Akron Marathon Race Report (9/25/10)

Akron was the winner by a nose for my business. I was leaning toward running the Air Force marathon a week earlier to knock out Ohio, but I switched when my cousin’s wedding was the same day as Air Force. When I signed up for the marathon, I was surprised to get an email from the Race Director with a claim that the email was not a product of automation, but was sent from an actual person. I responded with my appreciation and he emailed back within 5 minutes. He kept up this personal treatment, the Akron marathon is very well run with many conveniences and accommodations.

The expo had plenty of vendors and allowed me an opportunity to buy some water bottles that I forgot to pack (not the first time for that trick). A hallmark of Akron is their top notch premium; this year’s version was a Brooks jacket. I thought about asking if I could swap out for a ladies (pink) version to present to my wife – I was later told that the volunteers would have done that to make me happy and I think that’s probably true.

I was a case of nerves before flying to Akron. I’m still not quite sure why I was so anxious. Because of the nerves, I wasn’t too surprised to wake up about 30 minutes earlier than planned (at 4 AM). I used the time to get packed up. I stayed outside of downtown, so I parked about 90 minutes before the race start and just hung out.

They have a single start time for a half marathon, relay marathon, and full marathon. This translates into one thing: lots of people at the start. Fortunately, they also had lots of port-o-johns … but once we started, the crowd was thick. I wasn’t too bothered until it didn’t clear up in the first mile, then I started to get annoyed. I almost ran over a person who stopped for the walk portion of a run-walk program.

Fortunately, I met up with two maniacs from Cleveland, Brian and Kathie. I was planning to run a bit faster but I really enjoyed the conversation, so I was happy to swap war stories. We ran together through about mile 9 when they both stopped for a bathroom break. As a solo runner, I immediately picked up the pace, but still held some back. After the split to discard the half marathoners, the course moved off public roadways onto a crushed gravel, rails to trails path that was just gorgeous.

The course returned to a more ordinary street marathon and included a trip up the driveway of an old money mansion – the Hywet Mansion – one of the founders of Goodyear. The mansion is now a museum and garden. It’s about 3 miles from the finish. I’d been calculating the time in my head and felt like I was on track for a 4 hour finish, but at the mansion, I heard some people talking about finishing at 4 hours and it occurred to me that 4 hours of clock time would put me at a PR because it took more than 3 minutes to get across the start line. I tried to keep a nice even pace and found that I could stay ahead of the people chatting about a 4 hour finish. The course generally has rolling hills and specifically, I had people tell me at least a half dozen times that I was climbing or just finished with the “last hill” – when we re-entered downtown, I knew that I really did see the last hill. I did not enjoy the hill, but was happy that it was the last. I picked up the baseball stadium where we finish and got a bit of an adrenaline boost. I cruised in at just over 4 on the clock – but after shaving off the time it took me to cross the start line, I had a new PR.

As he promised in his email to me when I registered, the Race Director was waiting at the finish to shake my hand. The stadium actually had a lot of people in it. They were listening to a band with the scoreboard showing video of the finish line. A nicely organized food tent hustled us through by giving a bag of food. I headed up to the beer tent for my two Michelob Ultras – not the best beer ever, but pretty tasty after a run. Somewhere between the finish line and the beer line, I figured out that I had hit a PR -- no way you could have rubbed the smile off my face with a brillo pad.

Final thoughts – Akron was an easy airport / car rental / hotel / restaurants … I like the small town feel. This is my favorite non-hometown road race – it’s just a great all around package.


Akron Marathon
Time: 3:56:46
Course: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/50708821

Grand Island Trail Marathon Race Report (8/1/10)

I found this race by accident, but the description reeled me in – limited to 300 runners on an island with almost no permanent residents. The rules were clear that littering would result in a DQ, so I interpreted that as a sign that this would be a very natural setting. I knew we were planning a two week family vacation for around that time in Michigan – I did not know that we were so far away from our vacation spot or that this run would be our first stop.

The expo was in a local hotel, so I booked our room there. The place was nuts with people when we arrived. It seemed like way more than the race could hold, but perhaps the tiny hotel played into it. We got settled then headed over to the pasta feed. They had a nice simple meal with plenty of food. I chatted with a few other runners. Everyone was really friendly. We were so far north that sunset wasn’t until close to 10 PM – that kept me up later than I planed, but I woke up early before catching the boat.

This is easily the most scenic marathon I’ve run. The course is on an island in Lake Superior just off the coast of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Just off the coast means we took a 10 minute ferry boat ride to get to the run.

