Race Report: 2023 Missoula Marathon

On June 25, I ran the Missoula Marathon.  This is a popular race among people who want to run marathons in all 50 states.  Many do Missoula for their Montana marathon.  Unlike most Montana marathons, this one is at a relatively low elevation.  It’s 3,200 feet above sea level, which is lower than many parts of Montana.  It’s also a relatively flat marathon.  There’s only one notable hill, which comes about halfway through the race.

I’ve run the Missoula Marathon twice before.  Both times, I qualified for Boston.  I wasn’t confident that I could do that this year, but it seemed like I’m within striking distance.  My previous best this year was 3:52:38, and I need 3:50 to qualify.

I arrived in Missoula on Friday.  Friday evening, I did the beer run, and Saturday morning, I ran the Tony Banovich 5K race.  For more on those races, see my previous post.

My hotel was at the east end of the downtown area.  From the hotel, I could see the large M on the hillside above the University of Montana.  The M has become a tourist attraction.  There’s a trail going up to it.

My hotel was right next to the river, and there was also a small stream nearby.

This race was a quarterly reunion of the 50 States Marathon Club.  Saturday afternoon, I attended the club meeting.  I always try to do that if that when I’m at a reunion race.  Conveniently, the club was meeting at my hotel.

This is a point-to-point race.  The course starts in Frenchtown and finishes in downtown Missoula.  To get to the start in Frenchtown, we needed to take a bus.  The buses leave between 4:15 and 5:15 AM, so you have to get up early enough to be ready.

I usually need about an hour to get ready in the morning, and it takes about 15 minutes to walk to where the buses where loading.  I set my alarm for 3:15, so I could be at the bus loading area at 4:30.  I didn’t want to be on one of the last buses.

I don’t eat much before a race, but I like to eat something.  There was a food truck at the expo that was selling mini-donuts.  On Saturday, I picked up a dozen with a huckleberry spread, and I saved them for my pre-race breakfast.

It was chilly when I left, but they had a gear check at the start, so I was able to wear extra layers as I walked to catch a bus.

We caught the buses at the university, which is on the opposite side of the river.  I crossed the river on a pedestrian bridge near my hotel.  On the other side of the river, they had glow sticks marking the route to the buses.  Some buses going to the half marathon start and others going to the marathon start.  The volunteers were pretty good about making sure people got on the right bus.

I arrived in Frenchtown about an hour before the race.  I made a bathroom stop, while there weren’t any lines, but I knew I’d need another one later.

I found a place where I could sit on a curb until I needed to make another bathroom stop.  It was still dark when most of us arrived, but the sun came up before the race started.  Once there was light, we could see the white F on one of the hillsides.  That’s Frenchtown’s answer to the M in Missoula.

I was talking to friends when I realized I should get into a bathroom line while there was still enough time.  It was 30 minutes before the race, and the lines were long now.  I didn’t know if I would have time to make it through the line.  Then I felt some rumbling in my intestines.  Sometimes your digestive system wakes up on its own schedule.  The bathroom stop was no longer optional.

It took 17 or 18 minutes to get through the line and a couple more minutes to do my business.  Then, I just had 10 minutes until the start of the race.

I still needed to check my gear bag.  I had the foresight to take off my warm-up pants while I was still waiting in line.  I didn’t know exactly where the gear check truck was.  When I asked someone, he said, “The line starts back there.”  It took me a minute just to find the back of the line.  Fortunately, the line moved quickly.  As it got closer to the race, one of the volunteers told us to just set our bags on the ground near the truck.

After dropping off my gear bag, I just had five minutes before the start of the race.  The wheelchair athletes were already starting.

I was on the wrong side of the finish line, so I had to walk around until I found the entrance to the corrals.  I wanted to start the race with the 3:50 pace group, so I had to find the pace leader and line up next to him.  I got into the start corral just in time for the National Anthem.

About 30 minutes before the race, they started shooting fireworks above the start area.  At first, they were every five minutes or so.  When the gun went off, the fireworks became constant.  I’m told they continued until everyone was across the starting line.

For most of the first mile, I ran right behind the 3:50 pacer.  I haven’t run that fast recently, and I ran an all-out 5K race yesterday, so 3:50 was an ambitious goal.  Normally, I would start a little slower and wait to see how I felt.  I got more aggressive today, because my recent training has been encouraging.  Also, 3:50 is a Boston qualifier for my age group, and I’m always willing to fight harder for that.

The pace felt a little fast, but I wanted to at least see how it felt for the first few miles.  Toward the end of the first mile, the 3:50 pacer sped up and started weaving between people.  It would’ve taken extra effort to stay with him, and the pace already felt fast.  I decided to maintain my current effort until I saw my time for the first mile.

I ran the first mile in 8:26.  That’s about 20 seconds too fast for a 3:50 marathon.  The pace group was a few seconds ahead of me, so they started even faster.  I decided to ease up a little, since the first mile was too fast.

For a while, I was dropping back from the pace group, but then I started to catch up to them again.  I wondered if they slowed down in the second mile.  Nope.  It was faster than the first mile.

I couldn’t keep going at that pace.  I didn’t know why the group was starting so fast, but I drifted back and ran by myself.  For the next several miles, my pace was in the 8:40s.  For the next two or three miles, the pace group was getting farther and farther ahead of me.  Then I noticed the gap seemed to stabilize.  They were way ahead of me, but they were no longer getting farther ahead.

I overheard several other runners talking to each other about how fast that group started.  We all reached the same conclusion and dropped back to run at our own pace.

Even though I was no longer trying to keep up with the pace group, I questioned whether my pace was sustainable.  It seemed like I was working too hard.  I was already emotionally invested in trying to break 3:50, so against my better judgement, I gave it a try.

The first nine miles of this race can best be described by three words:  wide open spaces.  There weren’t any spectators until just past nine miles.  Then we turned onto Kona Ranch Road.  There were several houses there, and it seemed like all the local residents came out to cheer us.

A short time later, we crossed the Kona Bridge over the Clark Fork River.  This was the first of three river crossings.  Now the scenery changed.  Instead of wide open spaces, we were running along a densely forested hillside, with occasional river views.  This was the most scenic part of the course.

