Return to the “R” Reports Page
Barcelona Marathon — Barcelona, Spain — March 4, 2007
Old Pueblo 50 mile Endurance run — Soniota, AZ — March 3, 2007
Bi-Lo Myrtle Beach Marathon — Myrtle Beach, South Carolina — February 17, 2007
New World Snowshoe Championship — Oak Forest Center, (between Luck and Frederic, Wisconsin). — February 10, 2007
Rocky Raccoon 100 — Huntsville State Park TX — February 3 & 4 - 2 reports
Tonto Fun Run — Cave Creek, AZ — January 28, 2007
35th Annual Houston-Chevron Marathon — Houston, Texas — January 14, 2007
P.F. Chang’s Rock ‘n’ Roll Arizona Marathon — Phoenix — January 14, 2007
Christianson Trail Race — Phoenix, AZ - January 7, 2007
Holualoa Tucson Marathon — Tucson, AZ — December 10, 2006
1st Annual City of Angels Half Marathon — Los Angeles, CA — Dec. 3, 2006
Carlsbad 1/2 Marathon — Carlsbad, Ca — January 21, 2007
P.F. Chang’s Rock’n’Roll Arizona Marathon — Phoenix, AZ — January 14, 2007
Calico 50km — Calico, CA — January 14, 2007
Bandera 100k — Hill Country State Park, Texas — January 13, 2007
Avalon 50 mile — Avalon, CA Catalina Island — January 13, 2007
Trail Dawgs Phunt run — Fair Hill, Maryland — January 6, 2007
Otter Creek Trail Marathon — Brandenburg, Kentucky — December 10, 2006
Sunmart 50 mile ultramarathon — Huntsville State Park TX — December 9, 2006
California International Marathon — Sacramento, CA — December 3, 2006
Tecumseh Trail Marathon — Bloomington, Indiana — December 2, 2006
Pueblo Rock Canyon Half Marathon — Pueblo, CO — December 2, 2006
Return to the “R” Reports Page
Barcelona Marathon — Barcelona, Spain — March 4th, 2007
Steve Bremner reports:
Distance: 26.2 miles
Goal: under 3
Results: 3:01
Website: http://www.barcelonamarato.es/eng/index.html
General Summary:
Marathon number 82, ninth country.
Things Done Right:
Ran well within myself early on and throughout the race. Never pushed.
Things Done Wrong:
Didn’t run fast enough.
Any Other Stuff:
The course goes through the fabulous city of Barcelona, past sights such as Gaudi’s famous “La Perdrera,” Casa Batllo, and the cathedral Sangrada Familia.
The joy of a wonderful nine days in Barcelona was extinguished on my return when I learned that my companion and best friend, Sam the Wolfdog died while I was gone. Noble friend, he lived a full life. I will take his ashes to the top of the two 14ers he never made it to the top of and scatter them. In that way he will have been to the top of all 54 14ers of this state.
Old Pueblo 50 mile Endurance run — Soniota, AZ — 03/03/2007
Anita Bower reports:
Distance: 51 miles
Goal: PR
Results: PR by nearly 2 hours 10:48:29
Website: http://www.oldpueblo50.com
General Summary:
The average grade of this course held in the Santa Rita Mountains is 6%, with the last half being harder. There is 7000 ft. of climbing, and 7000 feet of descending. A very good early season training run for those wishing to complete other insane goals, such as Leadville, Western States, or Badwater. Watching the full moon rise on the way home over the desert landscape was spectacular!
Things Done Right:
Lots of Little Debbies, coconut bars, caffeine pills, and cookies helped me take off nearly two hours from last years race without any tapering. Made new friends.
Things Done Wrong:
There are always things to reflect back on and see that you could have done better. I bonked pretty bad between miles 40-46.
Any Other Stuff:
Very well marked course, very well stocked aid stations throughout this moderately tough race. Both RD’s are ultrarunners, and it shows in how well supported this race is. The finisher’s buckle is very nice as well.
Bi-Lo Myrtle Beach Marathon — Myrtle Beach, South Carolina — Feb 17, 2007
Andy Dillon reports:
Distance: 26.2 miles
Goal: 4 hours
Results: 4:29:09
Website: http://www.mbmarathon.com
General Summary:
Nice race, flat, sea level, cool temperatures... should have been a PR race I guess! We made a week’s vacation out of it, and had a good time apart from problems with delayed and cancelled flights :-(
Things Done Right:
managed to get some long, steady runs in (a 16, 18, 20 and a 21) but they were slogs through deep snow and VERY slow! I was so under-prepared I tried Jeff Galloway’s wimps training method of running 8 minutes then walking 1 minute. I’m not sure if it helped or not — the race didn’t go very well for me but it may have gone even worse if I hadn’t tried this method! But I figured that if I can run a marathon in February it will set me up for the summer races so it was a success in that regard!
Things Done Wrong:
Not enough training — the usual problem! Dark mornings and nights, too busy, tons of snow ... you know the story! But you’ve got to just do what you can and get on with it!
Comments on Calculator:
I must have looked like I was running the 16 golden stairs during the last mile — I was going that slow! So maybe the calculator would have worked :-)
Any Other Stuff:
You forget how tough it is running on roads when you have nice (snow covered) trails to train on. Legs felt like lead towards the end! Some poor folks have to train on roads all the time so it reminded me how lucky we Coloradoans are ...
Free beer at the end — instant recovery and HIGHLY recommended! I’m not sure it would be a good idea after Pikes Peak, but at sea level on a cool day it worked wonders!
Curt Krieger reports:
Distance: 10K is the national qualifier (5K and 20K distances also available)
Goal: Qualify for nationals: shoot for around an hour minutes
Results: 13th overall and 5th in age group
Website: http://www.luckrunningclub.com/
General Summary:
Lots of snow and very cold temperatures. A very challenging course due to “sugar” snow and lots of twists and turns. Some short hills. There was a good number of participants this year because Nationals are to be in Minnesota.
http://www.snowshoemagazine.com/view_content.cfm?content_id=316
Things Done Right:
Stayed within my current abilities rather than try to run where I have in the past. Used the race to help become qualified for Nationals but still approached as a training opportunity.
