Race Report: 2025 Champlain Islands Marathon

On October 19, I ran the Champlain Islands Marathon in South Hero, VT.  Deb and I used this race as the launching pad for a Vermont vacation.  It was our first trip together since Deb’s knee surgery.

Saturday, October 18

We flew to Burlington on Saturday.  When we booked this trip, I was surprised to find out we could get a direct flight.  On prior trips to Burlington, I always had to make connections in Detroit or New York.

At home, Deb wears slippers that look a lot like shoes.  They give her feet the support she needs for walking within the house, but they’re not adequate for outdoor walking.  We were already at the airport when Deb realized she was still wearing her slippers.  We got to the airport early, but not so early that we could go home to get her shoes.

As soon as we got to Burlington, we went shopping for shoes.  Deb’s size is hard to find, so we weren’t lucky enough to find her usual model in her size.  We were able to find a pair that works for her.  As luck would have it, it was a model of shoes that she was already interested in trying.

The race was on Grand Isle, but I could pick up my race packet at a SkiRack store in downtown Burlington.  That made it convenient to stay in Burlington for the first two nights of our trip.  We stayed at Hilton Garden Inn, which was just one block from SkiRack.  After checking in at the hotel, I walked over to SkiRack, while Deb looked over the sightseeing brochures at the hotel.

Our hotel was also close to the Church Street Mall, which is a pedestrian-friendly shopping district in downtown Burlington.  We spent most of the afternoon exploring the shops along the Church Street Mall.  Then we had an early dinner at American Flatbread.

Sunday, October 19

Sunday was race day.  The race started at Folson Elementary School in South Hero.  From downtown Burlington, it was about a 30-minute drive.  The race started at 8:30 AM, but I wanted to get there early enough to find parking at the school.  I was up early, so I left at 6:45.

As I started driving, I could see the orange glow of the sunrise.  By the time I got to the school, it was light out.  I got there in plenty of time to get a close parking place.

Some of the leaves had already fallen, but there was still plenty of color.

The temperature at the start was about 50 degrees, but there was a strong enough wind to make it feel colder.  I started the race wearing a jacket and gloves, knowing I would need to take them off as it got warmer.

This was my fifth marathon in six weeks.  In the previous four, I ran times ranging from 3:47 to 3:53.  For this race, I set a more conservative goal.  I just wanted to break four hours.  I had never run this course before, but I knew it had hills.  I also knew we would have a strong headwind at times.

Often in small races, nobody wants to line up in front.  When the race director said anyone going for a PR should move near the front, there still weren’t many runners near the starting line.  Finally, he said anyone trying to win the race should be up here.  One woman suddenly emerged from the crowd and moved to the front.

The course was an out-and-back route that we ran twice.  For the first mile, we were headed south along South Street.  We were running directly into the wind.  I quickly found my initial pace to be tiring.  I didn’t know if I was starting too fast or if it was just the wind resistance.  It turned out to be both.

My jacket was unzipped in front, so it wouldn’t cover my race bib.  It was catching the wind like a sail, so I had to take it off and tie it around my waist.  It wasn’t easy to do that without slowing down, but I’ve had a lot of practice.

When I finished the first mile, I saw that I ran it in 8:26.  For a four-hour finish, I needed to average 9:09 per mile.  I was hoping to average about 9:00, but I knew some miles would be easier and some would be harder.  This was one of the difficult miles, yet I ran it fast.

Early in the second mile, we turned onto West Shore Road and started running toward the western side of the island.  Immediately after turning, we started running down a long gradual hill.  Here, I ran even faster.  I wasn’t trying to speed up, but I no longer had a headwind, and this mile was all downhill.  I sped up to 8:08.  That turned out to be my fastest mile of the race, by far.

After nearly a mile of running downhill, I got my first view of Lake Champlain, as we came within sight of White’s Beach.

After passing the beach, we ran up a small hill and turned toward the north.  The next four miles had rolling hills, but the wind was at our backs.

The aid stations had water and Lime Mapleaid.  Lime Mapleaid is a locally-produced sports drink made with maple syrup, lime juice, and salt.  It’s an unusual flavor combination, but it was part of the experience.  We were running past farms, some of which were selling maple syrup.

There weren’t a lot of spectators.  They were mostly clustered around places where the road we were on intersected other roads.  At one such intersection, I saw a few Halloween themes signs.  One that caught my attention read, “No TP in the Port-O-Potties.  Scary shit.”

With the wind at my back, I continued to run much faster than my target pace.  My pace over this section ranged from 8:26 to 8:44.

As I got closer to the turnaround at the northern end of the course, I started to see faster runners coming back.  The first runner coming back was the same woman who moved to the front just before the race.  She was the eventual winner of the half marathon.

When I reached the turn, I checked my time.  I was on pace to finish in 3:45, but that was over the fast part of the course.  On the way back, I would face a headwind, and I would eventually need to go up that same long hill that led me to run so fast in mile two.

I expected my pace to be much slower now that I was running into the wind.  For the first mile and a half, I was a little slower, but not as much as I expected.  My pace was still faster than my target pace.  Finally, in mile nine, it got much tougher.

I don’t know if the wind suddenly picked up, or if we were just more exposed to it as we ran past flat farmland.  It suddenly felt much more tiring.  Making matters worse, I was starting up what I later realized was the second longest hill on the course.

I slowed in that mile, but only to 9:09.  I was happy with that pace.  The scary part was how tiring it felt.

The next mile was also tiring, and for the same reasons.  The wind was still strong, and I think that mile was more up than down.  I was two seconds faster in that mile, but the wind was gradually wearing me down.

I still had one more mile that was into the wind.  As I came within sight of White’s Beach, I was relieved to know that I was about to turn out of the wind.  I momentarily forgot that I was about to start a mile that was all uphill.

As I ran past the beach, I saw a flag flying about the beach.  The wind had shredded it.

