I am going to let her feel the stride of someone who can stretch it
out on down hills and flats.
By the time we reached the six-mile mark and I grab a cup of water and
merely slowed down. She came to a complete stop. I knew that she had had
enough already. Soon her steps were no longer audible. Also interesting
thing was that this aid station was manned entirely by children, who always
give a lift to my spirits. It was so interesting to hear kids yelling their
cheers, “you are almost there."
At the finish I clocked 1:11.59. Three minutes faster than my 1996 time of
1:15.02. My place 89 overall was better by 39 runners (I heard there were
about five hundred total runners, so this put me in the top 20 percent, this
was disappointing for me) and 21st for my age bracket (compared to 39th in
1996, an improvement of 18 runners). All being five years older now than in
1996.
I was a little surprised when the last ponytail came up to me to thank me
for pushing her.
Summary:
Overall I dramatically increased my “time” and “age bracket” finish compared to 1996, when I was five years younger.
Fair is fair, I must attribute and credit the Incline Club Sunday workouts
that I have attended, Matt C.’s coaching, tips and encouragement throughout
the winter and for the last five Sundays, and finally the altitude training
on the Peak for the last five Sundays. My hat goes off to the Club and Matt
C. for all of your help and advice (Rick, Jonathon, Scott, Steve and Kees
have all given me tips and advice as well). Thanks to you all.
Met another Littleton runner who is also a CPA on the trail on Friday before
the race and he saw my Incline Club shirt and he already knew and had heard
a lot about the club. I then saw him at the race as well. I extended an
invite for him to come down to Manitou. His name is John S. He is running
the Ascent this year. He has done no high altitude training and I
encouraged him to join us for some of that before the race in August.
Hopefully we see him.
I guess I can now swear by the results of Incline Club training.
US Fila SkyMarathon - Aspen, CO - Sunday, June 24, 2001
Andy D reports:
The Incline Club training is definitely making me much faster. In the
beginning, I ran conservatively and let the leaders, as well as many others,
go out too fast. I started reeling them in when the climbing began in
earnest. However, it was not until the steepest part of the course that I
finally caught the 5th, 4th, and 3rd place runners. I battled with this 3rd
place person on the ridgeline and on the tundra downhill only to be passed
when we proceeded onto the road. Obviously the training is working well.
Steve B reports:
Well, might as well keep going. We all paid our entry fees... Later Dave
Mackey was catching up to me (he had been with the leaders, but kept going
when they turned around) and I looked back to see him heading into the
woods. I yelled “that’s not the course Dave.” He said that the red flags
were leading back there, so about four of us backtracked to follow. We both
knew the course and knew this didn’t make sense, but they were definitely
the red flags that marked the course... After a couple hundred yards the
trail disappeared though and we all retreated back to the road... Later when
Dave finished the course he refused to go through the finish chute in
disgust. I finished in 3:03, estimating that I had run better than 19 miles
on this 16.8 mile course... Still I won the master’s. But I don’t think I’m
going to run this race again.
Laila ran way up the Montezuma Mine road even though I told her when I
passed her there was no one to turn us around... She finished in 3:47.
Andy did great--finishing 4th and “in the money.” Dan Vega won.
John G reports:
The course was about 19 miles in length and aside from the first 5 miles and
the last 5 miles it was great. The middle 9 miles went from a moderately
steep jeep road to quite steep scree and small talus to a nice ridge line up
to near the summit of Taylor Peak. We then retraced our steps back down the
ridge and headed off across high alpine tundra. There were a couple quite
steep sections here but for the most part it was a gradual descent and
really fun to run.
The first few miles of the race were added on so that the course would meet
the minimum SkyMarathon requirement of 17 miles. It was supposed to be 1.25
miles up a rather undistinguished jeep road and then back to the start where
the “real” race would begin. Problem was, there was nothing to indicate
when to turn around. As I was still running up toward the “turnaround” I
remember seeing Jonathan C running in my direction and with no one in sight
behind him. Either he had a huge lead or .... turns out Jonathan turned
around about where was intended. Most of the other runners, including
myself, ran a mile or so beyond the intended turnaround. Hence, 19 miles
for a 17 mile race.
The last 5 miles were downhill jeep road similar to Rampart Range but a
little steeper and rockier. I was glad to be through it.
This was all in all a good race that I would run again ... and a finishing
time that was helped immensely by the quality of the Incline Club workouts.
Jonathan C reports:
The turnaround for the out and back portion of the
race was not marked. So, people turned around
whenever they realized that they probably had gone too
far. I actually ran a little too far myself, but I
was about five minutes ahead of the leaders in
returning from the out and back. So, the results
ended up being skewed with some going way longer than
others. Some went a 1 mile to far while others went a
2-3 miles too far. It was said by race personnel that
everyone had a map, but I didn’t see anyone carrying
one.
Still it was a nice day. Andy D ran a great race
coming in fourth.
“Asia’s most beautiful run.” - Mongolia - June 20, 2001
Gordon N reports:
I expected that the remoteness of this run would
attract a fairly hardcore running crowd, but at least
half of the runners had never run an ultra before and
some had never even completed a marathon. Most
approached this race more as an adventure rather than
as an athletic competition. While there were few
runners who were competitive, there were many who had
impressive experience with travel and international
living. Americans were the largest contingent but
the majority of the American runners were living in
Asia or Australia. Swiss, Mongolian, English and
Japanese runners were also well represented.
The race consisted of two loops. The first 42K started
and finished at the run’s base camp. Then those of us
who were running 100K went out on a second 58K loop
that also finished at the base camp. I spent a fair
amount of the time during the first 42K socializing with
other runners and taking it easy knowing that I still
had a long way to go. The first loop was also where the
majority of the courses climb was and the majority of
the off trail travel. I finished the 42K in 5:41 with
lots of others coming in before and after me. After a
quick change of socks and shirt and taking some food I
headed back out with a huge cheer from the crowd. It was
at the 55K aid station that I found out that there was
only one other runner ahead of me in the 100K. The
runner ahead of me was a Mongolian who was running to win.
At 55K he had more than a 55 minute lead on me and his
winning time of 12:24 was an hour and 45 minutes ahead of
second place. I was still solidly in second place at the
76K aid station, but then the mid day heat and a long
section through a dense muddy forest started to sap my
strength. I eventually ended in 14:21 with 4th place
out of 15 runners who finished under the 18 hour cutoff.
This 100K course offered about the right amount of
difficulty and I attribute the low finish rate to the
option of dropping out at 42K and being considered a
finisher and the fact that many of the runners lacked
experience with longer runs. But everyone who started
covered at least the first 42K. How may marathons can
say that they have a 100% finish rate?
Where most race award ceremonies are held while most runners
are still exhausted from their efforts, this race awards
ceremony gave everyone 24 hours to recover. Also all of
the Mongolians who had worked aid stations and monitored
the course were invited to join the party and Mongolians
do know how to party. The first place male in the 100K and
the first place male and female in the 42K were all Mongolians
who I shared a table with at the awards ceremony. It appears
that the Mongolian winning formula is eating huge chunks of
baked Mutton chased down with plenty of straight vodka. Who
was I to argue with a winning formula? I do not expect that I
will ever attend a wilder awards ceremony.
The course is even more beautiful and varied than any Rocky
Mountain courses that I am aware of. Due to the feedback from
runners that have participated in this race, the organizers say
that they are changing the label on next years race from
“Asia’s most remote Ultra” to “Asia’s most beautiful run.” Aid
stations are well stocked and at reasonable intervals. Safety
is at the forefront with plenty of medical staff throughout the
course. Running this race is not cheap, mostly because of the
airfare to Asia, but it is a race I will definitely consider
doing again. If anyone thinks that they might be interested in
a race like this in the future please grab me at one of the
training runs and I can tell you much more about this unique
experience.
Comrades Marathon - South Africa - June 16, 2001
Connilee W reports: (for AnneMarie W)
(An interesting tidbit - Bill Rowan, the namesake of the sub-9 hour medal,
was the first ever winner of the Comrades marathon, which was run on a
mostly unpaved course, winning in a time of 8:59 in 1921. This year's male
winner, Andrew Kelehe, won the race in 5:25:51.)
Pilot Hill Trail Run 25K, - Laramie, Wyoming- June 10, 2001
John M reports:
Double Trouble Trail Run - French Creek State Park, Morgantown, PA - June 10, 2001
Jonathon F reports:
This was an interesting race from before the word go! People who
planned to run the 15k lined up behind one line on a 1-lane road.