By the end of the 10th mile, I was realizing I could no longer keep up the same pace.  Not only did the pace feel more tiring, but my legs felt a little heavy.  You should never feel that way in the first half of a marathon.  I ran that mile in 8:51.  That was my slowest mile so far, but it was also the most tiring.  Starting with mile 11, I abandoned my attempt to break 3:50.  I slowed down until the pace felt sustainable.  Mile 11 was 20 seconds slower than mile 10.

After abandoning a goal, I’ll often latch onto a backup goal.  The most obvious backup goal was breaking four hours.  Before committing to that, I needed to get a feel for what pace would be sustainable for the rest of the race.  I needed to wait until my pace stabilized.  In the meantime, I stopped focusing on my pace and started to focus on enjoying the scenery.  I didn’t bring my phone, because I didn’t want to carry any excess weight.  That unfortunately meant I couldn’t take pictures during the race.

I reached the halfway point in 1:55:43.  I was already well off the pace for 3:50, and I expected to be slower the rest of the way.  I was now within sight of the only big hill in this race.

It’s been four years since I last ran this course.  My recollection was that this hill was long but gradual.  My memory was wrong.  The hill is about a mile long, and most of it is gradual, but there’s a steep section at the beginning.

My plan for the hill was to keep my effort constant and not worry about my pace.  That didn’t work on the steep section.  Even though I was slowing down substantially, it still felt increasingly tiring.  I finally decided to conserve energy by taking a walking break.

I walked for a minute or two.  When I reached a section that wasn’t as steep, I went back to running.  I eventually got through that mile, but it took 10:19.  That was more than a minute slower than any previous mile.

It's worth noting, that the hill was on a road called Big Flat Road.  I find it amusing that it's the only road we ran on that wasn't flat.

After the uphill mile, there was a rolling mile, followed by a downhill mile.  I knew I wouldn’t make up the time from the uphill mile, but I thought I would make up some of it.  I was disappointed when the mostly downhill mile took nine minutes.

When I reached the 16-mile mark, I knew the rest of the race would be reasonably flat.  It wasn’t until now that I could get a sense of what pace would be sustainable the rest of the way.

During the next mile, the marathon and half marathon routes merged.  The half marathon started in a different spot, but the last 10 miles were the same as the marathon route.  Now, in addition to seeing the mile markers for the marathon, I also saw mile markers for the half marathon.

The second of the three river crossings was the Maclay Bridge over the Bitterroot River.  This bridge was narrow.  I made a point of looking up and down the valley as I crossed the bridge.

I ran mile 17 in 9:26.  I was too tired to do the math and figure out what pace I needed to break four hours.  I guessed that this pace might be fast enough, but I wasn’t sure.  I would be more confident if I could get my pace closer to 9:20.

I overheard another runner talking with a guy who came out to support her.  I got the impression that he isn’t a runner, because he was saying all the wrong things.  She said she felt “unwell.”  He said maybe she would feel better later.  Then he told her that she was “almost there.”  We still had nine miles to go.  When you’re struggling, nine miles can seem like forever.  It’s not “almost there.”

After he was gone, I asked her if she’s run many marathons.  This one was her first.  I felt the need to give her a pep talk.  First, I told her that this would be the most important marathon finish of her life.  Then I told her that some miles would inevitably be tough.  She might not feel better later, but that’s OK.  If she ran the next mile and still felt the same, that would mean she had one more mile done without feeling any worse.  All that mattered was to keep moving and finish.

I still wanted to pick up my effort and try to break four hours, but I was tempted to abandon that goal and stay with her for the rest of the race.  I wanted to make sure she finished.

We reached an aid station, and I slowed to a walk just long enough to drink some Powerade.  Then I lost sight of her.  I didn’t see her ahead of me, so maybe she took longer at the aid station than I did.  When I couldn’t find her, I went ahead on my own.

I picked up my effort and finished mile 18 in 9:18.  That was encouraging.  That pace would definitely be fast enough to break four hours.  I kept up that effort, but the next two miles were slower.  Mile 19 took 9:27 and mile 20 took 9:24.  I didn’t know if that would be fast enough.

When I saw the mile seven sign for the half marathon, I finally did the math.  I had roughly 57 and a half minutes to run 6.1 miles.  I estimated I needed to average 9:25 per mile the rest of the way.  I had been staying mostly in my comfort zone since the hill, but I picked up my effort again.

As I started getting into residential neighborhoods of Missoula, I looked straight ahead and saw a white L between two trees.  The L is similar to the M, but it’s not as large, and it hasn’t been there as long.  It was put there by students of Loyola Sacred Heart High School.  I’ve seen the L before, so I knew exactly where it was.  I now had a much better feeling for where I was.

In mile 21, I sped up to 9:02.  I immediately recalculated the pace I needed to break four hours.  I could now afford to slow down to 9:29, although I would go faster as long as I could.  For the rest of the race, I made the same computation every mile.  I kept beating the time I needed.

I didn’t hear much music during the race, but with a few miles to go, I heard some speakers blasting a Taylor Swift song.  It was “You Need to Calm Down.”  I enjoyed the song, but I wasn’t ready to calm down yet.  I was committed to breaking four hours, and I wasn’t going to calm down until I finished.

As I continued through Missoula, I sometimes got a glimpse of the M.  Each time, I saw it from a different angle.  Each time, it gave me a feeling for where I was.

When I finished the 24th mile, I estimated that I now needed an average pace of 10 minutes per mile.  When I reached the 11-mile marker for the half marathon, I took another look at my watch, so I could doublecheck my math.  I had just over 21 minutes to run the last 2.1 miles.  I checked again at 25 miles.  I had more than 13 minutes to run 1.2 miles.  Now, I could afford to calm down, although I didn’t slow down at all.

The last mile had several turns.  I lost my sense of direction.  I didn’t know where I was until I made the second-to-last turn.  Then I could see the final turn onto Higgins Avenue.

After making that turn, I saw Beartracks Bridge, which was our final river crossing.  By the time I got onto the bridge, I could see the finish line.  I poured it on.  According to my watch, I sped up to a 7:32 pace from 26 to the finish.

I finished in 3:56:52.  I’m not ready to run 3:50 yet, but this was my second fastest race this year.  It was a nice recovery after starting too fast.

The finisher medal for the marathon had the same design as the medal for the 5K, but it was larger.