Just before the 11-mile mark, I started up the hill.  When I got my split for mile 11, I was surprised to see that I sped up to 8:34.  I didn’t realize it yet, but that mile was much more downhill than uphill.

The first half of the long hill was gradual, but it knew it would get steeper later.  I knew this mile would be slower, but I focused on maintaining a steady effort that wouldn’t wear me out.  Early in that mile, several runners passed me.  I didn’t know if they were doing the marathon or the half marathon.  If I only had to run this hill once, I might have fought to maintain my pace.  Knowing I would need to run it again later, I was more inclined to save my energy.

As I got farther up the hill, it got tougher.  Now, I was passing people who were walking.  I ran by them.  I continued to climb at a steady pace.

I was relieved when I could see someone in the distance waving an orange flag.  That was the course marshal showing us where we turned back onto South Street.  It was also the top of the hill.

When I reached the top and made that turn, it suddenly got much easier.  Not only was I done with the hill, but I had a tailwind for the remainder of my first lap.

My pace for that uphill mile was 9:15.  That was my slowest mile so far, but I didn’t slow down nearly as much as I thought I would.  I would have been satisfied with anything faster than 10 minutes.

It took about a minute to recover from the long hill.  Then I started to speed up.  By the time I reached 13-mile mark, I could actually feel the wind pushing at my back.  Unfortunately, I would soon need to turn around and run back into that wind.

At the halfway mark, I was on pace to finish in 3:49, but I knew the second half would be slower.  I knew from studying the hourly forecast that the wind would gradually get stronger.  Also, the wind and the hills had a cumulative effect on me.  They would gradually wear me down.

My first mile of the second lap wasn’t nearly as fast as my first mile of the race.  Still, I didn’t give back any time.  I ran it in 9:05.

Next, I turned out of the wind to run down the long hill again.  I wasn’t nearly as fast this time, but I was easily faster than my target pace.

When I reached White’s Beach again, I could see how much stronger the wind was.  There were whitecaps all over the lake.

It was in the next mile that I realized how I managed to run so last in mile 11.  As I began running with the wind at my back, I noticed for the first time that this mile was much more up than down.  This time, I found the hills to be tiring.

Things got easier in the next few miles.  I wasn’t as fast in these miles as I was the first time, but I was staying under my target pace.

It was getting warmer now.  With the wind at my back, I started to get sweaty.  It wasn’t a big deal.  I knew I would cool down again when I eventually ran into the wind again.

When I reached the far turnaround for the second time, I did another time check.  I had 6.55 miles to go.  If I could run them in 66 minutes, I would break four hours.  Simply averaging 10 minutes per mile would be fast enough.  I knew the next five miles would be tough, but I was pretty confident I could do that.

Coming back, I once again found the first mile and a half to be manageable.  I slowed down a little, but my pace was closer to 9:00 than 10:00.  At about 21 miles, the other shoe dropped.

Right on cue, the wind suddenly felt much stronger.  Was that a coincidence, or was it the layout of the course?  It didn’t matter.  For the next two miles, I really struggled with both the wind and the hills.

Mile 22 was tiring, but I didn’t slow down as much as I thought.  I ran it in 9:34.  That was my slowest mile so far, but at this point, anything under 10 minutes was good.

I kept noticing one family who lived along the course.  They stood in front of their house, and they cheered and rang cowbells whenever a runner went by.  When I ran past them for the final time, I saw something I hadn’t noticed before.  There was a chair out by the road.  Next to it was a sign that read, “Beer.  Take a can.”  For the first time, I noticed cans of beer and seltzer in the chair.  I was struggling too much to even consider it.

On paper, mile 23 was no more difficult than mile 22, but I slowed to 9:45 in that mile.  That was still faster than 10:00, so I was OK with it.

I just had one more mile that was into the wind.  I knew this mile would be a mostly downhill mile, but that didn’t make it feel much easier.  I can’t express how relieved I was when I finally came within sight of White’s Beach.  I knew the next mile was uphill.  I didn’t care.  I just wanted to get out of the wind.

After running past the beach, I caught up to another runner.  As I went by, I said, “Let’s do this.  The next mile is uphill, but …”

He finished that sentence for me.  He said, “No more wind!”

In mile 24, I sped up to 9:02, but only because it was somewhat downhill.  Now, I was about to start the tough climb again.

There were mile markers for the first half, but not for the second half.  When I saw the “11” sign, I had 2.1 miles to go.  I did another time check.  At this point, even 11 minutes per mile would be fast enough.  I had to get through the hill again, but the last mile would be easy.

Going up the hill, I was gradually gaining on two runners who had been ahead of me for most of the race.  I passed one as he was starting to walk.  I gradually gained ground on the other.

Halfway up the hill, the grade gets more difficult.  I kept looking ahead to see if I could see the top.  Eventually, I saw the volunteer with the orange flag.  Now that I could see the top, I picked up my effort.

I wasn’t quite to the top when my watch gave me a split for mile 25.  I ran it in 10:12.  That was almost a minute slower than my time for the corresponding mile in the first lap.  That was OK.  It was well under 11 minutes, and that’s all that mattered.

When I reached the top, I turned the corner and saw the “12” sign.  I did one last time check, even though I knew it didn’t matter.  To finish in four hours, I just needed to run the last 1.1 miles in 14 minutes … with the wind at my back.

I was still trying to catch up to the runner who finished the hill just ahead of me.  Then another runner flew by me.  I couldn’t match her pace, but I continued to gain ground on the other runner.  When I passed, I said, “Almost there.  Finish strong.”  Then I saw a sign saying we had a half mile to go.  It was nice to see that, since I didn’t trust my watch to tell me exactly how much was left.

From there to the finish, I ran harder.  Having the wind at my back obviously helped.  I finished in 3:56:12.  I was much slower in the second half, but I beat my goal by almost four minutes, in spite of the strong winds and the hilly course.

I got my finisher medal from my friend, Anne, who lives in this area and belongs to the running club that puts on this race.  I had to lean against a car briefly before I could walk into the school building.