People who planned to run the 30k lined up behind another line about 20
yards from the 15k line FACING the 15k runners. Between the two groups
was the beginning of the trail that was about 10 feet wide. At the
start, both groups funneled onto the trail.
The trail had plenty of rocks and roots to trip over or turn an ankle on
and a few brambles just to keep you awake. I saw several people with
dirt on their shoulders, and numerous bloody shins, knees and hands.
The tree-covered course weaved up and down several hills, some of them
quite steep. There were several 1-lane bridges consisting of 2 2x12's
side by side (several boards were broken or had holes in them). There
probably wasn't more than 1-2 miles where you could relax and stretch
out your stride. Most of the course was single-track and it was quite
risky to run too close behind someone because you couldn't see the
footing. The only thing missing was a water crossing.
A nice thing about this race was that you could change your mind about
whether you wanted to do the 15k or 30k. Those choosing to do the 30k
just ran a second loop of the 15k course.
The overall winner of the 15k finished in about 1:03. First female was
about 1:08. In the 30k, the first male finished in 2:19 and first
female in about 2:40.
Horsetooth Mountain Trail Run - Horsetooth Mountain Park, Fort Collins - June 10, 2001
Gary H reports:
This race is somewhere between 8 and 8.5 miles long, and follows a loop
course through Horsetooth Mountain Park in the foothills west of Fort
Collins. The elevations aren't as high as on Barr Trail, but the climbs
and steepness are comparable in most spots, with some short sections
being closer to the Incline's grade. It was definitely a lot harder
course than I expected when I viewed the terrain from the start line!
The first 3 miles are mostly uphill, then it's up and down until the aid
station at about 4.5 miles. Then there's a relatively gentle descent
down a service road for a mile or so, followed by more downhill on a
trail to the creek bed, then one last long uphill (relatively easy
grade) before re-joining the outbound course for a screaming downhill
finish. It was terribly hot out on the course, which has long sections
of unshaded running, even though the race started at 7:30!
Things Done Wrong: didn't get an accurate description of the course
before the run (the course map didn't show which sections were uphill,
which were downhill, etc. - I made some guesses, which turned out to be
very wrong!); pushed too fast at start, due to previous error; didn't
hydrate enough Saturday evening; and, ..., oh yeah, didn't train!
Things Done Right: well, I ran!
This was an interesting course, and would be a good challenge for IC
runners! It fills up at 175 runners; they took race-day signups this
year (we were among 40 who signed up just before the race), but will not
next year, since they were so far over their 'capacity', so be sure to
sign up early if you'd like to do this race next year!
Mile High 24-Hour Run - Chatfield State Park - Junr 9-10, 2001
Carol S reports:
Things done right:
Things that went wrong:
It was still a good 'training run', for Leadville preparation, so all was
not lost.
Old Dominion 100 miler - Woodstock, VA - June 3, 2001
David W reports:
Steamboat Marathon - Steamboat Springs, CO - June 3, 2001
Neal O reports:
The day started out perfectly-10 hours of solid sleep the night before,
incredibly good race weather and most importantly, I felt great. I thought
this would be my breakthrough marathon-didn't happen. My goal before the
race was to finish in the top 5. I knew there would be quite a few people
ahead of me at the 1/2 marathon point and from there I would try to take on
one runner at a time. I hit the 1/2 in 10th place feeling great. I don't
know what happened at that point but I lost focus of what I was trying to do
and got content being where I was. I could see a couple of people ahead of
me that I could have passed but I never pushed the pace which my legs were
definitely ready to do. I managed to pass only 2 people between the 1/2 and
20 mile point. I got passed by another at the 22 mile point so I ended up
9th in 3:13:02. The worst part of that is due to slower men's times than in
years past, top 5 was VERY doable. I've always heard people say the hardest
race they run is the one where they leave something out on the course. I
left a lot of time, not to mention pride out there. As a result of not
giving it my all, my legs are in great shape other than some minor chafing.
At least I can resume hard training earlier than I had planned. I was so
mentally weak-I just don't know what happened. I'd better get my act
together before doing the Pikes Peak races. Mental weakness up there will
kill ya!! On a more positive note, it was absolutely awesome to see Connilee
come in right after me as the first woman (10th overall!!). What is that-3
wins in 2 weeks for the Incline Club?! Something is working there.
Connilee W reports:
Dream goal: First place, 3:15
General strategy: Before the race, I plotted out my goal times per mile,
starting out a little slower than my goal pace and hoping to pick up speed
on the downhills, save energy for the end of the race (I noticed last year
that a lot of women faded at the end - I passed three women in the last 3
miles alone. I wanted to make sure I was strong, not weak at that point).
The race: Dave S and Neal O gave a warm Incline Club welcome at the
start.... always good to see an IC'er for good luck! At the starting gun,
Neal O was off to a cruising start, and behind him the pack of ponytails
(the women runners). I held back to my own pace and was probably 10 or so
back for the women. It was frustrating to be so far back, but I stuck to my
plan and passed them one by one. By mile 13 I was in 4th place, feeling very
strong, and reeling in number 3 woman. Number 1 and 2 were close together
and in sight (thanks to the pacing bike that rode alongside #1 woman, they
were very visible). I slowly gained on them and trailed at a close number 3
for several miles. At mile 21, I came in close and knew I could better the
pace of both #2 and #1. I took a strong lead. Over the next 5 miles I
widened the gap and gained another 2 minute spread on the #2 woman, and 4
minutes on the #3 woman at the finish. The last mile and a half were
PAINFUL, giving me a new appreciation for the phrase "Go out hard, when it
hurts, speed up!!" Boy did it hurt, but speed up I did and even ran a couple
of sub-7 minute miles at mile 22 and 23. Even though I could not see #2
woman and the bike pacer informed me I was in the clear, I wanted to finish
STRONG! A quarter mile from the finish, the folks who had run the 10k and
1/2 marathon, race fans, and Steamboat Springs citizens lined the street.
They were incredibly encouraging and I am sure I was grinning from ear to
ear as I pushed to the finish - first place woman! I am still pinching
myself to make sure it is for real!
Done right: Took water at every aid station (every 3 miles) except the last
one. Took a gel every hour (carried my own). Ran the tangents (we only had
one lane of a two lane road, often dealing with oncoming traffic so this was
especially challenging). The last 7 weeks I added a 20 minute tempo to the
end of my long runs as well as speed pickups during and after my other runs.
This really helped my 'kick' at the end of the race.
If you ever run Steamboat: The scenery is incredible - if you have to run on
the road (all asphalt) this is a great place to be! The first half of the
course has some intense downhill, making it very difficult to run the second
half faster than the first.
Added bonus: My hubby Pat got a real nice buzz cut Sunday night - fulfilling
a promise he'd made to shave his head IF I beat my PR.
Dave S reports:
It was really fun to see how well Connilee Walter and Neal Oseland did.
Connilee ran a PR and finished 10th overall (for all runners). She WON the
women's race. How cool!
And Neal finished 9th overall and 2nd in his age group. Those two really
had an outstanding day, and have a neat jacket to prove it.
It's a different story for me, though. I struggled and finished more than
20 minutes slower than last year. I just sort of ran out of energy after
about 17 miles, and got slower and slower after that point. I'm not sure
what went wrong. I've put in more training than last year, and everything
else was about the same. But oh well, I guess it just wasn't my day.
It was still an enjoyable weekend. Usually when we go to Steamboat Springs,
the whole family comes, but this year the kids were working so it was a
little escape for me and my wife. We explored some new territory while
there. Instead of using the hot springs in town, which we've always done in
the past, we went to a hot springs about 7 miles out of town called
Strawberry Hot Springs. It was quite an adventure just to get there, as the
last several miles are on a poorly maintained dirt road, akin to the rougher
sections of Rampart Range Road. But it was worth the drive. The hot
springs are secluded and rather rustic, with a mountain stream adjacent to
the hot springs pools. The soak feels excellent after running a marathon.
My wife and I also checked out Fish Creek Falls. This is about 4 miles out
of town, and is a magnificent water fall, that makes Seven Falls look like a
puny water faucet. There are tons and tons of water coming down the cliff,
and it is definitely a perfect picture taking spot. There's also a cool
trail that goes up to a lake. It's 5 miles, one way, and the elevation
climb is 2400 feet. I didn't have the legs for it, so we just followed the
trail for about a mile or so.
