Race Report: 2026 MO' Cowbell Marathon

On November 8th, I ran the MO’ Cowbell Marathon in St. Charles, MO.  I chose this race so I could try for a second Boston qualifier in Missouri.  It’s one of four states I needed to complete a second circuit of BQs in every state.

My last race didn’t exactly inspire confidence.  I’m capable of running fast enough for a BQ, but it takes my best effort and a relatively flat course.  This race has an easy enough course, but I still needed to pace myself well.

I also had to avoid bathroom stops.  That’s easier said than done.  For the last 20 months, I’ve been taking a medication that affects my digestive system.  Sometimes, I’m OK.  Other times, I have problems as soon as I start running.  Thankfully, I didn’t have any issue in this race.

St. Charles is in the greater St. Louis area.  I flew to St. Louis Saturday morning and arrived just before lunch.  After a fast-food lunch stop, I drove to the ExMo’, which was on a college campus in Cottleville.

Packet pickup ended at 3 PM.  That’s awfully early for people who are flying in from out of state.  I was able to get there early in the day, but I knew some runners coming from California who couldn’t count on getting there in time.  I picked up their race packets in addition to my own.

The race shirt was a thick hooded sweatshirt with a zipper and pockets.  I get a lot of T-shirts, so it’s nice when I can get something different.

After Sally and Dawn dropped by to pick up their race packets, I went out for an early dinner at a pizzeria that was walking distance from my hotel.

I was able to get to sleep early, but I only slept for half the night.  Then I woke up and couldn’t get back to sleep.  At 5:00, I finally got up, so I could take my time getting ready.  Despite the relative lack of sleep, I felt OK.  My hotel started their breakfast service at 6:00, so I was able to eat a light breakfast.

The race started at the north end of Frontier Park.  From my hotel, it was a little more than a mile away.  The race started at 7:30, but for people driving and parking, they recommended arriving before 6:30.  I chose to walk.

I found the weather to be challenging.  On one hand, the overnight low was in the mid-30s, and it was still be in the 30s when I left the hotel.  I was going to be outside for a long time before the race, so I needed to dress warm enough.  I have circulation issues, and if my legs get too cold for too long, the blood vessels begin to constrict.  On the other hand, it was going to warm into the upper 50s by the time I finished, so if I dressed for 30s, I would get hot as the temperature climbed into the 50s.

I packed multiple clothing options, so I could make a last-minute decision on race morning.  I went with the cheetah outfit.  That’s my warmest pair of tights, and the hat is warmer than it looks.  I also had a Tyvek jacket that I could wear until I got warmed up enough to take it off and tie it around my waist.

I tried to time my arrival to give me just enough time to get to my start corral.  That way, I wouldn’t need to make a bathroom stop in the start area.  I ended up getting to the start area quicker than I expected.  The bathrooms lines weren’t too long, so I made a last-minute bathroom stop after all.  It might not have been necessary, but it gave me peace of mind.

My goal was 4:05, which is the qualifying standard for my age group.  I needed an average pace of about 9:20 per mile.  As I worked my way through the start corrals, I noticed they had pace groups.  That was a pleasant surprise, as the race website didn’t mention anything about them.

I spotted a 4:00 pace group for the marathon and a 2:00 pace group for the half marathon.  They were lined up together.  I lined up right behind them.

After we got started, I could still see the 2:00 pacer, but I no longer saw the 4:00 sign.  I’m not sure what happened to the 4:00 pacer.  A 2:00 half marathon is the same pace, so it didn’t matter too much.

When I looked at the elevation profile, I didn’t notice any hills in the early miles.  It was a big wake-up call when we made our first turn and started up a steep hill.

This hill was only one block long, but it forced me to drop back from the pace group.  I ran up the hill at my own pace, but I fell way behind the group.

After the course leveled out, I got back to my previous pace.  I could see the group ahead of me.  I was running the same pace as them, but I was following at a distance.

Soon, we turned and ran down a steep hill.  Without even trying, I caught up to the group again.

Another runner asked the pace leader what pace he was running.  He said 9:05 per mile.  The pace he actually needed to average was 9:09, but he wanted to get a little ahead of schedule, so he could give some time back later in the race.  I knew there was a long gradual hill at around 10 miles.  I assumed he wanted to be able to go slower there.

His pace was 15 seconds faster than my target pace, so I didn’t know if it was a good idea to stay with the group.  I was originally only planning to run with them for the first mile.  The pace felt sustainable when we weren’t going uphill, so I continued to run with the group.

By the end of the third mile, I was starting to feel perspiration under my jacket.  I got a little bit ahead of the group, and then I took it off and tied it around my waist.  I assumed that would slow me down, but it didn’t.  I was still in front of the group.

By now, we were far enough out of town that we were surrounded by farmland.  We were at the northernmost edge of the course.  Over the next few miles, we came back into town.

Miles six through eight were a lollipop (i.e. an out-and-back section with a loop at one end).  This were the first place where I saw faster runners coming back on the other side of the street.

The aid stations all had water and Gatorade.  Some also had gels.  They usually had tables on both sides of the street.  At some aid stations, volunteers standing in front of the tables were handing out cups of water or Gatorade.  At others, they put the cups on the tables, and we needed to grab them as we ran by.  There was one aid station, in the middle of the lollipop, where volunteers came out to the middle of the street to hand cups to us.  I was able to drink at this aid station without slowing down.

I’m assuming the pace group slowed down a little at that aid station, because I got out in front of them again.  For the next several miles, I was running on my own.

I paid close attention to my pace.  I was continuing to run miles in 9:04 or 9:05, so I knew I wasn’t getting too far ahead of the group.

One thing that stood out at this race was how everyone else seemed to stay in one lane all the time, even though the road was closed to traffic.  Going around turns, I did my best to run the tangents.  Nobody around me seemed to be making any effort to do that.

After the lollipop section, we made a right turn.  Everybody in front of me went all the way to the far lane before turning.  I angled across the street more gradually.  After the race, Sally mentioned to me that she had the same experience.  She was running the tangents, but most people around her weren’t.