Post race beverages included apple cider.  Post-race food included chili.  After drinking some cider and getting a bowl of chili, I sat down next to my friend, Shane, who had finished 11 minutes earlier.

By the time I was done with the chili, they were starting the awards ceremony for the marathon.  I stayed long enough to see if I won anything.  I took second in my age group.  Shane also placed in his age group.  The awards were coffee mugs.

Deb spent the morning in downtown Burlington.  She had lunch at a local diner.  After I got back to the hotel, I needed some time to get cleaned up.  Then we drove to Shelburne.

We went to the Shelburne Country Store and the Teddy Bear Factory.  We skipped some other popular destinations, because we’ve been there before.  When we were done, we had dinner at a diner in Shelburne.

Monday, October 20

On Monday, we drove to Waterbury.   Rather than drive directly there, we took a circuitous route, so we could make a few stops on the way.  First, we went to a chocolate factory in Colchester.  Then, we stopped at a maple outlet in Jeffersonville.  Before continuing to Stowe, we made a brief detour to see this covered bridge.

So far, it had been a scenic drive with autumn colors, going through small towns with Halloween decorations.  As we continued driving, it started to rain.  We had lunch in Stowe, but we didn’t make any other stops because of the rain.  After lunch, we checked into our hotel in Waterbury.

In the afternoon, we went to a glass gallery, where we each got a glass blowing lesson.  Our instructor explained the process to each of us, and then guided us each in making different shapes of colorful glass objects.  Deb’s was heart-shaped.  Mine was an egg.

When we left, it was pouring.  We didn’t feel like going anywhere else in the rain, so we relaxed at the hotel for the rest of the day.

Tuesday, October 21

It was drizzly in the morning, so we spent the first half of the day exploring various shops and galleries in Waterbury and Stowe.  We also visited a farm that makes maple syrup.  In lieu of a real lunch, we had milkshakes at Ben & Jerry’s.

In the afternoon, the sky cleared up, so we finally had a chance to do some outdoor sightseeing.  We started by driving to the trailhead for Bingham Falls.  The hike was longer and more strenuous than I expected.

Next, we went to Moss Glen Falls.  This was an easier hike.

Our last sightseeing stop was the Historic Gold Brook Covered Bridge.

We spent the rest of the afternoon strolling along Main Street in Stowe and visiting some of the shops.  Our last stop before returning to Waterbury was the Cabot Creamery.  Then we had dinner in downtown Waterbury.

Wednesday, October 22

It was rainy in the morning again, so we stuck to visiting local shops until the rain stopped.  In the afternoon, we drove to the Montpelier area.  We had to drive through some heavy rain, but it cleared up shortly after we arrived.  We visited two more farms that make maple syrup and browsed through their shops.

Thursday, October 23

It wasn’t raining Thursday morning, but we needed to drive back to Burlington to fly home.

While we were in Vermont, our diet was loaded with ice cream, cheese, apple cider, and everything maple.  Now that I’m home, I need to get back on a healthy diet. 

Race statistics:

Distance:  26.2 miles

Time:  3:56:12

Average Pace:  9:02 per mile

First Half:  1:54:25

Second Half:  2:01:47

Marathons/Ultras in 2025:  30

Lifetime Marathons/Ultras:  565

Consecutive Boston Qualifiers:  6

Lifetime Boston Qualifiers:  185

Race Report: 2025 Chicago Marathon

On October 12, I ran the Chicago Marathon.  I’ve run this race six times before.  When I ran the Chicago Marathon in 1999, it was easy to get in.  If you registered in a timely manner, you were in.  I don’t know if they even had a field limit.  The next five times, I was able to get automatic entry with a qualifying time.

This year, for the first time, I was able to register as a legacy runner.  To be considered a legacy runner, you need to have completed at least five of the previous ten Chicago Marathons.

I was intending to fly to Chicago Saturday morning and fly home Monday afternoon.  On Thursday, Deb saw that I had a notification from Delta that it was time to check in for my flight.  That caught me off guard.  I usually don’t get that notification until 24 hours before my flight.  It turns out I booked my flights for the wrong days.  I was scheduled to fly out on Friday and come home on Sunday.

Flying out a day early wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.  It would insulate me against flight delays.  I was worried about that, as some airports have been experiencing delays because of the government shutdown.

I called my hotel to see if I could arrive a day early.  After they confirmed that they had availability, I changed my reservation.  My flight home was still a problem.  There’s no way I could run the marathon and get to the airport in time for a 1:48 PM departure.

I called Delta, and I was able to reschedule my flight home for the same time on Monday.  That’s what I thought I had booked originally.

Friday, October 10

I flew to Chicago Friday morning.  My flight boarded on time, but after we pulled away from the gate, the captain informed us that there was an air traffic control delay.  No flights to Midway airport could depart for the next 45 minutes.

It could’ve been worse.  On Wednesday, flights to O’Hare were on hold for five hours.  The delay would’ve been more stressful if it was the day before the race, but I had plenty of time.

My hotel in Chicago was the Palmer House.  This hotel is just one block from Grant Park, where the race starts and finishes.  When I got to the hotel it was almost lunchtime.  I was planning to drop off my bags at the hotel and return later to check in.  I was pleasantly surprised to find out that I could get into a room right away.

I love Chicago-style pizza.  For me, race weekend in Chicago is as much about the pizza as the race itself.  For lunch, I went to Pequod’s.  Their lunch special on weekdays is a 7-inch deep-dish pizza.

After lunch, I went to the expo, which was held at McCormick Place.  From Pequod’s, I needed to take two trains and then walk about half a mile.

Packet pickup was fairly efficient, but it took time to get around in the expo hall.  It was one of the biggest expos I’ve seen, but it was crowded.  I hate to think how crowded it would’ve been if I waited until Saturday.

By the time I got back to the hotel, I needed to get off my feet.  I rested at the hotel until dinner.