Things Done Wrong:
Raced after less than ideal preparation. I had been recovering from knee pain (bilateral patellofemoral misalignment syndrome!) through late fall and until the snow started falling in mid-January.
Any Other Stuff:
Snowshoe races are a BLAST! I really enjoy the competition and effort as well as the camaraderie following the event.
Embroidered sweatshirt.
Chili lunch and snacks (really great chili).
Door prizes.
Rocky Raccoon 100 — Huntsville State Park TX — Feb 3 & 4
Anton Krupicka reports:
Distance: 100 miles
Goal: Win, Break the course record (13:16)
Results: 1st, 13:32:20
Website: http://www.tejastrails.com/rocky.html
General Summary:
The idea of doing the Rocky Raccoon 100 didn’t occur to me until barely two weeks before the race. However, after a weekend that consisted of a 7:46 run on Saturday followed by a 5:02 run on Sunday, I decided I was in shape to finish a 100 miler two weeks later. However, my late-breaking decision to enter meant that I’d done no training specific to the flat and fast nature of the Huntsville State Park trails (i.e., no speedwork). My interest in Rocky was piqued by the ranking of Jorge Pacheco’s 13:16:56 there last year as being the year’s number three ultrarunning performance, so I went into the race with the clear goal of bettering Eric Clifton’s ten years old 13:16:02 course record. Finally, when a friend offered to share a free hotel room and rental car, I figured I had no real reason to not run the race. Besides, I was sick and tired of all the snow and cold here on the Front Range.
After my now customary four bagels with peanut butter and honey the night before and a Powerbar about an hour before the start, I was ready to get going. Rocky Raccoon is five laps of a 20 mile loop that contains two out and backs as it roughly circumnavigates Raven Lake. The course is primarily on soft, snaking, single-track trails through thick forest. There are also extensive sections of double-track jeep road and some boardwalk that crosses a swampy section. The climbing is minimal---this course is probably the best example of “gently rolling” that I’ve come across. The roots were talked about a lot, but I didn’t think they were nearly as bad as everyone made them out to be; maybe I’m just used to rougher trails. The very thick forest shut out almost all direct sunshine (a plus), and there were supposed to be alligators in the park-unfortunately, I didn’t see any. Altogether, it was a very enjoyable running environment. The weather would be basically perfect for running all
day long (just below freezing on the first loop, in the 40s and 50s for the rest).
The race started at 6:00am at Raven Lodge on Raven Lake. Going into the race I knew that Jorge Pacheco (had won it the past two years) and Akos Konya (almost beat Scott Jurek at Badwater this year) were both very legit competitors, so they were my main concern.
I spent the night before the race at the Super 8 in Huntsville with two Virginia Beachians, John Price (Pizzy) and Jenn Shelton, so I slept q uite well and we made it to the start with plenty of time for milling around, worrying about drop bags, and making several trips to the Port-a-potties.
At the start, some guy took off right away and Jorge, Akos, and I tucked in behind him for the first mile or so. It was dark despite the full moon because the forest was so thick, and Jenn had convinced me that we didn’t need to carry any lights, but she was wrong. Even in the first mile or so I felt like I was pushing way faster than I would have if Jorge weren’t right in front of me, and then when we ducked into the woods onto the first section of rooty, muddy singletrack trail Jorge quickly gapped me and I stuck back with Akos so that I could glom off his light. I was definitely still quite uncomfortable with how fast we were moving, but I didn’t want to let Jorge get too far ahead and I didn’t want to let Akos drop me because I needed his light.
At about the 2.5 mile mark of the loop we popped out onto the jeep road for the first out and back section. When we got there I was relieved to find that we could still see Jorge’s light bobbing away in the distance, but just barely. However, he was far enough away that I stopped caring about keeping him in sight and concentrated on just running with Akos. The jeep double-track road was slightly rolling and very untechnical, so we were flying on this section and I was getting more and more despondent because it felt to me like I was racing a marathon, not a 100 miler-I can almost guarantee that we broke 7 minutes for a couple of the miles in there.
We hit the first aid station (I had four gels with me and a bottle in my hand, so I didn’t stop at any of the stations the first loop) and then turned around and started running back, now into all the lights of the oncoming runners. Jenn whooped at me on the way back-she was in the top 10 overall running with a pack of dudes looking like she was having the time of her life-but I just sort of growled at her; I’m not joking at all when I say that the thought of dropping had already crossed my mind more than once, which is totally stupid, but it was just the way I was feeling. The thing I like about 100 milers is being able to have a lot of fun and be totally relaxed for a solid 6-7 hours before I start racing and here I was racing away right from the start. It really pissed me off.
Anyways, Akos and I really started pushing it on the way back up the road until we finally hopped onto some more singletrack where he let me take the lead and I continued to use his light, but the sun was starting to come up and things were getting brighter. Akos fell two or three times in this short section of trail which I thought was funny-he was clearly a terrible technical runner. Incidentally, I never even stubbed my toe-let alone fell-the entire 100 miles. For all its reputation of being full of roots, I thought that the trail was great.
Pretty soon we came to the second aid station at about the 7 mile mark where you make a hard right turn (we were on a somewhat sandy, jeep-type road again) and begin the second out-and-back section of the loop. After a little bit we crossed a wooden bridge (with a steep ramp up to it that would kind of suck later in the race) that dumps you out onto another nice section of rolling trail. This was probably the “hilliest” part of the whole loop. I’d been needing to pee for a long time, so I stopped and ended up losing 45 seconds to Akos-I REALLY need to train myself to pee on the fly! So, from there I was running with some pretty irrational desperation to catch back up. I could see he wasn’t that far ahead, but I really wanted to get up there again.