Well, I guess that's about it. I'll have to figure out what went wrong and
give it another try next year.
Congratulations to Connilee and Neal. They did awesome!
Montana Marathon - Helena, Montana - June 2, 2001
Craig H reports:
Checked out a good chunk of western Montana. Some OK towns and some awesome
views. Not too much to the capital city of Helena however. Pulled into
town and saw a huge sign for what I thought read "Helena Visitor Center."
After I finally found a place to park in the crowded little downtown area, I
walked into a shop with tons of eyeglasses. I walked back out, took a
little closer look at the HUGE sign and realized it read "Helena Vision
Center." (Does this mean I'm entitled to a rebate on my LASIK surgery??)
There was, however, one small older neighborhood that was really neat. The
old (late 1800's old) rich part of town had some very impressive homes.
Helena was actually a gold town on the verge of drying up before a very
suspect state-wide vote placed the capital in that town to save it from
ghost-town status. At one point Helena had the highest per capita number of
millionaires in the country during its heyday.
Saw some really beautiful land north of Helena and Missoula. I was looking
for property as I've said I'm going to retire on big acreage in Montana for
10 years now and up until this trip has never set foot in the state. Some
great vistas up there. Still considering it.
Back to the running, I'll start adding links to the runs for those that want
more details. (i.e. The "official" propaganda.) And I'm also going to plug
a great race in Ohio... the Air Force Marathon. I ran the inaugural race in
1997 and it was great and it has only improved each year. One of the best
mid-sized marathons in the country. Check it out. http://afmarathon.wpafb.af.mil/
I will probably end up in Salt Lake City for my July run. Halfway through
the year. Course info follows.
Montana Marathon - 2 June 01
Squaw Peak 50 mile trail run - Orem, UT - June 2, 2001
Anita B reports:
My finish time was a little slower than last year. For whatever
reason,(I never had this happen to me before) at the 35 mile point, my left
eye began flashing, kind of like a strobe-light. I sat down at the top of a
9300 ft. mountain for about 30 minutes( so much for doing better than last
year) and it went away. When I got back up, I developed one heck of a
headache, and became dizzy for the next seven miles. It got so bad that I
found two sturdy sticks and used them as walking poles, until it went away.
But the reason I let them go was because quite suddenly my fingers, hands,
arms, face, even my tongue went numb and tingly, and I had no sensation what
so ever. As if that weren't enough, my hearing went on the fritz too. For
about an hour, everything sounded as if it were far away, and had an echo to
it. But when you are out in the middle of nowhere, and there are bear
tracks, and mountain lion tracks everywhere, with no aid station in site,
what are you to do? Lie down on the trail and cry? I know I hydrated and
fueled properly, so if anyone out there has any idea what all those symptoms
mean, I would appreciate the input. Never the less, I crept to the finish
line, and grabbed a cold piece of pizza I found lying on a nearby table.
They feed you really good at this ultra, and I would recommend it to anyone
looking for a challenge.
Wyoming Marathon - Wyoming - May 28, 2001
Craig H reports:
It was tough to get accurate stats on the course, (elevation charts, etc.)
but the course did average above 8,000 feet and included about 3,500
vertical feet along the way. Given that, I'd have been content with a 4:30
given my condition. Turned in a 3:58. Very surprised. Most folks
typically ran about 25-30 minutes slower than average.
This was my first marathon trip which was not a rushed out-and-back
over-the-weekend type trip. I actually took vacation between the runs and
explored Yellowstone and a small part of Western Montana. Much of Wyoming
is pretty barren but had TONS of buffalo all over the place...or so I
thought. I thought I must have arrived just after shearing season. I was
later informed they were all just cows. The Grand Tetons were really
beautiful but I think I'll take Pikes Peak any day. Yellowstone was
awesome. Old Faithful was right on time. (Currently every 81 minutes.)
The Lower Falls that land in Wyoming's Grand Canyon were quite impressive.
For my first night in Yellowstone I had planned on camping until a
torrential downpour began and I was losing daylight fast. Being an Air
Force guy, with superior Air Force training behind me, my first instinct was
to abort the camping idea and head to the nearest hotel...the natural
inclination for a well-trained AF guy. But something possessed me. Placing
extreme faith in the Army guy who lent me the tent, and praying he had his
gear squared away, I began to put together a never-seen-before tent in the
cold rain. Happy to report the Army guy had his gear in good order and I
stayed dry that night. (Thanks Jim)
I was also reminded just how up close and personal you can get with nature
on my first morning in Yellowstone. Five minutes before I ventured out of
my tent, a huge brown bear strolled by 10 feet from my tent. All the other
campers were watching and probably wondering if the bear likes runner meat.
Saw the tracks a few minutes later and came down with "bear on the brain"
syndrome for the rest of my stay in the wilderness. I doubt I'll ever be
outrunning a bear... certainly not two days after a marathon anyway.
During my WY run I tried to save a little gas for the Helena, MT run the
following Saturday. Guess I did. Ran a 3:28. Was REALLY surprised by
that. Just kept expecting to die any minute from the week before. (Funny
thing happened one the way to the finish line...I never hit the wall.
Strange.) Anyway...tired of typing. The MT report out next week. Six down
- six to go! Course info (warning) below.
Cheers, Craig
Wyoming Marathon - 28 May 01
Steve B reports:
Before I found out who was running the marathon I had anticipated breaking
the course record of 3:24. The course, 70% of which is on dirt roads, starts
at 8900' elevation, and with continual ups and downs along the way drops to
8100' at the turnaround. The way back is much harder... I succeeded in
running it in 3:12, but a certain Dave Mackey from Boulder had already
crossed the finish line ten minutes ahead of me.
Laila fared better than I placewise, finishing first among the fair sex and
ninth overall with a strong 3:51 on this "ultra-like" marathon. I was
astonished at how close she was to me at the turn around point, looking
fresh enough to be on a five mile easy training jog! We both agreed
afterwards that this was the most difficult marathon course we had run
outside of Pikes Peak or the Aspen Sky Marathon.
Taking advantage of one the perks we enjoy with the military, I had reserved
a suite at F.E. Warren Air Force Base near Cheyenne for $21 a night. Once
settled in we made our way to the pasta dinner in an Italian restaurant
nearby where we found our friend from the Springs, Craig Hess and got the
course briefing.
Though the race director's motto is "Where the race director promises
nothing, and he delivers", for the most part the support was acceptable with
aid stations spaced about four miles apart. Unfortunately, when I passed by
the volunteers were for the most part unready to deliver the goods and I had
stop and open bottles. On the way back to my dismay they had dismantled an
aid station leaving only one (!) station for the last ten miles of the
course! Everyone finished the course in a state of severe dehydration. It
wasn't until the next day that I considered myself properly rehydrated.
Following the 45 minute drive from F.E. Warren AFB to the race start in the
Medicine Bow National Forest at the Lincoln Memorial(exit 323 off I-80), we
barely had time to fit in the obligatory prerace "pit stop", jogging to the
start line just as the race director peremptorily and without preamble
stated simply "runners go".
Jonathan Cavner, who was running the half marathon took off quickly. On the
steep downhill that marked the first mile of the race I felt okay with
matching his pace and quickly caught up to him. "Is that Dave Mackey" I
asked, referring to the nearest runner behind us by about 100 yards. "No,
Dave must have missed the race start!" No one else was in sight after the
first mile. Soon "Eric from Longmont" caught up to me--he was running the
half as well. Looking back I saw the runner who would prove to be Dave
Mackey slowly gaining ground. Eric pulled ahead intent on reaching Jonathan
who now commanded a 200 yard lead. Twenty minutes into the race Dave pulled
alongside and we met for the first time, though he had also passed me about
twenty minutes into the Aspen Sky half marathon nearly a year before.
At the turnaround for the half marathon, roughly six and a half miles into
the race, I was surprised to see that it had taken me 44 minutes, just under
seven minutes per mile, though the effort felt like 5:45 per mile--clearly
the altitude was going to make this race challenging.
