Race Report: 2024 Farley Hill Marathon

On December 8, I ran the Farley Hill Marathon in Barbados.  This race is part of the three-day Run Barbados weekend, which also includes a half marathon and several shorter events.

I considered doing their gold medal challenge, which includes a one mile fun run on Friday, a 10K race on Saturday, and the marathon on Sunday.  If you do that, you get medals for each race, plus an extra medal.  I did something similar six years ago in Bermuda.

I lost interest in doing the shorter races when I looked into the schedule and the logistics.  The mile started at 8:00 PM on Friday.  I would’ve been more interested if it started two or three hours earlier, but racing that late in the day would mean putting off dinner until 9:00 PM or later.  That’s awfully late to be going to dinner when you’re trying to stay on an early schedule in anticipation of an early start time on Sunday.

The 10K race on Saturday was also too late in the day.  It started at 4:10 PM, and it was on the opposite side of the island from where I was staying.  Not only would I be running a 10K race at the hottest time of the day, but I wouldn’t get back to the hotel until 7:00 PM at the soonest, and I probably wouldn’t eat dinner until after 8:00 PM.  Doing an extremely hot 10K roughly 12 hours before an extremely hot marathon and only getting four hours of sleep didn’t sound like fun to me.  Instead, I just did the marathon, and I spent the rest of the weekend enjoying a tropical vacation.

Wednesday, December 4

Delta has one daily flight from Atlanta to  Barbados, and it leaves in the morning.  They do that so the same plane can return to Atlanta in the afternoon.  That’s common with Caribbean destinations.  They do one daily round-trip.

If I took the earliest flight out of Minneapolis, I would only have 49 minutes to make my connection in Atlanta.  That’s not much time when missing the connection means waiting a full day to catch the next flight.  Also, winter departures from Minneapolis are sometimes delayed, because they have to de-ice the plane.  Rather than risk it, I flew to Atlanta Wednesday evening and spent the night at a hotel near the airport.

There are lots of nearby hotels with airport shuttles.  I chose a hotel next to the Georgia International Convention Center, so I could take the sky train instead.  If you’re familiar with the Atlanta airport, that’s the same tram you would take to get to the rental car center.  I didn’t get to my hotel until 10:00 PM, so I tried to get to sleep as quickly as I could.

Thursday, December 5

I got up in time to eat breakfast at my hotel, and then I took the sky train back to the airport for my flight to Barbados.  I arrived in Barbados in the late afternoon and took a taxi to my hotel in Bridgetown.  Taxi drivers in Barbados don’t take credit cards, but U.S. currency is widely accepted.

I stayed at the Hilton Barbados Resort, which is located at Needham’s Point.  I had an ocean view room.  This was the view from my balcony.

Needham’s Point is the former site of Charles Fort.  Most of the fort is gone, but remnants of the fort are still in place.

There’s also an old lighthouse, which is no longer in use.  It looks a bit out of place next to the much larger hotel.

I had plenty of time for sightseeing over the next two days, so I spent Thursday evening relaxing at the resort.  One of the restaurants at the resort was an Italian restaurant, which gave me an opportunity to have pizza in Barbados.  For those keeping score at home, I’ve had pizza in 52 countries now.

Friday, December 6

I was up early, so I went for a run before breakfast.  At 6:30 AM, it was already in the 80s, and it would only feel hotter if I waited until the sun was higher in the sky.

I started out running along the main road going south.  It was a busy road, so I did my best to stay on the sidewalk, but the sidewalks were narrow and didn’t always go through.

After about a mile and a half, I saw a place where I could leave the road to get onto the Richard Haynes Boardwalk.  I had read that this was a popular place for running, so I was disappointed to learned that it was less than three quarters of a mile from one end to the other.  I saw other runners going back and forth, and I decided that was preferable to running on the roads.

I don’t generally like running on wooden surfaces, but I liked the way this boardwalk was constructed.  It felt solid, I didn’t encounter any trip hazards, and water could drain through it, so there were no puddles.

There was a strong breeze.  In one direction, it cooled me off.  In the other direction, I really felt the humidity.  I ran back and forth a few times and then followed the road back to the resort.  When I was done, I was dripping wet.  That was a good preview of how the marathon would feel.

Friday was the last day that I could pick up my race packet, and packet pickup ended at 3:00 PM.  That why I needed to fly to Barbados on Thursday.  Packet pickup was at Courtyard by Marriott, which was about a mile from the Hilton resort.  After breakfast, I walked over to Courtyard to pick up my race packet.  While I was there, I inquired about where I could catch a bus on race morning.

We had our choice of T-shirts or tank tops.  I chose the tank top, because I don’t get those as often.  My race packet also included a hat, a phone holder, and two key chain bottle openers.

Walking to and from packet pickup, it felt intensely hot.  The temperature was only about five degrees warmer now, but the sun was high in the sky.  It was the sun that made it feel so hot.

When I’m on vacation in another country, I normally spend my free time walking around town doing sightseeing.  It was much too hot for that, so instead I spent the rest of the day at the resort.  I had lunch at the beach bar, went swimming, did exercises in the fitness center, and spent a lot of time just hanging out at the beach.

The Hilton resort had five restaurants.  For dinner, I went to their Bajan restaurant.

When I’m traveling, I seek out local beers.  I tried a couple Barbadian beers, but Barbados isn’t really known for beer.  They’re known for their rum.  After dinner, I had a rum flight.

Saturday, December 7

I got up early again to go for a run before breakfast.  This time, I turned the other way on the main road, which allowed me to see more of Bridgetown.

I spent most of the day relaxing at the resort.  A brief rain shower chased everyone away from the beach.  When the rain stopped, I went swimming, and I briefly had the whole beach to myself.

Just as I was leaving the beach, it started raining again.  That second rain shower brought the temperatures down.  When the rain stopped, I could comfortably walk into town, where I had early dinner.

I gradually adjusted my sleep schedule, going to bed earlier each night.  I had no trouble getting to sleep, but I woke up a few hours later and had trouble getting back to sleep.

Sunday, December 8

Sunday was race day.  The race started at 5:30 AM, but the start and finish were on the other side of the island.  There were buses to take us to the start from Bridgetown, but I would’ve needed to walk into town to be at a bus stop by 3:15.