Before long, though, Jorge was coming back at me followed by Akos, and moments later I’d hit the turnaround Farside aid station (10 miles) and was in hot pursuit. I saw that I was only about 40 seconds behind Jorge and Akos was right behind him and before I knew it I’d caught up to both of them and the three of us ran as a pack back into the Dam Road aid station (13 miles-I distinctly remember seeing 1:31 on my watch here, so, a raging 7 minute pace for that first 13 miles) at the end of the out and back. Once we’d all caught up to each other the pace slowed considerably, and when we dropped down into the short dam loop Jorge let me take the lead and I ran as easily and slowly as possible because I wanted to do as much as I could to recover from our stupidly fast first 12 miles or so.
The rest of the first loop was quite pleasant. The bridges through the swamp were frosty so I was careful not to slip, and the lakeside trail leading up to the site174 aid station were pretty sloppy and boggy, but it was all at a much more relaxed and comfortable pace. Both Akos and Jorge stopped briefly at the 174 station (17 miles) so I just ran easily on the trail leading up the hill out of it and then pulled over to pee again and lost another 30 seconds or so. It was much easier to catch back up this time, though, and the three of us ran back into the start all together in about 2:27 for the first 20 mile loop. Coming into the Lodge, Jorge said, “Wow, under 2:30, not bad for the first loop, hunh?” and I was thinking, “Yeah, no crap, thanks to your antics.” But, I’m just as much at fault for going out way too fast-nobody was making me stick with Jorge and Akos. Either way, I was not happy with how fast we’d been going.
My first transition at the Lodge was a bit awkward. Jenn had hooked up a crew member for us on-line (Meredith) but we’d never met so I didn’t know what she looked like. But, she ended up doing great after the first loop-I was still frustrated, though, as I just stood there stuffing gels in my pockets while Jorge’s impeccable crew already had him running back up the trail. Between peeing and lack of crew I lost at least 4-5 minutes in the race, but what can you do? Akos spent a long time in the station because he was shedding all his clothes (it was below freezing the first loop-I had a thick patch of ice in my beard), but I took off and caught back up to Jorge within a half-mile or so.
We ran much easier on this loop. Jorge seemed to have a tendency to really want to pick it up on the road out and back to the first aid station, but other than that I was much much much more relaxed and confident. Akos eventually caught up to us, but we all just ran very nice and easy together and I was finally really enjoying the race. Then, on the second out and back, after the Dam Road station, Jorge let me into the lead on the trail and without picking up the pace or trying at all I slowly pulled away from him and Akos. I was astonished this was happening because I felt like I was running as easily as possible, but I decided to just go with it and fully expected them to catch back up whenever they wanted. At the Farside turnaround (30 miles) I saw, much to my surprise, that I had about a 40 second lead on Jorge and a 1:30 or so on Akos. I continued to run as relaxed as I could, but knew that on the upcoming trail sections I would probably put even more time on them because they both seemed a lot more un
comfortable on the trails than me.
The rest of the second loop I just concentrated on running as relaxed as possible, but it was undeniable that I was already feeling the fast start. Somewhere around 35 miles or so, the 50 mile leader (Patrick Russell) passed me on his second loop and he said that I was putting some good distance on them, but I remember thinking that it would have been tough for me to pick it up and run his pace.not a particularly comforting thought when you’re only about 1/3 of the way done with the race.
Anyways, I ran into the end of the loop in 4:57ish for 40 miles (still a very quick 2:30 lap) and felt a lot better when I was around the energy of the start/finish area. Meredith and I were much smoother this time-she had a new bottle already filled with Gatorade for me and the whole thing went a lot quicker. I dropped my gloves and long-sleeve and was in and out in definitely less than a minute. On my way back out I was much heartened to see that I had a 6 minute lead on Jorge and about 8 minutes on Akos. Even so, all three of us were well under the course record split of 5:08.
Starting the third loop, I was definitely tired, and for some reason I let myself think of the fact that I still had 60 miles to go (which is a terrible thing to do during a 100), but I tried to push that out of my mind and just run as smoothly as possible on the out and back to the first aid station. I saw here again that my lead was continuing to grow, but I really didn’t feel that good. It helped a lot to see Jenn out there whooping and smiling away, and she was still only about 25-30 minutes behind me (she told me later that she hit 40 miles in 5:22, actually picking it up to a 2:40 after her 2:42 first lap) and running very strongly in the top five overall.
I was still taking gels every 30 minutes, but on this loop I started drinking a lot more. Then, I began to feel WAY better when I hopped on the trail over to the Dam Road station-for whatever reason (I think it has to do with varying the muscles that are being used) I always feel a lot better on trails; this was the case at Leadville, too. I stopped to refill my nearly empty bottle at the Dam Road station (very short stop, less than 10 seconds) and then took off on the out and back. The trail over to the Farside aid station was getting pretty crowded with all sorts of runners but I enjoyed it because there was a lot of positive energy and encouragement and I made it to the turnaround (approximately 50 miles) in 6:14-15ish, which would’ve placed me second overall in the 50 mile race. I was pretty mentally relieved to get to the half-way point, but just continued to focus my energies on doing what I could to get to the end of the 3rd loop as efficiently as possible.
My meeting with Meredith back at the lodge was very smooth and I chomped on a Powerbar as I started the 4th loop because I was getting really hungry. I was again surprised to see that I had split about a 2:38 for that loop, giving me a 60 mile time of 7:36 or so. This meant I was still running sub-8 pace and that my cumulative min/mile average was actually a lot closer to 7:30s.about 7:36/mile. None of that was very comforting, though, because I didn’t care at all about trying to maintain it. After only 60 miles I was merely interested in finishing; I thought way more than I should have about what kind of time I could finish with if I walked the last 30-40 miles. Seriously, the main thing that kept me running was the simple fact that I would be finished A LOT sooner than if I walked the whole way. Plus, it would just be plain embarrassing to have started that fast and not finish-especially with Jenn having such a good race behind me. On the run back out to the interpretive center turn-off I saw that my l
ead over Jorge had continued to grow and was now 14 minutes.