For dinner, I went to Lou Malnati’s, which is another of my favorite restaurants for deep dish pizza.  Getting a last-minute dinner reservation on the weekend of the marathon is almost impossible.  I went early, and I was able to find a seat at the bar.  After dinner, I went to a nearby brewery, where I was joined by two friends who were on their way back from the expo.

As I was walking back to the hotel, I randomly bumped into three more friends, including two who had just arrived from England.  They invited me out for drinks at Navy Pier, but I had already been up since 2:15 AM, and I was about to turn into a pumpkin.  Regrettably, I needed to walk back to my hotel and get to sleep.

I slept well that night.  It helped that I didn’t have to set an early alarm.

Saturday, October 11

Because I arrived a day earlier than I originally planned, I didn’t have any plans for Saturday.  I spent the morning at the hotel.  I had a leisurely breakfast, I did a workout in the fitness room, and I organized my clothes for the race.

I had already been to two of my favorite pizza restaurants, but I also wanted to try someplace new.  I had read good reviews of the deep-dish pizza at an Italian restaurant called Labriola.  The smallest pizza at their main restaurant is 12 inches, which is too much for one person.  They also have a location in a food court called The Pizza Joint.  There, I was able to get a miniature deep-dish pizza.

I spent much of the afternoon walking around town.  I explored the loop, the river, and Millennium Park.

It would have been nice to wander around in Grant Park, but the park was fenced off in preparation for the marathon.

I knew getting a table at any pizza place would be difficult the night before the race.  For dinner, I went to Gino’s East.  I arrived early and found a seat at the bar.  I ordered a 9-inch deep-dish pizza, which was the smallest size they had.  That was too much food.

It took me longer to get to sleep that night.  I slept for about four hours.  Then I woke up with horrible indigestion, and I couldn’t get back to sleep.  One of the toppings on my pizza was garlic.  They used fresh garlic and lots of it.  It tasted good at the time, but it wasn’t sitting well in my stomach at 1 AM.

Sunday, October 12

Sunday was race day.  I don’t generally eat much for breakfast before a race.  I had picked up a yogurt parfait the day before, but I had mixed feelings about eating it.  On one hand, I still felt full from the night before.  On the other hand, I thought the yogurt might settle my stomach.  Reluctantly, I ate my parfait and had a cup of tea.

The race is divided into three waves.  The first wave starts at 7:30 AM.  I was in the second wave, which didn’t start until 8:00.  Nevertheless, I still had to get to Grant Park early.

Runners in wave two are advised to arrive at Grant Park by 6:00.  I’ve learned from experience to take that advice seriously.  If you get there early enough, you can get into the start area quickly.  If you wait too long, you can get stuck in a long line trying to enter Grant Park.  They have security checkpoints, and they need to inspect everyone’s bags at the entrances.  These checkpoints can be major bottlenecks.  I’d rather arrive early and have a long wait inside the park than arrive too late and stress about getting to my corral on time.

Because I arrived early enough, I got through the checkpoint quickly.  Then I made my way to Buckingham Fountain, where there are some benches.  I found a place to sit, and I was talking to two other runners until I needed to get into a bathroom line.

The port-o-potties closest to the start corrals always have insanely long lines.  After looking around, I found some port-o-potties that were farther away, but had shorter lines.

At 7:15, I took off my warm-up pants and checked my gear bag.  Then I made my way to the start corrals.

They close the corrals 15 minutes before the start of each wave.  I’ve found that it’s best to get into the corral at least 30 minutes early.  After that, there’s a huge bottleneck at the entrance to each corral.

The temperature was in the upper 50s.  I had a flat course and favorable weather, but I was tired.  By the time race started, my digestive system had stabilized.  I didn’t know how much the lack of sleep would affect me.  Sometimes you don’t know how your body will respond until you start running.

Each wave was divided into several corrals.  I was assigned to corral F, which was the first corral of the second wave.  By the time we started, all the runners from the first wave had cleared out, so the only runners in front of me were runners from my own corral.  That helped.  This is a huge race, so the first few miles can be congested.  To my surprise, I felt like I had plenty of room to run at my own pace as soon as I crossed the starting line.

In my last three races, I’ve run times in the low 3:50s.  I wanted to see if I could get under 3:50.  Ideally, I wanted to run the first half in 1:55 and then speed up in the second half.

If there was a 3:50 pace group in my corral, I would’ve started with them.  There were two 3:50 pace groups, but one started in corral G, and the other started in corral H.  I could’ve moved back, but then I would’ve experienced more congestion in the early miles.  I chose to stick with my corral assignment and set my own pace.

In the first mile, I felt like I might be going too fast.  I wouldn’t know for sure until I reached a mile marker.  For the first few miles, we were surrounded by tall buildings.  Signals from the GPS satellites can reflect off the buildings, confusing your watch.  Early in the race, I had to pace myself by checking my time at each mile marker.

To run the first half in 1:55, I needed to average 8:46 per mile.  I ran the first mile in 8:39.  That wasn’t that much faster than my target pace, but it felt more tiring than it should.  I immediately had doubts about hitting my goal.

There are 20 aid stations along the route.  I was originally planning to skip the first one, as it tends to be the most congested.  When I got there, I didn’t see any runners in front of me heading toward the aid station.  When I realized I could grab a cup of Gatorade without bumping into other runners, I went for it.

I’ve run hundreds of different marathons, but I’ve never seen another race with such good aid station volunteers.  They really know what they’re doing.  They know exactly how much to fill each cup, so you can grab it without spilling.  They’re also really good about standing far enough apart and holding out the cups so you can easily get a clean handoff.  At most of the aid stations, I was able to grab a cup and drink without slowing down.

In mile two, I kept up the same effort, even though it felt too fast.  That mile was about five seconds faster than the first one.  Then I eased up a bit.

During the second mile, I ran right past my hotel.  I’ve stayed in the same hotel for this race before, but somehow, I never noticed that I was running past the Palmer House.  Add this to the long list of races where I’ve run right past my hotel.