I met up with a bunch of Marathon Maniacs before the race. Once again, I had run the fewest marathons in the Maniac crowd with my 15 marathons. We posed for pictures with a group including Chuck Engle – the eventual winner of the marathon (he also won the Hatfield-McCoy race that I ran in June). There were lots of people from Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota. I settled into a good pace with Brian running his first marathon and a fellow Maniac named Eric. I explained that my boys shared their first names, so they should feel free to act like 11 and 10 year olds – and I’d feel right at home.

The island has a few cabins and several campgrounds connected by trails and dirt roads. The first 5 miles of the course is mostly flat and runs through the forest. When we emerged from the forest, we had about a 1 mile run on the beach – which is gorgeous, but not very good for running. We re-entered the forest and I felt a slight need for the bathroom. I didn’t realize that at mile 7, I was passing the last pit toilet that I’d see for nearly a fifteen miles. Because this was a trail run, the aid stations were pretty far apart. I asked about a port-o-pot at the next aid station and they had no idea. I eventually stopped in the woods, sending my running companions ahead without me. I felt so much better after the pit stop. Unfortunately, my head and body weren’t in great shape.

At the expo, we listened to a talk by the park ranger. She had suggested stopping at a number of overlooks to take in the view. I’m not normally such a tourist, but the view was spectacular and I did stop about five or six times to just soak it all in. At mile 15, the course took us for another run along the beach. Coming off the beach, we had a challenging hill climb. Everyone had to walk this hell, er, I mean hill. Once I got up the hill, I had the sense that rest of the course was all uphill. I stopped at an aid station and took my time choking down some HEED – that stuff is awful. A woman came in walking who looked pretty bad. I asked if she wanted to run and she mumbled complaints about falling down – I didn’t think she’d make it more than a mile or two and this was before mile 18. I left her with good intentions of running the rest of the way. That lasted for about 2 miles then I just fell apart. I tried walking at regular intervals. By the time I got to the last aid station at mile 22, I was a mix of running for ¼ mile then walking for ½ mile. A photographer hollered out that we might want to run for the photo op – probably a wise move since I was among the walking wounded. I hit the last turn and saw my family – talk about a total adrenaline rush. I finished out the last ¼ mile in less than 2 minutes.

My son and I headed straight for Lake Superior for a post run refreshing dip. The lake is usually in the upper 40s, but after a mild winter, it was in the low 70s – not quite an ice bath, but it was very refreshing. I tried to get fully immersed, but I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to stand up again.

On the course, I recognized Jerry Boone – he was at Hatfield-McCoy (Williamson, WV) and Blue Ridge (Roanoke, VA). Jerry wears a shirt that says “Marathons won’t kill you. You’ll pass out first.” on the back. The shirt always generates a lot of attention. Jerry won his age group at this race – he’s over 60 and runs all the time. This routine of a marathon a month has introduced me to a lot of new people … and now I’m starting to recognize them.

This is probably my favorite marathon, but I doubt if I’ll go back for another one. It’s pretty far away. We flew into Detroit, rented a car, and then drove for about 7 hours to get there. The run was the first day of our two week Michigan vacation – a great trip, but not likely to be repeated.



Grand Island Trail Marathon

Time: 5:01:10

Course: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/42905826

Flatlanders Race Report (7/11/10)

This was my first free marathon. I found it on the Marathon Maniacs race calendar. I was looking for an economical marathon in the month of July. Other marathons required travel with time and money expenses that I couldn’t afford. I got an email from the Race Director asking when I was going to actually sign up because he was almost full. I couldn’t believe the service and follow through, but this was just the first of many things that were different about this trip.


Matt Jenkins is the RD. Matt offers a series of free marathons with a focus on the runner. Matt supplies the organization and a set of dog tags for finishers – the runners do the rest. Matt offered to help find accommodations for people, he offered to deliver race packets, including five or six GU packets wherever people were staying. He was there to make this a great experience. I really appreciated the flexibility and personal attention.

The Grandfather Mountain marathon is held nearby on the day before Flatlanders. A number of Maniacs run both Grandfather and Flatlanders. Naturally, Matt emailed to ask if I was “only” running Flatlanders or if I was doing the double like so many others. Since this was just a quick trip, I stuck with the single marathon, but I appreciated the opportunity to do them both. Grandfather is done as a part of a pretty big Scottish Highland Games at Appalachian State University. The hotel rooms sell out quickly and at full price. I came up with the idea to camp at a local KOA campground.