After I got my medal, I turned around to look for other runners.  I immediately got a fist bump from another runner who tried to run with the 3:50 group.  He stayed with them longer than I did, but we both had to adjust our goals and finish on our own.

Then I saw the first-time marathoner who I had last seen with about nine miles to go.  She walked up to me and thanked me for the pep talk.  She started to feel better with six miles to go.  She was probably never that far behind me.  She finished about a minute after I did, even though I sped up a lot in the last six miles.

Before leaving the finisher chute, I saw a volunteer at a table labeled, “Big Three Challenge.”  The Big Three challenge refers to doing the beer run, 5K, and marathon (or half marathon) all in the same weekend.  For doing that, I received a blanket that rolls up and closes with Velcro.

The finish area was in Caras Park.  The tents that were previously used for the expo were repurposed.  One was used for the food line, and the other had tables and chairs, so we could sit and eat.  Our race bibs had coupons for food and beer.  We could pick up our beer at the Big Sky Brewing booth outside the tents.

Post-race food included a pasta dish, watermelon, bananas, Oreo cookies, and a variety of salty snack foods.  They also had water, but I opted for beer instead.

It didn’t warm up during the race as much as I thought it would.  We had a cool breeze, and we often had cloud cover.  I felt comfortable for most of the race.  The only time I was tempted to take my gloves off was after running up the hill.

After finishing, I started to get cold.  I put on my jacket, but I didn’t want to put on my wind pants.  I had them in my gear bag, but they were still clean, and I didn’t want to get them all sweaty.  I had to take my gloves off to eat.  Then my hands immediately turned white.  I ate as quickly as I could and then walked back to the hotel.

While I was walking back to the hotel, something happened that impressed me.  Each time I walked to or from the hotel, I had to cross a highway.  There was a crosswalk, but it wasn’t at a stop light.  Instead, there was a button you could press that turned on flashing lights on either side of the street.  Whenever someone turned on those lights, every car stopped, even if nobody had entered the crosswalk yet.  On my way back to the hotel, I hadn’t even pressed the button yet, and the cars stopped, just becasue I was approaching.  It was heartwarming to see motorists who treat pedestrians with such courtesy.  It’s not like that where I live.

I had to run warm water over my hands before I could do anything requiring fine motor skills.  Then I took a long hot shower and made some warm tea.  I don’t fly home until tomorrow, so I’ll probably visit the hot tub and then find some pizza for dinner.

Race statistics:

Distance:  26.2 miles

Time:  3:56:52

Average Pace:  9:02

First Half:  1:55:44

Second Half:  2:01:08

Lifetime Marathons/Ultras:  486

Montana Marathons:  5

Race Report: Tony Banovich 5K

This is the weekend of the Missoula Marathon.  I’ll be running the marathon on Sunday, but first I did the beer run and the Tony Banovich 5K race.

I arrived in Missoula Friday afternoon.  Rental cars were too expensive to be worth the cost, but my hotel had an airport shuttle.  My hotel was downtown, so once I got to my hotel, I could walk everyplace else I needed to go.

I got to my hotel around 3:00 PM.  After checking in, adjusting the thermostat, and unpacking a few things, I walked to the expo.  The expo was at Caras Park, which is right next to the Clark Fork River.

I got to the expo before packet pickup started.  While I was waiting, I watched some guys who were surfing the rapids.

I picked up my race packets for the 5K race and Sunday’s marathon and then went back to the hotel to get ready for the beer run, which started at 6:00 PM.

The beer run was a free three-mile fun run.  It wasn’t really a race.  It was just a chance to get in a short training run and get a free beer at the finish line, courtesy of Big Sky Brewing, which sponsored the event.

My weather app was giving me an ominous forecast.  It said a thunderstorm was imminent, and it would last at least an hour.  I looked outside and it wasn’t raining, so I decided to take my chances.  I went ahead and walked to Caras Park, where the run started.

About 10 minutes before the beer run, it started sprinkling.  It was warm enough that a little rain wasn’t a big deal, although I was still worried that the sky might open up at any time.

The course for the beer run started and finished at Caras Park, which is on the north side of the river.   We ran on a paved bike path and a few city streets for about three quarters of a mile.  Then we crossed the river on a pedestrian bridge.  We ran a loop around the University of Montana campus and them returned the way we came.  I fully expected a thunderstorm, but the rain stopped by the time I had run a mile and a half.

The beer run was advertised as a three-mile run, but it was more like 3.2 miles.  I ran it at a nice easy pace.  When I finished, I was handed a bottle opener and a ticket for a free beer.  It wasn’t raining, so I was able to take my time enjoying my post-run beer.  There was a bluegrass band playing under the pavilion.

I walked back to the hotel and took a quick shower before dinner.  By the time I was ready for dinner, it was 7:00 PM.  There was still a threat of rain, so I didn’t feel comfortable walking too far for dinner.  There’s a restaurant connected to my hotel, so I went there for dinner.  As luck would have it, they not only had pizza on the menu, but it was really good pizza.

I went to bed early, but I only slept for half the night.  I rested in bed until I needed to get up, but I never got back to sleep.  I guess even 5K races can give me pre-race nerves.

The 5K race started at 8:00 Saturday morning.  When I looked at the forecast the night before, it looked like there was a 50% chance of rain.  When I got up, I was pleasantly surprised to see that it not only wasn’t raining, but there wasn’t any rain in the forecast until the afternoon.

When I signed up for the 5K, I was planning to race-walk.  In a couple weeks, I’ll be competing in two race-walk events at the National Senior Games.  I thought race-walking the 5K would be a good tune-up for my events at the senior games.

Since then, I’ve done some really intense race-walking workouts, where I’ve pushed my pace as fast at 9:40 for a few minutes at a time.  After one of those workouts, I started to notice some discomfort in the back of my knees.  When you race-walk, you have to keep your knee straight.  I think my training was so intense that it caused minor strains near the top of each calf muscle.  My left calf seems to have recovered, but I still have soreness near the top of my right calf.

This injury doesn’t bother me when I run, but I was worried I would aggravate it if I tried to do an all-out walking effort in the 5K race.  Instead, I chose to run the 5K race.

The course was a loop.  It started on the same bridge where the marathon finishes.  I’m used to crossing this bridge in the opposite direction.  I immediately established a quick pace by accelerating until I was out of breath.  Then I did my best to hang on, even though the pace didn’t feel sustainable.