I took it very easy on the run out to the first aid station. I actually stopped and walked while I peed before I started the first out and back. Things didn’t seem to be looking up. I hated the evenness of that jeep road and stopped caring at all about pushing the pace. Right before the Highway turnaround I lapped Pizzy, and it seemed like I was barely running any quicker than he was (granted, I was 20 miles ahead of him, but still). I stopped very quickly to refill my bottle at this station (only 4 miles or so into the loop.I’d drained my bottle before the end of the 3rd loop, so I was thirsty). Worse yet, it seemed that my lead over Jorge had actually shrunk to 12 minutes! He had picked up a pacer at the beginning of the lap and I was bitter that I didn’t have anyone to pace me. I was confident he wouldn’t be able to catch me once we got back on the trails, though.
The rest of the run over to Farside was pretty uneventful. I saw that my pace had slipped to the 8:45-50 range, but I didn’t care at all. Also, Jorge hadn’t gained anymore time on me, and he was starting to look pretty rough himself. Despite all this, people were still telling me that I was looking great, which was comforting but I just assumed they were blatantly lying. The rest of the loop was pretty uneventful as I continued to chug along at what felt like a crawling pace. I just hoped that some sort of adrenaline connected with finishing would get me through the last loop.
I came into the lodge at 80 miles in 10:32 or so, for a laggardly 2:56 lap. However, I picked up a pacer-Pete from Austin, TX-and we got right back out there with a longsleeve, a Powerbar, and a flashlight. Pete helped me a lot to stay positive, as did the fact that I made the turn-off at the interpretive center without even seeing Jorge! This meant that I had over a 2 mile lead and was a huge mental boost. We kept the pace fairly steady and now that the sun was going down and I was getting into “focus on the finish” mode I didn’t feel the need to drink or eat nearly as much. Pete’s company made the first out and back go by quickly and I was again very heartened to not see Jorge at all-I had at a least a 3 mile lead! I would find out later that he dropped at the first aid station on his 5th loop-only about 16 miles left in the race.
The last lap was very uneventful. Pete and I did a fair amount of joking and I just focused on keeping running. At the Farside aid station with 10 miles to go I had a 42 minute lead over Akos, so I no longer worried about getting caught. However, it was getting dark and we had to turn on our light as we entered the deep woods of the little Dam loop. The dark proved to be a lot more of a hindrance than I’d anticipated. The flashlight was plenty bright it seemed, but a lot of my trail running ability comes from anticipating what’s next in the trail and managing my literal momentum that way (knowing when to push, when to slack off, etc.) but these trails were so windy and it was so dark that this lack of this sort of anticipation killed my momentum. I was pretty much stuck at 9 minute pace until we made the turn onto the last mile and the trail widened up and smoothed out and I was able to pick it up pretty considerably for the final mile to the finish to cross the line at 13:32:20 for a 3:00 last lap
(my watch actually split a 2:59:50.hahaha).
Immediately after the race my quads were completely shot (I’d felt great at the finish in Leadville), but I attribute that to the fact that there was no walking in this race. Jenn ended up losing a lot of time on her last loop, too, but she hung on to finish strong in 14:57:18. She’d run her third loop in 2:53 to bring her to 8:15 for 60 miles, which means she went through the 100k in less than the USATF Selection standard of 8:40 for a road 100k...and then ran another 40 miles in 6:42 to finish only a little over 5 minutes behind Akos’ second place time of 14:51:54. Pretty impressive. On Sunday, Jenn and I went for a 30 minute “run” where we covered probably a max of 2 miles in mincing little steps, but I was definitely in a lot better condition than the day after Leadville when I could barely walk. Overall, it was a very well-organized and operated event.
Things Done Right:
Hmmmm. Well, I ran it. Stayed on top of fueling and hydration. Didn’t fall. Tapered A LOT the last 5 days before the race because my ankle was sore from all the ice and snow so that the ankle wasn’t an issue at all during the race. Didn’t wear socks--there was a lot of mud and water on the course.
Things Done Wrong:
Didn’t plan on doing the race until two weeks beforehand. So, didn’t do any speedwork, didn’t allow for enough of a build-up to be in good enough shape to give a top-notch effort (I only had about 5-6 weeks of good training in a row under my belt). Didn’t carry a flashlight on the first loop. Didn’t have a crew or pacers that I knew beforehand. Didn’t have the confidence or self-assurance to go out at a more reasonable pace that would’ve given me a legitimate shot at the course record. Didn’t clip my toenails the night before---as a result I got three black toenails despite the roomy La Sportiva Slingshot toeboxes.
Any Other Stuff:
Really, this is a great event. I will go back and take a more deliberate shot at the course record. I can run this race a lot faster (not willing to say just how much), I felt like I was just surviving the last 60-70 miles when that’s when you’re supposed to be feeling great and pushing the pace! The lesson to learn of the future is to have more confidence in my self and to know that if someone starts out way too fast---well, it’s 100 miles! I will catch him!
Anita Bower reports:
Distance: 100 miles
Goal: under 24 hours
Results: 23:30:39
Website: http://www.tejastrails.com
General Summary:
The Rocky Raccoon 100 is 5 loops of 20 miles. I went in hoping to break 24 hours, after getting lost last year for several miles.
Things Done Right:
Pushed fairly hard the first 60 miles. Did practically even splits the first two loops, with the third being the fastest. The goal was to have as much done in the daylight as possible, since there are literally thousands of roots along this course, making footing difficult if you are a mere mortal like myself. Wore a hot wrap around my back at night, since I don’t manage cold well, and it got very cold! The cold got a lot of runners! It was hard to see at night because my breath kept freezing in front of me. I also wore a thermal face mask, which helped to eliminate that, but sometimes that made breathing difficult. Didn’t do the drop bag thing out on the race, which kept me from stopping at the aid stations looking for them, wasting valuable time. The Little Debbies I had in my pocket were enough, along with my “ultra-crack” and other assorted, mostly legal drug assortment.
Things Done Wrong:
Couldn’t see well at night. Despite feeling strong throughout the race, poor eyesight at night made the last two loops almost the same amount of time as the first three. There were a lot of roots to trip on, and I didn’t want to risk falling and breaking something. Accidentally put gatorade in the chicken noodle soup the volunteers gave me, to cool it down. Sweet and salty is great if it’s trail mix or chinese food, but not chicken noodle soup at 1 in the morning.