I met a couple from Oklahoma who were taking a taxi to the start, and they were willing to let me share their taxi.  I met them in the lobby at 4:00.

The temperature was in the low 80s when we left Bridgetown.  The humidity was high, as it always is in Barbados.  One nice thing about the warm weather is that I didn’t need any extra layers to be warm enough.  I was perfectly comfortable leaving the hotel in my running clothes.

When we arrived in the start area, there was a strong wind off the coast.  I was pleasantly surprised to see that it was only 74 degrees on that side of the island.  The wind off the coast was bringing in cooler air.

The marathon and half marathon both started at Barclays Park in St. Andrew Parish.  The course was a 13.1 mile route.  The half marathon was one lap, and the marathon was two laps.

Before the start, they announced that there were 77 runners doing the marathon and 207 doing the half marathon.  I was surprised the race wasn’t larger.  This is a well-organized race with lots of support, so I was expecting hundreds of runners.

We started running just before dawn.  In the finish area, there was plenty of light, but as we headed out, it was still somewhat dark.  There was enough light to see the road, but I couldn’t see much of my surroundings.  Within a few miles, there was plenty of light.

I started at a pace that was much slower than my usual marathon pace.  I knew the humidity could break me if I tried to run too hard.

Aid stations were plentiful.  There were 10 or 11 aid stations along the course, and we would pass each one of them twice on each lap.  I needed to take in a lot of fluids, but drinking at every aid station would’ve been excessive.  Occasionally, I skipped one.

We started out running along the coast, but there were two out-and-back sections that took us inland.  We followed the main road for about two miles before starting the first out-and-back section.

Running away from the coast, it was slightly uphill.  I also no longer felt the strong breeze that I had felt earlier.  I was forced to slow down.

It was on this first out-and-back that I got my first look at the faster runners who were already coming back.  It would be a long time before I reached the turnaround.  This section had several turns.  I didn’t see the turnaround until after the last turn.

Coming back, it was slightly downhill, and I felt the breeze again.  My pace was faster in this direction.

This side of the island was mostly rural.  Several times during the race, I saw farm animals.

I didn’t even notice when we turned back onto the main road.  Before I knew it, we were beginning the next out-and-back section.

This section was also somewhat uphill, and we had a tailwind.  That might sound like a good thing, but I was counting on the wind to counteract the high humidity.  When I didn’t feel a strong breeze, the humidity made it feel more tiring.

When I reached the turnaround, I commented to the runner next to me that it would be easier coming back.  He thought I was referring to it being downhill in this direction.  When I mentioned the wind, he thought that was a bad thing.  He said the wind would be tiring.  I only cared that it helped to cool us off.  I think he was a local runner, so he wasn’t faxed by the humidity.

After we returned to the main road again, the road gradually curved away from the coast.  This last section was also noticeably uphill.  The hill got more tiring as we got closer to the far end of the course.

Getting to the turnaround was tiring, but as soon as I turned around, I sped up.  After the turn, it was noticeably downhill.

By now, I had already run nine miles.  We only had to run the out-and-back sections on our way out.  From here, we would have a fairly direct route back to where we started.

I felt the need to make a bathroom stop.  I remembered seeing a row of port-o-potties near one of the aid stations.  I needed to hold on for about a mile and a half before I got back to them.

When I got there, I stopped to use a port-o-potty.  The first thing I did was check to see if there was toilet paper.  There was, but it was a new roll, and it wasn’t easy removing the plastic wrapper.

Most port-o-potties are pit toilets.  These ones needed to be flushed.  When I was done doing my business, I stepped on the foot pedal to flush, but nothing happened.  I eventually opened the door and told the guy who was waiting that I wasn’t able to flush.  As it turns out, this guy wasn’t a runner.  He was the guy who was there to service the port-o-potties.  He told me to go ahead and he would take care of it.

As I resumed running, I felt the cool breeze hitting my soaking wet running clothes.  That immediately rejuvenated me.

For the rest of the way back to the start/finish area, I was running into the wind.  At first, it felt refreshing, and I started to speed up.  Eventually, the wind got stronger.  Then it was tiring running into it.

With about a mile to go in my first lap, I started to get views of the coast.  I would’ve had these views earlier, but it was too dark to see much when the race started.

I finished my first lap in 2:17:43.  That’s about what I expected.  I wasn’t sure how much I would slow down in the second half.  The sun was higher in the sky now.  In addition to the humidity, the heat of the sun was now a factor.

As I started my second lap, I had the wind at my back.  I no longer felt the cooling effect of the breeze.  Instead, I started to feel the sun.  I had to be careful not to overheat.

I saw lots of runners heading toward the finish line, but there weren’t nearly as many running in my direction.  The runners doing the half marathon just had to do one lap, and then they were done.

I saw a runner heading toward the finish who looked like one of the fast runners I had seen earlier.  He had a marathon bib, and he was wearing bib number 1.  I had barely started my second lap, and he was already finishing his.  He was on pace to finish in about 2:30.

When I got back to the first out-and-back section for the second time, I remembered that it was slightly uphill going out.  It didn’t slow me down as much this time.  I felt a breeze this time.

There weren’t any half marathon runners on this section, but I saw faster marathon runners coming back.  Many of them were smiling and encouraging the runners who were still headed out.  Seeing how cheerful they were lifted my spirits.

Coming back on that section, it was downhill, but I didn’t feel the breeze as much.  I wasn’t any faster coming back than I was going out.

After coming back to the main road, I knew it wasn’t too much farther before the next out-and-back.  As I got closer to the roundabout where we would turn, I noticed that I was catching up to one of the faster runners I had seen earlier.  It was a runner who had been way ahead of me not too much earlier.  Now, she was walking.

As I was about to catch up to her, I heard her tell another runner that she had missed a turn.  I asked her about that when I caught up to her.  Then she asked me what distance my watch was reading.

I had run just over 18 miles.  She had run two miles farther than that.  I ran with her as we started the second out-and-back.

Her name was Magdalena, and she asked me to let her know when we finished the next mile.  There weren’t any mile markers, so I only knew the distance from my watch.

