Race Report: A Race For The Ages - 2026

Over Labor Day weekend, I ran a race in Manchester, TN called A Race for the Ages.  This is a fixed-time race, but there’s a twist.  Older runners get more time.  Everyone has at least 40 hours, but runners who are older than 40 get one hour for every year of their age.

The race director is Gary Cantrell (a.k.a. Lazarus Lake).  “Laz” is best known as the race director of the Barkley Marathons and Big’s Backyard Ultra.  He comes up with some innovative race concepts.  He also designs races that give you a chance to find your limits.

The race finishes at noon on Labor Day.  Your start time depends on your age, with older runners starting earlier.  I first heard of this race several years ago.  When I looked into the details, I saw that my start time would be in the middle of the night.  I decided to wait until I was old enough that I could start in daylight.  This year, for the first time, I could start before sunset.

John Greene travelled to Tennessee with me to crew for me.  John and I have crewed for each other at FANS, and John has also crewed for me at other ultras.  My best performances in ultras gave been at races where John was with me.

Thursday, September 3

John and I flew to Nashville Thursday afternoon.  From there, we drove to Manchester.  The drive time was about an hour.  We arrived in Manchester around 5:00 PM.

We had reservations at Hampton Inn.  When we got there, there were several people already there who were waiting to check in.  Some had already been waiting for more than an hour.  The wifi went out earlier in the afternoon, and the hotel couldn’t process any credit cards without a wifi connection.  The guy at the front desk said he couldn’t check anyone in without running their credit card.  That was corporate policy.

John and I waited there until 8:00 before finally going to dinner.  When we got back from dinner, the wifi was still out.  We cancelled our reservations there and drove to another hotel that had been recommended by a friend who was also doing the race.

This hotel also had no internet.  It was a city-wide outage, and every hotel in Manchester was affected, since they all use the same internet provider.  The owner of this hotel, however, was willing to check us into our rooms and wait until the next day to process our credit cards.

John and I were going to have different sleep schedules, so we each had our own room.  By the time we got into our rooms, it was after 9:30.  The temperature in my room was 80 degrees.  I can’t sleep in a warm room.  I turned down the AC and went to the lobby to hang out with other runners until the room cooled down.

I finally went to bed around 10:30.  The room was a little cooler, but it was still too warm for me to get to sleep.  I tried to sleep for several hours, but didn’t fall asleep until about 4 AM.  I got about an hour of light sleep.  I don’t think I got any deep sleep.

Friday, September

By Friday morning, the hotel had their wifi working.   John and I finished the check-in process and had breakfast at the hotel.

We stopped by Hampton Inn to confirm that our reservations there were cancelled and there wouldn’t be any charges.  Then we stopped by the race venue to see how things were set up.  While we were there, I spotted a couple runners I know.  Next, we stopped at Food Lion to get beverages for the race.

We had lunch at a local diner.  Then I went back to the hotel to try to take a nap.  My hotel room was now at a comfortable temperature, but I wasn’t able to fall asleep.  After resting in bed for a few hours, I got up and started getting organized for the race.

We had an early dinner, so I wouldn’t be starting the race on a full stomach.  About an hour before I was due to start, we went to the race venue, so I could check in.  That gave us an opportunity to watch the 66-year-old runners start.  The announcer listed all of their names and their previous mileage at this race.  The most accomplished runner in the group was Ann Trason.

After they started, I was able to pick up my race packet.  It included a sweatshirt, a warm hat, an umbrella, and a participation award.

After that, we had an hour to wait before I could start.  During that hour, I drank an entire bottle of sweet tea.

The course was a paved one-mile loop through Fred Deadman Park.  The whole course was paved.  It was relatively flat, but there were several turns.

I’m 65 years old, so I had 65 hours to run or walk as many laps as I could.  I could take breaks at any time, but the clock was always running.

Well over half of the other runners were older than me, so they were already on the course when I started.  The oldest runner had already been on the course for 24 hours.  The youngest runners wouldn’t start until 8 PM on Saturday.

I’ve never done anything this long before, so I didn’t know what I could realistically expect to do.  The farthest I had ever run before was 124.81 miles.  That was in a 24-hour race.  I’ve attempted three 48-hour races, but none of them went well.  I always got to 100 miles, but I never exceeded my best 24-hour total.