Through the first eight miles, my pace was consistent.  In mile nine, I slowed down.  The last part of that mile was slightly uphill, but I think I slowed down mostly because I allowed myself to relax a little.  I was still going faster than my target pace of 9:20, and I was still ahead of the 2:00 group.

Early in mile 10, I turned a corner and saw a long hill in front of me.  It was gradual, but it was uphill as far as I could see.  I knew this hill was coming.  It was the only hill that stood out to me when I looked at the elevation profile.

I picked up my effort a little as I made my way up the hill.  Mile 10 was faster than mile nine, although it was still slower than all the previous miles.

Going up that hill, I felt like I was working up a sweat.  I finally took off my gloves.

The next mile started out uphill, but we eventually crested the hill and started running downhill.  I sped up quite a bit in that mile, even though the first part was uphill.  Mile 12 was even faster.  That was my fastest mile of the race.

Now we were coming back into the downtown area.  Halfway through mile 13, I recognized the street we were on.  When I saw people ahead of me turning a corner, I realized we were going to go back up a steep hill that we had run down earlier.

I was on a good enough pace that I could afford to slow down going up this hill.  I ran according to my effort and didn’t worry about losing time.

I was about half a block into the hill when I heard the 2:00 pace leader telling his group about the hill.  This were about to turn the corner.

I was still ahead of the group after the hill, but they eventually caught up to me when we came back downhill.  They were almost done with the half marathon, and they were making their final push.

Just before 13 miles, the people running the half marathon turned right to run to the finish line in Frontier Park.  Those of us doing the marathon continued running straight for one more block before turning onto a dirt and gravel trail that went closer to the river.

At the halfway mark, I was on pace to finish in 3:59.  My goal was still 4:05.  Finishing in four hours would be nice, but I didn’t know if my current pace was sustainable for 13 more miles.

There were fewer runners around me now, but they seemed to be running a consistent pace.  For the time being, I made a point of keeping up with the runners right in front of me.  Now, I was averaging about 9:10 per mile, which would still be fast enough to break four hours if I didn’t slow down at all.  To break 4:05 and get a BQ, I could afford to slow down to about 9:30 per mile.

I was getting splits from my watch way before I reached the mile markers.  Every few miles, I checked my total elapsed time as I reached a mile marker.  At 15 miles, I was about two and a half minutes ahead of schedule for a 4:15 finish.

After passing the 15-mile banner, I noticed there was a 24-mile banner on the other side of the trail.  That’s when I realized the second half of the race was going to be a long out-and-back.  A couple minutes later, I saw the lead runners coming back on the other side of the trail.

My focus now was getting to the turnaround point.  For the next couple of miles, I continued to run at the same pace.

I soon realized that I was running into the wind now.  It wasn’t a strong wind, but the pace felt somewhat more tiring.  The good news is that the headwind kept me nice and cool.  I was dressed warm, so I was worried I would start getting hot in the second half of the race.

Just past 17 miles, I reached a point where runners coming back were still on the dirt trail, but the runners who were outbound turned to leave the trail and run along the shoulder of a road.  Here, it was slightly uphill.  This hill wasn’t nearly as long as the one in mile 10, but it slowed me down.  Worse yet, it made my legs sore, even though I wasn’t pushing to stay on the same pace.

I thought we were done with the hill when we turned onto another road, but that road was still slightly uphill for another block.  Then, finally, we turned onto a trail that took us toward a bridge over the Mississippi.

Because of those hills, mile 18 was my slowest of the race.  I slowed to 9:37 in that mile.  That might still be fast enough for a 4:05 finish, but I definitely wasn’t going to finish in four hours.  Now that I knew that, I could focus on the more important goal.

At the 18-mile banner, I did another time check.  Over the previous three miles, I gave back four seconds, but I still had a cushion of almost two and a half minutes.

I was no longer running into the wind, which was a relief.  With the wind at my side, I still felt relatively cool.

The bridge over the Mississippi was long, but relatively flat.  I was still on this bridge when I saw a pace group coming back.  It was the 3:30 group.

Dawn was a few minutes ahead of that group.  She knew what I was wearing, so she easily spotted me.  I was watching my footing, so I didn’t notice when she went by.

When I came off the bridge, I started down a cloverleaf ramp that took me under the bridge.  I knew I’d eventually have to come back up that ramp.  I wasn’t looking forward to that.

After crossing under the bridge, I had to come back uphill briefly, but that wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be.  Then I continued east through Maryland Heights.

I heard someone going the other way call my name.  I didn’t look up in time so see her, but it was Sally, who also easily recognized me in my cheetah outfit.

I’m not sure if it was before or after Sally that I saw the 3:45 pace group coming back.  That gave me a better feel for how far it was to the turnaround.

In mile 19, I sped up to 8:55.  I was trying to pick up the pace after a slow mile, but I was surprised to speed up that much.  That was my fastest mile of the race, and it made me wonder if a four-hour finish was still possible.

When I reached the turnaround, my focus changed to getting back to the bridge.  Before I got there, I reached the 20-mile mark.  I figured out that I would need an average pace of 9:00 per mile to finish in four hours.  I was getting weary enough that I doubted I could hold that pace for one mile.  I definitely couldn’t do it for 6.2.  On the other hand, the pace I needed for 4:05 was almost a minute slower.  I kept that in mind when I ran back up the ramp to get onto the bridge again.

When I crossed this bridge for the first time, it seemed flat.  In this direction, it seemed like the first half of the bridge was slightly uphill.  My pace now was just under 9:30.  I worked hard to keep from slowing down any more.  The good news is that the wind was still keeping me cool.  That wouldn’t be the case for too much longer.

After the bridge, we began a long descent into the river valley.  It was long enough to include a couple switchbacks.  I was happy to know that we would never have to run this in the uphill direction.

That downhill segment was easy, but I didn’t speed up at all.  I had settled into a pace of about 9:28 per mile.  That was fast enough.