At the time, we were at about 18.5 miles.  I didn’t know if I could keep up with Magdalena for another half mile.  She was a faster runner, and I was finding her pace to be tiring.

Eventually, I said, “I hope 19 comes soon.  I don’t know how much longer I can keep up with you.”  Then she said she would stay with me for the rest of the race, and we could go whatever pace I wanted.  After that we slowed down a bit.

The next time we reached an aid station, we both walked while we drank.  Then Magdalena needed to keep walking a bit longer.  I was fine with that.

Coming back, it was easier.  At first, we were both running.  As we got closer to the main road, Magdalena started walking again.  Knowing she would need to run two extra miles was taking a toll on her psychologically.

She was expecting me to go ahead, and she asked me to wait for her after finishing, so we could exchange contact information.  I said, “I’ll wait for you now.”  I was planning to stay with her to the end of the race, even if we had to walk most of it.

We walked for a few minutes.  Then another runner caught up to us, and he encouraged us to get going.  Hearing that, Magdalena immediately started to run again.

At first, we were running at a pace I found easy.  After getting back onto the main road, Magdalena started to speed up.  I had to work hard to keep up with her when she was running.

We were now on the last segment before the final turnaround.  Magdalena said she thought she was getting dehydrated.  I suggest that she drink two cups at the next aid station and also pour a cup of water over her head.  She did that at most of the remaining aid stations.

Soon we saw a pickup truck going slowly in the other direction.  They had a cooler filled with water bottles and ice.  Magdalena paused to grab a handful of ice.  I suggested she put ice in her hat and let it melt on top of her head.  I’ve found that to be effective in hot weather ultras.

As we got closer to final turnaround, it was uphill.  The same runner who caught up to us earlier caught up to us again.  He encouraged us to resume running.  Magdalena said she would start running when we crossed the next bridge.  We ended up walking all the way to the turnaround.  She said she might be able to run the rest of the way once we made the turn.

After the turnaround, it was downhill.  We both resumed running.  I had trouble keeping up again, but I worked to keep up with her.  Eventually, she asked if we could take a walking break.  I was relieved.  I was about to ask her the same thing.

For the rest of the race, we mostly ran, but we sometimes needed a walking break where it was uphill.

At some point, Magdalena realized that in spite of running two extra miles, she was still going to break five hours.  That lifted her spirits.  When we passed 24 miles, she had already run a full marathon distance.  That also seemed to lift her spirits.  She had lost her focus earlier, but now she was back in the zone.

We took one last walking break, but we started running when there was only one mile to go.  As we reached a small hill, I had to ask her to slow down, so I could keep up with her.

As we got closer to the finish area, Magdalena saw another woman ahead of us.  She said she wanted to pass her, if we could.  I was game to try.  We both sped up, but I couldn’t keep up the pace.  I told Magdalena to go for it if she could, and I would catch up to her in the finish area.  She ran hard to the finish, but I don’t think she caught the other woman.  I followed at the best pace I could, finishing in 4:43:04.

After drinking some water and making a bathroom stop, I went back to the finish line to see how I did in my age group.  The marathon results weren’t posted yet, but I learned that I placed second in my age group.  In addition to my finisher medal, I received another medal for my age group award.

Despite running two extra miles, Magdalena also placed in her age group.  All of the runners we met were impressed with her result.

There were busses back to Bridgetown at 9:30 and 11:30.  The 9:30 buses were mostly for people who ran the half marathon.  I wasn’t fast enough for those buses.  I had to wait about an hour for one of the 11:30 buses.

The bus ride back was an adventure.  The road was bumpy, and the driver was going fast and playing loud music.

I got dropped off at the bus stop closest to the Hilton resort.  From there, I had to walk about half a mile.  As soon as I started walking, I felt the intense heat.  It was about 10 degrees warmer in Bridgetown than it was where we were running.  Also, the sun was now high in the sky.

By the time I got back to my hotel room, I was both hungry and thirsty.  I didn’t have anything to eat after finishing the race, and despite drinking much more than usual, I don’t think I drank enough to replace the fluids I was losing.

I finished a bottle of water that I had in my room.  Then I took a quick shower before heading down to the beach bar to get something to eat.  I was planning to have a big dinner later, but the restaurant I was planning to go to didn’t open until 6:00.  I just needed something to tide me over until then.

I spent the afternoon relaxing, and I eventually had my post-race pizza at the Hilton resort’s Italian restaurant.

I didn’t need to get to bed early, but I got sleepy shortly after dinner.  I got the most sleep I’ve had in weeks.

Monday, December 9

I was up early enough to go for a short recovery run before breakfast.  My route took me around a horse racing venue, and I saw several horses being brought to the track.

My flight back to Atlanta wasn’t until late afternoon.  I didn’t need to leave for the airport until 2:00, and I was able to get a late checkout.  That gave me enough time to do a workout and have lunch before leaving for the airport.

I got to Atlanta around 9:00 PM.  I could’ve connected to a late evening flight to Minneapolis, but I didn’t relish the idea of coming home from the airport at 1:00 AM.  Instead, I’m spending another night at an airport hotel in Atlanta and I'll wait until Tuesday morning to fly home.

I’m staying at the same hotel as before, so I was able take the sky train to and from my hotel.

Race statistics:

Distance:  26.2 miles

Time:  4:43:04

Average Pace:  10:48 per mile

First Half:  2:17:43

Second Half:  2:25:21

Lifetime Marathons/Ultras:  535

Countries:  51

Place in Age Group:  2nd

Race Report: 2024 Route 66 Marathon

On November 24, I ran the Route 66 Marathon.  I needed a marathon in Oklahoma to finish my fifth circuit of 50 states, and this is my favorite Oklahoma marathon.  It was also one of the quarterly reunions of the 50 States Marathon Club, so I was motivated to finish at this race.

Friday, November 22

There aren’t any direct flights from Minneapolis to Tulsa.  Flying on Delta, I had to go through Atlanta, so it took most of the day to get there.  I wanted to attend the 50 States Marathon Club meeting on Saturday, so I flew to Tulsa on Friday.