The weather was about as hot as you can imagine.  Afternoon highs were in the upper 90s, with enough humidity to feel 10 degrees hotter.  In the early morning hours, it dropped into the low 70s.

Friday was the hottest day, but my start time wasn’t until 7 PM.  That was late enough in the day that the heat was beginning to wane.  Also, the sun was about to set.  The first night was my best chance to get some miles in before the heat forced me to mostly walk.

My first goal for this race was 125 miles.  Beyond that, I had to see how the race progressed.  I knew the heat would be a challenge.  Getting so little sleep the night before also didn’t help.

The first lap was the only one that I ran without any walking breaks.  I went at a pace that should have been leisurely, but it quickly started to feel tiring.  I noticed the humidity while I was waiting for my turn to start, but I felt it even more now.  It made that first lap feel much longer than a mile.

One part of the loop had speed bumps.  They weren’t a big deal now, but I wondered if those would seem larger as the race progressed.

After that, every lap included some walking.  Early in the race, I was doing much more running than walking, but I walked enough to ensure my overall pace wouldn’t be tiring.  I established a rule that every lap had to include some walking.

I was able to complete three laps before it got dark.  After that, I relied on light from the various lights in the park.  That included stadium lights from the baseball diamonds.  There was no need for a flashlight or headlamp.

I quickly got into a nice rhythm.  I felt much better now than I did in my first lap.

I had a cooler with several bottles of Gatorade, packed in ice.  There was an aid station with large dispensers of water, Sword, sweet tea, and lemonade.  I started out drinking Gatorade, but as I finished the bottles I brought, John was refilling them with Sword or sweet tea.  I needed the caffeine from the tea to stay alert during the night.

After a few hours, John went back to the hotel to get some sleep.  I didn’t need as much support the first night, and it was important for John to get sleep so he would be coherent when I was too tired to think straight.

By midnight, I had logged 23 miles.  Then I stopped to eat my first meal.

The aid stations at most ultras have a variety of snack foods.  This race is different.  Every six hours, we had a meal, catered by Cracker Barrel.  At 6 AM, noon, and 6 PM, we got full meals.  At midnight, we had a snack that included fruit and a choice of soup.  The choices of soup were chicken noodle or potato.  I opted for the potato soup.

Saturday, September 5

Despite not getting much sleep before the race, I had no trouble getting through the first night.  I was sometimes drinking sweet tea instead of Gatorade or Sword, and the caffeine helped me stay awake and alert.

At 6 AM, I had my first Cracker Barrel breakfast.  It includes bacon, a hash brown casserole, a biscuit with gravy on the side, and baked apples.

I sat down in a chair that I had brought from home, and I ate everything except the gravy.  I ate as quickly as I could, washing it down with Gatorade.  I’ve never eaten a full meal during a race before, but I wanted to experience this race exactly the way Laz organized it.  I wasn’t eating any solid food between meals, so I needed to get all the food I could whenever it was available.  It took me about 10 minutes to finish eating.  That was pretty consistent with all of the meals.

After eating, it was tough to force myself to run.  As I ran my next lap, I saw the sun rising.  I knew the humidity was also rising.  That was confirmed when I saw a layer of fog over all the baseball diamonds.

I got back into the same rhythm and ran three more laps by 7:00.  In the first 12 hours of the race, I ran 48 miles.  I was averaging four laps per hour.

Now that the sun was up, I needed to stop to apply sunblock.  I also reapplied Aquaphor in areas where I might chafe.

I needed to do more walking now.  I was walking the longest uphill section, but there were other areas that were also slightly uphill.  I started walking those sections as well.  I was now doing twice as much walking as before, but I was still doing more running than walking.

When John got back, he added more ice to our cooler, so I could start putting ice in my hat.  I did that a couple times, but there were also a couple laps where I forgot to do that.  I really noticed the difference in those laps.

I was originally planning to run through the first night and the subsequent day before taking a sleep break.  John persuaded me to try sleeping during the day instead.  That way, I could avoid running during the hottest hours of the day and get back in time to run through the night, when it’s not as hot.