Any Other Stuff:
Well organized race, but with nearly 300 runners at the start, which was slippery, muddy single track, the start was difficult. Got pushed by some guy trying to rush ahead. He got pushed right back. It was also a nice surprise to see fellow ICers Anthony Krupicka running. Although as I write this the race results aren’t posted, I am sure he went on to win, and maybe set a new course record. There were no armadillos this year, which was a huge disappointment. Last year the course was crawling with them at night. Lots of coyotes and strange owls to listen to at night too.
Tonto Fun Run — Cave Creek, AZ — January 28, 2007
Jonathan Cavner reports:
Distance: 25 Miles
Goal: Consistant non-race effort
Results: 4:10
Website: http://www.arizonaroadracers.com
General Summary:
Tonto Fun Run
The Tonto Fun Run is held North of Cave Creek, Arizona in the beautiful, but extremely rugged Tonto National Forrest. It is an unofficial, 25 mile event that claims 6500 ft of elevation gain/loss. I would estimate it is more like 4000 ft. I ran this event in preparation for the 50K Pemberton race February 12. The goal was to run a consistent non-race effort for the duration. The first half of the race, although somewhat technical was amazing with incredible views. Most of the second part of this years course was completely washed out due to fires from a year ago. So, “adventure running” is a key word to describe this section. My time from 3 years ago was significantly faster because of this section. 4:10 was my time at the end. Although this was over 50 minutes faster than the second place person.
Things Done Right:
Good pre-event preparation. Felt good afterwards with limited soreness.
Things Done Wrong:
Didn’t eat right afterwards
Any Other Stuff:
Great adventure running
35th Annual Houston-Chevron Marathon — Houston, Texas — January 14, 2007
Charles Scheibe reports:
Distance: 26.2 miles
Goal: sub-4:10
Results: 4:29:44
Website: http://www.chevronhoustonmarathon.com/site3.aspx
General Summary:
Flat, single-loop course through the streets (mostly concrete) of the 4th largest city in US.
Things Done Right:
Visited with friends before, during, and after race. Escaped 4 plus hours of pounding the concrete without any residual damage. Notched 19th finish and 8th straight Houston Marathon.
Things Done Wrong:
Over-dressed, no excuse, native Texan, should have known better! Under-hydrated, cramped up the last 7 plus miles.
P.F. Chang’s Rock ‘n’ Roll Arizona Marathon — Phoenix — January 14, 2007
Craig Hafer reports:
Distance: 26.2
Goal: 3:15
Results: 3:12
Website: http://www.rnraz.com/home.html
General Summary:
It was a cold 29°F dark start at 7:40am. With no wind, dawn peaking over the horizon through the downtown buildings, and a flat low altitude course, it turned into perfect running conditions. It also became my best race.
Things Done Right:
I was able to recover from the NC Outer Banks marathon 9 weeks earlier and get back into shape for this marathon. I stayed warm before the race started and dressed properly for the temperature — long sleeve cold weather Under Armour shirt/pants and a hat for the first few miles. I ran in new lighter weight shoes. I held back the first 10 or 11 miles then picked up the pace for a 6 minute negative split.
Things Done Wrong:
The only distraction I had in the second half of the race were four blisters forming around my big toe on my right foot. The new shoes sure felt good for the 11 mile break-in run two weeks earlier.
Any Other Stuff:
The Rock ‘n’ Roll bands were spaced about every mile and helped energize me at times. The aid stations were well stocked with a long line of volunteers at each one. Parking at the finish area was surprisingly easy with such a large crowd. The bus transportation from the parting area to the start line was prompt.
Christianson Trail Race — Phoenix, AZ — January 7, 2007
Jonathan Cavner reports:
Distance: 14 Miles
Goal: Well run race
Results: 1:38:11
Website: http://www.arizonaroadracers.com
General Summary:
From an Arizona standard it was cold the morning of January 7, 2007. I had arrived at Mountain View Park, the staging area of the Christianson Trail Race, and stood shivering while waiting in the race day registration line. Christianson TR is run on the N Mountain Preserve in North Phoenix. Over the past two years I had been suffering from a chronic plantar fasciitis injury and arthritis like symptoms. Finally rehabilitated I had been training consistently since Thanksgiving week. Today marked the day that I would finally be able to begin local racing.
The next 14 miles would be a fast and furious, rolling course that would test my ability to sustain and mitigate the rough downhills and while continuing to run the uphills hard. Looking over the field I knew that usually (with the exception of the previous year) Christianson TR brought out the fast cross country runners, home for the holidays and in the best shape of the year. I identified four young runners (Zach, Logan, Tanner and Benjamin) that looked like they fit the bill and knew my work was cut out for me.
At the beginning of the race I strategically positioned myself behind these runners so as not to be forced to lead the race. However, due to a poorly marked turn in the course at the beginning of the race I ended up taking the lead with these runners directly behind me. I concentrated on running efficiently and somewhat slowly during the first mile of the course. During a long section of slightly downhill running I felt that I was gaining ground on the rest of the leaders, so I picked up the pace slightly to see if they would try to follow. The answer came quickly as the runners caught up to me going thru the first aid station.
The next section of the course is marked by rough, hilly terrain with one, somewhat significant climb. During the climb I continued to lead and we lost all runners except for four of us, me and three of the young cross country guys. I had hoped that I would sense some weakness with these guys during the extended uphill section. However, during the climb the realization was that they were not fazed by the fast uphill pace that I was setting. This concerned me as I knew the next section of the course would be even steeper. Typically this race is won by those that could maintain an aggressive uphill pace, while not allowing them to get beat up on the downhill. The downhill section of this part of the course is somewhat technical and I had the advantage of practicing on this course for most of the past weekends since I had returned to training. I gained ground, but had a feeling that I would lose this ground on the next, very steep part of the course.