Now, the wind was at my back, but there were enough trees around us that I didn’t feel it yet.  I also had shade, so I still wasn’t getting too hot.

With about three miles to go, we came out closer to the road.  In theory, having the wind at my back should’ve made the pace feel easier, but a tailwind doesn’t do anything to cool you down.  I was exposed to the sun now, and that made me feel hot.  I was lucky to make it this far before warming up this much.  With just a few miles to go, I could tough it out.

I did another time check at 24 miles.  My cushion was now less than two minutes, but I only had 2.2 miles to go.  I could afford to slow down significantly, but I was determined to hold my current pace.

With two miles to go, I could see the Ameristar Casino/Resort.  It’s by far the tallest building in the river valley.  By the time I got there, I could look to the other side of the road and see my hotel, which was at the top of a hill.

I actually sped up in mile 25, but I couldn’t sustain that effort.  Now, I just did the best I could.  I was fatigued, my legs were sore, and I was getting hotter by the minute.

As we retraced our route through Frontier Park, we had to go past the finish line.  We had to continue to the northern end of the park before making a U-turn and approaching the finish line on the road.  When I was within sight of the line, I was tempted to sprint to the finish, even though it would only save a second or two.  Then I remembered that I would still need to walk back to my hotel after the race.

I kept up a consistent pace to the finish line.  I finished in 4:03:51.  That was good enough for a BQ.

The finisher medal design reflects the fact that this is the 15th year this race has been held.  It includes a small spinner.  One side has the name of the race.  The other side has a cow.

At least three volunteers in the finish area offered me water.  I declined, so I could have better beverages.  I eventually drank some chocolate milk.  I also picked up some cookies and some Cheez-Its.

I made my way to the results tent, where I found out I placed second in my age group.  The age group awards were cowbells.

I met up with Sally and Dawn in the finish area.  They also placed in their age group, so we all went home with cowbells.

The three of us were hanging out in the beer garden until Sally and Dawn needed to leave to check out from their hotel.  I left as well, before my legs got too stiff.  I still had to walk a mile to get back to my hotel, and the last part of that was uphill.

Every part of this race was a success.  I got my second BQ for Missouri, I won an age group award, and I didn’t have to make any bathroom stops.  Now it’s time to get some dinner.

Race statistics:

Distance:  26.2 miles

Time:  4:03:51

Average Pace:  9:18 per mile

First Half:  1:59:27

Second Half:  2:04:24

Marathons/Ultras in 2026:  41

Lifetime Marathons/Ultras:  613

Boston Qualifiers in 2026:  8

Lifetime Boston Qualifiers:  195

Place in Age Group:  2nd

Race Report: 2026 City of Oaks Marathon

On November 1st, I ran the City of Oaks Marathon in Raleigh, NC.  It’s the fourth time I’ve run this race.  I like it, because it has easy logistics.  First, I can get a direct flight from Minneapolis to Raleigh.  Also, the start and finish lines are both downtown.  If I stay in a downtown hotel, I can walk to and from the race.

The only thing that isn’t convenient is packet pickup.  It’s at a location that’s on the opposite side of town as the airport, and it ends at 4:00.  In past years, I had an early flight that got me to Raleigh around noon.  This year, the earliest non-stop flight didn’t arrive until 2:15.

If my flight was on time, I’d have time to pick up my rental car and drive to the expo.  It wouldn’t take much of a delay, however, to put me at risk of missing packet pickup.  Fortunately, I had friends in the Raleigh area who were willing to pick up my race packet for me if I couldn’t make it on time.

Friday night, I didn’t get much sleep.  I recently had a tooth extracted, and I’m still experiencing some discomfort.  During the day, I’ve been taking prescription strength ibuprofen, but I only take it with food.  During the night, the ibuprofen wears off.  I woke up around 2 AM, and had trouble getting back to sleep.  The clincher was a thunderstorm that started around 3:30.  After that, I never got back to sleep.

When I got up, I found out my flight was delayed.  It wasn’t a huge delay, but it was enough that I couldn’t count on getting to packet pickup before it closed.  My friends, Julie and Miles, picked up my race packet for me, and I met them later for dinner.

I stayed at the Hampton Inn in downtown Raleigh.  I’ve stayed here before, so I knew exactly what to expect.  On the plus side, it’s conveniently located for the race.  The downside is the noise.  When I checked in, I saw that my room faced the railroad tracks.  You might think that was the noisy side of the building, but you’d be wrong.  That’s the quiet side.  The other side of the building is closer to the nightclubs.  This hotel is in the entertainment district, and on a Saturday night the club next door is loud until closing time.  The hotel staff puts earplugs in every room.  I brought my own.

Race day was the same day we change the clocks, so I had to account for that in my sleep schedule.  There wasn’t an alarm clock in my room, which was just as well, since I wouldn’t know if it would automatically adjust.  I manually changed the time on the microwave, and I knew my phone would change automatically.

The extra hour enabled me to get a full night’s sleep and still wake up before my alarm went off.  The race started at 7:00, but I was already dressed when the hotel started their breakfast service at 6:00.

This was my fourth straight race with ideal temperatures.  It was 50 degrees when I walked out to the start, and it stayed in the 50s for most of the race.

My default goal, whenever it seems feasible, is to run a Boston qualifying time.  In my last race, I was held back by a cold.  I’m healthy now, so I was cautiously optimistic that I could run fast enough for a BQ.  This isn’t an easy course.  It’s hilly, and there’s a particularly tough stretch that comes late in the race.  That said, I ran a BQ last year, so it seemed feasible.

I had one other goal.  Last year, I placed in my age group.  I’m not as fast now, but I’m in a new age group.  That gave me hope that I might be rewarded with an age group award if I ran a good race.

They had pace groups with target times in 15-minute increments.  I started the race with the 4:00 group.  My plan was to run with this group for the first 20 miles.  Then I could slow down on the uphill section between 20 and 23 and still be on pace to finish in 4:05, which is what I needed for a BQ.