At first, it was cloudy, so the temperature wasn’t rising as fast as it did Friday morning.  Around 9:00, the sun came out.  Suddenly it felt much hotter.

I wanted to get to 60 miles before taking a break, but I was worried.  I couldn’t tell if I was properly hydrated.  I also couldn’t tell if I was getting the right amount of electrolytes.  Rather than risk blowing up in the heat, I went back to the hotel after only 58 miles.  It was a little after 10:00 when John dropped me off.

When we got back to the hotel, I didn’t take the time to shower.  I wiped down briefly with a wash cloth, but I was still somewhat sweaty.  That made it difficult to climb into bed.  My skin was sticking to the sheets.

At first, I didn’t know if I would be able to fall asleep.  I was in an awkward position, but it was hard to move.  I was tangled up in the sheets.

The next thing I knew, I was walking up.  I looked at the clock.  I slept for less than three hours, but it was my first deep sleep since arriving in Manchester.

I tried to walk to the bathroom, but my left Achilles tendon was so tight that I was walking with a limp.  I was up now, but getting myself ready to run again would be a long process.  I started with a warm bath.  Then I was able to do some stretches.  Finally, I got dressed in a clean set of running clothes and a dry pair of shoes.

Besides having timing chips on our race bibs, we also had chips on our shoes.  When I left the course, I had to turn in my shoe chip.  The first order of business when we got back was to get my shoe chip and attach it to my new shoes.

We got back to the course around 3:00.  I had missed the noon meal, so I asked if they still had any.  They did, and they were still hot.  It’s easy to keep meals hot when it’s 94 degrees with sunny skies.

The noon meal consisted of a chicken breast, corn, fried okra, cornbread, and a biscuit.  I ate the chicken, okra, and cornbread.  I gave the biscuit and corn to John.

Earlier, I established the rule that every lap had to include some walking.  Now, I had a second rule.  Every lap also had to include some running.  That was hardest in the first lap after returning.  There was a downhill section at the beginning of each lap.  If nothing else, I forced myself to run that.

On my first lap, I noticed two things.  First, the port-o-potties on the course felt like ovens.  Second, there was heat rising from the pavement, which had been heating up under the afternoon sun.

To cope with the heat, I was putting ice cubes in my hat before every lap, and I was going at a slower pace than I did earlier.

My only goal for my afternoon laps was to finish them in 20 minutes or less.  After a couple of laps, I found that I was walking so briskly that I was finishing laps in 16 or 17 minutes.  I was power walking.  I kept up that pace for several hours.

By the time they served the 6 PM meal, I had already completed 11 additional laps.  Then I sat down to eat again.

The evening meal consisted of a huge piece of fried chicken, cheesy hashbrowns, cornbread, a biscuit, and coleslaw.  I couldn’t eat it all.  I managed to eat a little more than half of it, then I resumed the same mix of running and power walking.

It was John’s birthday, so he had gone to have a nice dinner.  He got back just before 7:00.

At 7 PM, it had been 24 hours since my race started.  So far, I had finished 71 miles.

After a couple more hours, I decided to stop power walking and just walk at a more casual pace.  I haven’t trained to do this much power walking, and I was worried I would wear myself out.  Even with less effort, I was still finishing my laps in about 18 minutes.

John went back to the hotel around 10:30, so he could get some sleep.  Shortly after that, I started to hear thunder.

There wasn’t any sign of rain at the park, but I sometimes saw flashes in the distance.  I was seeing distant lighting in two different directions.  We seemed to be in between two storm cells.

By midnight, I had logged 88 total miles.  Then I had my midnight snack.  It was the same snack we had the previous night.  I had the potato soup again.

Sunday, September 6

I was just about to start running again when another runner said she was going to do one more lap before the storm hit.  I asked her what she was seeing on her weather app.  She said the storm would arrive at 12:30 and last about an hour.

I should have checked my own app.  Instead, I followed her lead and tried to squeeze in one more lap.

I picked up the pace on that lap, but I was still mostly walking.  When I felt drops, I started running.  I somehow found the energy to run the rest of that lap.  I still had a quarter mile to go when it turned into a downpour.

When I finished that lap, I quickly loaded the chair and cooler into the car.  By the time I got into the car myself, my clothes and shoes were soaked.