There were four sharp turns in the first three miles.  After that, we were mostly heading north.  I didn’t have any trouble with congestion in the early turns, but it was still a relief to know that we would be running mostly in one direction for the next five miles.

For corral seeding, I submitted my fastest time in the last year.  That was on a downhill course, so it was faster than I could run on a flat course.  Most of the other runners in my corral were faster than me.  In some miles, I was able to throttle it back and run at about the right pace.  In others, I was influenced too much by the runners around me, causing me to start going too fast again.

Once I was out of the downtown area, my watch started giving me accurate splits.  I didn’t pay too much attention to them.  I continued to do “old school” pacing.  I read my time at each mile marker.  Then I added 8:45 to get my target time for the next mile.  I usually came in a few seconds faster.

There was a lot of music along the course.  Sometimes it was live; other times it was recorded.  Somewhere around five miles, I heard music that had a familiar beat.  I couldn’t hear the singing yet, but from the beat alone, I recognized it as “Eye of the Tiger.”

In the major marathons, I often see runners from several other countries.  I saw runners wearing shirts indicating they were from Argentina, Chile, Mexico, and Slovakia.  I saw several runners from Brazil.  They were all wearing gold shirts with the Brazilian flag on the back.

We were in mile eight when we reached the northernmost point on the course.  After two turns, we started coming back toward the downtown area.  I was almost to the eight-mile sign when I was passed by a pace group.  It was the 3:40 group.  They must have started in a different corral.  There’s no way they would have been behind me for eight miles if they started in corral F.  Seeing a 3:40 group this far into the race was a reminder that the runners around me going pretty fast.

We were running through neighborhoods with really good crowds.  Coming back towards downtown, I continued to run just a little bit faster than my target pace.  It always felt like I might be working too hard, but I was getting pulled along by the fast runners around me.

The halfway point was in the downtown area.  At halfway, I was on pace for about 3:47.  I had no illusions about speeding up in the second half.  I’d be lucky if I could hang on.  I expected to slow down eventually, but I was hoping to hold the pace for as long as I could.

When my watch gave me a split for mile 14, it was insanely fast.  We had just gone through an area with tall buildings, so I knew I couldn’t trust my watch.  I had to wait and check my time at 14 miles.  It was a long time before I reached the 14-mile sign.

In the second half, I was still running about the same pace that I had run in the first half.  Now, we were running a segment of the course that took us to the west.

I was at about 15 miles when I was passed by another pace group.  This was a 3:35 group.  I asked one of the pace leaders which corral they started in.  They started in corral G.  Apparently, there was a stagger of several minutes between corrals.

After reaching the westernmost point on the course, we made two quick turns and headed back toward the downtown area.  When I saw the downtown buildings ahead of me, I realized I was about to pass a Church’s Chicken restaurant.  It’s funny what things you remember about a course.  I remembered that, but I forgot that the street I was  running on is part of Route 66.

In any large race, there are spectators holding up signs.  My favorite sign in this race read, “Run flat. Eat deep dish.”

I wanted to make a bathroom stop, but I didn’t want to stop while I was still on a good pace.  For one mile at a time, I held out.  I ended up holding out for the rest of the race.

Before reaching downtown, we turned and headed south.  Then we began a loop through the neighborhoods that are southwest of the city center.

By 18 miles, I was starting to feel the sun.  It was getting warmer.  At the aid stations, they had flags indicating the alert level, based on the current weather conditions.  We started the race with a green flag, which means low risk.  When I got to the next aid station, I saw a yellow flag.  We now had moderate risk.

In the next few miles, we ran through a few ethnic neighborhoods, including a Mexican neighborhood and an Italian neighborhood.  The spectators in the Mexican neighborhood were playing music and waving Mexican flags.  I also saw a beer stop there, but there’s no way I was going to do anything to disrupt my race when I was still hanging on to a good pace.

So far, every mile had been 8:46 or faster.  That ended in mile 21.  That mile included a sharp turn where I had to slow down because of congestion.  It also ended with a slight climb up to a bridge.  This is an amazingly flat course.  You get so used to every mile being flat that even a small hill can take you out of your rhythm.

Next, we ran through Chinatown.  This is my favorite part of the course.  Aside from being the most colorful neighborhood, it also has the best spectators.  There were large crowds and they really made some noise for us.

I could no longer stay on my target pace, but I was keeping it close.  The last major part of the course was along Michigan Avenue.  First, we turned right and ran farther south.  Just past 23 miles, we did a small loop, which brought us back to Michigan Avenue to run north.

When we got back onto Michigan Avenue, we were finally running back toward Grant Park and the finish.  I have a love/hate relationship with this part of the course.  I love that we’re on the final stretch, but I always start to run out of gas before I get to this stretch.

When we turned back onto Michigan Avenue, we were at 31st Street.  We had to go to Roosevelt, which is the equivalent to 12th Street.  I started counting down the blocks before we would turn.

My time for mile 24 was 9:00.  It was a bit discouraging that I was no longer keeping my pace under nine minutes, but I only had a couple miles to go.  If I could keep it anywhere close to nine minutes per mile, I would break 3:50.  I was pretty confident I could do that.

I saw another beer stop.  It looked refreshing.  Ordinarily, I would’ve been tempted, but I knew we would get a full can of beer at the finish.  I could wait.

Up until now, I had always been drinking Gatorade at the aid stations.  My mouth was feeling dry, so I switched to drinking water at the next aid station.  That was a refreshing change of pace.

In mile 25, I managed to pick up the pace a little.  After that, there were numerous signs to tell you how much you have left.  This is one of the few races that has a one mile to go sign.  When I got there, I did a time check.  If I ran well in the last mile, I could break 3:48.

At 41K, I had 1200 meters to go.  That’s equivalent to three laps around a track.  I knew they also had signs at 800 meters to go and 400 meters to go.  I lifted my effort and focused on 400 meters at a time.

