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.
I had a great time doing the tour of Tulsa with you!! Congratulations on completing another round!
ReplyDelete