I drove back to the hotel to wait out the storm.  While I was there, I decided to try to take a nap.

Getting to sleep wasn’t easy.  For starters, it had only been about 11 hours since I woke up from my afternoon nap, so I wasn’t getting sleepy yet.  Secondly, I suddenly noticed painful spots on my feet.  I had been tuning them out before, but now the discomfort was impossible to ignore.  Finally, I felt wired from all the caffeine I had been consuming.

I wasn’t expecting to go back to the hotel for at least 10 more hours.  All evening, I had been drinking either sweet tea or a blend of sweet tea and lemonade.  It wasn’t until now that I realized I was drinking way too much caffeine.

I eventually nodded off, but not for very long.  When I woke up, it was 3:00.  Just like in the afternoon, my Achilles tendon was so tight that I could barely walk.  I had to take a bath and gradually work on stretching everything before I could go back to the course.  I finally got back around 4:40.

When I finished my next lap, I drank the last few ounces of sweet tea from a bottle that was already open.  After that, I didn’t have any caffeine for the rest of the morning.

I ran a few more laps before breakfast.  Breakfast was pancakes with maple syrup, scrambled eggs, and sausage patties.  It was so filling, that I felt full for the rest of the morning.

John got there around 7:30.  By then, I just needed two more laps to get to 100 miles.  I finished my 100th lap at 8:20 AM.  At this point, I was assured of a 100-mile buckle, but that was only an intermediate goal.

I was completing about three laps per hour.  In the next two hours, I ran six more laps.  By then it was getting hot, so John and I went back to the hotel.

I managed to take a nap, but I only slept for about an hour and a half.  When I woke up, it was about 12:30 PM.  Then I once again began the long process of bathing, stretching, and working on muscles with the massage stick.

Before going back to the course, I checked the live results.  Despite taking four sleep breaks, I was in fifth place overall.

We got back to the park around 2:00 PM.  The good news is that I still had 22 hours to add to my total.  The bad news is that I had to endure the heat for five hours before the sun went down.

I had missed the noon meal, but they still had biscuits and cornbread.  I ate a biscuit right away and saved the cornbread for later.

As I resumed running, I quickly got into a rhythm of running the downhill segment at the beginning of each lap and walking everywhere else.  To cope with the heat, I put ice in my hat before each lap.

Most of the other runners were coping with the heat by carrying umbrella to shield themselves from the sun.  That’s why we all got umbrellas in our race packets.

Despite the afternoon heat, I had the energy to power walk.  For the next three hours, I was averaging about 17 minutes per lap.  I would’ve been happy with 20-minute laps.

By 4:00, I had moved into fourth place.  At 5:00, John left temporarily to get some dinner.

The heat was waning, but I no longer had the energy to walk at a brisk pace.  I had to slow down.

After a few slower laps, I realized that I hadn’t put any ice in my hat since John left.  That’s why I had less energy, even though it wasn’t as hot now.  I was getting hotter without the ice in my hat.

At 6:00, I had my last dinner of the race.  It was another huge meal.  It included chicken & dumplings, macaroni & cheese, steamed carrots, a biscuit, and cornbread.  I ate most of it, but I had to save the biscuit & cornbread for later.

When John got back, I resumed putting ice in my hat.  I was able to pick up the pace again.

In the first 48 hours of my race, I ran 123 miles.  Two laps later, I reached 125 miles.  This was now the farthest I had ever run.  With each additional lap, I would add to that.

My goal at the beginning of the race was 125 miles, but I had known for some time that this was just another intermediate milestone.  I had more than enough time to run 150 miles, and I wouldn’t settle for anything less.

After it got dark, I traded my hat for a headband.  I continued at the same pace until 11:00.

After 11:00, I started to do more running, so I could squeeze in another lap before the midnight snack.  In retrospect, that was a mistake.

I sat for several minutes while I ate my midnight snack and did a few things on my phone.  Sitting after running a few faster laps was a bad combination.

Monday, September 7

When I resumed running after a meal, I typically felt stiff.  After other meals, I quickly loosened up.  This time I didn’t.  I also had extreme soreness in my quads and glutes, which wouldn’t go away.  Now, I was not only running at a slower pace, but each lap was agonizing.