Whenever I do this race, I stay at the same hotel.  The Doubletree in downtown Tulsa is connected by skyway to the Cox Business Center, which was the site of the expo and also the club meeting.  Doubletree has an airport shuttle, so I didn’t need to rent a car.

When I arrived at the airport in Tulsa, I called Doubletree to request an airport shuttle.  Nobody answered the phone for 20 minutes.  When I finally got through, I was told that it would be another 30 minutes before an airport shuttle was available.  I didn’t want to wait that much longer after already waiting for 20 minutes, so I took a taxi.

When I checked in at Doubletree, the hotel manager was apologetic about the delay and reduced my room rate by the amount I paid for the taxi.

I could’ve waited until Saturday to pick up my race packet, but the expo was close, so I went over there as soon as I was unpacked.  Instead of a T-shirt, my race packet included a nice warm vest.  I have hundreds of T-shirts, so I like it when I can get something different.

There are a number of breweries on the east side of the downtown area.  I found one that has Detroit-style pizza, so I went there for dinner.  After dinner, I spent most of the evening talking to another runner who belongs to a local hashing club.  His club was planning a run for Sunday.  He tried to talk me into joining them, but I didn’t think I’d be up for another run after the marathon.

Saturday, November 23

I had breakfast at Doubletree and then went for a morning run.  I was staying at the western edge of the downtown area, so it didn’t take long to get over to the Arkansas River.  Then I followed a paved trail along the river.  This same trail is part of the marathon route.

I didn’t coordinate plans with anyone, but I knew a lot of other runners who were doing this race.  As I was walking to lunch, I saw several familiar faces.  Most were runners.  One was a race-walker I remembered meeting at the National Senior Games.

After lunch, I had time to do a workout and organize my clothes for the race.  Then I went back to the convention center for the reunion meeting of the 50 States Marathon Club.

When you finish a round of marathons in every state, the club mails you a trophy.  The next time you attend one of these reunions, you can bring your trophy and talk about your experience.

This was my first club meeting since finishing my fourth round of states at this same race a year ago.  I told the group how I saw spectators offering donuts during last year’s race, but I didn’t stop, because I was going for a fast time.  This year, I planned to stop for all the food and beverages being offered by the spectators.

I was worried that the downtown restaurants would all be busy the night before the race.  I didn’t want to walk for 15 minutes only to find out that I couldn’t get a table, so I had dinner at the hotel.  Their restaurant had flatbreads.

After dinner, I went to a bar that was two blocks from my hotel.  I had a great conversation with the bartender, and I met a woman who used to live in Burnsville, MN, and went to the University of Minnesota.  This is why I love going to bars.  I always meet interesting people.

Sunday, November 24

This race has had cold weather in the past, but this year was relatively warm.  It was 55 degrees in the morning, and I expected it to get up to 70 by the time I finished.  It was a windy day, and I anticipated going slow and taking walking breaks, so I dressed warmer than I normally would.  I wore tights instead of shorts, and I wore a thin T-shirt underneath my 50 States Marathon Club singlet.

This race always rolls out the red carpet for members of the 50 States Marathon Club and Marathon Maniacs.  They had a VIP tent we could use in the start area with a private gear check and port-o-potties.  They also had a professional photographer to take pre-race group photos.

The race started at 8:00 AM.  I left the hotel at 6:45, which gave me plenty of time to walk to the start before the group photos.  When I arrived, I waited in the tent at “Maniac Corner” until it was time for the group photo.

Over the years, the course has changed several times.  This year’s course was similar to last year’s course, but there were a few differences.  We were warned that there would be more hills.  Last year, I qualified for Boston on this course.  This year, I opted to stay in my comfort zone and just take it easy.

I was finishing my fifth circuit of states, so I chose to view this race as a victory lap.  Instead of running for a fast time, I was celebrating all the races I ran to get to this point.  If I saw a beer stop or a spectator offering food, I was going to stop and partake.

I didn’t start as fast as I normally would.  I was following the runners around me, but I was also holding back a little.

About halfway through the second mile, I saw some spectators in the street handing something to any runners who stopped.  When I saw that they were small bottles of Fireball, I went over to get one.  That set the tone for the rest of the race.

I knew I needed to pace myself, so I didn’t drink it all at once.  I took a sip, put the cap back on, and carried it with me.  I drank it gradually over the next mile.

About halfway through the third mile, I saw some guys on the side of the road with a cooler full of beer.  I still had my bottle of Fireball, so instead of stopping for a beer, I raised my bottle to toast them, and then I finished my Fireball.

The first five miles of the course were hilly.  I didn’t want to wear myself out on the hills, so I sometimes took short walking breaks on the hills.

At about four miles, I saw a spectator holding out a basket.  When I saw the basket was full of bananas, I kept running.  Bananas at races are common enough that I wasn’t tempted.

About halfway through the sixth mile, I saw some spectators dressed as clowns.  They were holding baskets with Jell-O shots.  I took a Jell-O shot and ate it as I continued running.

I was just about to the 10K mark when I saw another beer stop.  This time, I stopped for a small cup of beer.

In the next mile, I saw spectators holding boxes with glazed donuts.  Last year, I skipped the donuts, so I wouldn’t have to slow down.  This year, I took a walking break while eating a whole donut.

There were aid stations at every mile, and they all had water and Gatorade.  Some also had bananas or gels.  I was looking ahead to the aid station at the 7-mile mark when I noticed that I was passing a table with cups on it.  It was another beer stop, but I was already going by it by the time I saw it.

The aid stations all had port-o-potties.  After drinking Gatorade at the aid station, I made a bathroom stop.

Right after my bathroom stop, I saw a table with a sign that said “shots.”  They were Fireball shots.  This time, I stopped.

I was only about seven and a half miles into the race, and I had already stopped twice for Fireball, once for beer, and once for a Jell-O shot.  I didn’t think I could keep up that rate of alcohol consumption for the whole race.

I started to feel a strong tailwind pushing at my back.  We had just turned onto a road that follows the river.  To my left, I could see the same path that I had been running on the day before.  I realized we would be following the river for the next two miles.

The good news is that running with the wind at my back would feel easier.  The bad news is that the wind was no longer cooling me off.  I started to get hot on this stretch.