I shouldn't have been surprised when my running buddy, Todd, called on Friday for details about the trip. Todd had an open weekend and only needed to find some help with childcare to be able to make the trip. His friend Hector came through to keep the kids for an evening and Todd was ready to go.
When we were driving through North Carolina on our way to Boone, we noticed the change in terrain as we got into the mountains. Knowing that Grandfather Mountain has a reputation similar to the Blue Ridge Parkway marathon in Roanoke, we were skeptical that this would really be “Flat” and the area made it seem even less likely. We took a quick trip to the start to check things out. The course did seem to be fairly flat along a paved path in a small valley.

This was Todd’s first camping trip, so naturally, we spared no expense. The campground had foosball (I lost) and putt-putt golf (I lost). The golf course was a bit overgrown, we dodged trees, but had a good time. I packed a surprise, we broke out the game of corn hole – another first for Todd. He cleaned my clock. Since it was Saturday night, the campground also had a “concert” – two locals played folk-type music.

I could tell Todd was anxious about running as a bandit – although that’s a strange concept with a free marathon. I sent an email to Matt (RD) and he called me back – no problem for the bandit, a couple of people had dropped out. Matt explained that he had one person starting at 11 PM – we continued with our plan to begin running at 6 AM.

We settled in for a fairly early bedtime. I zonked immediately – Todd told me the guy next to us was making a big racket with his cooler in the middle of the night. Based on my two experiences, camping is okay before a run … but getting a good night sleep is heavily dependent on the noise around you – which you really don’t have control over.

We arrived right on time, just before sunrise. Matt let us choose our numbers – or run without them. He put our names on a poster board and had us mark off laps. We needed to make seven laps then record our time. Todd and I both ran out of battery power on our Garmin during the 10 hour race in Paducah, so we both had backup timers. Matt had placed water at the other end of a 3 ¾ mile out and back course. Todd and I ran the outbound portion of the first lap together. Everything was pretty good – the course is along a river and there was the faint odor of swamp smell. As we approached mile 1 ½ - the smell got much stronger, then we saw the waste water treatment plant. After a few laps, the morning dew had burned off and the smell had cleared from most of the course, but the end with the plant was just getting stronger. I focused my energy so I could run at a faster clip for that half mile adjacent to the worst of it.

After two laps, there was a guy just starting on his first lap. I offered to run with him to get him familiar with the route. This was his first marathon – I was really surprised. I liked this marathon, but there were no spectators and it wasn’t publicized very much. Most of the runners were really hard core Maniacs – many of them getting a double … so it was odd to meet a rookie. He was a really nice guy, we’d have run together more, but I needed to hit the bathroom when we finished our lap. I felt bad when I didn’t see him on the course before the turnaround – he missed the one turn on the course and did an extra mile or so … oops!

Todd and I headed back to grab a shower, pack up camp, then a quick bite to eat at the Black Cat Burrito. I found a burrito called the “White Trash BBQ Burrito” – made with tofu, right up my alley. Boone is another great college town (it reminded me of a smaller version of Knoxville). I’d like to head back.


Flatlanders Marathon

Time: 4:37:15

Course: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/40098814

Hatfield-McCoy & Run Under the Stars Race Report (6/12/10)

The idea for this trip was to knock out a third marathon in 90 days so my running pal, Todd, could earn his Marathon Maniac status. I’d long ago planned to run the Hatfield-McCoy marathon because it has a great reputation for being fun and the field was overflowing with Maniacs and 50 Staters.

A fellow Maniac from California sent out an email to all the Maniacs planning to run H-M with an idea for a “Daring Double” – to run a second race on the other side of Kentucky later the same day. I thought it sounded crazy, so I sent the email to Todd figuring he’d laugh. He thought it sounded like fun, if we could find a driver. Since the second run would put us about a 12 hour drive from home with very tired bodies, he had a good point. We recruited Dave as our driver. Since he was running a 50 mile race the week prior, so this seemed like an ideal recovery period for him; unfortunately, Dave’s feet blistered in the 50 miler to the point of putting him on crutches and out of work. With uncertainty about our driver, we asked another running pal, Matt, to drive us. Dave’s feet healed well enough for him to make the trip, but significantly limited his mobility. I can’t thank Matt and Dave enough for their sacrifices – each taking time away from work and family to support us. We left the Richmond area at lunch time on Friday for our drive to West Virginia. Along the way, we got to see the natural beauty of Western Virginia and West Virginia and we also got to see some of the poverty.