Before midnight, I had run 139 miles.  After grinding out three painful laps, I was at 142.  The next big milestone was 150.

John and I discussed my options.  One option was to endure eight more painful laps and then stop at 150 miles.  Eight more laps at my current slow pace would take about three hours.  I didn’t think I could endure the pain that long.  I also didn’t like the idea of stopping at 150.  I really wanted to keep going until the race was over and run as many miles as I could.

I had some Tylenol and ibuprofen back at my hotel room.  My second option was to send John back to get them.

A third option was to take a break and go back to the room, to see if I could alleviate my soreness by taking a bath, stretching, and working on my legs with a massage stick.  That had worked well after sleep breaks.

I ran one more lap while considering my options.  I chose the last one, but with a small modification.  After taking something for the soreness, I climbed into bed for an hour.  That gave me a chance to rest and cool down before starting my recovery regimen.

As soon as I climbed into bed, I noticed soreness in my feet that I had tuned out while I was running.  I also noticed blisters on my left foot.  One was a large blister around my heel.

Before getting dressed I tried to drain my blisters.  That was a mistake.  Heel blisters are notoriously difficult to drain.  All I managed to do was inflame it.  Now blister pain was also going to be a bigger problem.

We got back to the race venue at 4 AM.  When we got back, I smeared from Aquaphor over the blisters to reduce friction.

We had been gone for about two and a half hours.  That was time well spent.  When I resumed running, I felt good as new.  I had no soreness or stiffness as I ran the downhill section of the course.  When it was time to switch to walking, I suddenly found myself race-walking.  Where did that come from?  I had to force myself to slow down, so I wouldn’t wear myself out.

In the next two hours, I made short work of the seven additional laps I needed to get to 150 miles.  Then I stopped to eat breakfast.

The breakfast included bacon, two biscuits, an egg casserole, and baked apples.  John helped me by eating one of the biscuits and a strip of bacon.

The runner who had previously been in third place stopped to take a break after running 150 miles.  When I ran my 151st lap, I moved temporarily into third place.

Since different runners take breaks at different times, the standings change frequently.  
Earlier, I had been in second place, but only because other runners took breaks.

I kept up a good pace for two more laps.  Then it got difficult.  With more than four hours to go, it was getting warmer, and I was running out of energy.

150 miles had been a significant milestone, but I wanted to keep going.  I had time to get into the 160s if I could keep moving until the end of the race.

The runner who had been in third place previously was back on the course now.  He could run faster than me, so it seemed doubtful that I could hang onto third place.

I was nearing the end of my 157th lap when I suddenly felt a painful blister under one of my toes.  The larger blister on my heel was tolerable, but this one was much more painful.

I finished that lap, but I didn’t think I could continue.  John knew there were trophies to the top three men and women, so he was encouraging me to keep running.

I took off my shoe and sock to see if I could drain the blister.  That’s when I saw a much larger blister on the side of my heel, right where I had tried to drain my heel blister.

I drained both blisters as much as I could.  Then I covered the larger blister with Aquaphor and put on my sock and shoe.

At John’s urging, I tried to run another lap.  I made it about 50 feet before stopping.  It was much too slow and much too painful.  My lead over fourth place was only about a lap and a half at this point.  We still had still three hours to go.  There was no way I could continue running at a pace that would keep me in third place.

I walked away from the course with three hours left on the clock.  I ran a total of 157 miles.  That’s more than 22 miles farther than my previous best.

Everyone who ran at least 100 miles got a belt buckle.  I didn’t take home a trophy, but I did take home a belt buckle.

Race statistics:

Distance:  157 miles

Time:  65 hours

Average Pace:  24:50 per mile

Marathons/Ultras in 2026:  30

Lifetime Marathons/Ultras:  602

Lifetime 100s:  17

Race Report: Humpy's Marathon

On August 16, I ran Humpy’s Marathon, which is part of the Anchorage Runfest.  Besides the marathon, they also have a mile race, a kids’ 2K, a 5K, a half marathon, and a 49K.

At the beginning of the year, I set a goal of running a second Boston Qualifier in every state.  At the time, there were only six states where I didn’t already have two BQs, so I scheduled races in those six states.  Alaska was one of those states.