Looking to my left, I could see runners on the bike path that was closer to the river.  These were the race leaders.  They were about four miles ahead of us.

Most of the food and alcohol is in residential neighborhoods.  People living along the marathon route are encouraged to organize block parties.  Along the river, there weren’t as many spectators, so I wasn’t expecting to see any more beer or Jell-O shots.

At about nine miles, I saw a table on the left side of the road.  There were two women there handing out Jell-O shots.  I took a Jell-O shot and turned to see guys on my right with Fireball shots.  Since I already had a Jell-O shot, I skipped the Fireball.  That would be the last time I saw any alcohol for several miles.

In the next mile, my friend Angel caught up to me.  Her pace was a little faster than mine, so I had to speed up to run with her.  The pace felt tiring, but I knew we would get a cool breeze cool as we crossed a bridge over the Arkansas River.

On the bridge we were high above the river, so we were much more exposed to the wind.  It was no longer a tailwind.  On the bridge, it was a crosswind, and it felt good.

This bridge is a part of the historic Route 66.  This was the only time we were actually on Route 66, although we had crossed it earlier in the race.

After we crossed the bridge, the marathon and half marathon routes diverged.  The runners doing the half marathon did a U-turn and crossed the bridge again.  Then they followed Route 66 a bit farther on their way back into downtown.

Those of us doing the marathon turned left and got onto a pedestrian bridge that runs parallel to the Route 66 bridge.  We crossed the river on that bridge, went underneath the Route 66 bridge, and started following the bike path.

Now we had a headwind.  At first, I felt good, but it wasn’t long before the wind gusts started to get tiring.  I had mixed feelings about that.  I was overdressed, so I really needed the wind to cool me off.

At 13 miles, Angel made a bathroom stop, and I continued on my own.  Fighting the headwind was tiring, so I slowed down.  I assumed it wouldn’t take long for Angel to catch up to me.

We had to go about two more miles in this direction before turning around.  I kept expecting Angel to catch up to me at any time, but I made it all the way to the turnaround before I saw her.  She caught up to me shortly after the turn.

Now the wind was at our backs again.  I also had mixed feelings about that.  I was relieved that I no longer needed to fight the wind, but without its cooling effect, I quickly got hot.  I was starting to regret my clothing choices.

We came back along the bike path for two miles.  Then we turned and followed another paved trail for the next two miles.

At about 19 miles, we turned back onto city streets again.  The next few miles were hilly, and the trend was uphill.  We started walking the steepest part of each hill.

I was getting really hot and sweaty.  As we were walking up one of the hills, I took off my T-shirt.  It wasn’t easy, because I had to take off my hat and singlet before I could take off the shirt.

My T-shirt had short sleeves, so I couldn’t find any way to tie it around my waist.  It was too bulky to fit into my fanny pack, where I was already carrying my phone and a pair of gloves.  Then I remembered that I had an extra safety pin.  I put the shirt around my wait and used the safety pin to hold the sleeves together.

I was so preoccupied with my T-shirt that I didn’t realize we passed a spectator offering Jell-O slots.  On the next hill, Angel told me that I missed it.  It had been 11 or 12 miles since I last had any alcohol.  I needed the break, but now I was ready again.

The next few miles were around the Tulsa University campus.  Then we started coming back toward downtown.

At 23 miles, I saw some people on the left side of the road holding buckets.  I moved to my left to take a closer look.  The buckets held small bottles of Fireball.  I took a bottle and downed it immediately.  With only a few miles to go, I no longer needed to be conservative.

Coming back toward downtown, the trend was downhill, but we still occasionally encountered a short uphill section.  Each time, we walked it.  We were both struggling, but in different ways.  I was hot.  Angel had an upset stomach.

At 24 miles, I saw a table on the right with a variety of beverages.  The guy said he had Fireball, Coke, and mimosas.  I had never had a mimosa during a race, so I tried one.  It didn’t really taste like a mimosa.  I think it was actually a beermosa (beer mixed with orange juice).

I knew where we were now, so I knew when we were approaching Dead Armadillo Brewery, which is just outside of downtown.  I knew there would be a beer stop in front of this brewery.

Before drinking, I asked them what beer it was.  It was a beer I’ve tried before.  It was Dead Armadillo’s “Pickle Recovery” beer.  Most people would find it to be a bit weird, but at 24.5 miles into a marathon on a hot day, it was just right.

There’s a place in downtown Tulsa called the “Center of the Universe.”  It’s a spot with unusual acoustics.  When you stand in the center and talk, you can hear your voice echo.  People standing a short distance away don’t hear it.  The Center of the Universe isn’t on the marathon route, but it’s a short distance away.  When you register for the marathon, you can choose to take a detour to the Center of the Universe.  The detour adds 0.3 miles to your race.

In the past, I’ve always been trying for a fast time, so I’ve never wanted to run this extra distance.  This year, I wasn’t trying for a fast time, so I signed up to do the detour.  Angel also took the detour.

To get to the Center of the Universe, we had to cross a bridge over some railroad tracks.  We walked the uphill side of the bridge.  We ran past the Center of the Universe until we reached the turnaround point.  At the turnaround we each received a souvenir coin.  They also had a beer stop there, with three different beers from local breweries.

On the way back, we stopped briefly at the Center of the Universe, so Angel could experience the echo.  I’ve been there before.  Then we crossed the bridge again to get back to the marathon course.

We had two more turns and one more hill.  Then we reached 25.9 miles, where there was a digital clock and a chip transponder.  For people who didn’t do the detour, this clock wasn’t particularly meaningful.  For us, it was actually 26.2 miles (including the detour), so it was our marathon split.  For what it’s worth, my marathon time was 4:40:45.  Of course, I still had to keep going to reach the actual finish line.

After two more turns we could see the finish line.  Neither of us had the energy to speed up at all.  I crossed the line in 4:44:14.

They had different versions of the finisher medals, depending on which club you belonged to and whether you had also done the Oklahoma City Marathon.  My medal was the one for members of the 50 States Marathon Club.

Finish line food included pizza.  I didn’t even look at the other food.  I ate a slice of pepperoni pizza and kept walking until I reached the beer tent.

On our race bibs, we each had two beer coupons.  They had the same three beers at the finish line that were available on the detour.  I tried one at the detour, and I tried the other two in the finish area.