That plan came apart pretty fast.  I wasn’t even done with the first mile when I realized I was going to need to make a bathroom stop.  I thought I emptied out pretty good before the race, but nothing wakes up your colon like running at a fast pace.

I spotted a row of port-o-potties when I was halfway through the second mile.  As I got closer, I saw that there were already five runners waiting in line.  I didn’t want to spend several minutes standing in line, so I kept running.

Halfway through mile three, I came to an aid station that had several port-o-potties.  After drinking some water on one side of the street, I had to cross over to the over side to get to the port-o-potties.  I bumped into a few people trying to get across the street.

That stop took a long time.  I wanted to make sure I was really done.  Spoiler alert:  I wasn’t done.

When I resumed running, I was surrounded by much slower runners.  Before, I was with the 4:00 group.  Now, I was right in front of the 4:30 group.  Their target pace is more than a minute per mile slower.

I couldn’t make up the time I had lost, but I wanted to at least get back to my previous pace.  Finishing in 4:05 was no longer feasible, but I could still finish in 4:10 with a good enough race.

I was on my own to find the right pace now.  Also, I had to work hard to keep from getting bottled up behind slower runners.  I accelerated until the pace felt tiring.

My split for mile three was meaningless, because it included the bathroom stop.  It wasn’t until I finished the fourth mile that I knew how fast I was going.  I overcompensated.  Now, I was going 20 seconds too fast.

Early in mile five, we left the downtown area to run through a residential neighborhood.  Here, there was a long downhill section.  In that mile, I ran even faster.  The next mile was also fast.

By now, I could see the 4:15 pace group just ahead of me.  I wanted to catch up to them, but I was starting up a hill.  On the hill, it was all I could do to keep pace with them.  I had to wait until I crested the hill.  Then I caught up to them.

I considered staying with the 4:15 group, but I decided to move ahead of them.  I had not yet given up on 4:10.

The next few miles were rolling.  On downhill sections, I could speed ahead of people.  On uphill sections, I couldn’t even keep up.  Already, my effort in miles three through six was catching up to me.

In mile seven, we turned onto Hillsborough Street.  This is the same street that would eventually bring us back into downtown.  I could see runners in the shorter races coming back into downtown on the other side of the street.  In the direction we were going, it was mostly uphill, and I started to slow down.

We had to go around a few roundabouts.  On one of them, I thought I had room to get between another runner and the curb.  As she moved closer to the curb, I was forced to run over it.  I stumbled, and I almost knocked down two other runners as I struggled to keep from falling.  I had to apologize to all the runners I bumped into.

Early in mile nine, we left the street to begin a long out-and-back section on paved trails.  Within a mile, we began a long downhill section that was about two and a half miles long.  This was the last easy part of the course.  All I could think about was how tough this section would be when I had to run it in the opposite direction.

Running downhill was easier, but my pace was disappointing.  I could no longer match my pace from the early miles, even going downhill.

At one of the aid stations, I saw two port-o-potties.  One was vacant.  I was tempted to stop, but I didn’t want to lose more time.  I continued running, and within a minute or two, I wished I had stopped while I had the chance.  I was feeling pressure building in my intestines, but now I had to wait until the next aid station.

Just past 11 miles, we ran under a bridge, turned to go up a ramp, and then crossed the bridge before turning onto the next section of trail.  There was an aid station next to the bridge, and there were port-o-potties.  This time I stopped.

After that, there was another mile of downhill running, then the course leveled out.  When I say it leveled out, I mean there was very little net elevation change.  There were lots of undulations.

My pace now was even more disappointing.  I saw no reason to push the pace now.  Between my bathroom stops and the fatigue from running too fast earlier, it was obvious that I was going to have a disappointing time.  I gave up on time goals and just focused on finishing the race – hopefully without any more bathroom stops.

Just before 15 miles, I ran through a park, where I saw Julie and Miles.  I stopped briefly to let them know how my race was going.

I was about a mile from the turnaround when I saw the 4:00 group coming back.  Before I reached the turnaround, I also saw the 4:15 group.  They had passed me earlier while I was in the port-o-potty.

The turnaround was near the 16-mile mark.  Not long after making the turn, I saw the 4:30 pace group.  It was disturbing how close they were.

When I came back through the park, I looked for Julie and Miles.  They were on the opposite side of the trail now.  They got a few pictures of me, but I didn’t see them until I was almost past them.

At 19 miles, there were people offering a mixture of fruit juices.  I had seen them on the way out, but I didn’t stop.  Coming back, I drank a cup.  I couldn’t identify the various fruit juices, but I detected some ginger.

For the next mile, all I could think about was the tough uphill section that was looming ahead of me.  It started just past the 20-mile mark.  I ran as much of it as I could, but I had to take short walking breaks on the steeper sections.

I thought my digestive system had stabilized, but my extra effort running uphill was having an adverse effect.  When I got back to the bridge, I stopped to use the port-o-potty again.  I wondered if the 4:30 group would pass me while I was stopped.

As I resumed running, I made a hairpin turn onto the ramp, and I saw Julie.  The was following the online tracking and said I would finish at 11:26.  I had crossed the starting line at 7:02, so that meant I was on pace to finish in 4:24.

I wasn’t sure if that estimate was based on my current pace or my average pace.  I suspect it was my average pace.  My current pace was much slower.  The important thing is that I was still ahead of the 4:30 group.  All I cared about now was staying ahead of them.

After running under the bridge, I enjoyed a brief downhill section before resuming the climb.  When I reached the 21-mile mark, I knew the two toughest miles were still ahead of me.

I did the best I could to limit the damage.  I only walked when I had to, and I kept my walking breaks short.

I was on the last part of the climb, when I heard runners behind me talking.  Pace leaders will often talk to their groups to encourage them or to let them know what’s coming up.  I wondered if I was hearing the 4:30 group.  I never looked back.  I assumed the 4:30 group was right behind me, and I picked up my effort.

Just after cresting the hill, I saw some spectators who had set up a table with beer, hard seltzer, and pickle juice.  I was just getting into a good rhythm, so I had no temptation to stop.