I got my second BQ in South Carolina, but I failed in my attempts in New Mexico and Ohio.  In June, I found out I was anemic, which explained why I was suddenly much slower.

About two months ago, I started taking iron pills.  Now, I’m feeling stronger.  I didn’t know if I’ve recovered completely, but I was ready to give it a try.

Friday, August 14

I flew to Anchorage Friday morning.  It was a six-hour flight, but there’s a three-hour time difference, so I still got to Anchorage before noon.

My hotel was in the downtown area.  I took a taxi to the hotel.  After that, I could walk everywhere I needed to go, so I didn’t need to rent a car.

It was too early to check into a room, so I left my bags at the hotel and had lunch.  After lunch, I walked to packet pickup, which was in a church at the other end of the downtown area.

This race was a reunion of the 50 States Marathon Club, so they had a booth at packet pickup.  I was talking to some of the other club members for about an hour before walking back to my hotel.

By the time I got into a hotel room, I was already starting to get tired.  It was only 4:00 in Alaska, but it felt like 7:00 to me.  I was originally planning to go for a run on the coastal trail, but I decided to have an early dinner instead.

After dinner, I was talking to a couple of guys at the bar.  When I finally got back to the hotel, I went right to bed.  It turned out to be a rough night.

I slept for a couple of hours.  Then I woke up feeling sick.  I felt like I needed to stay perfectly still or I might throw up.  For several minutes I waited patiently for this feeling to pass.  Then I suddenly felt flush from head to toe.  I recognized this feeling from the only other time I’ve had food poisoning.  I knew instantly that I needed to rush to the bathroom before I threw up.

I had to clamp my hand over my mouth to keep from throwing up on the carpet.  I made it to the bathroom, but my mouth and nose were now full of vomit.  I emptied my stomach contents into the bathroom sink.  Then the diarrhea started.

I had to blow my nose several times, but the taste of that made me throw up again.  When I eventually felt ready to go back to bed, I still felt the residue of stomach acid burning my nose and sinuses.  That made it almost impossible to get back to sleep.  The good news is that the race wasn’t until Sunday, so I had all day Saturday to recover.

Saturday, August 15

I was finally drifting back to sleep when the sound of a phone alarm woke me up.  I simultaneously heard the phone vibrate and play a familiar melody.  I didn’t think I set an alarm, but I reached for my phone to check.  It wasn’t my phone making those sounds.  It must have been coming from the room adjacent to mine, and I heard it through the wall.

It was 3:30 AM, and I was now wide awake again.  I rested in bed until 6:00, but I never got back to sleep.  At 6:00, I heard a train whistle.  It was good to know that the trains don’t start until 6:00.

I got up, made a cup of tea, showered, and did my morning stretches.  By now, my digestive system seemed to have stabilized, so I went downstairs to eat breakfast.  I was still reluctant to put food in my system, but I knew I needed to eat.  I was feeling frail.  I also needed to start rehydrating.

I stayed at the hotel all morning.  I did some exercises, but I wasn’t ready to venture out until lunch time.  There was a pre-race pasta feed in a tent outside Flattop Pizza.  I skipped that in favor of having pizza inside the restaurant.

It was a large meal.  I didn’t know if my digestive system was still fragile, so I went back to the hotel to lay low for a while.  It was a shame to be in Alaska and not do any sightseeing, even within the downtown area, but my priority was saving my strength for the race.

The same tent used for the pasta feed was also used for the meeting of the 50 States Marathon Club.  The club meeting started shortly after the pasta feed was done.

One of the things they do at reunions is recognize people who have recently finished a round of marathons in all 50 states.  I completed my fifth circuit of states in 2024 at the Route 66 Marathon.  This was the first reunion I attended since then, so it was my chance to talk about my journey.

After the meeting, I had a light dinner and went straight to bed.  I slept for more than 10 hours.

Sunday, August 16

Sunday was race day.  The race started at 8:30 AM in front of Humpy’s Ale House.  That was close enough that I could walk to the start.

The temperature was in the upper 50s, and it was cloudy.  I had been worried about the possibility of rain.  It rained during the night, but it didn’t rain at all during the race.