Next, we went to “Maniac Corner,” which was our VIP area in the finish area.  We had food, beer, and couches to sit on.  In cold years, we would all huddle inside a heated tent.  This year, it was 73 degrees and sunny, so we could be comfortable outside.  I spent about two hours talking with other runners at “Maniac Corner” before finally walking back to my hotel.

For the first half of my walk back to the hotel, I followed the marathon route.  I saw three friends who were nearing the finish.  In all, I had to walk more than a mile to get back to my hotel.

By the time I got cleaned up, it was almost time for dinner.  I didn’t feel like going out again, so I had dinner at the hotel’s restaurant.

Race statistics:

Distance:  26.5 miles (including Center of the Universe detour)

Time:  4:44:14

Average Pace:  10:44 per mile

First Half:  2:15:01

Second Half:  2:29:13

Lifetime Marathons/Ultras:  534

Oklahoma Marathons/Ultras:  5

Circuits of Marathons/Ultras in Every State:  5

Race Report: Andorra la Vella Marathon

I belong to two running clubs that are all about running marathons in different countries.  One is Marathon Globetrotters.  The other is the Country Marathon Club.  Sometimes, a member of one of these clubs will organize a marathon in a country that doesn’t have one.  That was the case with the Andorra la Vella Marathon.

In July, I learned that several runners were planning to run marathons in Andorra, Gibraltar, San Marino, and Monaco, all within an 8-day span in November.  The first three races were small races organized by club members.  The race in Monaco was an existing race.

I chose to just do the race in Andorra.  I passed on the race in Gibraltar, because the other people running this race were planning to stay in Spain and just make a day trip into Gibraltar.  Likewise, I skipped the race in San Marino, because they were planning to stay in Italy and just make a day trip into San Marino.  I would’ve been interested in running marathons in these counties, but only if I was going to stay overnight and have a chance to do some sightseeing there.

I passed on the race in Monaco, because it was an 8-day race.  The other runners were planning to arrive on the second day and run just long enough to finish 26.2 miles.  If I was going to do a multi-day race, I would want to run as far as I could.

Andorra is a small country in the Pyrenees, between Spain and France.  The race was in Andorra la Vella, which is the capital of Andorra.

Friday, November 8

I arrived in Spain on Friday, after an overnight flight to Amsterdam, a 3-hour layover, and a connecting flight into Barcelona.  I wasn’t going to meet up with the other runners until Saturday, so I had an afternoon and evening on my own in Barcelona.

Hotels near the popular tourist destinations were expensive, so I stayed at a hotel that was closer to the airport.  I’ve been to Barcelona before, so I didn’t need to do all the sightseeing again.

After getting settled in at my hotel, I went for a run.  My hotel was about two miles from the Magic Fountain of Montjuic.  The fountain is currently shut down because of draught conditions, but it was a familiar landmark.  I started by running to the fountain.  From there, I gradually worked my way up Montjuic until I reached the Olympic Stadium, which is at the top of the hill.  I took a different route down.  I had to detour around some construction, but I eventually found my way back to the hotel.

There weren’t many restaurants near my hotel, so I spent the evening in the city center, where there are lots of dinner options.

I had been awake since the previous morning, so I had no trouble getting to sleep.

Saturday, November 9

I didn’t need to be up early, but I set an alarm, so I could force myself to get used to the local time zone.  That gave me time to do a workout at the hotel before leaving for Andorra.

The original plan was to meet at the airport and carpool to Andorra, but that turned out to be complicated.  It’s a three-hour drive through the mountains, and we would be required to have snow tires and chains.  Also, everything in Andorra la Vella was close enough that we wouldn’t need a car while we were there.

There are two different companies with express buses from Barcelona to Andorra la Vella, so most of us took a bus.  I caught the bus at a bus station outside Barcelona’s central train station.

The bus ride took about three hours.  There wasn’t a bathroom on the bus, so I was really glad I used the bathroom at the bus station before boarding the bus.  We drove through a little bit of rain, but it wasn’t raining when we arrived in Andorra.

From the bus station in Andorra la Vella, I was able to walk to my hotel.  I stayed at the same hotel where packet pickup was held.  It was about a block away from the small city park where the race started.

After checking in, I attended a pre-race briefing and picked up my race number.  Then several us walked out to where the race would start in the morning,

I spent the rest of the afternoon sightseeing.  Andorra la Vella is in a valley.  From different places in the city, you can get views of the surrounding mountains.

One of the attractions is Casa de la Vall.  This historic manor, built in the 16th century, was formerly the headquarters of the Consell General, which is the oldest parliament in Europe.

Another attraction is the Church of Saint Esteve.  This church dates back to the 12th century.

A river runs through the city, and there are a number of interesting bridges.

There are also several interesting sculptures around town.

For dinner, I went to an Italian restaurant near my hotel.  For the record, I’ve now had pizza in 51 countries.

Sunday, November 10

Sunday was race day.  The race was originally scheduled at start at 9:00, but there was an early start at 7:30 for runner who needed extra time.  When I found out everyone else was taking the 7:30 start, I decided to also start at 7:30.  We met in the lobby at 7:10 and walked to the start together.

The temperature was about 40 degrees at the start and climbed into the upper 40s during the race.  I was expecting to go at a slow pace, so I dressed warmer than I normally would.

The course was a loop that we ran five times.  We started at Parc Central.  From there, we ran on a bike path alongside the river for about 2.6 miles before coming back on the other side of the river.

In general, we were always on the left side of the river, but there were a few exceptions.  Sometimes, we had to cross a street, and there was only a crosswalk on one side of the river.  In those spots, we would cross the river, cross the street at the crosswalk, and then cross the river again on the other side of the street.

This was a small race, with only 31 runners.  There weren’t any aid stations, so I needed to carry a bottle with me.  There was a drinking fountain in the start/finish area, where I could refill my bottle after each lap.  I brought a few packets of Gatorade powder, so I could mix it each time I refilled my bottle.

When Raoul, our race director, measured the course on Saturday, he found it to be a little short.  To make up the distance, we needed to do two laps of a much shorter loop.  Raoul called these “penalty laps.”  We ran our “penalty laps” first, which gave Raoul time to begin marking the turns on the main loop.

