Over the four day Thanksgiving weekend, I’ll be running four
marathons in the greater Seattle area.
For people who do all four, it’s called the Seattle Quadzilla. Unlike the Tahoe Triple or any of the five
states in five days series, these races all have different race directors.
The oldest of the four is the Seattle Marathon. This has been an annual event in Seattle
since the 70s. It started out as a small
race, but has grown into one of the largest races in the region. Over the years, the course has changed a few
times. It was originally held entirely
along the shores of Lake Washington. As
the race got larger, the course had to change to accommodate larger numbers of
runners. The current course starts and
finishes downtown at the Seattle Center.
The date has also changed. The
Seattle Marathon was originally held on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. Now, it’s held on the Sunday after
Thanksgiving.
NW Ultras has organized a smaller race to keep the Saturday
tradition alive. This race is called the
Ghost of Seattle. In addition to being
held on Saturday, it also uses the original Seattle Marathon course. Although it’s a small race, it’s well
organized and supported. It’s also a
Boston qualifier.
The other two races were started more recently. Each is a small no-frills event. Thursday’s race is the Wattle Waddle, which
starts and finishes at Gas Works Park and follows the Burke-Gilman Trail. Friday’s race is the Wishbone Run. The Wishbone Run was originally held on
trails in Gig Harbor. It’s not a
standard marathon distance. The Full
Wishbone is 27 miles. There’s also a 13.5
mile Halfbone and a 31.4 mile Ultrabone.
For the second straight year, the trails normally used for this race are
closed for logging, so the race has been moved temporarily to a paved trail in
Tukwila. The distances are still the
same.
The Seattle Quadzilla has been in existence since 2010. This year will mark the fifth Seattle
Quadzilla. It’s become a Thanksgiving
tradition for Marathon Maniacs living in the Pacific Northwest. Since 2012, it’s also been possible to run a
half marathon (or half wishbone) each day.
This is called the Seattle Quadzuki.
Last year, I went into these races with a pulled
hamstring. On the first day, I had to
stop to put on a compression wrap, so I could finish the race. The next day, I wore the compression wrap for
the entire race. By the third race, I
was able to run without the wrap, but I took a hard fall on a sidewalk in the
second half of the race. I ran best on
the last day, finishing in 3:54.
This year, I’m healthy.
Four marathons in four days is exhausting, but doing it with an injury
is frightening. I’m glad I’m not doing
that again.
We got a real break on the weather last year. Other than a few sprinkles, we were rain-free
for all four races. November is the
rainy season, so that’s unusual. In
other years, it rained (or snowed) every day of the quadzilla. I’m not a big fan of rain, but it’s part of
the quadzilla experience. I’ll take
whatever weather I get.
Having done last year’s quadzilla, I’m already familiar with
all four race venues. I’m staying in the
same hotels, and I’m familiar with a few of the nearby restaurants. It’s tough to be away from home for the
entire Thanksgiving weekend, but I’ll be in familiar surroundings. I’ll see some old friends, and I’ll make some
new friends. Running a quadzilla is a
bonding experience. By the end of the
weekend, we’ll all be family.
Although the races are independent of each other, Steve
Walters maintains a Seattle Quadzilla website and Facebook page. You can buy quadzilla T-shirts and hooded
sweatshirts. Last year, I bought one of
the T-shirts.
I have so many race shirts that I don’t need many more, but
I had to have one of these. It has
bad-ass written all over it. This year,
I’m buying one of the hoodies. I don’t
have too many of those.
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