We rolled into town just as the pasta dinner was getting started and had a chance to eat prior to a skit that they put on to tell the history of the Hatfield-McCoy feud. The skit is fun and funny – with two characters dressed in period clothing with appropriate weapons telling the story. The hospitality in the pasta dinner, the show, and all our interactions made it easy to see why the marathon is popular. The people in the area aren’t runners, but they definitely appreciate having us in town. The race starts in Goode, Kentucky and finishes in Williamson, West Virginia – I doubt if you could live in either town and NOT be fully aware of the race. First, the towns are barely separate, they sort of run together each on one side of the river that separates the two states; additionally, there just isn’t that much of either town that would not be impacted by a few hundred runners on a Saturday morning. Granting that the runners were disruptive to the typical day, I compare the response I heard from locals here to what I heard from people in Charlotte, NC. In Charlotte, there was chatter in the paper and on the street questioning the street closures and inconvenience of the race. I’m much happier to leave my race / hotel / restaurant dollars in WV/KY where they made me feel like a guest, not an inconvenience.

After the pasta dinner, we posed for some pictures with the stars of the skit. They were the leaders of our teams. Each runner is assigned to either the Hatfield or McCoy team. I was a Hatfield and Todd was a McCoy. The teams compete for the fastest overall time. We got back to the hotel, 30 minutes outside of town in Logan, WV in time for an early bed time. We chose to stay outside of town based on past hotel reports of variable accommodations – it also helped when we added rooms. I slept well but not great. I was nervous in the days leading up to the trip, I think because of the double. My nervousness left, but I didn’t feel like I got a good deep sleep.

On race day, I was up early enough to follow my morning bathroom routine (thank goodness). We arrived at the start line plenty early after our 30 minute drive. We passed the sign on the highway that flashed a message welcoming runners to the “Expoo” and “26k marathon” race … like I said, not exactly a running community.

Because the race starts about 1 ½ miles from where it finishes, the organizers provide a shuttle service. We were amused that they use “Short School Busses” to shuttle runners. We joked about the short busses and the lead sponsor of the race: Food City. The sky was cloudy and looked like we could see rain at any time or it might hold off all day. The course includes a difficult hill from mile 4 to 7 ¼ - I held an easy pace going up the hill then opened up coming down. As we ran along, there were a number of historical markers that described events in the feud. When I got close to the half-way mark, the valley echoed with a loud boom. I thought perhaps the Hatfield-McCoy show included cannon firing. Within 10 minutes, the sky opened up and I realized that loud noise was thunder. I ran up on a woman who was re-entering the course after a potty break – she explained that since the birth of her child, she was trained to use the bedpan when the nurse turned on the faucet … and so, she had the sudden urge to relieve herself. You’ve got to love the candor of a runner in a marathon. We got absolutely drenched.

The course was full of water stops, at least every mile we found a table with locals. What they don’t know about running was disguised by their genuine hospitality. I passed by a house with about a dozen people on the porch – for each person who approached, they asked “Where are you from?” – I replied “Virginia” – they shouted back “Yeah Virginia” for a course with not a ton of fans out, they certainly do a nice job of cheering.

After winding through the hills, the half marathoners finish in the town of Matewan. The course is a little odd since it had almost no course marshals. The approach to Matewan seemed complicated. I chatted with a guy who had run this course a number of times, so I just followed him through the twists and turns. It was marked, but still a little confusing. As I left the town, I ran up behind a guy named Jerry that I met at the Blue Ridge Marathon in Roanoke in the spring. Jerry is over 60 and runs most weekends in the spring and fall. Jerry wears a shirt that says “Running won’t kill you. You’ll pass out first.” – it’s a funny line and most people comment on it. Jerry’s good to talk with – but he was having a tough day.

The showers came and went throughout the day. When we moved onto a dirt road, the rain filled the holes to create a minefield of puddles and mud. The real challenge is to keep your balance and pay attention to stay on your feet. It’s exhausting physically and mentally. The more tired I got the slower my pace. As we moved back onto roads, I heard a car come up behind me and it just hovered right behind me. I looked back to see a Sherriff – I knew I wasn’t the end of the runners, but it sure felt like it. That was a kick in the pants and helped me pick up the pace. I ran through the last mile as the rain returned yet again. High fives for the two guys who put on the skit as Hatfield and McCoy. I heard a loud call of “Snuggie Bear” as I was approaching the finish – it’s great to travel with friends.