For a Boston qualifier, I needed a time of 4:05 or faster.  A month or two ago, that time would’ve been unthinkable.  In the last two weeks, I’ve had some encouraging training runs, and I also had encouraging race results at the Minnesota Senior Games.  It was far from clear if I could run a marathon in 4:05, but if I squinted just right, I could convince myself it was plausible.  As long as there was a realistic chance, I had to give it a try.

All of my recent training and all of my recent races have been in hot conditions.  The cool conditions in Anchorage gave me the best possible chance for a BQ.  If nothing else, it was my first good chance to test myself.

I lined up behind the 4:00 pace group, and I stayed close to them for the first mile.  We started out on downtown streets.  As we left the downtown area, we ran down a steep hill, and I accidentally got in front of the group.  As we got onto the Coastal Trail, I let the group get ahead of me again.  By the end of the first mile, the pace was already starting to feel tiring.

Our pace for the first mile was a little fast, but it’s worth noting there was a lot of downhill running in that mile.  In the second mile, I fell back from the group to try to find my own pace.

For the next few miles, we had good views of the bay.  I was focused on running, but other runners have reported seeing beluga whales from this part of the course.

To finish in 4:05, I would need to average 9:20 per mile.  My watch tends to give me splits before I reach the mile markers, so I needed the splits from my watch to be a few seconds faster than that.

After falling behind the pace group, I was running by myself.  There were lots of people  running with the 4:00 and 4:15 pace groups, but only a handful of runners were in between.  I was in no man’s land, so I had to pay more attention to my effort to stay on a consistent pace.

Mile one had been faster than nine minutes, but the next two miles were 9:12 and 9:15.  After three miles, I was already coming to the conclusion that this pace was unsustainable.  It was already feeling too tiring.  In particular, I was breathing much harder than I normally do during a marathon.  My aerobic capacity still isn’t what it used to be.

I knew I wouldn’t stay on this pace, but in mile four, I only slowed down a little.  I ran that mile in 9:20.

A hiker on the trail pointed out a moose in the woods.  If there’s moose on the trail in front of you, you need to stop and wait for it to leave.  This one was far enough off the trail that I could keep running.

Because I was determined to try for a BQ, I didn’t bring my phone with me.  I didn’t want to be carrying any extra weight.  For the first time, I regretted that decision.  I couldn’t take any pictures.

Looking ahead of me, I could still see the 4:00 group.  They were going up a hill.  I had already run up and down a few smaller hills, but I could see that this one was going to slow me down.  Sure enough, three other runners passed me on the hill.

After that, there was another hill that also slowed me down.  I knew mile five was going to be slow, but it was still discouraging to slow down by more than a minute.  I ran that mile in 10:34.

After that, I had to find a pace that I could sustain for 21 more miles.  I settled into a pace of about 10 minutes per mile.  I was still working, but this pace wouldn’t break me.

We were running a long out-and-back on the Coastal Trail, which is a paved bike path.  When I saw the first runner coming back, I saw from the color of his race bib that he was doing the 49K race.  It surprised me to see a 49K runner ahead of all the marathon runners.  The 40K race started 30 minutes earlier, but their out-and-back was five miles longer.

I eventually started to see other runners coming back.  At first, there were just a few.  Then I saw the 3:30 pace group.  Before long, I would also see the 3:45 and 4:00 groups coming back.

I was almost to the 8-mile mark when the 4:15 group passed me.  At my current pace, that was inevitable.  Shortly after that, I reached the turnaround.

Coming back, I started to catch up with runners who had taken the early start.  Other than them, I wasn’t seeing a lot of runners going in my direction.  Mostly, I was seeing runners who were still on their way out.  Every so often, I saw another pace group: 4:30, then 4:45, then 5:00.  The groups were getting smaller.  One pacer only had one runner with her.  The last one I saw was by himself.

Just past the 11-mile mark, I encountered a hill that was steep enough that I had to walk most of it.  I had been keeping my pace pretty close to 10 minutes, but in that mile, I slowed to 10:36.

At the halfway point, I was on pace to break 4:20, but only because I had started with four faster miles.  At my current pace, I expected to finish with a time in the 4:20s.  My new goal, at this point, was to keep my time under 4:30.