By the time we finished our first “penalty lap,” it was clear that there were four runners who were starting much faster than everyone else.  I started out at an easy pace.  I quickly found myself trailing the four leaders, but I was ahead of everyone else.

Some of the runners had walked the entire loop on Saturday, so they were familiar with all the turns, and in particular, they knew were to turn around.  I wanted to follow somebody who knew the course, and it quickly appeared that the only way I could do that was to stay within sight of the four leaders.

I accelerated enough to keep from falling too far behind.  I ran the first mile in 9:05.  That’s faster than I was planning to run, but it wouldn’t break me to run at that pace for a few miles.

The second mile was faster.  I ran that one in 8:12, but I was still barely keeping pace with the leaders.  That pace felt a little tiring, but not as tiring as I would have expected.  I didn’t realize it yet, but as soon as we started our first full lap, we were going downhill.

In the first half of each lap, we were following the river downstream.  The river descended fairly rapidly.  There were rapids almost everywhere.  That made the fast pace seem deceptively easy.

Before the turnaround, we crossed Pont de Madrid, which is an easy landmark to recognize.  We were still on the same bike path, but now we were on the opposite side of the river.

Next, we ran by this gas station.  I knew the turnaround was somewhere near the gas station, but I didn’t know exactly where.  It was the first place after the gas station where there was a road going to the right.

By the time we reached the turn, I was catching up to the four leaders.  Then we made a big 180 degree turn that led us onto a street that gradually brought as back toward the river.  We ran on a sidewalk until we got back to the river.

Immediately after the turn, we started climbing.  Going uphill, I could no longer keep up with the leaders.  I dropped farther and farther behind, but I worked to at least keep them in sight.

As the road came back to the river, we got onto a bike path again.  Later, as we ran by a large athletic complex, the paved bike path was replaced by a rubberized surface resembling a track.  I enjoyed running this section, but I was still falling farther behind the leaders.

In our pre-race briefing, Raoul had told us that there was a place where the path would end, and we would have to cross the river.  I knew we were getting close to it, when I got a glimpse of two of the leaders on the other side of the river.  I wanted to keep at least one of them in sight long enough to see where we crossed the river again to get back on the left side.

I saw one runner making that turn.  By the time I got there, I had lost sight of everyone ahead of me, but I recognized where I was.  I was about to run past the bus station.  I knew the way from there, because I had walked from the bus station to my hotel on Saturday.

By now, another runner had caught up to me.  His name was Ricky, and he was from Denmark.  I ran with Ricky for the rest of the lap.

Lap one was tiring.  In lap two, I slowed down, but only a little.  I was talking to Ricky, and I wanted to keep up with him.  We ran together for all of the second lap.  It wasn’t as fast as my first lap, but it was still tiring.

Halfway through the second lap, as we turned around and got onto the sidewalk, there were several metal posts that we had to avoid.  I got distracted by our conversation and ran into one of them with my right shoulder.  I hit the post so hard that my shoulder hurt for the rest of the race.  It’s good that I didn’t hit my head.

We continued running together for the rest of that lap.  At the end of each lap, we each ran into the park to refill our bottles.  There were bathrooms in the park, so I stopped briefly to pee.  As I was leaving, Ricky told me he was also going to use the bathroom too.  I went ahead and started my third lap, but at a slower pace.

I expected Ricky to catch up to me, but in the meantime, I had time to stop and take a picture.  By now, the morning sun was hitting the mountains ahead of us.  This is the type of view we had throughout the race, as we ran through the river valley.

Ricky caught up to me as I was putting my phone back in my fanny pack.  I ran with him briefly, but I could no longer keep up with him.  I gradually fell behind.

I no longer had any reason to keep running fast.  In the first lap, I was trying to keep the leaders in sight.  In the second lap, I wanted to have someone to run with, so I ran at Ricky’s pace.  Now, I realized I would probably be on my own for the rest of the race.  It was time to slow down.

We were mostly running on bike paths, but there weren’t many bikes.  In my third lap, I was passed by a few bikers, but I didn’t see any before that.

Now that I was going at a slower pace, I could afford to stop and take a few pictures.  All of my pictures of the course were taken in the third lap.  Here’s a picture of the river that I took in the second half of the lap, when I was following the river upstream.

To take pictures, I had to take my gloves off.  It was still too cold for that.  My hands were getting cold, so I had to put my gloves on as soon as I was done taking pictures.

It was during that lap that I reached the halfway mark.  I was on pace to break four hours, but only because I had started fast.  I expected the second half to be slow.

By the time I finished my third lap, I was feeling pressure in my intestines.  I needed to make another bathroom stop when I got back to the start/finish area.  This one was going to take longer, but I was no longer worried about losing time.  The rest of the race was going to be slow anyway.

I had to take my gloves off to use the bathroom.  After my bathroom stop, I didn’t feel any need to put them on again.  It had warmed up noticeably since my previous lap.

I felt a little sluggish as I started my fourth lap.  That didn’t last long.  I was back on the downhill side of the course.  That made it easier to gradually pick up the pace.

About a mile into that lap, I started to feel more pressure in my intestines.  I wasn’t done yet.  I was going to need to make another bathroom stop, and I couldn’t wait a whole lap.

Raoul had told us about some other bathrooms along the route, but I never noticed where they were.  I remembered the gas station just before the turnround.  I knew I could use a bathroom there, but it was still more than a mile away.  I had to hold it in, and running downhill didn’t make it any easier.

When I finally got there, I ran into the gas station and found the bathrooms.  I was in there for a long time, but I was confident I wouldn’t need to stop again.

By the time I left the gas station, my watch was reading just over three hours.  The last time I ran by this gas station, it was still less than two hours.  It had taken me more than an hour to run one lap.  That was discouraging.

As I made the turn and began the uphill half of the loop, I saw a few runners just ahead of me.  At this point in the race, I was sometimes passing slower runners who were a lap behind me.  I caught and passed a couple runners, but one runner was always about the same distance ahead of me.  I eventually realized that he must be on the same lap as me.  I never saw him ahead of me before, so he must have passed me while I was in the gas station.