Soon after where the half marathoners had turned around we came on the
"paved stretch"--a stretch of I-80 service road paralleling the freeway for
about two and a half miles. Dave had opened up a lead on me that stretched
roughly two highway markers. I concentrated my effort and attempted to close
the gap, tracking the distance using the markers to gauge my progress. By
the end of the paved stretch I had gained ground, but once on the dirt again
I could no longer consistently spot him. I reached the turnaround in 1:27,
about two minutes behind. A couple others only a couple minutes behind me
kept me on my toes. I thought of visiting the only rest room I had spotted
on the entire course, but didn't want to risk losing a place in the process,
so I soldiered on. Ten minutes after I had turned around Laila as the first
woman and definitely in the top ten passed by in
This time on the pavement was not as easy as on the way out. Dave was now
five hiway markers out in front and barely discernable in the distance--I
measured him at five minutes ahead of me at this point and the way I felt
there was virtually no chance of catching him.
Rounding the corner and leaving the asphalt to go under the freeway I was
dismayed to find that they had abandoned an aid station! This four miles
after the last aid station! I wasn't until three more miles that a much
needed water station came into view. The last six miles was difficult, but
not as bad as I had imagined it would be. Still, the effects of dehydration
took their toll, and I covered the last four miles in a Bataan-like death
march time of 38 minutes, finishing in 3:12.
We stayed one more night in our luxurious quarters at FE Warren, before
driving up to South Dakota, where we hiked to the highest point of that
state, Harney Peak the next day; also taking in the Crazy Horse monument in
progress--will be the largest statue in the world when completed--they are
carving a granite mountain into a likeness of Crazy Horse, the famous Sioux
Indian warrior. That night we stayed at Ellsworth AFB near Rapid City and
the following day (today as I write this) we drove north to North Dakota
where we ascended the highest point of that state, White Butte, pursuing yet
another of our "lists", to climb the highest point in all of the fifty
states. Tomorrow, Laila will get another state high point--- Nebraska: a
state I have already bagged.
The counts:
Jonathan C reports:
So, Lindsay and I traveled to Vedauwoo, near Laramie,
Wyoming, Friday evening. Free camping is allowed
everywhere besides the Vedauwoo campground($10/night).
The scenery is spectacular. Unique rock formations
scatter the area. The next morning we woke up and met
up with Dave and Ellen his girlfriend. We spent the
day climbing the hard, slippery granite of Vedauwoo.
By the time the day was over I was cut up and we were
all sun burned. But, much fun was had by all.
The next morning we woke up at 4:30 am to make the
race start of 6:00 am. We drove to the Lincoln
Monument rest stop only about 7 miles away. The dirt
road, out and back course was described as 1000 ft. of
elevation drop within the first couple miles and a
1000 ft. of gain right before the half marathon turn
around. The marathon continues on relatively flat
terrain before the turn around. Dave had decided to
run the full marathon after all. I had no intentions
of changing my plans of doing the half. Steve B,
Laila H and Craig H also showed up due to their
marathon in every state pursuit. There seemed to be
probably a couple hundred people all together, though
I'm not sure how many people were in each race though.
We lined up at the start line. A prayer was prayed
before the start. Then the race director surprised us
all by just saying, "GO!" I took the lead at the
start, but could here feet quickly catching up to me.
It turned out to be Steve B. We ran together for the
first mile and then he wished me luck and I left.
Looking back at that point I could tell that I had one
competitor that was hot after me. So, I upped the
pace slightly and continued on by myself. About three
miles into the race I passed the first aid station. I
was handed a bottle of Gatorade which I took a few
swallows and traveled on. About four and a half miles
into the race I reached the first major hill which
continued "Rampart Range" style to the turn around and
a drink from a Gatorade bottle. At the turn around I
realized that the guy behind me was only about 30-40
seconds at my flank. The downhill went by fast and
pretty soon I was at the first aid station again. I
yelled Gatorade. They said, "All we have is water."
All the Gatorade bottles had been opened but not
finished. I freaked them out by running through the
aid station, grabbing one of the used Gatorade
bottles, taking a swig and running on. Kept looking
back, but the turns in the road prohibited me from
seeing the guy behind me. Hit the big hill and knew
the finish was at the top. Incline club training came
into play and I powered the mile and half to the
finish. Winning with time 1:27:35 (course record).
Second place, Erik from Fort Collins, was 1:28:38.
Dave Mackey came in first for the marathon 3:02
something(course record). Steve B was 2nd at 3:12
something. Laila H won easily (forget the exact time).
Overall race impression:
Sulphur Springs 100 Mile Trail Run - Ancaster Ontario, Canada - May 27-28, 2001
Teresa T reports:
Teresa's version: Results: 1st woman, 23 hrs, 38 minutes, 5th overall.
Neal ran 26 hrs 45 minutes.
Neal's father, Dave, always told me someday I would beat Neal. All I needed
was to believe it. Now I do - as I beat him by three hours! 100 Miles, the
great equalizer. You never know going into one of these how it will come
out. You hope to finish, and from there, your plans change as it evolves. I
always expected Neal to catch me, so in essence, he pushed me through the
whole thing! (He was as close as 30 minutes at one point) No one was more
surprised than I when he didn't. And to lead the woman's race was scary - I
have not been in that position for many years. The second place woman was
as close as 28 minutes at one point. To keep pushing to stay in the lead
for 100 miles was pretty mental. Great long and tough Sunday runs sure
helped with the mental part.
Great forested course, great people, great trip. See you all soon.
Vancouver International Marathon - May 6, 2001
Steve B reports:
Next morning the weather was "right". Not too cold at all, so I went ahead
and went singlet and shorts. A bit more cloud cover would have made it even
better, but we couldn't complain with 40-ish temps and minimal wind.
At race warm-up I connected with Uli Stiefl, a German citizen, grad student
at the University of Washington, and winner of last year's Vancouver
marathon, as well as the Seattle, and Portland Marathon for the last two
years. He has a 2:13 marathon PR. At the Seattle marathon in Nov 1999 (where
I met Laila BTW) I ran with him for the first eight miles. We communicated
in
German. Chance for me to practice. :-) (He was "training"--when I told him
he might as well go win it, he left me and "won") Well, he remembered me
right off when I approached him Sunday--"you're from Colorado right?" He had
some competition this time. When I saw him coming back to the finish at an
out-and-back point on the course around kilometer 35 (42 Km in a marathon)
he was 100 yards behind the front two runners. By race end he had reeled
them in and finished on top in 2:18.
For me this was quite the "comfortable" marathon. After running now 40
marathons, a marathon doesn't hold the same awe as it once did...It's almost
like just another race. I started off just running comfortably. 25 or more
runners surged out ahead, while I just relaxed. After five miles I sighted
the third place female--a runner from Japan about 200 yards ahead. Slowly I
reeled her in. When I went by her I said "Gambatte" (succeed), She looking
spent (not good so early in the race) replied "Hai" (yes). Next in my sights
was the second place female--she had "Island Runners--the Underdog" on the
back of her singlet. When I pulled up alongside I asked her "what island?"
thinking Queen Charlotte or Vancouver? When she replied "Poland" I did a
doubletake. Poland is not an island, but well, okay, whatever. Next was the
mystery entry from Ethiopia. She had entered the race at the last minute,
flying in from Addis Abababa 48 hours prior. She was running strong, but I
caught her just before the longest hill of the course. Well, we know about
hills, don't we ICer's, particularly at sea level!
With a smattering of men along with the top three women by mile 21 I had
moved up from 18th to 11th place. Though by watch I noted that I was
slowing, I still felt "just fine". I went into the marathon finish "coast
mode". To mile 25 or so we had to climb up a bridge, then once at the high
point of the bridge it was "all down hill". I opened it up finishing strong
in 2:43:29, 11th overall and 1st in the 45-49 age group.
Laila ran a comfortable 3:30 marathon.
Though we moved from the "smokey room", we stayed one more night in
Vancouver. Monday we took the ferry to Vancouver Island and stayed in
Victoria. There we walked around town, explored Beacon Hill Park, the
Parliament buildings, and ate Chinese food in the 2nd oldest Chinatown in
North America. Tuesday we took the ferry to Port Angeles, WA on the Olympic
Peninsula. Driving through Forks, WA (big logging town) we came to the Hoh
River valley, where we entered the Olympic National Park. I had been here
before, but enjoyed showing Laila some of the largest cedar/spruce/fir trees
in the world. She wants to go back to climb Mt Olympus...a 3-day
backpacking expedition. That night we stayed at Kalaloch Lodge on the
Pacific Ocean. Wednesday morning we ran up the beach for 40 minutes before
turning around, for a nearly hour and a half run.
My parents live in Olympia--in their many times remodeled home on Puget
Sound. We stopped in for dinner Wednesday evening, before heading up to
McChord AFB for the evenings lodging prior to our flight out this morning.