The toughest section of the course began after the next aid station with a slightly uphill section that turned into a grueling 20% grade towards the top of the hill. Two of the runners caught me during the slightly uphill portion and subsequently passed me on the extreme grade towards the top. At the top of the hill two runners were slightly ahead of me with another runner a slightly behind me. Throughout the next section of the course till the turnaround we would run in this fashion. The course is somewhat flat for a couple miles and then it climbs and descends a few hills before the turnaround at Dreamy Draw Park.
After the turnaround the fourth place runner made his move, passing me. He would eventually pass the runner directly ahead of me and finish second. I definitely felt the lack of a strong base. Although, during the later half I felt like I was running strong, but not quite as strong as the first half. The truth is that I lost 4 minutes to the winner Tanner who ended up finishing in 1:34:49. His time is very respectable for the long course. Second and third place went to Zach and Logan at 1:36:01 and 1:37:45. My time was 1:38:11 followed by Brian Hall at 1:38:51 and Benjamin at 1:44:02 . The result, I believe, showed that with a little more restraint on the first half I probably could have made up time on the second. But, hey! It’s just my first race back, so I’m just jazzed to be running again.
On a side note I am very impressed with Tanner, Zach, Logan and Benjamin. These guys ended up being in the High School Cross Country team. I hope this is a visible trend of a greater popularity of running in our high schools. Also, Tanner improved his time by over 9 minutes from last year’s race!!! Way to go!
Things Done Right:
Started slowly and efficiently
Things Done Wrong:
Could of shown more restraint on the first half of the race.
Holualoa Tucson Marathon — Tucson, AZ — December 10, 2006
Charles Scheibe reports:
Distance: 26.2 miles
Goal: Sub 4:00
Results: 4:09:18
Website: http://www.tucsonmarathon.com/
General Summary:
The course winds along the desert on paved roads, downhill on a point-to-point course along the beautiful Santa Catalina mountain range.
Things Done Right:
Exercised mental discipline maintaining a decent pace after realizing early that it wasn’t going to be my day. Didn’t fight (at least not too much) the headwind that can be frustrating in a point-to-point course.
Things Done Wrong:
Ill prepared; no speed work or strength training leading up to race.
Any Other Stuff:
2,500 foot net elevation drop.
1st Annual City of Angels Half Marathon — Los Angeles, CA — Dec. 3, 2006
Charles Scheibe reports:
Distance: 13.1 miles
Goal: Less than 9 min/mile
Results: 1:55:00 or 8:47 / mile
Website: http://cityofangelshalf.com/
General Summary:
Inaugural race through the neighborhoods of Griffith Park, Silver Lake, Echo Park and downtown Los Angeles. A big surprise was that more than a couple miles of the route were on dirt trails.
Things Done Right:
Stuck to my plan and kept on pace. Enjoyed the sights and made the most of a working weekend away from home.
Things Done Wrong:
NA
Carlsbad 1/2 Marathon — Carlsbad, Ca — January 21, 2007
Angela Cassidy reports:
Distance: 13.1 mi
Goal: 2:15
Results: 2:13:10
General Summary:
Well organized event. Pacers carrying signs along the way, so you had an idea of how you were doing as you passed them along the way (or as they passed you!). Nice ocean views. Sometimes the only sound you hear are the other runners and the surf crashing.
Things Done Right:
Good night’s sleep. Gu. Love the Gu. Started on those at mile 6. Made a point be concious about my stride and to take bigger steps. It was cold at first (in a California way, yes we are wimps), but I ‘suffered’ it pre-race so that I could stay light and cool during the race. Somehow, after my first 5 mile snags (see things done wrong), I pulled out a near pr.
Things Done Wrong:
Am not sure if this did me in on the first 5 miles, but I downed a Crank e-Gel just before the race (I’ve been testing it as a replacement for Gu) and those e-Gel packs are just massive. Wasn’t sure if I was going to barf those first 5 miles. Got another event next week and will give the e-Gels another shot. If same problems, my bro, John will inherit the remainder of the box.
Any Other Stuff:
Aid stations were great. I think the had one about every 2 km. No need whatsoever to carry water. Will definitely do this one again.
Lines for bathrooms consistently 2-5 deep for middle of the packers, like me. Enough bushes along the way to scrap convention.
P.F. Chang’s Rock’n’Roll Arizona Marathon — Phoenix, AZ — January 14, 2007
Trish McCormick reports:
Distance: 26.2 miles
Goal: 5 hours
Results: 5.22
Website: http://www.azcentral.com/sports/azetc/07rnraz/07rnraz_index.html
General Summary:
It was a bit colder than I wanted for my first marathon. Course was flat and elevation there is about 1100 feet, these two items ensured that breathing would not be the problem.
Things Done Right:
Tried FIRST’s 16 week training plan. For long runs (20-23 miles) ran 2 loops at Greenland and IC’s Sunday runs.
Things Done Wrong:
Although, I ran all the long runs suggested by the training plan, I should have done more long runs.
Any Other Stuff:
Learned that arnica really works for pain and swelling.
Calico 50km — Calico, CA — January 14, 2007
Anita Bower reports:
Distance: 50km
Goal: 6 1/2 hours
Results: 6:35:39
Website: http://www.calicotrailrun.org
General Summary:
This race is turning out to be one of my favorites. Very well organized, and great aid stations. The volunteers were very helpful, despite freezing their butts off in the cold, windy desert.
Things Done Right:
Took it easy, and went to bed early. I’d just run a 50 miler the day before. But the long, relentless uphills were too tempting, so I “ran” them as much as possible. Made new friends too. Set a PR, despite not going under 6 1/2 hours like I wanted to.
Things Done Wrong:
Struggled with the downhills, my quads were pretty sore from yesterdays run, as the last four miles of Avalon are pavement and steeply downhill.
Any Other Stuff:
If you like climbing, it’s a great race. Even the finish is uphill.
Bandera 100k — Hill Country State Park, Texas — January 13, 2007
Melissa Heggen reports:
Distance: 100k
Goal: to finish!