When I reached the 23-mile sign, I saw a runner stopping to take a picture of the sign.  I recognized her as someone I ran with for several miles in another race.  In that race, she took pictures of all the mile signs.  She recognized me also, and we ran together for a couple minutes.  Then she needed to walk, and she told me to go ahead.

With less than three miles to go, I got back onto city streets.  From here, there was a gentle downhill trend.

Now, I saw spectators offering beer, shots, mimosas, and pickle juice.  I didn’t stop.  I didn’t know what my digestive system could handle.

When I got my split for mile 24, it was my fastest mile since the turnaround.  I was still ahead of the 4:30 group, and if I kept up this pace, they wouldn’t catch up to me.  That gave me the incentive I needed to pick up my effort.

I once again felt like my extra effort was putting me at risk of losing control of my bowels.  The last two miles were a balancing act.  I didn’t want to slow down, but I had to be careful not to push too hard.

Mile 25 was five seconds faster than mile 24.  That was encouraging.  I just had to hang in there for a little more than a mile.

The last half mile had three turns.  It was mostly downhill.  I knew I would break 4:30, but I was fighting to keep it together.

I finished in 4:29:22.  I felt like my race had been a disaster, but at least I didn’t get caught by the 4:30 group.

The finisher medal featured a spinner in the shape of an acorn.

I wanted to look for Julie and Miles, but first I had to rush to the port-o-potties for an overdue bathroom stop.  Next, I went to the timing tent, where I found out I had placed in my age group.

Julie and Miles eventually found me.  We stayed in the finish area long enough to find out where I could get my age group award.

We were only a block away from my hotel.  Julie and Miles waited in the lobby while I went to my room to shower and change into clean clothes.  Then we went to lunch.

Race statistics:

Distance:  26.2 miles

Time:  4:29:22

Average Pace:  10:16 per mile

First Half:  2:08:32

Second Half:  2:20:50

Marathons/Ultras in 2026:  40

Lifetime Marathons/Ultras:  612

Place in age group:  3rd

Race Report: Ljubljana Marathon

On October 18th, I ran the Ljubljana Marathon.  Ljubljana is the capital of Slovenia, which became an independent country in 1991 after the Ten-Day War of independence from Yugoslavia.

Thursday, October 15

I arrived in Amsterdam Thursday morning on an overnight flight.  I had a long layover before my second flight, so I didn’t get to Ljubljana until the afternoon.  As the plane was approaching the city, I was struck by the contrast between the city and the surrounding area.  The city is located in a wide flat valley, but it’s surrounded by mountains.

My hotel was near the city center.  I met someone who was on the same flights and was staying at the same hotel.  He had a rental car, and he gave me a ride to the hotel.

After checking in, I went for a run through Tivoli Park, which is a large city park just west of the city center.  I had to run half a mile on crowded sidewalks to get to the park.  After that, I was running on gravel trails.

As soon as I entered the park, I discovered that the city streets may be mostly flat, but the park isn’t.  Some of the hills in the park were so steep that I had to take walking breaks.  I probably could have taken a less hilly route, but I chose a route that went by certain landmarks.  The main ones were the Memorial for the 1991 War for Slovenia, the Church of Virgin Mary's Visitation, and a nearby chapel in the woods.

From up on the hill, I occasionally had views of the city.

I was intending to go back the way I came, but I made a wrong turn somewhere.  My route back ended up being less direct.  My run was both longer and hillier than I planned, but it was a good workout.

I had dinner at a nearby pizzeria.  I’ve now had pizza in 62 countries.

I started coming down with a cold earlier in the week.  My symptoms were mild, but I didn’t get much sleep Monday or Tuesday.  I didn’t sleep at all on my overnight flight.  By the time I went to bed on Thursday, I was desperate to get some sleep.  I had no trouble getting to sleep, but I woke up a few hours later, and it took a long time to get back to sleep.

Friday, October 16

I didn’t have to set an early alarm.  The only reason I set an alarm at all was to make sure I didn’t sleep through too much of the morning.  I was awake at 6:00 and dragged myself out of bed when my alarm went off at 7:00.

I had a leisurely breakfast at the hotel.  Then I went to the expo, which was held at the Ljubljana Exhibition and Convention Center.  That was just a short walk from my hotel.

This was a large event.  They had a 5K and 10K on Saturday and a marathon and half marathon on Sunday.  Altogether, there were more than 21,000 runners from 84 different countries.  The expo was comparable in size to major marathons.  Besides my race bib and T-shirt, my race packet included a backpack.

In the early afternoon, I took a free walking tour, where the tour guides work for tips.  Our meeting point was Congress Square, which is the same place where the marathon finished.  From there, you can see Ljubljana Castle.

We spent two hours walking through the old city center.  Here are a few of the sights I saw along the way.

After my walking tour, I went for another run through Tivoli Park.  This time, I stayed close to the perimeter of the park, so I could avoid the steep hills.

During my walking tour, the guide suggested some local foods to try, and he also recommend a restaurant near the market.  I went there for dinner.  He also recommended trying pumpkin soup, so I started with that.  For my entrée, I ordered the beef stew with bread dumplings.  The server was excited that I ordered that.  When he brought it, he said that was an excellent decision.

Saturday, October 17

The hotel restaurant was on the top floor.  While I ate breakfast, I could see that it was another cloudy morning.  I spent the morning at the hotel.

After the fog had (mostly) lifted, I hiked up the hill to Ljubljana Castle.  The highlight of the castle is the viewing tower.  From there, you can see the whole city.  This is the view looking toward Tivoli Park.  You can also see the finish line next to Congress Square.  Look for the red and blue carpets.

While I was there, I saw runners finishing one of the Saturday races.  I’m not sure if it was the 5K or the 10K.

On my way back from the castle, I walked through the marketplace, which is busiest on Saturdays.

Last April, I was introduced to a runner who is doing something extraordinary.  Mike is a pilot, and he’s spending 26 weeks flying all over Europe and North Africa in his own plane.  Every weekend, he’s running a marathon in a different country.  This weekend, he ran the Ljubljana Marathon.