Great Trip! We needed more time though!
Cleveland Marathon - Cleveland, OH - April 29, 2001
Kelli L reports:
COURSE: Okay, but definitely not too exciting. It was an out-n-back from
downtown Cleveland. The aid stations were good, but not many spectators.
Some sections of road were uneven and very noticeable (especially after
running trails all winter!). Since it was difficult for spectators to watch
runners from various points on the course, there were way too many cyclists
riding on it. At one point, a dad with a girl in a buggy flew past me! It
was somewhat annoying since you're trying to focus on the race, not on the
bike traffic. Very little music on course except for maybe two bands at two
of the aid stations. No water tables at start (I like water tables at the
start so I can get a few more cups in before the race begins!).
RACE: Well, let's just say it was a disappointing day...I was about a day
shy of canceling the race a few weeks ago because of the back injury, but
decided I could still do it. I haven't felt quite right since the back
accident, so it would be no different on race day. I didn't feel
exceptionally good or bad. The first 15k went well, then I just gradually
lost time on each mile. My mind was thinking one thing and my body was doing
another! Truly an outer-body experience! WOMEN'S FIELD: There were six very
fast women in the "seeded" field (I made the seeded field seven). One other
American (making her marathon debut) and a few Russians, a Hungarian and a
Pole. I managed to get a seeded number because I called the race organizers
once I saw the elite runners times posted on the website (my PR is 2:49), so
I was able to start at the front with the others. I bumped into the elite
athlete coordinator (who I used to work with at the Runners Roost) and he
invited me to attend the elite athlete prerace technical meeting. The front
women all had posted times in the low 2:30s and the race organizers were
expecting the first woman to cross the line around 2:32. Well, not at this
Cleveland Marathon! I think the entire women's elite field ran bad today!
Everybody seemed to be about 10 minutes off what they were expected to run
(including myself), so it was a disappointing day all around for the women.
The woman's winning time was 2:42, way off of what was anticipated. I did
manage to be 6 out of the 7, I passed the Hungarian woman around 15k. Her PR
was 2:30 and she was going for low 2:40s...she must have finished a few
minutes after me or dropped out. TIME/FINISH: 2:55:30 6th overall
woman...one spot shy of money! damn! AFTERTHOUGHTS: Something I learned from
this race experience...no matter how hard you work all winter, you can
still have a freak accident which will destroy any chances of a PR! I feel
like the queen of 2:50s! Now I'm looking forward to the race season since it
hasn't really even begun. I'm signed-up for New York City marathon in
November, so maybe my dream marathon will happen there! 'Til then, it's off
to Barr Trail!
Boston Maraton - Beantown, MA - April 16, 2001
Craig H reports:
Bean Town can be expensive. Lodging could cost a small fortune. (Military
guys could take advantage of Hanscom.) The best deal...have your sister
move to Boston. Worked for me! :) Public transportation... you can make
the metro lines and the marathon buses work for you. The weather is really
fickle in April; be prepared for anything.
Got to meet Dick Beardsley at the Marathon and Beyond booth. Super guy.
However, I realized I was sorely lacking in the "Great Moments of the
Boston Marathon" department. (He was the one who duked it out with Alberto
Salazar and finished two seconds behind him in 1982. Or was that 1981??)
Anyway, with over 1500 women beating me on Patriots day, (which my
co-workers so graciously pointed out upon my return) I don't think I'll ever
be on the winner's podium and pressed to compare my day to any past great
performances. Two more marathons in the next seven weeks. Just hanging in
there. Four down, eight to go. Course info below.
Boston Marathon - 16 Apr 01
(Matt C adds: When asked "what is Col Hazen" Craig wrote back: "The question
is WHO is Colonel Hazen. He was an old boss of mine who is now
the Wing Commander at Wright-Patterson AFB, OH. This is of course where the
Air Force Marathon is held so it's sort of his show.")
April 16, 2001
Gordon N reports:
I finally ran the Boston marathon this year after saying it was one of my
long term running goals for the last 17 or 18 years. After running a within
10 minutes or so of qualifying in the early 80's, I shifted to ultra trail
running and started just treating my once a year or so road marathon as a
long training run. Then when Boston started using the shoe chip timing
system a couple of years ago and relaxed the qualifying times, I saw that
qualifying was once again a real possibility. Last October at the Pueblo
River Trail Marathon I finally ran my qualifying time.
Boston definitely lived up to its reputation as the best organized road
marathon in the world. I have run more than two dozen road marathons in
cities in a half dozen states and none comes even close to the support
Boston shows for its marathon. Its an experience every runner should try to
experience once. Of course the weather in Boston in the spring can be
unpredictable, but this year we won the luck of the draw as the weather was
sunny and cool the whole way from Hopkington.
Maybe it was all the training on the Barr trail, but I found running at
Boston relatively easy. For all its reputation as a hilly course I wouldn't
have even noticed the hills if the runners around me hadn't been talking
about them. I actually found the course downhill and quite flat. The
cheering crowds and good support definitely helped also. My official time
was 3:20:54 which got me 2894th place out of 15,606 entries. My chip time
was 3:17:14 which is the fastest marathon I have run in 18 years. I never
felt overly tired during the run and I recovered very quickly. All in all a
very gratifying experience.
April 16, 2001
Connilee W reports:
Race report - Short version:
Race report - Long version:
Advice I took:
Chip timing:
Advice to give:
CAI Westland Halve Marathon - Holland - April 8, 2001
Kees G reports:
CAI westland halve marathon
Start klote achter alle huisvrouwen in leggings, 30 s tot de startlijn, 5
min om eigen tempo te kunnen lopen, zeker nog 5 min om echt te kunnen lopen.
Weer: zon, regen, wind, koud, 5C
Hoogte: -20m?
Tijd: beetje teleurstellend met name door de start maar toch wel blij: 18e
overall, 1:17-ish
Kan het vertalen mocht ooit iemand dit willen lezen.
(Matt C adds: now that made for some spellchecker fun:-)
Umstead 100 - Raleigh, NC - April 7-8, 2001
Anita B reports:
Golden Gate Marathon - San Francisco, CA - April 7, 2001
Steve S reports:
Weather: Sunny and 55F at the start, sunny 65F and really, really windy
when I finished.
Elevations: the start is about 10 feet above sea level and the "ups"
supposedly added up to 2,200 feet per 13.1 mile loop. High point is around
900 feet.
This was a definitely a trail run with some variety. There were only around
50 marathoners with a few hundred half-marathoners and a bunch more
7-milers. I was pleasantly surprised that they started the marathoners 5
minutes ahead of everyone else as the first two miles is a climb up a fire
access road and ultimately into a single-track trail. For once I knew what
it feels like to be ahead of the pack. Scenery was incredible as you can see
the beach and ocean, the Golden Gate Bridge and lots of wildlife. I saw a
couple of golden eagles and a wolf around mile 4. Awesome! He/she was
patrolling the fields looking at us like we were mad. There are two major
hills on the loop and the last 3/4 mile is right on the beach. The wind was
directly in your face approaching the finish line which was definitely not
appreciated.
Overall impressions: this is a small race with a very weak field (The winner
came in around 3:20). Envirosports was the group putting on the race. There
were 3 aid stations not including the start/finish which were equipped but
not manned during the second half of the marathon. No port-o-lets (or many
trees). No mile markers. As a race, it sucks. As a run, it is awesome. I
think it is a good race to judge how well (or poorly) you are doing after
the long winter. T-shirt is ugly, the finishing medal is okay, the race bag
did not exist.
Personal crap: This was my second-ever marathon so I learned a lot more
about the strategy of running one. I went too fast on the second half of the
first lap and, as a result, had some major quad issues on the last hill of
the day. Speeding up when it started to hurt didn't help this time so after
my legs locked up, I spent five minutes convincing my quads that it was
quicker to run back than crawl back. I need to learn how to pace myself
better prior to the PPM or I am going to be toast by the A-frame. I think
I'd also better get my ass out on Thursdays after I recover. This was my
first race running with a water bottle and my first using Body Glide to
eliminate chaffing. Both worked very well for me. GU continues to work well
for me during training and racing.
Time: 4:16, 11th place
Canyonlands Half Marathon - Moab, UT - March 17, 2001
Hans Z reports:
I had hoped to run a pace below 8 minute miles but after mile 9 my groin
muscles started to act up again so had to slow down not to aggravate it.