Results: 14:22
General Summary:
An incredible race put on by wonderful people. The sound of the location is misleading — this is a Texas race that even Coloradoans would enjoy. Technical, LOTS of rocks, very steep climbs. The course is a 50k loop, the 100k runners do the loop twice. This year the weather didn’t cooperate — rain the day before left the flatter parts of the course covered in a sticky mud resulting in 30 pound clumps the size of beach balls clinging to the bottom of each foot. The first half of the run was warm and humid, the second half suddenly became cold and rainy. Thanks to the tough skin I’ve built up running through the snow with the IC, I thought the weather made the race all the more exciting!
Things Done Right:
Went in prepared for ANYTHING. My drop bags had supplies to deal with any unexpected disaster, and the large time-goal window I gave myself kept me calm even when I quickly realized that I was going to be running a lot longer than planned due to the weather. I’m also familiar with this course, which helped enormously.
Things Done Wrong:
Honestly, the race couldn’t have gone any better than it did! The only thing I did wrong was stopping by Sonic immediately after finishing and snarfing down a cheeseburger, onion rings, and shake. Stomach wasn’t ready to handle it, sick for the rest of the night.
Any Other Stuff:
It’s very useful to explore the course before running this race. The trail changes significantly throughout the loop and it was helpful to always have an idea of what was coming up. Also, I was very glad that I wore a pair of knee-highs (cool pink and green ones!) with the feet cut out to protect my legs from the cactus. I had scissors in each of my drop bags so that I could cut them off when my legs got too hot.
Avalon 50 mile — Avalon, CA Catalina Island — January 13, 2007
Anita Bower reports:
Distance: 50 miles
Goal: under 10 hours
Results: 9:16:25
Website: http://www.avalon50.com
General Summary:
After a particulairly rough holiday season, I was pulling at the bit to get the #*!# out of dodge, and do some serious running/training for some future races. The Avalon 50 miler on a island in the Pacific and Calico 50km in the middle of the Mojave desert, done back to back, was a nice change of venue.Watching the dolphins playfully jumping alongside the boat that shipped us out to the island was a good omen of what was to come.
Things Done Right:
Hammered up the endless hills on this beautiful island. Chicked lots of men. Finished in the top ten women. Gossiped, (AFTER the race) with my SoCal ultra-girlfriends about which was better, collagen or restylen, {restylen} and many other important related things. Went shopping after the race. Set a PR of over 45 minutes on this course.
Things Done Wrong:
Wish I had on my running skirt when chicking those men, instead of my frumpy tights. But it was cold! It snowed, yes snowed, on the island during the race. I remember thinking how great it was escaping the snow here in Colorado, only to find that once again Mother Nature will always have the last laugh.
Trail Dawgs Phunt run — Fair Hill, Maryland — January 6, 2007
Chandra Lloyd reports:
Distance: 20k
Goal: Finish
Results: 2h 33min
Website: http://www.udel.edu/johnmack/traildawgs/phunt_07.htm
General Summary:
This was officially a 50k “fun run,” with 42k and 20k options for us mortals. It had been raining for two days beforehand, so although we were blessed with 70 degree weather there were some killer mud puddles to splash through- we were coated up to our thighs by the finish. It took place in Fair Hill park in eastern Maryland, usually mostly equestrian and mountain bikes. The race was very laid back, based on the honor system, so we just signed in at the start and then wrote in our time when we finished.
Things Done Right:
Dressed lightly- it was WARM!- and started with absolutely no high expectations for time. The mud slowed us down a lot.
Things Done Wrong:
Wore new socks- should have worn old ones so I could just throw them away afterwards!
Otter Creek Trail Marathon — Brandenburg, Kentucky — December 10, 2006
Steve Bremner reports:
Distance: 26.2 miles
Goal: 3:47
Results: 3:39
Website: http://www.headfirstperformance.com/TrailMarathon/Otter Creek.htm
General Summary:
Otter Creek Trail Marathon
Brandenburg, Kentucky
Dec 10th, 2006
Steve Bremner
Marathon State 43, total marathons 81
This is the first time I’ve run marathons in back to back weekends. Prior to this the closest time in between marathons has been two weeks. Recovery from trail marathons is almost instantaneous so I didn’t have much apprehension running this race one week after the Tecumseh Trail Marathon in Indiana on December 2nd. Indeed, I didn’t even find out about this race until about three days before Tecumseh, whereupon I quickly bought a plane ticket and signed up for the race since KY was a needed state in my 50-state quest and nowadays I always run trail marathons when given the choice.
I flew in to Louisville on Saturday, picked up a rental (First time driving a PT Cruiser), and cruised on down to my reservation on Fort Knox (45 minute drive). After checking in I headed on out to the commissary where I found some Amy’s organic TV dinners for the micro and a banana for the morning. Conveniently Fort Knox is right next to Otter Creek Park, so the next morning I only had a 15 minute drive to the race. As an Air Force retiree, anytime I can stay on a military installation I do so. They are as clean and quiet as any Hilton and the price is right-Fort Knox was $44/nt.
Race start was a tad on the cold side (30F), but after a couple miles I was glad I was wearing just a tech top and shorts. We started off with a 2.2 mile loop, then commenced with the first of three 8-mile loops. Though I started off in an easy lope, no one wanted to run with me so right away I opened up a 100 yard lead. At the 2.2 mile point I couldn’t see anyone behind me. Could this be the makings of a runaway race?
It didn’t take long before the slower of the 8 milers and the 16 mile racers started coming back. Though I would yell “on your left” as I passed there was contact on occasion with the IPoders. I can’t understand why people listen to music when they run. It would drive me crazy. There is enough to keep track of out there in the wilderness.
I would get to know this 8-mile loop intimately over the next three hours, but the first time through was spectacular. Rolling terrain through deciduous forest over leaf-covered single track trail, followed by a precipitous drop to Otter Creek which we followed for some time before an aide station about halfway through the loop. Then we climbed up to a bluff where we had a scenic overlook of the Ohio River which forms the border between Indiana and Kentucky. The broad bends of the river with farmland and forest were a welcome sight on the next two times around the loop. From there we had a bit more climbing before it mostly leveled off moving to the end of the loop. A Russian guy caught up to me at this point, 10.2 miles into the race and we ran together for about 5 miles after which he slowly left me in his wake. A couple miles later another guy passed me, but for the last ten or so miles I ran alone, occasionally passing the odd 16-mile racers and towards the end probably lapping some marathoners. I ran the first 8-mile lap in an hour, second in 1:05, and third in 1:16, for a total time of 3:39, for 3rd place overall. Winning time was 3:32, second place was 3:35.