Mike arrived in Ljubljana on Saturday.  After he picked up his race packet, we got together for drinks at a local beer bar.  Then we had dinner together.

I didn’t have any cold symptoms when I went to bed, so I thought I was getting over my cold.  I had never been too congested to be able to breathe through my nose.  A few hours after going to bed, I woke up, and my mouth was dry.  My nose was stuffed up, so I was breathing through my mouth.  I got back to sleep, but I knew I wasn’t over the cold yet.

Sunday, October 18

Sunday was race day.  The race didn’t start until 9:00, so I had the luxury of eating breakfast before the race.

The weather was similar to my last two races.  It was about 45 degrees at the start, and I expected it to get up to about 60 by the time I finished.  For the third straight day, it was foggy.

The race started along a street that goes right by my hotel.  I only had to walk a few blocks to get to the starting line, but I had to walk much farther to get to where I needed to line up.

They had five start zones (corrals).  I was assigned to zone D, which was for runners expecting a time between 3:45 and 4:00.  Mike was also in zone D, and we made plans to meet at the back of zone D.

When the race started, it took a while for everyone in front of us to start moving.  Then we gradually started moving forward.  After walking for several minutes, we finally reached the back of start zone C.  We still couldn’t see the starting line.  In all, it took 16 minutes to get there.

We expected to the first mile to be slow, because of congestion.  In fact, the runners ahead of started running before they reached the starting line, and they spread out quickly.

Mike has been consistently running times in the 3:50s.  With my cold, I didn’t think I could run that fast.

We decided to run together at first, but at some point, I would need to slow down, and Mike would go on ahead.  His goal was to finish is less than four hours.  To do that, he needed an average pace of 5:40 per kilometer, which is about 9:09 per mile.

We ran the first mile in 9:38.  I didn’t feel like I could go much faster than that without wearing myself out.  I thought my limit was probably about 9:30 per mile.

Mike suggested that if we ran the first half in 2:05, he could still speed up enough in the second half to finish in four hours.  That was out tentative plan.

Because of the fog, the streets were wet at first.  It wasn’t enough for the streets to feel slippery, but it was a reminder that the humidity was high.  We only ran a few miles before I was able to take my gloves off.

After the first mile, we ran faster.  Whenever my watch gave me a split, the pace was faster than 9:20.  At one point, we got as fast as 9:11.  I sensed that this pace would probably break me eventually, but I was hoping to run with Mike for the first half of the race.

The first 12 kilometers were through neighborhoods north and west of where we started.  There were a lot of turns.  Mike is good at running the tangents, and he always noticed when there was a turn coming up.  He frequently told me we should angle toward that side of the street.

After about 12K, we crossed through Tivoli Park.  Unlike the trails in the park, the road was reasonably flat.  Going through the park, it no longer felt like we were in the city.  We were on a two-lane road, with trees on both sides.

At 13K, I told Mike to go ahead without me.  Keeping up with him was starting to take more effort.  Mike went on ahead, and I eased up a bit.

My first mile without Mike wasn’t actually any slower.  My pace was 9:13.  The difference was that I was no longer pressing to keep up.  I was a little more relaxed.

I checked my time when I got to the 15K mark.  My pace between 10K and 15K was actually a few second faster than it had been over the previous 5K.

After that, I gradually slowed down.  Over the next few miles, my pace slowed to 9:24, then 9:36, then 9:40.

Earlier, Mike had commented about how people cheer you in different ways in different countries.  Here, the two cheers I heard the most were “Hup, hup, hup, hup” and “Bravo!’

There was another reason I told Mike to go ahead.  I felt like I would need to make a bathroom stop at some point.  At 17K, I saw a row of port-o-potties.  Two of them were vacant, so I could have stopped, but I was worried that I wouldn’t get back into the same rhythm.  I didn’t have an urgent need to stop now, so I decided to wait until the second half of the race.

Just before 20K, I reached the point where the marathon and half marathon routes diverged.  Runners doing the half marathon stayed on the left side of the street and began running toward the finish, which was close to where we started.  Those of us doing the marathon kept to the right.  We eventually turned to begin running through neighborhoods south and east of the city center.

There were more runners doing the half marathon.  After the split, the course was much less crowded.

I reached the halfway point in 2:03:32.  That’s faster than Mike and I had planned to run the first half, even though I was slowing down now.

As I began the second half, I noticed my hands were getting cold.  It was several degrees warmer now, but it was overcast, and there was a breeze.  The breeze was all it took to keep me feeling chilly.

I continued to slow down.  I tried to find a pace that wouldn’t cause me to blow up, but I also didn’t want to just take it easy.

Around 23K, I saw more port-o-potties.  This time they were all occupied, and couple runners were already waiting in line.  I still didn’t have an urgent need, so I kept running.

I had a couple miles as slow as the 9:50s.  Then I tried hard to keep my pace from getting any slower than that.

At one point, a runner in front of me dropped a gel packet.  I think it fell out of a pocket.  She didn’t seem to be aware she had dropped anything, so I stopped and picked it up.  Then I had to pick up my pace to catch up to her.

When I tried to hand her the gel packet, she seemed confused.  She didn’t realize it was hers.  She accepted it from me, but she didn’t know why I was handing it to her.

Just then, I reached a slightly downhill section.  Because of that, I kept going at a faster pace than before.  That ended up being my fastest mile of the second half.

With just over 10K to go, the sun came out.  My hands here still cold, but it would take me at least another hour to finish the race.  Now, I wondered if I would start to get hot.

At this point, I expected to finish somewhere between 4:10 and 4:15.  If I could keep running at the same pace as my most recent mile, I could break 4:10.  Instead, I started to slow down.  For the first time, my pace was slower than 10 minutes per mile, despite my best effort.

By now, I no longer had any sense of where I was in relation to the city center.  I was pretty sure this part of the course was north of where we started, but I didn’t study the course map well enough to be sure.