When I reached 13th Street, I just had one more block before the turn.  I was annoyed when we were forced to move to the left side of the street, since the next turn would be a right.  They had a place where spectators could cross the street, halfway at a time.  Sometimes runners were diverted to the right.  Other times, runners were diverted to the left.  I just had bad timing.  As soon as I could, I started angling toward the right, in anticipation of the turn.

When I turned onto Roosevelt, I started climbing “Roosevelt hill.”  We had to go up a ramp to a bridge over some railroad tracks.  It’s not a big hill, but it comes near the end of the race, when you’re already fighting to hang on.

The 400 meters to go sign was halfway up the hill.  I focused on getting there first.  Then I focused on the 300 meters to go sign, which was at the top of the hill.

After the road leveled off, I reached the final turn on the course.  As I made the turn, I saw a 3:40 pacer.  It didn’t seem possible that he could be on pace for 3:40.  He should have been way ahead of me.

With 200 meters to go, I was determined to pass the 3:40 pacer.  I did.  With 100 meters to go, I noticed it was slightly downhill to the finish.  That allowed me to finish strong.

I crossed the line in 3:47:57.  I ran positive splits by about a minute, but I didn’t look at it like that.  My plan had been to run the first half in 1:55 and then run the second half faster than 1:55.  My first half was too fast, but I still kept the second half under 1:55.

There’s a reason why I wanted to break 3:50.  I recently moved into a new age group for Boston qualifying.  The qualifying standard for my new age group is 4:05.  The standard for my former age group is 3:50.  I wanted to prove to myself that I can still beat the qualifying time for my former age group.

After I got my finisher medal, I took a heat sheet.  I didn’t feel like I needed one, but I knew it would be a while before I got back to my hotel, and I didn’t want to risk getting cold.

Post-race food included bananas, apples, popcorn, and chocolate mini-donuts.  I had a banana and a donut.  That was enough.

Post-race beverages included water, beer, and Muscle Milk.  I skipped the water, but picked up a can of beer and a bottle of Muscle Milk.  I needed to finish the beer before leaving the park.  I could bring the Muscle Milk back to the hotel.

As soon as I exited the food area, I headed for the nearest bathroom.  Then I made my way toward the gear retrieval tents.  Along the way, I bumped into my friend Glen.  Glen and I are in the same age group, and we both had BQs.

After retrieving my gear bag, I headed to the post-race party area.  I wanted to see if I could spot any other friends.  When I got there, I saw that it was much too crowded to have any hope of spotting someone I know.  I didn’t have my phone with me, so I had no way of finding out where anybody was.

I went straight through the party area to get to the exit, and I made my way back to the hotel.  Along the way, I was comparing notes with a runner from Germany who started in corral E.  She found the early miles to be too crowded.  I’ve had that experience in other years.  There’s a big difference between the last corral of one wave and the first corral of the next wave.

I spent the rest of the afternoon recuperating at the hotel.  For dinner, I went to Pizano’s Pizza.  They have an individual size for their deep-dish pizza.  Also, they’re only a block away from my hotel, and that was an important consideration.

Monday, October 13

My flight home wasn’t until the afternoon, so I was able to eat breakfast and do a workout before taking a train to the airport.  I got to the airport in time to have lunch there.  It was my sixth deep-dish pizza in four days.

Race statistics:

Distance:  26.2 miles

Time:  3:47:57

Average Pace:  8:42 per mile

First Half:  1:53:24

Second Half:  1:54:33

Marathons/Ultras in 2025:  29

Lifetime Marathons/Ultras:  564

Consecutive Boston Qualifiers:  5

Lifetime Boston Qualifiers:  184

World Marathon Majors:  29 (14 Boston, 7 Chicago, 4 NYC, 2 Berlin, London, Tokyo)

Race Report: 2025 Twin Cities Marathon

On October 5, I ran the Twin Cities Marathon, which starts in downtown Minneapolis and finishes in front of the State Capitol in downtown St. Paul.  This is one of my favorite races.  It was my first marathon, back in 1983, and I’ve run it 15 more times since then.

I belong to a club called the 50sub4 Marathon Club.  Its members all have a goal of running marathons in all 50 states with times under four hours.  I’ve completed two circuits of 50sub4.

The 50sub4 club has two club reunions each year.  The spring reunion is always at the Boston Marathon.  The fall reunion moves around.  This year, the club chose the Twin Cities Marathon for their fall reunion.

I live in the Twin Cities area, so I usually sleep in my own bed on race weekend.  My usual routine is to drive to St. Paul on race morning and park my car in a lot that’s near the State Capitol.  Then I walk over to the Radisson to take one of the free buses to the start.  After the race, I only have to walk a few blocks to get back to my car.

This year, I decided to stay in a hotel.  The obvious choice would’ve been the Radisson, but they were already fully booked by the time I checked on availability.  Instead, I stayed at the St. Paul Doubletree.  It wasn’t as close to the finish line, but it was only a few blocks from the Intercontinental, which was another location where I could catch a free bus to the start.  I paid extra to get a 2 PM checkout, to make sure I would have time to shower at the hotel after the race.

The expo was held at RiverCentre in downtown St. Paul.  RiverCentre is only about half a mile from Doubletree, so I checked in at the hotel first, left my car there, and walked to the expo.

Some of the other 50sub4 members had dinner at a restaurant in downtown Minneapolis.  I was tempted to join them, but it would have been a pain to have to travel to downtown Minneapolis and then travel back to St. Paul later in the evening.  I opted to have dinner in St. Paul and hope that I would see most of the same friends at the post-race party on Sunday.

Since I was already in downtown St. Paul, I had dinner at Cossetta’s.  Cossetta’s is a family-owned Italian restaurant that’s been in business for more than 100 years.  It’s near RiverCentre, so I often go there for dinner after the expo.

The disadvantage of staying in a hotel is that I rarely sleep as well in hotels as I do at home.  I slept OK for about half the night, but I woke up at 1:15 and couldn’t get back to sleep.  I spent the rest of the night resting in bed, but never getting back to sleep.