The first half mile after the turnaround was the steepest.  I always struggled there.  I was working hard to try to catch up to the runner ahead of me.  That was the only reason I worked hard going up this hill.  Having someone to chase kept me motivated.

Now I was hot.  Earlier in the race, I needed the warm clothes I was wearing, but now I felt overdressed.  I would be hot for the rest of the race.

I followed the same runner for the rest of the lap, but I couldn’t catch up to him until he stopped in the start/finish area to get a new bottle.  I needed to stop to refill my own bottle and mix in more Gatorade powder.  By the time I started my last lap, he was well ahead of me again.

On the downhill side of the course, I was able to gain ground.  I caught up to him, and we ran together for a few minutes.  His name was Martin, and he was from France.  We were both on our last lap.

As we got to the steepest part of the descent, I started to pull away from Martin.  I wasn’t trying to get ahead of him, but I always pick up speed going downhill, and it was steepest in the last half mile before the gas station.

When I reached the uphill side of the course, I slowed down substantially.  It helped to know that I was running this for the last time, but it was still a tough uphill grind.

By the time I finished the steepest section, Martin had caught up to me again.  We ran together for the rest of the race.

I was just reading a split from my watch when Martin asked me what distance I had.  I told him I was at 24 miles.  His watch was reading in kilometers.  His was just over 38 kilometers.  As I thought about what was left, I was skeptical that we still had 2.2 miles to go.  I told him if my watch was reading low as we approached the finish, I was going to run an extra “penalty lap.”

We continued, and as we got within sight of the bridge we crossed at the end of each lap, I took another look at my watch.  It was obvious that my watch was going to measure less than a marathon.  Martin’s watch was also coming up short, so instead of crossing the bridge, we each began a “penalty lap.”

I thought for sure that would be enough, but as we ran into the park, my watch was still a little short.  I did a little extra running through the park until my watch read 26.22 miles.  Then I stopped.  I finished in 4:18:52.  Martin’s watch was also still reading short of a marathon.  He continued to run for a few more minutes after I finished.

My second half was more than 20 minutes slower than my first half.  Bathroom stops accounted for at least 10 minutes of that.

After finishing, I talked to a few other runners who were still in the finish area.  Everyone I talked to had the same experience.  Their watches were reading short, so they did extra “penalty laps” to make up the difference.

If this was a certified course, I would trust that the course was measured accurately, and I wouldn’t worry if my watch read low.  It doesn’t happen often, but it happens.  Under the circumstances, we all felt it was important to keep running until our watches had recorded a long enough distance.

How much of a difference was there between the first and second halves of the loop?  Here’s the elevation profile my watch recorded.

Ricky said his legs were already getting sore.  I didn’t have sore legs, but my shoulder still hurt.  When I got back to the hotel, I looked to see if there was a bruise.  I couldn’t see any bruising, but it hurt with any movement.

After I had time to get cleaned up and recover, I went walking with Ricky and Lone, who were both from Denmark.  We walked through a part of the city I had not seen yet.  Then we stopped at a bar for beers.

Later in the afternoon, there was an awards ceremony at the hotel, where everyone received their medal and finisher certificate.

I went to dinner with Ricky, Lone, Raoul, and Peter.  Raoul and Peter are both from Finland.  We wanted to eat right away, but most of the restaurants didn’t open until 7:30 or 8:00.  The restaurant I went to on Saturday opens at 6:30, so we went there.  Everyone seemed happy with that restaurant choice.

Monday, November 11

When I woke up on Monday, I still had some soreness in my shoulder, but it wasn’t as bad.  It no longer hurt to move my arm.  Other than my shoulder, I felt fine.

I had breakfast with the same runners I had dinner with the night before.  After breakfast, I had time to do a workout at the hotel before taking the bus back to Barcelona.  Several of the other runners were on the same bus.

Some of the other runners flew to southern Spain, so they could drive to Gibraltar the next morning.  I was planning to fly home, but first I had one more night in Barcelona.

I stayed at the same hotel in Barcelona, so I was already familiar with everything nearby.  After checking in, I went for a run.  I could’ve run the same route that I ran on Friday, but that would have been too strenuous for a recovery run.  I started with a few level miles.  Then I started up Montjuic, but I didn’t go all the way to the top.

After a quick shower, I went into town. I had a little time before sunset but not much.  I went to La Sagrada Familia.  I toured the basilica in 2017, but it was still under construction.  I wanted to see how it looked now.

I arrived as the sun was going down, so there wasn’t much light for pictures.

While I was there, I randomly bumped into Ricky and Lone.  We stayed to see the basilica at sunset.  Then we went to dinner together.

Tuesday, November 12

I woke up early on Tuesday.  While I was trying to get back to sleep, I heard my phone vibrate.  That surprised me, since I usually put my phone in airplane mode overnight.  I apparently forgot to do that.

I had a series of notifications from Delta Airlines about delays to my flight from Barcelona to New York.  It was originally scheduled to depart at 10:15 AM.  That was delayed to 12:30 PM.  Then it was delayed to 1:45.  Then it was delayed to 3:15.  That last delay meant I would arrive in New York too late to make my connection.

As soon as I was awake enough to be coherent, I called Delta.  They were able to rebook me on different flights.  Instead of connecting in New York, I connected in Atlanta.  That was good news, since it’s easier to make an international connection in Atlanta.  The flight times were similar to my original flights, but my seats were less desirable.  They gave me a $100 credit for the inconvenience.  After I got off the phone, I saw another notification.  My original flight was cancelled and the next available flight to New York wouldn’t be until Thursday.

I had a little bit of a scare when I got to the airport.  I went to a kiosk to print my boarding passes, but it would only give me the boarding pass for my first flight.  It didn’t show me having a second flight.  I could see that flight in the app, but it wouldn’t show me my boarding pass.  Thankfully, the gate agent was able to print my boarding pass.  It would've made me nervous to arrive in Atlanta without a boarding pass.

Race statistics:

Distance:  26.22 miles

Time:  4:18:52

Average Pace:  9:52 per mile

First Half:  1:59:06

Second Half:  2:19:46

Lifetime Marathons/Ultras:  533

Countries:  50