Tuesday, December 31, 2024

My plans for 2025

Since I started this blog, I’ve always posted a list of goals at the beginning of the year.  This year, I’m not doing that.

I almost always set goals for individual races, but I’ve also been chasing longer term goal.  Over the years, those goals have included things like marathons in every state, the World Marathon Majors, marathons on every continent, or reaching certain lifetime milestones like 500 marathons or 100 Minnesota marathons.

At this point in my life, I’ve pretty much done all those things.  I’ll keep running marathons, but I no longer have a number I’m trying to hit.  Instead of having a list of goals for the year, I’m going to have something more like a mission statement.

So here’s my mission:  To explore strange to worlds; to seek out new life and new civilizations; to boldly go where no one has gone before.

Wait, that’s Star Trek’s mission.  Actually, my mission is similar.  It has three parts.

First, I’m going to run marathons in places I’ve never been to before, whether they’re new countries, new cities, or new places in the great outdoors.

Second, I’m to do some races I’ve never done before.  I’m particularly interested in doing a few races that offer unique race experiences.

Finally, I want to challenge myself in new ways.

I won’t have to wait long for my first new challenge.  Tomorrow, I’ll be starting a 48-hour race.  I’ve made two previous attempts at 48-hour races, but both of these attempts ended early.  I still don’t know what it’s like to be on my feet for 48 hours or to go for two nights without sleep during a race.  Hopefully, I’ll find out soon.

Sunday, December 29, 2024

2024 Year-End Review

This is my end of year review for the goals I set at the beginning of the year.  Technically, the year isn’t over yet, but I’m finishing the year with two rest days, so the year is effectively over for me.

I reached all of my goals, and I exceeded several of them.  In retrospect, some of my goals may have been too soft.

Run 3,000 Miles in 2024

This goal, more than any other, defined my year.

When I set this goal, I thought it was ambitious.  My previous best was 2,889.7 miles.  I stayed healthy all year and gradually increased my mileage.  By the end of October, I had already run more than 3,000 miles.  After that, I set a stretch goal of 3,660 miles, which is an average of 10 miles per day.

I’ll finish the year with 3,668.1 miles.  That’s an average of 10.02 miles per day.  I exceeded my previous best by almost 800 miles.

Besides setting a new personal record for mileage in a year, I also set PRs for January, February, March, April, May, June, July, and October.

I was more consistent than I’ve ever been before.  There wasn’t a single week that I didn’t run at least 50 miles, even when my travel schedule made it difficult.

It's worth nothing that I’m only counting running, not walking.  In 2017 and 2018, when I was mostly race-walking, I may have put in more total mileage, but it was mostly walking.

Run at Least 100 Miles in the FANS 24-Hour Run

I ran 100 miles at FANS, and I won the state championship for men over 60.  Those were my minimum goals.  I was hoping for more, but my race ended suddenly when I went too long without changing clothes and had circulation issues in my legs as it cooled off during the night.

Run My 100th Minnesota Marathon

I ran nine marathons or ultras in Minnesota this year.  That brought my lifetime total to 104, exceeding my goal by four.

Run Marathons in 50 Countries

I ran marathons in five new countries this year, bringing my lifetime total to 51.  My 50th country was Andorra.  Since then, I’ve also run a marathon in Barbados.

Run Outdoors Whenever Possible

I made it through the whole year without doing any running on a treadmill or indoor track.  It helped that the 2023-24 winter was the mildest winter I can remember.  I didn’t have to deal with too much snow or ice, and we only had one week of subzero temperatures.

December was more difficult.  We had temperatures more typical for winter, and we also had snow and ice in the streets.  Those conditions made running outdoors more challenging, but not impossible.

Qualify for the National Senior Games

My minimum goal was to qualify for the road race and race-walk events at next year’s National Senior Games.  That was a pretty soft goal.  To qualify, all I needed to do was finish one road race event and place in the top four in my age group in one race-walk event.

My stretch goal was to place in the top three in my age group each of my events.  I was second in my age group in the 5K run, first in my age group in the 10K run, and first overall in both of my race-walk events.

I was happy with my results in the running events, but I was disappointed with my times in the walking events.  I won them, but I wasn’t as fast as I was in last year’s National Senior Games.  If I want to place in my age group in next year’s National Senior Games, I’m going to need to train harder.

Stay on Schedule to Finish a 5th Circuit of 50 States in 2025

My minimum goal was to position myself to finish next May.  Instead, I finished in November at the Route 66 Marathon.  That was ideal, since that race was a reunion of the 50 States Marathon Club.

The Missing Goal

I met or exceeded all of my goals, but I really should’ve had an additional goal.  The whole point of doing my winter running outdoors instead of on the treadmill was to break myself of the habit of tripping during races.

I thought running outdoors during the winter would force me to pick up my feet more.  Apparently, that didn’t work.  I still tripped and had hard falls in three races.  One was a trail race, but the other two were road races.

The goal I should’ve set was to get through the year with no falls.  I failed miserably at that.

Monday, December 9, 2024

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

Monday, November 25, 2024

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