The buses to the start were leaving continuously from 5:00 to 6:45 AM.  The earlier buses were mostly for runners doing the 10-mile race, which started at 7:00.  The marathon didn’t start until 8:00, so I could take one of the later buses.  I waited until 6:00 before leaving the hotel to walk over to the Intercontinental.  Then I got in line to board a bus.  Fewer runners take buses from the Intercontinental.  At the Radisson, you can easily spend 15 minutes in line waiting to board a bus.  At the Intercontinental, I was on a bus right away.

As the crow flies, it’s only 10 miles from downtown St. Paul to downtown Minneapolis.  The buses took the freeway, so it didn’t take long to get to the start area.  When I arrived in the start area, I still had an hour and a half before the race.  When I wasn’t in a bathroom line, I sat on a bench inside the Viking ship that’s outside the football stadium.

When it comes to weather, one day can make a big difference.  On Saturday, it got up to 90 degrees, which was a record high for St. Paul.  Had the race been a day earlier, it might have been cancelled.  By Monday morning, it’s supposed to cool down to 49 degrees.  Had the race been a day later, we would’ve had ideal temperatures.  Instead, we got something in between. When I arrived in the start area, the temperature was in the upper 60s, and it was forecast to climb into the upper 70s by noon.  That’s obviously much warmer than ideal, but I tolerate warm conditions better than most runners.

It was a little windy, so I wore a light jacket to keep warm in the start area.  I could tie that around my waist, so I didn’t need to check a gear bag.  That saved me some time both before and after the race.

I saw a few runners I know before the race.  One was Jeff Hill, who was the founder of the 50sub4 club.

I was in the first of three start corrals.  They had several pace groups, including a 3:50 group and a 4:00 group.  Between the warm temperatures and the lack of sleep, I didn’t think it was a good day to set an aggressive goal.  I want to break four hours if I could, so I was planning to start with the 4:00 group.

From what I read online, I expected there to be 3:50 and 4:00 groups in both corral one and corral two.  I saw a 3:50 group in corral two, but the slowest group I saw in corral one was 3:45.  That was too fast, so I started on my own.

As I was running through downtown Minneapolis in the first mile, I spotted Eliot, who is also a 50sub4 member.  I sped up a little to catch up to Eliot, but that led me to run the first mile too fast.

In the second mile, there’s an uphill section where’s we’re running past the Walker Art Center and then turning onto Douglas Avenue.  On this section, I eased up and let myself drift back in comparison to the runners around me.  After running mile one in 8:30, I slowed to 8:55 in mile two.  That was still faster than the pace I needed to break four hours, but it was much more reasonable.

The next few miles were relatively flat.  I settled into a pace that was between 8:45 and 8:50.  I wasn’t trying to go this fast, but I was influenced by the pace of the runners around me.

Midway through mile three, we turned left to head toward the chain of lakes in south Minneapolis.  For the next four or five miles, we had a headwind.  I was partially sheltered by the trees and the other runners, so I never found the wind to be too tiring.

Running past Lake of the Isles, I saw some spectators who set up a mimosa stop.  It was much too early in the race to indulge in something like that.  I stuck to the official aid stations, which had water and Nuun.

A couple miles later, near the southwest corner of Bde Maka Ska, I saw another mimosa stop.  This one also had pancakes.  I don’t think I’ve ever seen pancakes at a marathon before.

I felt the wind the most as I reached the north end of Lake Harriet.  Here, the wind was blowing across the lake.

After Lake Harriet, we quickly reached the Minnehaha Parkway.  Now, we were heading east, so the wind was at our side.  Along the parkway, I found the wind to be helpful.  It kept me from getting too hot.

The Minnehaha Parkway is mostly flat, but there are a few small hills in mile nine.  On these hills, I again allowed myself to drift back in comparison to the runners around me.  That mile was a little slower, but it was still fast enough.  So far, every mile was faster than nine minutes.

Just past the nine-mile mark, we ran under the Nicollet Avenue Bridge.  As usual, there was a band set up under the bridge.

The next mile was fairly level, and I got back into a nice rhythm.

For the second straight year, the Minnesota Vikings were playing a game in London on the day of the Twin Cities Marathon.  It was an afternoon game in London, but in our time zone, it was an 8:30 AM kickoff, so the game was going on at the same time as the marathon.  Along Minnehaha Parkway, I started seeing spectators holding up signs with the score.

After 10 miles, I asked myself how I felt.  My pace was taking some effort.  The question was whether it would be sustainable for 16 more miles.  I felt OK for the time being, but I expected it to get warmer in the second half.  In particular, I expected to feel the sun more as it got higher in the sky.

Just before 11 miles, we turned onto Cedar Avenue to begin running around Lake Nokomis.  It was here that I noticed a pace group catching up to me.

The leaders of pace groups carried signs that listed their goal time on one side and their average pace on the other side.  This was a 3:50 group.  Their pace was 8:46 per mile, which was pretty close to the pace I had been running.

I had seen a 3:50 group in corral two, but they started five minutes after I did.  I didn’t expect them to catch up to me until much later in the race.  I asked the pace leader if she started in corral one or two.  This group started in corral one, just like I did.

I wanted to run with a group, but I didn’t know if 3:50 was realistic.  As we ran around the west side of the lake, we were running into the wind.  Against my better judgement, I kept up with the group, even though I was fighting a headwind.  Then I got ahead of them.

The 12-mile mark was near the south end of the lake.  I saw the pace group next to me again, but a different runner was carrying the sign.  I didn’t realize it at first, but this was a different pace group.  This was a 3:45 group, but they started in corral two.

Without realizing this was a faster group, I kept running with them.  That led me to run the next mile in 8:29.  That was my fastest mile of the race.  When I realized this was a 3:45 group, I eased up and fell behind them.

On the east side of Lake Nokomis, we had the wind at our backs.  That may sound good, but I started to get hot.  When I had a tailwind, I missed the cooling effect of the wind.

At the halfway mark, I was on pace to finish in 3:51.  I expected to slow down in the second half, as it got hotter and sunnier.