I’m not used to pacing myself over distances as short as 5K.  I had to fight the temptation to slow to a pace that felt sustainable.  I knew if it felt right, it would probably be a pace I could run for a much longer distance.  Even though I was already out of breath, I challenged myself to keep up with the runners around me.

By the time I made the first turn, I was starting to feel some pressure building in my intestines.  I thought I had emptied out before the race, but apparently not enough.

At the end of the first mile, I got my first time check.  I ran the first mile in 7:21.  That was at least 30 seconds faster than I started at the B.A.A. 5K race in April.  That’s my only recent 5K race, and I was disappointed with my slow pace.  I wanted to do better today.

At the B.A.A. 5K, I gradually accelerated throughout the race.  That wasn’t going to happen today.  I couldn’t imagine holding the same pace for two more miles.

In the second mile, I sometimes felt like I was starting to slow down.  Each time, I challenged myself to keep up with the runners around me.  I could keep up with most of them, but a few were passing me.

Toward the end of the second mile, we ran across the campus of the University of Montana.  We ran on a sidewalk that was paved with bricks.  That same sidewalk was also part of the beer run.  I moved to the edge of the sidewalk, where there was a narrow strip of smooth concrete.  That forced me to stay right behind two other runners who were doing the same thing.

It was here that I noticed that several of the runners just ahead of me were young children.  I could barely keep up with them.

Eventually, we turned onto streets again.  I was still following a young girl that was only half my height.  I couldn’t quite keep up with her.  Farther ahead, I saw a young boy stop and step off the road.  Then he threw up.  I felt bad, but not that bad.

I was having a different problem.  As I finished the second mile, I started to feel like I could lose control of my bowels at any moment.  It’s hard to hold it in when you’re trying to run as fast as you can.

My second mile was slower than the first one, but only by one second.  As I started the third mile, I was forced to hold back a little, so I wouldn’t crap my pants.

We briefly left the road to run across some grass.  I don’t run well on grass.  Thankfully, it was only for about 50 yards.  Then we turned onto a dirt trail, before eventually getting back onto pavement.

I was passed by a runner who looked like she was probably in high school.  She looked perfectly comfortable, like this was just her daily three-mile training run.

At about two and a half miles, we turned onto the same pedestrian bridge that was part of the course for the beer run.  For the rest of the race, we followed the same route as the beer run.

After crossing the bridge, I was right by my hotel.  We were supposed to turn left, but I was tempted to turn right and run straight to the hotel, so I could make a bathroom stop.  If this was just a fun run, I would’ve bailed out.  This was a race that I paid to enter, so I was determined to finish.

For the rest of the race, I had to compromise slightly on my effort.  Ideally, I would be digging deep and fighting for every second in the last half mile.  Instead, I had to hold back slightly.  I knew my time would still be much faster than my time at the B.A.A. 5K. 

When I finished the third mile, I could see the finish line just ahead of me.  I slowed a little in that mile, but not as much as I thought.  I ran that mile in 7:27.

I ran fastest in my sprint to the finish, bringing my average pace down to 7:20.  I crossed the finish line in 22:43.  My time at the B.A.A. 5K was 24:21, so this was a substantial improvement.  I’m pretty happy with that, especially under the circumstances.

I was surprised by the size of the finisher medal.  Maybe I’m just showing my age, but when I started running, only marathons had finisher medals.  This 5K medal is nicer than a lot of my marathon medals.

After getting my medal, I walked quickly to the port-o-potties, so I could finally relieve the pressure in my intestine.  Then I walked back to the hotel to shower and stretch.  It wasn't until two days later that I learned I had placed second in my age group.  I'll get an award in the mail.

Tomorrow, I’ll be running the marathon.  Stay tuned for my next race report.

Race statistics:

Distance:  5 kilometers

Time:  22:43

Average Pace:  7:20 per mile (4:33 per kilometer)

Race Report: 2023 Maratona do Rio

On June 11, I ran Maratona do Rio in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.  I was scheduled to run this marathon in 2020, but the trip was cancelled, because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

I traveled with Marathon Tours & Travel (MT&T).  I’ve often traveled to other countries by myself, but this was a trip where I was more comfortable traveling with a group.

Finding flights to Rio de Janeiro was more difficult than I anticipated.  Delta Airlines used to have flights from Atlanta to Rio de Janeiro, but they trimmed their flight schedule during the pandemic.  They still have flights to Sao Paulo, but to get to Rio de Janeiro, I needed an additional flight segment on a Brazilian airline.

I thought I found flights that worked, but I couldn’t book it.  The other airline appeared to have seats available, but when I tried to book it, I couldn’t get a confirmed seat.  I was on the phone with Delta for more than an hour before giving up and doing more research.

There are two airports in Rio de Janeiro.  At first, I was trying to find a flight into the international airport.  Since I was arriving on a domestic flight from Sao Paulo, there was no reason I couldn’t fly into the smaller domestic airport instead.  I eventually found flights on a different regional airline and I was able to book it.

Two months later, Delta changed their flight schedule.  My afternoon flight from Minneapolis to New York was cancelled, and I was automatically rebooked onto an early morning flight.  I would’ve needed to get up at 4:00 AM to get to the airport on time, and then I would’ve had an 11-hour layover in New York before boarding my flight to Sao Paulo.  I was back to the drawing board, trying to find better flights.  I ended up rebooking all three of my outbound flights to get a more reasonable itinerary.

Weather

It’s winter in the southern hemisphere, so it wasn’t nearly as hot as it would’ve been at other times of the year.  What surprised me is how cool it was in the mornings and evenings.

In the morning, it was generally in the mid to upper 60s.  It wouldn’t start to warm up until after the sun rose.

By midday, it felt really hot if you were in the sun.  The temperature was often only in the upper 70s, but the sun was intense, making it feel more like 90s.

In the late afternoon, if felt much cooler.  The temperature was still in the mid-70s, but as the sun got low enough in the sky to go behind the mountains, it would suddenly feel pleasant.

By 6:00 PM, it was already dark, and it would start to feel chilly if you were wearing short sleeves.

Drinking Water

In most of Brazil, it’s not safe to drink tap water.  In Rio de Janeiro, the tap water is drinkable, but most people don’t drink it, because it doesn’t taste good.  I used tap water for brushing my teeth, but I only drank bottled water.