With 4 miles to go, I really wanted to make a bathroom stop.  I didn’t just need to pee.  Now, I also felt pressure in my intestines.  Stopping would mean I’d probably be slower than 4:15.  If I saw a port-o-potty, I would’ve stopped, but I didn’t see any for the rest of the race.

With 5K to go, I noticed my hands were no longer cold.  At this point, however, I no longer needed to worry about getting hot.  It wasn’t that far to go.

When I started to see office buildings, I knew I was in the modern downtown area.  That’s just north of the city center, where we started.

With 3K to go, I started to see barricades lining both sides of the street.  Then I looked to my right and recognized a building I had walked past on my way to the starting line.  We were on the same street where we started, but now we were running in the opposite direction.  I had already run right past my hotel without realizing it.

Ahead of me, I could see the starting line, but we turned before we got there.  We had to take a circuitous route to get to the finish line.  First, we ran west for two blocks.  Then we turned onto a street that’s follows the eastern edge of Tivoli Park.

It seemed like were on this street for a long time.  We finally turned at the 41K sign.  Then we made another turn at the same point where the marathon and half marathon had diverged earlier.  For the remainder of the race, we followed the same route to the finish that the half marathon had taken earlier.

I expected one more turn.  Instead, there were several.  I lost my sense of direction.  In wasn’t until after the last turn that I could see the finish line ahead of me.

The approach to the finish line was on a wide carpet.  I think that spared us from having to run on cobblestones.  I was about 10 meters from the finish line when I almost tripped on the carpet.  I crossed the line in 4:14:21.

After I finished, I was met by an announcer at the finish line.  He looked at the name on my race bib and tried to figure out where I was from.  He assumed it was one of the Scandinavian countries.  I told him I was from the United States, but my ancestry was Scandinavian.  Then he turned on his microphone and announced, “David Holmen just finished the marathon.  He’s from the United States, but where is your heart?”  He turned the microphone toward me, and I said, “My heart is in Slovenia.”

Just beyond the finish line, there was a large screen that displayed the names and times of people who just finished.  I found my name, but the time listed was 4:30:49.  That was obviously my “gun” time.  It included the 16 minutes it took us to reach the starting line.

After turning the corner, I received my finisher medal.  The medal design featured a dragon.

Earlier, I had walked across a bridge that’s adorned with dragon statues.  I’m not sure if it’s a symbol of the city or a symbol of Slovenia.

Next, I received a finisher T-shirt.  That surprised me, since I also received a T-shirt at the expo.  This one was a different color, and it said “Finisher.”

As I continued through the finish area, I was met by Mike.  He had finished more than 20 minutes ahead of me, but he waited to greet me at the finish.

A volunteer offered me a bottle of water, but I could see just ahead where I could get a can of Heineken 0.0.  Heineken was a sponsor of the race.  I couldn’t open the beer while holding my T-shirt, so I wrapped the T-shirt behind my neck.

Mike walked with me most of the way to my hotel, while I drank my beer.  By the time I got to the hotel, I realized the T-shirt was no longer behind my neck.  Somewhere along the way, it had fallen off.  At this point, I wasn’t going to try to find it somewhere on the sidewalk.  It was too crowded.

Later in the day, I met Mike for an early dinner.  We would’ve gone to the same restaurant where I had dinner on Friday, but they weren’t open yet.  I knew there were other restaurants with good local food near the town hall.  It didn’t take long to find a restaurant there that we both liked.

Monday, October 19

Flying home from Europe is always difficult if you need to make a connection in a European hub.  To have a workable connection, you generally need to take a really early flight.

My flight to Amsterdam departed at 6:00 AM.  Ideally, I like to arrive at an airport two hours before my flight, but the airport didn’t open until 4:30 AM.  Getting to the airport at 4:30 meant leaving my hotel at 4:00.  To be ready, I needed to be up by 3:00 AM.  Ugh.  That’s not how you want to start your day when you’re going to be travelling for 20 hours.

The good news is that my flight to Amsterdam was on time.  Now, I have a long layover before my flight to Minneapolis.

Race statistics:

Distance:  42.2 kilometers

Time:  4:14:21

Average Pace:  6:02 per kilometer (9:42 per mile)

First Half:  2:03:32

Second Half:  2:10:49

Marathons/Ultras in 2026:  39

Lifetime Marathons/Ultras:  611

Countries:  62

Race Result: 2026 Hartford Marathon

On October 10th, I ran the Hartford Marathon.  I scheduled this race so I could try for a second Boston qualifier in Connecticut.  It’s the only marathon in Connecticut where I would have a realistic chance of getting a BQ.

Until a week ago, I didn’t know if I was in good enough shape to run a Boston-qualifying time.  Then I qualified with six minutes to spare at the Twin Cities Marathon.  The good news is that I came into this race knowing I can run that fast.  The bad news is that my effort last weekend took a lot out of me.  After that race, my left Achilles tendon was as tight as it’s been in months, and I only had six days to recover.  I didn’t do much training during the week.  I just did strength training and a few short recovery runs.

I flew to Hartford Friday morning.  I was staying in a downtown hotel, so I didn’t need to rent a car.  I took a taxi from the airport.  After that, I could walk everywhere.

When I got to my hotel, it wasn’t even 11:00 yet.  Surprisingly, I was able to check into my room right away.

The expo didn’t open until noon.  In the meantime, I did a little sightseeing in the downtown area.  I didn’t plan to have my phone with me during the race, so this was my chance to take pictures of the landmarks near the start and finish.

This is the Soldiers & Sailors Memorial Arch in Bushnell Park.  We ran through this arch just before finishing the race.

The starting line was in front of the Connecticut capitol building.  This was the second time in a week that I was starting or finishing a race in front of a state capitol.

The expo was held at the Connecticut Convention Center.  After picking up my bib and T-shirt, I browsed the various merchandise, sampled a beer from a local brewery, studied a map of the finisher area, and visited the booth for the pace team.

I spent the rest of the afternoon doing a workout at the hotel and relaxing until it was time for dinner.