Just past the halfway mark, there was an aid station that had pickle juice, in addition to water and Nuun.  I drank a small cup of pickle juice and then followed it with Nuun.

As I was leaving Lake Nokomis to get back onto the Minnehaha Parkway, it suddenly got cloudy, and I felt some light sprinkles.  That was a game changer.  Now, I was no longer hot.  It remained cloudy for the rest of the race, and we had intermittent light rain.  It was just enough to keep me reasonably cool.

Between 15 and 16 miles, we left Minnehaha Parkway to get onto the West River Parkway.  We followed the west bank of the Mississippi for the next few miles.

At 16 miles, I once again asked myself how I felt.  I wasn’t any more tired now than I was at 10 miles.  With the change in weather, I was much more confident that I could sustain the pace.

At 17 miles, there was an aid station that had gel packets filled with maple syrup.  I had a syrup packet and then followed it with some water.  That was a nice treat.

In mile 18, I slowed to 9:00.  That surprised me, because I didn’t feel like I was going any slower.  As I thought about it more, I realized I wasn’t working as hard.  I had inadvertently allowed myself to relax.  After that, I picked up my effort again.

When I reached the 30K mark, I knew I was getting close to the Franklin Avenue Bridge, where we would cross the river.  Before I got there, I saw a runner ahead of me wearing a 50sub4 shirt.  I couldn’t recognize him from behind.  I yelled, “50Sub4, I see you.”  Then he turned his head, and I recognized him.  It was Rainer, who I met earlier this year.

I ran up the ramp to Franklin Avenue and crossed the bridge.  As I got onto the East River Road, I knew the next mile would be slightly downhill.  At 20 miles, I reached the lowest elevation on the course.  The next three miles were each uphill.  This is the make-or-break part of the course.

I didn’t slow down much in mile 21.  Then I turned the corner to begin a long gradual hill where we climb away from the river and up to the University of St. Thomas.  My pace going up this hill was slow, but steady.  I kept up with the runners around me, but most people slow down on this hill.

When I reached the top, I knew the toughest hill was begin me.  I turned right, ran half a block, and then turned left onto Summit Avenue.  Summit Avenue was still uphill at first, but it was more gradual.

Mile 22 was my slowest mile of the race, but I expected that.  I needed to average 9:09 per mile, and this was the only mile that was slower than that.  It was 9:12.

Just past 22, I saw another pace group coming up on my side.  Was this the same 3:50 group I had seen earlier, or was it the one that started in corral two?  I didn’t know, and I didn’t ask.  What I did know is that their target pace was 8:46.  I challenged myself to stay in front of them.  I had one more uphill mile.  Then it would get easier.

At 23 miles, I knew I had reached the highest elevation on the course.  I was still in front of the 3:50 group, and now the course was leveling off.

It occurred to me that I hadn’t seen a score for the Vikings game since halftime.  The game might be over by now.  I later learned from another runner that the Vikings won.  For what it’s worth, they’re 5-0 in games played in London.

In mile 24, I sped up by 15 seconds.  I was still in front of the 3:50 group, and I was motivated to keep up my effort.

Just past 24, I saw a large sign on the left that said “Free beer.”  It was late enough in the race that I was willing to indulge in a beer stop.  I almost bumped into another runner as I angled over to the left side of the street.

When the spectators with the beer saw me heading their way, they got excited.  I may have been the first runner to stop there.  One asked me, “Do you want a beer?”  Another opened a cooler and took out a 16-ounce can.

I was expecting beer poured into a small cup.  I wasn’t expecting a whole can.  I told them I couldn’t drink that much, and I continued running.  Instead, I drank water at an aid station that was a few blocks away.

After another half mile, I saw a beer stop on the right.  These people had poured beer into several plastic cups.  I happily drank a small cup of beer and continued running.

The last three miles have a slight downhill trend, but it’s not all downhill.  The last hill on the course comes just before the 25-mile mark.  I know this hill well.  35 years ago, I walked this hill, and I missed a Boston qualifier by 11 seconds.

Knowing it was the last hill, I was able to keep up a steady pace.  Then I just had to grind it out for a little over a mile.

Just before 26, the street bends to the left, and we ran by St. Paul’s Cathedral.  From there, it’s downhill, and you can see the capitol in front of you.

I saw someone holding up a 50sub4 banner in the crowd.  As I got closer, I saw it was Gwen.  She ran the 10-mile race, so she had been done for hours.

I continued running down the hill, finishing in 3:51:30.  I slowed down in the second half, but only by 32 seconds.  Mile 22 accounted for most of that.

The finisher medal featured a maple leaf.  Autumn colors used to be a regular feature of this race.  In recent years, the leaves have been changing later.  Ideally, this race should be held two weeks later.  That would also ensure cooler weather.  This year, we got lucky, got it could easily have been hotter.

As luck would have it, the sun came out right after I finished.  I had my phone with me during the race, but I didn’t want to stop to take pictures.  As I continued walking through the finish area, I stopped to take a picture of the capitol.

Not checking a gear bag made it easy to get out of the finish area quickly.  I picked up a few post-race snacks, but then I started walking back to my hotel.

I got back to the hotel little earlier than I expected.  I had time to take a hot bath and do some stretching.  My Achilles tendons both felt tight.

After changing into clean clothes, I packed up and checked out.  Then I drove to St. Paul Brewing for the 50sub4 post-race party.

I arrived a little bit early, but Gwen and Jayde were already there.  Eventually, several other 50sub4 members joined us, and we traded stories for most of the afternoon.

Race statistics:

Distance:  26.2 miles

Time:  3:51:30

Average Pace:  8:50 per mile

First Half:  1:55:29

Second Half:  1:56:01

Marathons/Ultras in 2025:  28

Lifetime Marathons/Ultras:  563

Minnesota Marathons/Ultras:  115

Consecutive Boston Qualifiers:  4

Lifetime Boston Qualifiers:  183