I rarely needed to buy water.  Most of the time, I was able to drink water provided by the hotel or our tour group.  Whenever housekeeping made up the room, they left extra bottles of water.

Insects

In most of Brazil, you have to worry about insect-borne diseases, such as Zika and Dengue Fever.  That didn’t seem to be a concern in Rio de Janeiro.  I applied insect repellent as a precaution, but I never noticed any mosquitoes.

Wednesday, June 7

I had a late morning flight to JFK airport in New York.  After a five-hour layover, I flew to Sao Paulo on an overnight flight.  I packed light, so I could get by with just a carry-on bag.  I had a total of three flight segments on two different airlines, so I didn’t feel comfortable checking a bag.  There were too many opportunities for something to go wrong.

I’ve been on lots of overnight flights, but I was usually flying to Europe, so I was crossing several time zones.  On those flights, I stay awake, because it’s not too hard to hang in there until nightfall at my destination.

Flying to South America is different.  There wasn’t a big time difference between Minnesota and Brazil.  Brazil is three time zones east of Minnesota, but Minnesota is currently observing daylight time, and Brazil is on standard time.  Right now, the time difference is only two hours.  That made it more important to try to get sleep on the overnight flight.  I closed my eyes, relaxed, and got five or six hours of quality rest, but I never fell asleep.

Thursday, June 8

I arrived in Sao Paulo at 5:30 AM.  Not checking a bag saved me some time by allowing me to go directly to the customs/immigration line.  Passengers with checked bags had to retrieve their luggage before they could go through customs.

After clearing customs in Sao Paulo, I boarded a 45-minute flight from there to Rio de Janeiro.  Our takeoff was delayed about half an hour by fog in Sao Paulo, but I still got to Rio de Janeiro by 9:30 AM.  On the flight, I met two runners who were in my tour group, so we were able to share a taxi to the hotel.

Our group stayed at the Fairmont Rio de Janeiro Copacabana.  This hotel was located near two famous beaches.  We were right at the south end of Copacabana Beach.

We were also just a few blocks from the eastern end of Ipanema Beach.

The runners in our group were arriving at different times throughout the day.  We had a welcome reception in the evening, but until then we were on our own.

I was fortunate to get into a room right away, so I was able to change clothes and do a workout in the fitness room before lunch.

Whenever I visit someplace new, I seek out local pizza.  There were several pizzerias near the hotel, but some were only open for dinner, and others were closed for the Corpus Christi holiday.  Then I found a 24-hour pizza bar two blocks from the hotel.

After lunch, I visited both of the nearby beaches.  When I had spent enough time in the sun, I came back to the hotel and did some race-walking on the treadmill.  After a long overdue shower, I went back out to explore more of Copacabana Beach.  By now, the sun was getting low in the sky, and it was much cooler.

Because of the holiday, there were more people at the beach than usual, and there were street vendors selling food and drinks.  I saw a lot of people drinking from coconuts.  I also realized I missed an opportunity.  Instead of walking on the treadmill, I should’ve gone for a run, while the street along the beach was closed to traffic for the holiday.

At 6:00 PM, I went to the welcome reception for our tour group.  I had already met a few members of the group, but this was my first chance to meet everyone else.  We also got more information about our itinerary for the next few days.  Then our tour guides surprised us.  They had already gone to the expo and picked up everyone’s race packets, so we left the reception already having everything we needed for the race.  In addition to our race bibs and T-shirts, we each received a hat, small backpack, and a wristband to get into the VIP tents in the start/finish area.

I had such a big lunch that day that I didn’t feel the need to have a full dinner.  Cocktails and appetizers were all the food I needed.

After not sleeping the night before, I was ready to crash as soon as I got back from the reception.

Friday, June 9

We had an early breakfast at the hotel.  I joined a few other runners on the patio, where we had a nice view of the bay just before the sun came up.

After breakfast, we went on a guided tour, which took us to Corcovado Mountain, which is home to the Christ the Redeemer Statue.  To get to the top of Corcovado, we had to take a tram.  Then you could either walk up 220 steps or take an elevator followed by an escalator.

This is one of the highest points in the city.  From here, you can great views of the city.

One of my pictures was photobombed by two monkeys, who climbed on top of some solar panels.

After Corcovado, we went to the race expo.  We already had our race packets, but this gave everyone a chance to explore the expo and shop for running gear.  The expo was mostly outdoors, and there were food vendors, so some of us had lunch while we were there.  Before we left, our tour guides showed us where we would meet after the race.

When I got back to the hotel, I found the wifi adapter on my laptop was no longer working.  I spent the next hour and half trying to troubleshoot it, with the help of one of the hotel’s IT guys.  Eventually, I had to give up, so I would still have time to go for a run before dinner.

By now, the sun was low enough in the sky, that it was comfortable for running.  I ran four miles on the sidewalk alongside Copacabana Beach.  The only thing difficult about that run was weaving around all the people on the sidewalk.  In some spots, it was tough to find room to get through.

Most of the sidewalks near the beaches had this same tile pattern.  It represents the waves.

Before my run, I asked the IT guy to come back at 6:00 PM.  That gave me plenty of time to shower and change clothes after my run.  We worked on the computer for almost an hour, but we weren’t able to get it working.  I eventually had to give up on using my computer for internet access, so I could go to dinner.

By the time I ate dinner, it was dark and it was getting chilly outside.  Rather than go to a restaurant, I had dinner at the hotel, so I could get to bed early.

Saturday, June 10

For people doing the half marathon, Saturday was race day.  For the rest of us, it was a day to be on our own.

The half marathon route went right past our hotel, so I could see runners going by while I ate breakfast on the 6th floor patio.

I also saw a group of people paddling around the bay.

After breakfast, I went on a half day tour.  Most of the tour was spent at Sugarloaf Mountain.  To get to the top of Sugarloaf, you need to take two cable cars.  The first one takes you to the top of a smaller hill called Urca.  Then another cable car takes you from Urca to Sugarloaf.

From the top of Sugarloaf, you get great views looking back at the city.

On our way back, we stopped briefly at Urca.  It’s not as high, but you can see a part of the city that isn’t visible from Sugarloaf.

After Sugarloaf, we had two other stops.  The first was the Rio de Janeiro Cathedral.