I grabbed some food and we all met up to get back on the road. I had in mind getting a shower before travelling. I knew our schedule was tight, but I really thought I’d be able to get cleaned up. We decided to just get moving – the showers weren’t close to the finish and seemed like it would take us a while to find them.

Matt drove us out of town and we stopped for gas / food after not too long. I changed clothes in the bathroom. It was good to finally get my wet clothes off.

Our plan was to drive across the state of Kentucky, just about 7 hours. I thought it would be easy to fall asleep for a while, but I just couldn’t get relaxed. We watched a movie and cat napped, but otherwise, it was just a long day.

We arrived at the horse track in Paducah, Kentucky for part two of our “Bold Adventure” – the Run Under the Stars is a 10 hour endurance run. The run started at 8 PM (CT) which is just 12 hours after the H-M marathon started. We had almost two hours to get settled for the longer run. Todd and I started out together – both of us stiff and groaning. We both settled into a groove after that first lap. The track is ½ mile with a mat to track our laps. We ran in one direction for two hours, and then reversed direction. I ran for almost all of the first two hours covering about 12 miles in the first 2 hours. I felt pretty good about my progress, but I was losing steam. As we changed direction, I started to need more walking laps. I had the need to stop to use the bathroom – I headed over to the facilities – a urinal and regular toilet. Normally, this bathroom would accommodate two people; however a kid was in there with the damn door locked. I seriously needed to pee and used the outside wall – not pretty, especially in the heat, but it did the job. I was glad that kid wasn’t in there when I returned to drop a log. After about mile 15, I really had trouble running. My knee was telling me my running time was over. To “count” this run we needed to get at least 50k (just over 31 miles). I struggled through the implications of quitting – I was ready to let myself down, but not quite ready to let down Matt, Dave, and Todd. This was my “bottom” and I hit it hard – I didn’t want to be in Kentucky, I didn’t want to run, I didn’t want to do any of this anymore. As tired as I was, it took me a while, but I did the math in my head and figured I could walk the remainder of the night and finish the 31 miles. I didn’t exactly get a spring in my step – but I knew I’d finish. Matt came out and walked two laps with me – that was a real bright spot. I don’t remember what we talked about, but I do remember that I felt better about the work in front of me after we talked. He helped me try to run, but it just wasn’t working, so I continued to walk.

They brought in pizza, they had ice cream, soup, fruit, and all sorts of goodies. The volunteers were a great help getting whatever we requested.

I don’t normally run with an iPod, but I brought it just in case. I had a mix of music and podcasts. Each irritated me after some time, so it was good to have a selection. I found the more grumpy I got with myself, the more I talked with other people.

I chatted with one gal wearing her Marathon Maniac gear. I offered the obligatory “Looking Good” when she seemed to need a pick me up. She responded “I don’t feel so good” – then I really showed my age – she must have been in her late 20s – I quoted Saturday Night Live from the 80s with “It’s much better to LOOK good than to FEEL good, you know what I’m saying?” – she looked at me like I was toxic.

In the middle of the night, I was walking along; chatting with Gary Cantrell, he was recovering from knee surgery and was using Paducah as a test out for an ultra the following week. Gary has run an ultra every year for something like 30 years or more. He seemed to know everyone and was happy to chat for long periods with those nearby. He asked a very busty young woman how she was doing and she replied “I’d be doing a lot better if I didn’t have such big boobies to move around”. It was definitely an interesting experience. The whole group had such prolonged, shared misery that it gave us an odd, shared community.

I was ready to finish with 32 miles by my count. When I stopped and asked, the guy told me he’d have an update in 10 minutes. It was taking me about 10 minutes to walk a lap, so I did two more and ended up with 33 miles for the night. I stopped at 9 hours, so that’s technically 3 2/3 miles per hour – basically a slow walk. The Garmin ran out of battery after about 31 miles, it’s nice to know I can outlast my Forerunner.

We packed up our camping supplies and hit the road. We stopped at Waffle House for breakfast – I’ve never enjoyed a meal more. It was great to share stories with Dave, Matt, and Todd. I know I wouldn’t have done it without them.



Hatfield-McCoy Marathon

Time: 4:10:55

Course: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/36805878

Run Under the Stars (the first 31 miles on the Garmin)

Total Mileage: 33 miles

Time: about 9 hours

Course: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/36805867