Little did I know that I should have held some in reserve for my airport connection in Chicago. They had delayed our flight due to a back up of planes in the air over Chicago and by the time I got off the plane and was in the terminal it was 7:33 PM. My flight to COS was on time and leaving at 7:50. That meant I had 7 minutes to make it from terminal 1 to terminal 3 — normally a 20-minute walk or more. With a heavy pack I did my best to simulate a jog arriving at the gate at 7:42. Flight closed, door locked, no sympathy. I was forced to spend the night in Chicago.
Things Done Right:
Stayed upright most of the time. Only fell three times.
Things Done Wrong:
Stepped in the creek early on.
Any Other Stuff:
Four star recommendation. This is one of the best trail marathons you can run in the east.
Sunmart 50 mile ultramarathon — Huntsville State Park TX — December 9, 2006
Anita Bower reports:
Distance: 50 miles
Goal: under 9 hours
Results: 8:46:08
Website: http://www.sunmart.net
General Summary:
This very rooty, ankle twisting course consisted of 4 loops. Perfect weather made for a lot of PR’s for a lot of runners.
Things Done Right:
Ran hard my first loop, saved something for the last loop. Ate my usual ultramarathon fare of Little Debbie oatmeal Creme Pies, and Carb Boom, and water.E-Caps kept me from cramping, but not from cussing about the roots.Didn’t over eat or hydrate, and felt great.Set a PR by 50 minutes
Things Done Wrong:
Turned my ankle bad on the first loop. Cussed too much. Couldnd’t see well due to dust getting on my contacts, but it was too overcast for sunglasses. Being able to see the trails would have helped me run faster.
California International Marathon — Sacramento, CA — December 3, 2006
Richard Hedlind reports:
Distance: 26.2
Goal: <3.10 (Qualify for Boston)
Results: 3.09.45 (I DID IT!)
Website: http://www.runcim.org
General Summary:
A friend of mine convinced me to run this race with him in an attempt to qualify for Boston. To do that I had to cut off 40 minutes from my PR! I did a lot of speed training and trusted that sea level running would give me an extra push. The extra speed training paid off and sea level running is awesome for sure. I managed to finish within my goal and I am still amazed that I did it. :) I think this PR will stay around for a long, long time.
Things Done Right:
- Hydrated well before and during the race.
- Ate energy gel every 30 minutes.
- Stayed with the race provided 3.10 pace team which made it easier to fight off the mental tiredness 20+ miles into the race.
- Ate well the week before the race with lots of carbs.
Things Done Wrong:
Traveled too early on Saturday which disturbed my sleep and I was tired Saturday night. Did not sleep well the night before the race. I almost thought I had spoiled my race at that point.
Any Other Stuff:
The race organizer call this “the fastest course in the west.” It is fast with rolling hills and one bigger hill. The course has a net elevation loss of 300 feet. Add to this that the weather was perfect. 40 degrees, sunshine and hardly any wind. Volunteers were yelling out pace times at many of the mile markers and there were bands playing along the course. The organizers should stretch out the aid stations a little bit because they caused a slow down and confusion among runners.
Tecumseh Trail Marathon — Bloomington, Indiana — December 2, 2006
Steve Bremner reports:
Distance: 26.2 miles
Goal: 3:30
Results: 3:47
Website: http://www.dinoseries.com/run/schedule/2006/marathon.htm
General Summary:
Dashing through the forest along leaf-covered mostly single track trails, countless stream crossings, log hopping, up and down hill after hill after hill, suffering three falls with soft landings on leaves. It was a lot of fun for about two and a half hours — the trail wore me out by then though but I kept going anyway to finish in 3:47:00, which was good enough to win my age group and place 34th overall. Winning time was 3:16.
It rained solid on Thursday resulting in overfilled creeks and causing course officials to make last minute on the fly course changes prior to the race start at 1030 on Saturday morning. We ended up running about four miles on roads about half way into the course in order to avoid a one lane bridge that was well under water. Race day was cold, with high temperatures in the 20’s but it was mostly sunny. I wore tights and long tech shirt and never felt the need to take off my gloves nor my wool hat.
It’s a great race and was one of the 50 marathons in 50 days that Dean Karnaces (author of Ultramarathon Man) ran. Bloomington is vibrant university town with a variety of ethnic restaurants. Friday I enjoyed Tibetan food at the Snow Lion restaurant and Saturday night I savored Afghanistan cuisine at the Samira Restaurant. One could spend weeks in that town eating a different country’s food every night.
My 80th lifetime marathon and 42nd marathon state. Next on the docket is the obscure Otter Creek Trail Marathon near Louisville, Kentucky (state #43) next Sunday, Dec 10th.
Things Done Right:
Kept running. Didn’t walk.
Dressed warmly enough to avoid hypothermia.
Things Done Wrong:
Probably started off too fast. I guess I’ll never learn... after 80 marathons I should know better!
Pueblo Rock Canyon Half Marathon — Pueblo, CO — December 2, 2006
Trish McCormick reports:
Distance: 13.1 miles
Goal: 2:24
Results: 2:32
Website: http://www.socorunners.org/results/RockCanyon2006.htm
General Summary:
The ride down was treacherous, slick, slick, slick, had no idea this could be any sort of omen. Pueblo was cold and it was still snowing. The trail was primarily flat, but slick with loose rocks(also covered with a thin layer of ice) scattered here and there.
Things Done Right:
I think running in the fall series was helpful. In the fall series, the third run — the trail was challenging and the last run included some bad weather.
Things Done Wrong:
Not enough “bad” weather and balance training — had such a hard time with slipping and remaining vertical.
No yaktrax-- but I think that might have been dishonorable.
Any Other Stuff:
Beautiful scenery, too bad I had to keep my head down most of the time.