Our last stop was at Escadaria Selarón.  These steps are adorned with 2,000 tiles from 60 different countries.  It was the busiest time of the day, so there were too many tourists in the way to get a good picture.  Walking up the steps, we could see some of the tiles.

When I got dropped off at the hotel, it was 1:15.  I was planning to have an early dinner, so I didn’t want to eat a full lunch.  Instead, I got some gelato from a café next to the hotel lobby.

After getting back to my room, I changed clothes and did a workout in the fitness center.  Then I organized my clothes for the race.  My running shoes were still damp from my run on Friday, so I had to dry them using a hair dryer.

I joined several runners from our group for dinner at an Italian restaurant that was walking distance from the hotel.

Sunday, June 11

Sunday was a warmest day of my trip.  When I woke up, it was 72 degrees.  The temperature was still dropping, but I don’t think it got below 70 degrees that morning.

It was race day.  The start of the marathon was about five miles away, but MT&T provided transportation to the start.  We had to be in the lobby by 3:45 AM, so I had to get up much earlier than I wanted to.

The race started in waves, starting with elites, then wheelchairs, then runners with disabilities, and the amateur runners.  According to the information we received, there were supposed to be five waves of amateur runners.  Everyone in our group had access to the VIP area, which put us in the green (second) wave.

After getting dropped off in the start area, we had about 40 minutes before our wave was supposed to start.  We all made our way to the VIP area.  There was food and beverages, but we quickly discovered there weren’t any port-o-potties inside the VIP area.  Then everyone left the VIP area to get into lines for port-o-potties.  By then the lines were long.  Mine seemed to be the line that was moving the slowest.

By the time I finally used the port-o-potty, the elite athletes had already started.  Since we had our own wave, I assumed we would have our own entrance to the start corrals.  I was expecting to be able to get into the start corral directly from the VIP area, but it didn’t work that way.

I asked one of our tour guides, and she pointed in the direction I needed to go to get to the start corrals.  By now, there was a big crunch of runners going in that direction.  I couldn’t actually see where there was an entrance to the corrals.  I only saw barriers on the side of the street.  The runners ahead of me were climbing over the barriers, and I had to do the same thing.

The barrier was too tall for me.  I had to put both hands on the top and push myself up as high as I could before I could finally get one leg over the top.  Once one leg was over, it wasn’t too hard to swing the other leg over and jump down.

I was in the start corral, but we were packed in like sardines.  Most of the runners around me had race bibs with blue backgrounds.  I saw at least one with a red background.  The blue group was supposed to be after the green group, and red was the last group.  I assumed I was in the wrong corral and had to move up until I reached the front, so I could move into the corral for the green group.

With effort, I managed to squeeze between people and keep moving forward.  I eventually realized there weren’t any corrals.  Either that, or I was already in the front corral.  I saw race bibs of all different colors, so it’s more likely that they didn’t really have corrals for the different start groups.  It was a free-for-all.

When we started running, the runners around me all started at different speeds.  I did my best to ignore them and start at a pace that felt right.

We started well before dawn, but there were plenty of street lights.  Visibility was never a problem.  I assumed that would be the case, so I didn’t bring a light of any kind.

The course was marked in kilometers, but my watch was giving me splits in miles.  As a result, my recollections of the race bounce back and forth between miles and kilometers.

For the first mile, I ran at about the same pace that I started two weeks ago at the Coeur d’Alene Marathon.  The temperature felt comfortable, but after about five minutes, I started to notice the humidity.  I was already sweating.

After running the first mile in about nine minutes, I eased up a little in the second mile.  At 3K, I reached the first water station.  The water was in pre-packaged cups with a foil seal on the top.  I had to slow to a walk, so I could peel the foil back enough to start drinking.  I continued walking until I was done drinking.  Then I resumed running.

My second mile was about 30 seconds slower than the first one, partly because I walked through the aid station.  I did the same thing at all the other aid stations.  As a result, I tended to have fast miles and slow miles, depending on whether that mile included an aid station.

By the end of the second mile, I was sweating like crazy.  It occurred to me that I was sweating much more than I did on Thursday, when I went for a run in the afternoon.  It wasn’t that hot, but the humidity was crazy.  I tend to hold up well in hot temperatures, but humidity can make me struggle if it’s high enough.  This was definitely one of those days.  The air felt like it was almost saturated.

In the next mile, one of the other runners in my tour group caught up to me.  I ran with him briefly, but his pace felt tiring, so I had to drop back after running with him for a few minutes.

At the expo, they had a crude course map, but it didn’t have any detail.  I thought the race was going to be out-and-back.  I knew there was a loop through the downtown area at the beginning, but I thought it would only be a few miles.  It was much longer than I expected, and we wouldn’t repeat this part of the course.

At 6K, I reached another water station.  Then, just a few minutes later, I reached an aid station with Gatorade in cups.  I didn’t feel like drinking again so soon, but I didn’t want to pass up a chance to drink the Gatorade.  There were lots of water stations, but the Gatorade stations were few and far between.

By the time I reached 7K, the inside of my shoes started to feel squishy.  They felt like they do when I’m running in rain.  They weren’t wet from rainwater.  They were soaked with sweat.

As I started my fifth mile, I noticed the horizon was starting have a pinkish hue.  By the end of that mile, the horizon started to look orange.  The sun was rising.

For the first four miles, my pace was in the 9:00 to 9:30 range.  Starting with the fifth mile, it was in the 10:00 to 10:30 range.  I was adjusting my pace to the conditions, after realizing the pace I started wasn’t sustainable in these conditions.

The early miles had lots of turns, including a few U-turns.  I wasn’t familiar with this part of town, so I had no idea where I was.

We passed some interesting sights in those early miles.  At one point, we passed a sailing ship that was lit up with multiple colors.  Later, we passed a ferris wheel that was lit up with red lights.  There were letters scrolling across it that spelled out MARATONA.

At seven miles, we turned onto a street that was paved with lumpy cobblestones.  I took that cautiously.  We ran on the cobblestones for one block, and then made a U-turn and ran back and ran the cobblestones of the other side of the street.

By now, the sun had risen sufficiently that there was plenty of daylight.  The sun was still low enough in the sky that we didn’t feel it directly.