Ended up with a time of 1:47:01, which is a 8:10 minute mile pace, finishing
8th in my age group out of 27. Great run, I do recommend it as a change of
pace and scenery.
Napa Valley Marathon - California - March 4, 2001
Craig H reports:
The course was decent, but I swear they must pick and chose their data
points when they create their elevation chart, because it sure feels like I
ran a lot of hills that I didn’t see on their chart. I was anxious to see
how I’d run since my PR attempt was just 14 days prior. However a knee
twitch at mile 3 turned into a show-stopper by mile 20. I had two
choices...DNF or go over 4 hours. I chose the lesser of two blemishes and
did my best Quasimoto impression and dragged my right leg for the last six
miles to turn in a very sad 4:11. But I’m beginning to cope with it now.
Three down...nine to go. With CA, TX, and FL already behind me, I thinking
I’m on track to win a majority in the electoral college if nothing else.
Boston next month and a six week break! Details below.
Entry Fee - $60
L.A. Marathon - L.A., CA - March 4, 2001
Carol S reports:
Some notables:
The winner for the men was Jeremy W. in 50 minutes, something. Well off Matt
C.’s record I believe of forty-some minutes (Matt C. can fill in here.).
The winner for the women was a lady from Aurora and second woman was a lady
from Boulder, Laura H., I believe.
In my first skymarathon, I was 4th overall with a 2:34:30 and in the
process I won $100. Overall, it was a very enjoyable experience and a great
race. The little orange flags marking the course were quite a bit more
subtle than I had imagined they would be, but they proved to be sufficient
nevertheless. The only major mishap of the race involved the first 1.25
mile out and back. For some peculiar reason, the volunteer stationed at
this turnaround completely neglected his duties, and everyone ended up
running way farther than they were supposed to.
Laila and I ran the Aspen Sky Marathon last Sunday. We started up the road
towards Montezuma Mine for the 1.25 mile turnaround in good spirits. As the
course started climbing in earnest I glanced at my watch and noted 10
minutes elapsed. Even at 9,000 feet I think I can run eight minute miles on
the gradual slope we had so far covered. As the time increased to fifteen
minutes I suspected something was amiss. At 15:45 Dan Vega and three others
were on the return--I knew they were no more than 30 seconds ahead of me...
Andy came next, and I knew he was only just a few steps ahead of me... I
thought he was quitting... I kept going to 17:30 on my watch before I turned
around. Others went much further... In short there was no one there to turn
us around!
First race report, first SkyMarathon, far from first finisher ... I actually
finished 24th with a time of 3:36:01. I think there were only 56
competitors but even so, my goal of finishing in the top half was met.
As one of my goal races for the year, I was looking
forward to see if the training was making any
improvements. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to find
this out. I started the race. After running a mile
and a half out I realized that the chest congestion
and sore throat that I’d be wrestling with was not
going to let me run hard. I just couldn’t breath on
the up hills. So, rather than make myself sicker and
ruin my training for a week, I opted to drop out.
This event was the most fun I have ever had at an
ultra run. The trip was a package that started on
June 17 and finished on June 24 with the race taking
place on Wednesday, June 20. This meant that there
was plenty of time to get to know the other runners
and to see a little of Mongolia and its unique
culture. The tour started and finished in Ulaan
Baatar, Mongolia’s capital city and the race took
place along the mountainous shore of Lake Hovsgul near
the Siberian border. There were 31 runners entered in
the 100K and 19 entered in the 42K. The run is
organized to raise funds to help support conservation
projects in the seriously under funded Hovsgul National
Park with the hope of keeping it in its pristine state.
For those of you who know AnneMarie W, you might be interested in this
year's Comrades Marathon which was run on Saturday June 16. (AnneMarie is
busy sunning herself on some remote South African beach, doesn't have access
to a phone, much less email, so you'll have to bear with my rough "R"
report). Comrades is a 56 mile (89k) point to point ultra-marathon that
switches beginning and end points each year. This year, a 'down' year
(meaning the course has net elevation loss despite being very hilly with 5
major hills), it started in Maritzburg and ran to Durban, South Africa.
AnneMarie has run it twice before finishing in 9:16 (a 'down' year) and 9:26
(an 'up year). Her goal was to run a sub-9 hour, and this year she made it
with a time of 8:37!!! (Anyone breaking the 9 hour mark gets the 'Bill
Rowan' medal, maybe she'll show it off when she comes back to the states in
July). By coincidence, I met a man recently who had run Comrades 8 times.
He may have been exaggerating, but he said that Comrades has far more
elevation gain and loss than the Pike's Peak Marathon! In any case, well
done, AnneMarie!
Under 100 runners in this little-known, tough, scenic, race in Laramie,
Wyoming. The race starts at 7,165’ climbs to 8600’ at the top of Pilot
Hill, and returns. The course is smooth rock, cracked rock, rough rock,
rough cracked rock (starting to pick up a theme here?) large loose rocks,
small rocks and mixtures of different types of rocks connected by dirt. The
course is a 4-wheel drive (your vehicle, not mine though) road/trail through
fields of wildflowers, sagebrush, and a few pine trees. Most of it is
runable but 10% is very slow going (walk!) due to the rocks. No “steep”
sections but always up.
The course does cross private property at one point. A good idea, the race
director added a Thank You card at the finish line to be signed by the
runners to be sent to the owners.
There were 5 water/Gatorade stops, evenly spaced. 7:30 AM start was fine in
theory but with the sun coming up at 5:20AM, the temperature was HOT by the
time the race started. I drank 3 water bottles, one All Sport bottle, and
several cups of water at each stop and was still dehydrated. Several small
canyons, out of the wind, were brutally hot.
The course is nearly 100% open. This translates to awesome views of the
Laramie Valley and NO shade.
I couldn’t find anyone who knew for sure what the winning times were. It
was not me. I came in at 2:47. Lost 3 minutes over last year’s time. Due
to the heat, I feel.
RD, Beverly Alexander and her crew do a great job on this race. Nice
T-shirt and a finisher medal. Enthusiastic crews at the water stops.
The same crew also does an 11 mile Jelm Mtn run on 15 Sep. It’s an up and
back, starts at 7600’, 5.5 miles up to 9656’ and back on “unimproved” road.
Starts 27 miles SW of Laramie, near Wood’s Landing. I have more entry info
if it can’t be found on the web.
Distance: 15k/30k
Weather: 75 deg, sunny, light breeze.
Since Lynn and I had a climbing practice session we had to attend in
Rocky Mtn National Park on Saturday, we stayed overnight at her sister's
in Loveland, and jumped into the Horsetooth Mountain Trail Run Sunday
morning.
I completed 60 miles, 18.5 hours.
The goal was to complete 100 miles in the 24 hours...but it did not happen.
Pacing through the first 20 miles, right on target.
I was rested and prepared.
Transition preparation was also improved as I had pre-filled bottles with
fueling/hydration mix, in an ice chest.
As near as I can figure, I simply got beat by the heat.
It warmed up to the 90's, after the first 20 miles. I suffered from both
dehydration and symptoms of heat prostration.
I probably should have pounded down additional H2O, and soaked in an ice
bath, but by the time I figured that out it was too late. I had already
lost too much time, and my body just had enough at the end of mile 60.
Old Dominion was going to be my most challenging race, with the most rise in
elevation I have done to date. Friday afternoon had brought some rain
showers, which worried me a little as I didn't have a spare pair of shoes
and that could make for a long race. The temperature 04:00 am was perfect
(+/- 65 degrees) and it was dry with clear skies at start of the race. I
used a pace chart to help me get thru the race but there is a problem with
using a pace chart and that is fatigue and night running is not factored in.
Still relatively new in the Ultra vortex I'm still trying to figure out what
is my running style. In the Ultra world "the race doesn't really begin till
the 60/65 mile". I felt like I was running pretty good despite the first
five or six aid station not having anything but goldfish, chocolate chip
cookies succeed and water. In fact I had lost about seven pounds by the
first weigh station at 34.2 mi. and still a little ahead of my pace by about
a .5 hr to 40 min. And as I had thought I had lost sometime when crossing
over Sherman Gap and Veach but after that did quite well after Woodstock
Tower. It was downhill from there. I finished 31st of 70 finishers with a
time of 23:32:00.
General Goal: Beat my PR (3:21), place better than fifth (my place last
year)
Well, I guess I need to submit a report to get a star for the day.