The race didn’t start until 8:00 AM, so I didn’t have to get up too early.  I still went to bed early.  That made it possible to get a full night’s sleep and still wake up an hour before my alarm.  I was able to eat a light breakfast and take my time getting ready.  I’ve never felt so relaxed on the morning of a race.

The temperature started out in the mid-40s.  It would rise to 60 by noon, but I dressed for the cooler temperatures at the start.  They had a gear check in the start/finish area, but I chose not to check a gear bag.  I waited as long as possible before leaving the hotel, so I wouldn’t be standing around in the cold for too long.  From my hotel, it was about a 15-minute walk to get to the start corrals.

The qualifying standard for my age group is 4:05.  That was my goal.  They didn’t have a pace group for 4:05, but I knew one of the guys leading the 4:00 pace group.  His name is Ken, and I’ve run with him at several races.  I decided to line up with the 4:00 group and follow them for the first mile before deciding if that pace was comfortable or if I needed to drop back and run on my own.

The pace felt comfortable enough at first.  We left the downtown area and headed to the western side of the city.

The two biggest hills on the course both come in the first five miles.  The first one started during the second mile and topped out halfway through mile three.  It was gradual, but it was long enough to be tiring.  I was able to stay with the 4:00 group through this hill. That was encouraging.

After that, we had a nice downhill section.  On the downhill, I had to ease up to keep from getting ahead of the pace group.

The second hill came in mile five.  I expected this hill to be just like the first one, but it was shorter.  On this hill, I was so determined to keep up my pace that I got out in front of the pace group.

Next, we ran through Elizabeth Park.  This park had some nice flower gardens.  It also had a nice downhill section.  I had to keep telling myself to ease up, so I wouldn’t get too far ahead of the 4:00 group.  Sometimes, I could hear Ken talking to the group, so I knew they weren’t too far behind.

I was running ahead of the group for the next several miles.  Ahead of me, I could see a 2:00 group for the half marathon.  As long as I stayed behind them, I wasn’t too worried about going too fast.

After eight miles, we re-entered the downtown area.  During the next mile, we reached the point where the half marathon course diverged from the marathon course.  I could no longer count on seeing the 2:00 pace group in front of me, so I had to start paying more attention to my pace.

We left downtown Hartford on a bridge over the Connecticut River.  This bridge was a bit of a hill.  I made note of the fact that we would need to cross it again later in the race.

The next few miles were through East Hartford.  After that, we started a long out-and-back that took us into the countryside.

I had been easing up, and the 4:00 group eventually caught up to me again.  I was with them when we reached the halfway point.

Soon, we started to see the fastest runners coming back on the other side of the street.

I stayed with the pace group for the next several miles.  With each passing mile, I got more confident that I could keep up this pace for the whole race.  To help pass the miles, Ken and I were each telling stories.

When we reached the turnaround, it got easier psychologically.  Now, instead of running farther away from Hartford, we were running back toward it.

At 18 miles, Ken told us that we were 75 seconds ahead of schedule.  Anyone who felt strong could go ahead, but he was going to start slowing down.  I continued to run with the group.

At 20 miles, I was on roughly the same pace as my last race.  That race had a long uphill section from 20 to 23.  This race was relatively flat from 20 to 23.  That made me more confident that I could stay with the group.

I was talking with a runner from Boston who was running her first marathon.  Her name was Nikki.  At 22 miles, I noticed that we were getting ahead of the group.  Nikki seemed to be running strong, so I kept running with her and didn’t worry about our pace.  She’s familiar with the Boston Marathon, so I sometimes told her where we would be if we were at the same mile marker on the Boston course.

With about two miles to go, I told Nikki that I didn’t know if I could keep up with her for the rest of the race.  She thanked me for helping her run faster, and then she went ahead on her own.

I kept running at the same pace, while Nikki accelerated and gradually pulled away from me.  For the next mile, I could still see her.  Then I walked for a few seconds while I drank at an aid station.  That’s when I lost sight of her.  That was at mile 25.

Next, we had to cross the bridge over the river again.  I thought that would be the last hill.  I was wrong.  I kept up my pace on the uphill side of the bridge.  The downhill side gave me a chance to recover.  Then there was one more uphill section as we came back through the downtown area.

I struggled on that last hill, but I recovered as the street leveled out.  I’m not familiar with all the downtown streets or buildings, but I knew where I was when I crossed Trumbull Street.  That’s the street I took to get to the start/finish area before the race.

To my left, I could see the post-race area in Bushnell Park.  Ahead of me, I could see a different section of the park.  I just had to continue a little farther before making the last turn.  Just before I got there, I reached the 26-mile sign.

Mile 26 was my slowest of the race, but I was almost done.  I made the last turn, ran through the arch, and then ran to the finish line.  I finished in 3:59:18.

My second half was 30 seconds slower than my first half.  If I could’ve stayed with Nikki, I would’ve run negative splits.  That would've been a tall order though.  She really accelerated in those last two miles.

After I finished, a volunteer handed me a souvenir water bottle that was already filled with water.  Another gave me a heat sheet.

The finisher medal depicts the Soldiers & Sailors Memorial Arch.

Post-race food included popcorn, bananas, granola, pumpkin muffins, chocolate milk, and soup.  I took what I could carry and found a place to sit so I could eat.  I had enough to drink that I skipped the beer garden.  Instead, I went to the results tent, where I found out I was fourth in my age group.  I just missed placing high enough for an award.

I easily ran fast enough to get my second BQ in Connecticut.  Now I’m one step closer to having two BQs in every state.  I’m just missing Missouri, New Mexico, Ohio, and Alaska.  I’ll have a shot at Missouri next month.  The other states will have to wait until next year.  Alaska may be the toughest one to schedule.

Race statistics:

Distance:  26.2 miles

Time:  3:59:18

Average Pace:  9:08 per mile

First Half:  1:59:24

Second Half:  1:59:54

Marathons/Ultras in 2026:  38

Lifetime Marathons/Ultras:  610

Boston Qualifiers in 2026:  7

Lifetime Boston Qualifiers:  194