After a couple more miles, I saw a sign for the Santos Dumont airport.  That airport is close to where we started.  It wasn’t until the middle of the 11th mile, however, that we ran past the start/finish area.  Now, finally, we were starting the out-and-back part of the course.

I was passed by a large group of runners.  Then I saw one of them was holding up a sign that read, “5:30.”  It was a pace group.  I initially assumed the sign meant they were targeting a finish time of 5 hours and 30 minutes.  That seemed impossible.  I was going slower than usual, but not nearly that slow.  I eventually realize that 5:30 was their pace per kilometer.  That was much faster than I was going, so it was no surprise that they passed me.  They must have started much farther back than I did.

I felt like I was drinking too much, but I expected it to get much hotter later in the race, so I continued drinking at every opportunity.  I assumed I would need to make a bathroom stop at some point.  I occasionally saw port-o-potties, but they always seemed to have lines.  I didn’t want to stop and wait, so I kept going.

I started recognizing the streets now.  We were running on streets that I had seen before during my two guided tours.  We were running through the Flamengo neighborhood.  At 19K, I had a good view of Corcovado.  The statue was facing directly toward me.

After the Flamengo neighborhood, we ran past Botafogo Beach.  This beach looks nice, but one of our tour guides told us you shouldn’t swim there, because the water in that bay is polluted.  People go there to play beach volleyball.

Before getting to the Copacabana neighborhood, we had to run through two tunnels underneath large hills.  As we ran through one of the tunnels, all the drivers were honking their horns.  It was their way of cheering for us.

I never noticed the 21K sign.  I also never noticed when my watch recorded a split for mile 13.  After the second tunnel, I saw the 22K sign.  It was only then that I realized I had missed the halfway point.  From my time at 22K, I estimated that I averaged about 10 minutes per mile in the first half of the race.  That’s only because my first four miles were faster.  All the miles since then had been slower than 10 minutes.  I fully expected my pace to continue to get slower in the second half of the race.

At 14 miles, I turned onto the street that goes past Copacabana Beach.  The next two miles would be familiar, because I ran past this beach on Friday.  The difference is this time I got to run in the street, instead of running on a sidewalk with uneven footing.

For the first 14 miles, the sun was low enough in the sky, that I was always in the shade.  That ended when I reached Copacabana.  Here, I felt the sun for the first time.  It didn’t make me feel any hotter, but I expected that to change as the sun got higher in the sky.

There were signs on the boulevard with ads.  Underneath the ads, there was a digital display that alternately showed the time and temperatures.  At about 25K, I noticed the temperature was 21 degrees Celsius.  That’s about 70 degrees Fahrenheit.  The temperature wasn’t any warmer than when we started.  It was only the humidity that was making running so difficult.

At 16 miles, I ran right past my hotel.  The runners in our group who did the half marathon on Saturday were probably watching us from the 6th floor patio.

In the middle of the street, volunteers were handing out bananas.  There had only been three Gatorade stations so far, so I wondered if I should eat a banana.  I didn’t want to do that much extra walking, so I skipped it for now.  I could always grab a banana on the way back.

After passing my hotel, the course turned right and went through Ipanema.  A few blocks later, after a couple bends in the road, I was alongside Ipanema Beach.  I continued to see signs with the time and temperature.  The temperature was still 21 C.

I continued past Ipanema Beach until I reached the Leblon neighborhood.  That was the last neighborhood I would see before the turnaround.

After the turnaround, I was on the side of the street closest to the beach.  I could see the entire length of Ipanema beach.  On Thursday, the beach was packed.  On Sunday, it was almost empty.  I can only assume that the local residents were still at church, and the tourists were all either running or watching the race.

A few minutes after making the turn, I saw a 6:00 pace group on the other side of the street.  That’s faster that I was currently going, so I assumed they would eventually pass me.

The sun was starting to feel warmer now.  Fortunately, I only felt it sporadically.  Running through Ipanema, we often had shade from the tall buildings nearby.

At 31K, there was an aid station with gels.  I ate a gel and followed it with a cup of water.  I had been worried that I wasn’t taking in many calories, so that helped.

From miles five through 19, my pace consistently stayed in the 10:00 to 10:30 range.  Starting with the 20th mile, I slowed down to something between 10:45 and 11:00.

At 21 miles, I ran past the hotel again.  This is where the bananas were.  I wanted to get one, but another runner got between me and the volunteers with the bananas.  By the time I got around him, I was already past the bananas.  Other volunteers were handing out some type of bar, but I didn’t want to eat anything dry.

Now I was running through Copacabana for the second time.  Here, there wasn’t any shade.  I probably would’ve got hotter here, but I started to feel a nice breeze blowing in from the ocean.

I reached another aid station and drank another cup of water.  The water was in large trays that were filled with ice to keep the water cold.  It wasn’t until after I left that aid station that I realized I could’ve grabbed a handful of ice cubes to put in my hat.  I could’ve been doing that for the whole race.

About halfway through Copacabana, I saw several military vehicles parked between the beach and the street.  There were jeeps, trucks, tanks, and armored personal carriers.  They weren’t there any of the other days, so I knew it was some kind of special occasion.

It occurred to me that I still had not been passed by the 6:00/kilometer pace group.  I thought they were right behind me, but evidently, I had a bigger lead on them than I thought.

As I reached the end of Copacabana Beach, I saw another water station.  I considered getting some ice cubes, but it occurred to me that this late in the race, it might do more harm than good.  My forehead was caked with salt from sweat that had evaporated.  If I put ice cubes in my hat now, the water would run down my face as the ice cubes melted, rinsing the salt into my eyes.  I knew from experience how much that can sting.

At the end of the beach, I turned left to run back towards the tunnels.  I once again could enjoy shade.  I kept seeing signs with the time and temperature.  It was still 21 C.  That surprised me.  I though it would be warming up by now.

As I entered the first tunnel, I only had 5K to go.  By the time I left the second tunnel, I only had 4K to go.

Just past the second tunnel, I reached a water station that had a pair of port-o-potties.  I had wanted to make a bathroom stop almost since the beginning of the race.  A runner in front of me went into one of the port-o-potties just before I got there.  The other one was already occupied.  I had to hold out until the end of the race.

I ran past Botafogo Beach again.  After the 39K sign, I started to put more effort into my pace.  Then I realized I was starting to pass a few of the other runners.  For most of the race, other runners were passing me.  Now, for the first time, I was passing them.  That encouraged me, and I put even more effort into picking up the pace.  For the rest of the race, I ran faster.