As I mentioned last week, the Governor's Cup in Helena Montana
went very well. 3:28 and 30 minutes faster than the previous week. This
run was also not quite in the Boston league but compared to WY the week
prior, it looked pretty darn good. This is another race where you race
directors ought to feel good about your events.
Entry Fee - $35
Link - http://www.govcup.bcbsmt.com/
Course - Point-to-point. Semi-mapped. Start in the ghost town of
Marysville at 5400 feet and finish in Helena at 4400. First 6 miles were
downhill dirt. (paved within the next few years though.) Hills at miles
13-16. Also a climb 25-26.
Expo - Very Wyoming-like...non-existent. I was handed my race number and my
choice of one Gatorade bar.
Medal - Average.
T-Shirt - Two shirts. (One pretty average, one pretty neat)
Crowds - On the 1 - 10 scale...1. (On the Wyoming 1-10 scale...10!)
GU Stops - 3 (BTW, I am now a total convert from Power Gel to GU.)
Start temp - Cool and overcast. Decent tailwind for about half the run.
Heated up 22-26.
Overall impression - Very respectable small event. The fast ICer's could
walk away with some hardware. (A nice piece of glass actually.)
This was my second year doing Squaw Peak. I don't know which time was
better; the first time when I didn't know what I was getting myself into, or
the second time, where I was more familiar with the course, but knew what
lie ahead. The Squaw Peak 50 mile trail run is the third most difficult 50
miler in the country. There is about 10,000 ft. in elevation +/-, and alot
of it is in backcountry. Although there are aid stations, and drop bags,
the course is rocky and steep, so going six or seven miles for slow , creaky
duffers like myself would sometimes take me over two hours, so its a course
where you really want to know what you are doing, because you can be out
there alone for a long time. Anyway, the course is beautiful. If you like to
be surrounded by snow capped mountains, flower covered meadows, teaming
with wild life, and very little signs of civilization on much of the course,
then this is the trail run for you. It is well organized, and the pre-race
meeting was alot of fun. The race director had excellent sponsors, and had
all sorts of really cool drawings for stuff runners really could use.
My first back-to-back experiment of the year turned out very well. Better
than expected in fact. On one-third of normal training, I have to admit I
was a bit intimidated by two marathons six days apart. The first run on
Sunday was the Wyoming Marathon. Comparing it to my previous run (Boston)
it was definitely the anti-Boston. Sad, sad, sad event...but I do give the
few folks that put it together credit for what they do accomplish. They
definitely win the prize for most accurate race motto. ("The Wyoming
Marathon...where the race director promises you nothing...and he delivers.")
Entry Fee - $35
Course - Who really knows?? Technology and Wyoming courses have not been
introduced yet. Out and back course. I'm going with a start at 8600 feet
down to 7800 feet and then back again. About 3500 vertical feet along the
way. Dirt trail with about 5 miles or so of frontage road asphalt.
Expo - Yeah right.
Medal - Pretty slick... not bad at all really.
T-Shirt - Average.
Crowds - On the 1 - 10 scale...ZERO. Not sure I hear heard or saw a single
spectator. Two of the three "aid" stations were manned by one person. The
other had a gaggle of three I believe. If crowds turn you off, then this is
the race for you.
Famous encounters - Just a few Incline Clubbers. :)
Start temp - Cool and overcast. Really lucked out with the WX. Got a
little windy coming home though. Temperature dropped drastically right
after I finished. (They've had everything from snow to 90 degrees before on
race day.)
Overall impression - Hmmm...unless you're attempting the 50 States...I can't
think of any real compelling reason to run this.
Wyoming didn't have a marathon until some "fifty stater's", those strange
fanatics not satisfied to simply run a marathon, but who insist on running a
marathon in each of the fifty states, talked the organizers of a fifty miler
near Cheyenne into also adding the standard marathon distance to their race.
Being just a three hour drive for me it was easy to incorporate it into
Laila and my marathon schedule for this year. Conveniently, the "Rocky
Mountain Marathon" is also a race in the Skyracing circuit of mountain trail
racing.
Steve: 24 marathon states, 3 provinces; 32 state high points
Laila: 20 marathon states, 1 province; 15 state high points
Half marathon report
The trip materialized when Dave Mackey and I were
talking after the Collegiate Peaks race. We thought
that it would be fun to rock climb in Vedauwoo on
Saturday and run the half marathon on Sunday. Over
the next few weeks we confirmed this plan.
Fairly disorganized. Didn't have many volunteers.
Ran out of Gatorade at the aid stations. No prizes for
first, second, or third. Nice finisher metals though.
5% paved road (marathon only) was more like 30%.
Elevation drop/loss didn't seem as significant as
portrayed. Definitely should NOT be in the Skyrunning
race circuit.
Neal's version: We were there, we ran, we finished, and we are done(Man of
many words)
Laila and I ran the Vancouver International Marathon on May 6th. We met at
Sea-Tac Airport the evening of May 5th, picked up a rental car and drove to
our reserved hotel room in Vancouver, arriving after midnight. The race was
to start at 7 A.M. the next morning. Fortunately we had friends running the
race who picked up our race packets and left them conveniently for us at our
hotel. Not so pleasant was the "smoking" room we had been given. With no
other rooms available we truly suffered that first night... Even the pillows
reeked of smoke. Travelodge moves down in our ratings--we won't be using
them in the future...
CONDITIONS: Pretty close to perfect. It was around 45 degrees at the start
and remained around 50 degrees for the race. It was sunny with some wind,
stronger on some sections of the course.
The 105th running of the Boston Marathon...Awesome event! In terms of
organization...hardly any better. But then they've had 105 years to get it
right. (Only 100 years longer than your event Col Hazen) The experience
was great--even better than the first time despite my time being slower.
But with four weeks of PT on the knee and no training for six weeks (a grand
total of 28 miles), I was just thrilled to toe the line. I'll take my 3:45
and be happy. Couldn't have picked a better run to celebrate my 25th
marathon.
Entry Fee - $75
Course - A net 450 foot drop, but of course you have over 200 feet gain
along the way, mostly in the Newton neighborhood. Most of the route is very
scenic.
Goodie Bag - Pretty decent...nothing too special though.
Expo - Fantastic! I recouped half my entry fee in energy bars I think. Of
course buying all the "official" Boston gear will require a second mortgage,
but hey...it's Boston; expect to be gauged.
Medal - Standard Boston Medal with the year change.
T-Shirt - Great long sleeve T.
Super Neat Hi Tech Thing - Your running chip was tied to the internet (and
your cell phone if you registered your phone) to give updates every 5K on
whatever runner you wanted to track.
Crowds - TOUGH to beat!! (Maybe Chicago and London are a not too distant
second.) Great volunteers!
Start temp - Sunny and warm noon start. Cooled down after about two hours
though.
Overall impression - AWESOME!! If marathons are your distance...you've got
to do it! If marathons aren't your distance...why's that?? :)
Boston Maraton - Beantown, MA
Training at altitude does help!
Boston Maraton - Beantown, MA
First things first, thanks to all your ICers who helped out with my 'run for
a cause'. Donations are still trickling in, but because of you guys and
other folks in the community, over $4,000 was raised to send kids in Pueblo
to a Young Life camp this summer, far exceeding my goal of $100/mile or
$2,600. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Incredible crowds, decent weather, fantastic organization and goody bags by
the B.A.A., very cool chip-timing technology, competitors ranging from
not-so-serious (hula dancers and easter bunnies) to the world's great
contenders in the Marathon. What more can you ask from 26.2 miles of
asphalt?
Strategy:
Initially I thought I could beat my PR of 3:21 (aah, pre-race optimism) if
things went well on race day. This was based on a 'predictor' based on my
5k time at the St. Patty's Day Run (20:29). In the interim, however, I came
down with 'the crud' (about 10 days before the race) which wreaked havoc on
my lungs and training. I did taper well so I was not sure how things would
turn out. All told, my plan was to keep a consistent pace and bolt for a PR
at the end IF I had the energy. I w as probably feeling overconfident
about running up a hill the size of Heartbreak when we train on the Peak all
year round...forgetting it's a PAVED hill after a LOT of miles on your feet
already. My legs were slowing after the hills so I opted against a push for
a PR (okay I'll be honest I probably wouldn't have made a PR anyways), took
in the crowds and camaraderie, and hopefully saved my legs for summer races.
I finished (chip time) in 3:23 and change.