At 40K, it was getting harder to maintain my effort, but I did my best.  It didn’t help that some of the other runners were speeding up now, so I was once again getting passed by several runners.

With about a mile to go, I reached the last aid station on the course.  I knew I couldn’t peel the foil off a water cup without stopping to walk, and at this point, I didn’t want to do any more walking.  I pressed on.

At 41K, I told myself I only had 1,200 meters to go.  That’s like three laps around a track.  Finally, when my watch gave me my split for mile 26, I saw that I had run my fastest mile since early in the race.  About a minute later, I saw the finish line.

I finished in 4:27:46.  Moments after I finished, the 6:00/kilometer pacer finished.  I was shocked that he never passed me.  He must have been much farther behind me than I realized when I saw him on the other side of the street in Ipanema.

They were handing out bottles of water, but I knew I could get something to drink in the VIP tent at the finish.  I kept walking to get my finisher medal.

I kept walking forward until I saw an exit on the right.  I knew I needed to go that way to get to the VIP tent, where I would meet out tour guides and the other runners in my group.  As I kept walking, I saw more runners coming from a different direction.  They all seemed to be wearing light blue T-shirts.  I eventually realized they were runners who finished the 10K race.  That race also took place on Sunday, but it started later.  The blue T-shirts were their race shirts.  The marathon T-shirts were orange.

Getting through the finish area was difficult as it got more crowded.  It didn’t help that several runners suddenly stopped to take selfies in front of one of the banners.

When I reached the end of the finisher chute, I had two priorities.  The first was to find port-o-potties.  That wasn’t too difficult.  After waiting for four hours to pee, I was surprised how little fluid I passed.  I didn’t realize it, but I was just getting started.  I made two more bathroom stops before leaving the finish area.

I’m really glad the MT&T staff showed us how to reach the VIP tent after finishing.  Without knowing in advance, I might not have been able to find it.  There wasn’t any signage.

The VIP area at the finish was much better than the one at the start.  They had food, beer, and port-o-potties.  They were also giving out Maratona do Rio visors.  After sitting down to drink a beer, I was spotted by one of our guides.  A group of about 10 runners had already left to go to the hotel.  I had to wait for the next group.  While I waited, I had some food and compared notes with other runners.

When it was time for another group to leave, we walked to where our bus could pick us up.  As the crow flies, we were only about five miles from the hotel, but we couldn’t take a direct route, and traffic was really slow.  It took more than an hour to get back to the hotel.  Thankfully, the bus had a bathroom.  I would not have been able to hold it until we got back to the hotel.  When we finally got there, I needed to pee again.  Clearly, I overhydrated during the race, but I expected it to get much hotter, and it never did.

After getting back to my room, I took a long shower and did some stretches.  I relaxed at the hotel until midafternoon.  Then I went to the hotel restaurant for a late lunch.  I was a filling meal, but this was going to be my only real meal of the day.

While I was eating, I noticed several naval vessels in the bay.  I asked my server and found out that this was some type of military holiday.  That also explained the vehicles I saw parked next to Copacabana Beach.  They were in Copacabana because there’s a military base just south of the beach.

Later in the day, we had a post-race party at the hotel bar.  It was a chance for everyone to celebrate their marathon, half marathon, or 10K finishes.  For seven of us, it was also a chance to celebrate running marathons or half marathons on all seven continents.  I received an extra medal from MT&T, along with a certificate.

Monday, June 12

I flew home on Monday, but not until late in the day.  For the first time during this trip, I didn’t have to set an alarm.  I could sleep until I woke up naturally, and eat breakfast at my leisure.

Some of the other runners in my group extended their trip by traveling to Iguassu Falls.  They had to leave for the airport before I was even awake.

After breakfast, I started packing, and then I did a workout in the fitness room.  After that, I spent the rest of the morning walking along Ipanema Beach.

Sometimes, I’ll hear a song during a trip that’s appropriate for the destination or the occasion, and I’ll always think of that trip when I hear it.  The first time I traveled to Portland for the Firecracker Triple, I kept hearing Katy Perry’s “Firework” on the radio.  When I was in Cuba, a lounge singer in my hotel was singing “Havana.”  On this trip, I heard “Girl from Ipanema” at least three times.

I had to check out by noon, but the hotel held my bags for me until I needed to leave.  In the meantime, I had lunch at a Brazilian restaurant a few blocks away.  When I got back to the hotel, I was able to use the changing room in the fitness center to change clothes before going to the airport.

I gave myself plenty of time to get to the airport.  In theory, it’s a 30-minute drive, but I had seen how slow traffic can sometimes get.  I allowed an hour.

I started with a short flight to Sao Paulo.  From there, I had an overnight flight to Atlanta.  It was difficult fitting everything into my suitcase, as I had acquired a T-shirt, a visor, a hat, a souvenir cup, and a backpack.  I could’ve used the backpack as an extra bag, but I wanted to avoid checking luggage.  Atlanta is another airport where you need to retrieve your luggage before you can go through the customs line.

I managed to sleep for about an hour.  After that, a crying baby woke me up and light turbulence kept me from getting back to sleep.  I was hoping to sleep longer, but any sleep is good when I’m on an airplane.

Tuesday, June 12

When I arrived in Atlanta, I was one of the few people who didn’t have to wait for a checked bag, so I was first in line when I got to security after going through immigration and customs.  That gave me lots of time before my flight to Minneapolis.

When I got home, my first order of business was to troubleshoot my laptop.  The first step was to plug into our home network using an ethernet cable.  That wasn’t an option at the hotel, because the rooms don’t have ethernet ports.  Once I was online via ethernet, I could go into my settings and select wifi, and just like that I was able to connect.  Presumably, my computer automatically downloaded the driver it needed, but it was completely behind the scenes.

I still can’t fathom why I needed an updated driver for my wifi adapter, when the hardware didn’t change.  I’m not an IT guy, though.  The IT guy at the hotel, said it would probably be easy if I could just get online via ethernet first.  He was right.

Race statistics:

Distance:  42.2 kilometers

Time:  4:27:46

Average Pace:  6:21 per kilometer (10:13 per mile)

Lifetime Marathons/Ultras:  485

Countries:  46

Continents:  7