Keith G had advised that I write my name somewhere on my shirt, bib, etc. so
folks could cheer me on by name. Although pessimistic that the name
"CONNILEE" would be a big hit, I was dumb enough to let someone write my
name on my leg - you never know, right? It's not like I have an easy name
like Bob or Cindy that people can see and pronounce and really shout out. No
I have a name like Connilee....only TWO people the entire race even
attempted it....one even almost got it right. Oh well...if I ever run again
I am going in cognito as 'Jane' or 'Fred' or something easy to say and
shout! I did run with three Easter Bunnies and a Hula Dancer. Apparently the
rule at Boston and some of the other big road races, especially the closer
you are to the back of the pack, is to dress crazy and get encouragement to
push you and your 10 pound costume to the finish line. (Perhaps those of you
with lots of experience at mid or back of pack already know this but this
was a completely new concept to me!!)
The chip time thing is pretty cool. For those who have never experienced
chip timing before (like me) and have only seen folks scribbling down bib
numbers and split times (like my hubby and others at BMTR last year), chip
technology is an amazing thing. The chip is strapped onto your shoe and at
each checkpoint (at Boston it was each 5k, I believe), you cross over mats
that sense your chip and transmit your bib number and time across cyberspace
almost instantly. I think a lot of folks missed a LOT of work on Monday as
they were able to give me a play by play of my entire run. :) The only
frustrating part to this is that the BAA still reports your 'official' time
as the one that includes the 3, 5, 10 minutes it takes you to get to the
starting line once the gun goes off. That's a bummer.
Advice (aside from taking the pavement and Heartbreak Hill seriously) is on
pre-race and race logistics...bring a blanket, lots of water, and warm
clothes to the athlete's village (you are there for 3 or 4 hours before the
race and will be glad to be warm and comfortable no matter what the
weather ). They provide food and water at the village (along with
entertainment) but I found it hard to get hydrated enough using their little
water cups. I was glad I'd brought 32 oz of water in my bag. However, I
would bring more water next time - I was hydrated sufficiently for a race
that starts in the morning, but this one does not start until noon and I had
probably not taken in enough water by the time it started. More importantly
than your comfort level pre-race of course, is to be sure you are prepared
during the race. Be sure to pack race clothing for any kind of weather as it
can change in the period of time from when you leave your hotel to when you
are actually at the start line. The morning of this year's race was cool
with an anticipated high in the 40's. The temp actually soared into the
mid-50's. With the humidity making it feel even warmer, I was comfortable
in a light t-shirt, shorts, and gloves that I could take on and off as
needed. They provide Gatorade and water at 24 aid stations along the race
route. I tend to need a lot of hydration and slowed/stopped at nearly ever
station. The stations are staggered with one on each side of the road at
about every mile. The first couple of stations I wasted a lot of energy
crossing the road to get to the water instead of waiting to get to the
station on my side of the road. The aid stations were literally ON the
course, and I found it challenging to stop or slow down to slurp down the
fluids without getting in the way of folks who were still running. The only
official 'food' is a PowerGel stop at Mile 17. Folks watching the race bring
everything from orange slices to jelly beans if you really need some
refreshment but my advice is bring whatever you normally bring to energize
during a race. For me that was 3 PowerGels and Ibuprofen. The leg turnover
of 'flatter' land and hardness of the asphalt take some getting used to if
you usually run on trails. I am glad I spent some time training on the
roads and flat land before this race. If I were to run it again, I would
add some tempo work or body speeds in at the end of my long runs to get more
accustomed to pushing at the end.
Well, here is the race report from db (dutch boy) in db&dg-land. Since it
is an overseas report I thought it would be appropriate to write it in the
hosting country's language, db-talk, no rule in the unwritten
incline-rulebook talks about the language. Plus, who really reads these
anyhow??? I'll tell you a few things: People smell different here... They
have racers and runners. You can only get where the racers are by having a
license... guess what, get a license (don't know how...) or be stuck behind
big mammas in tights for about 10 min on the narrow roads! Oh, I forgot to
tell that the sequence at the start is not determined by (predicted) time.
According to the smell I had for 10 min, it seemed like the worst smelling
people were all in the front at the start! This is the run to prepare for
the Rotterdam marathon (which is the fastest course in the world?). Top 5
were 4 Kenyans (1:05-ish) and a db 3rd (I think he was the db in the olympic
marathon but I am not sure).
Well, here is another race disaster, I mean report, for another attempted
100 miler I tried on April 7th and 8th, in Raliegh, NC. I have to say, I
hope persistence pays off, because my next 100 miler,(in October) ought to
be spectacular! But keeping with the report, the Umstead 100, in Raleigh
was well organized, and the volunteers were great. They really seemed to
care about you, and boy, did they feed you. As I sat down, working on my
second plate of spaghetti and meatballs, they brought out two huge homemade
cakes. Not wanting to offend the cooks, I was obligated to have some. So I
was really glad to have a 100 miler to look forward to. Everything started
out great, although it was quite humid. N.C. was beautiful, with all the
dogwoods and redbuds blooming all around us. It was the humidity that was
to later do me in, along with 92 degree heat. I have to confess, coming
from the Rockies and running in high altitude maybe made me think I was a
bit invincible. Boy, was I wrong. Personally, I'll take altitude over
humidity anyday. Anyway, the combination of heat and humidity had an
adverse affect on my stomach, and at miles 50 I was unable to keep anything
down-nothing! And Carol S. of the IC club was there to witness all the fun.
I'll leave out all the lovely details, but somehow I found it in me to keep
going, at a pace that was later to prove to be too slow. However, I know
that without Carol S. babysitting, I mean pacing me, I wouldn't have made it
the eighty miles that I did go. Later I learned that the race had one of
the lowest finish rates ever this year, but that only made me feel worse,
because it's good to see as many happy, exhausted finishers at the end of a
race as possible. On the brighter side, I made some new friends, and met
some really talented, interesting, obsessive-compulsive people. Based on my
limited experience, I would have to say that the Umstead 100 would be a good
first time 100 miler, if the weather cooperates,(normally they said it was
45-75 degrees in April in Raliegh).
Here is my race report for the Golden Gate Marathon which was held April 7th
in the Marin Headlands at the north end of the Golden Gate Bridge, San
Francisco, CA.
Halfway split: 1:49 which means 2:27 on the home half (ouch)
As mentioned the last time we met, I was going to run the Moab Half
Marathon. It is a neat race, interesting scenery running through a canyon
along the Colorado river. Terrain kind of rolling with a net loss of about
50 feet. Sometimes you get backed by the sun only to get chilled again in
the shade.
Hmmm...In a word...WET! Lots of great things about this run, but the
weather this Sunday was not one of them. Out of 24 marathons...the worst
weather by far. It rained the entire way, but at least we had a 20 mile an
hour headwind bearing down on us most of the way. Oh...and we had the cold
going for us too. It started off great...that is to say the pasta dinner
the night before. It was the BEST pre-race pasta event I ever experienced.
Great (almost gourmet) eats along with wine (of course) and some really
great speakers that night. (Dick Beardsley, Joe Henderson, and some English
guy who ran a sub 3:00 marathon on only his second attempt. At age 61! And
he sang a little Pavarotti for us.) Rich Benyo (race director) did a great
job at putting it all together.
Course - Net 300 foot drop, but fairly hilly along the way. Very scenic and
probably even more so with a little sunshine.
Goodie Bag - Average contents, but the bag itself was pretty hi-speed.
Expo - Not held this year due to Marriott renovations.
Medal - Sorta gay. (but given it’s locale...sorta expected??)
T-Shirt - Sorta like the medal. But long-sleeve gay.
Crowds - A rare sight, but given the weather, anyone who should up along the
way was much appreciated. Great volunteers.
Start temp - Cold, wet and windy. But then it got worse. :)
Overall impression - Very well organized. Water is only every 2.5 miles. Two GU stops. Good event.
Well, I missed running with you guys this past Sunday. But I made the most
of it as I was in L.A. for the XVI L.A. Marathon on Sunday 3/04/01. So, I
took advantage of the opportunity and participated in the Marathon, as it
was certainly one way to get my long run in for the weekend. I finished in
4:45, and was happy about it as this really was a ‘training’ run for me.
Here’s my “official” splits:
10K SPLIT HALF 30K SPLIT
1:02:18 2:16:01 3:23:26
Here’s the stats on my run, based on the number of finishers.
Age Group (45-49) = place 88/566, top ~15%.
Overall Female = place 1243/5860, top 21%.
Overall Finishers (men and women) = place 5696/15026, top 35%.