Just before the 15-mile mark, we left the Coastal Trail to turn onto the Chester Creek Trail.  Now we were doing an out-and-back on this trail that took us across the city.

The half marathon started at the same time as the marathon, but their course didn’t go very far on the Coastal Trail.  They did the out-and-back on the Chester Creek Trail, but not the out-and-back I had just finished on the Coastal Trail.

Immediately after turning onto this trail, I started to see half marathon runners who were on their way back.  The first time I saw a marathon runner coming back, I did the math.  He was on pace to break three hours.  Faster runners had already gone by.  Shortly after that, I saw a 3:00 pace group for the half marathon.

The first four miles on the Chester Creek trail were relatively flat.  I had an easier time keeping up a consistent pace on this trail.

Although we were running through the city, we rarely saw any buildings.  We were running through the woods, so it felt like we were in the wilderness.

I was about two and a half miles from the turnround when I reached a junction in the trail.  There were arrows pointing to the right, but there was another trail that went to the left.  This is where I missed a turn the last time I ran on this course.  This time, the turn seemed pretty obvious.

After making that turn, I saw a long hill heading up to a bridge over the freeway.  This hill was steep enough that I had to walk most of it.  That resulted in another slow mile.

As soon as I reached the bridge, I resumed running.  After crossing the freeway, there was a brief downhill section, but there were more hills from there to the turnaround.

I once again started to see pace groups coming back.  I was still two miles from the turnaround when I saw the 3:30 group.  When I saw the 3:45 group, I was only a mile and a half from the turnaround.  Before I got there, I would also see the 4:00 and 4:15 groups.

When I saw the 4:15 group coming back, I started watching for the turnaround.  There were several turns on this section, and I couldn’t see the turnaround until after I came around the last bend.

As I made the turn, I checked my time.  I was three quarters done with the race, and I was now on pace to finish in about 4:23.  I was pretty confident I could keep my time in the 4:20s, but I still had to come back over the hilly section.

As I came around the first turn, I saw the 4:30 group.  I wasn’t expecting them to be so close to be.  I was determined to stay ahead of them, but I still had six and a half miles to go.

The next mile was another slow one, because of the hills.  Coming back up to the bridge was another hill, but in this direction, it wasn’t as tough.  After crossing the bridge, I had a nice long downhill section.  I used that to get back on pace.

After that hill, the trail leveled off.  All the way back to the coastal trail, I was able to keep every mile under 10 minutes.

Signs for the marathon and half marathon were every mile.  Signs for the 49K race were every 5K.  When I saw the 45K sign, I knew I had only 4K to go, since both races finish the same way.  Then I saw a 46K sign.  I realized then that the 49K race would now have signs every kilometer.

With about two miles to go, I turned back onto the Coast Trail, which would lead us back to downtown.  The next mile was slightly uphill, but I was able to keep up my pace.

Near the end of that mile, I saw several signs in rapid succession.  First, I saw the 47K sign for the 49K race.  Then I saw the 25-mile sign for the marathon.  Then I saw the 12-mile sign for the half marathon.  After that, there was a one mile to go sign.

I did a time check.  I would easily break 4:30, but I would have to work for it.  I remembered how much downhill running there was in the first mile.  Now I had to run all of that in the uphill direction.

I ran through a tunnel where I was greeted by a guy playing a saxophone.  He was playing “I Wanna Dance With Somebody.”  Right after that tunnel, the hill got steeper, and my quads started to ache.

I was forcing myself to run uphill, but then I reached a short bridge with loose boards.  That was too uncomfortable for my aching quads.  I had to walk across the bridge, but then I forced myself to resume running.

I knew when I made the next turn, I would start up a steeper hill on city streets.  The approach to the turn was also slightly uphill, and that softened me up.  When I turned the corner and started up the steeper hill, I had to walk most of it.  Two other runners went by me.

After that hill, I was finally able to run the rest of the way.  When I made the last turn onto Fifth Avenue, I could see the finish line.

A runner passed me on my right.  He looked too young to be in my age group, so I didn’t make any effort to race him to the finish.

I finished the race in 4:22:53.  It was nowhere close to a Boston qualifier, but it’s my fastest marathon since March.  I’m not there yet, but I’m making progress.

Fishing is a big part of the local economy, so instead of finisher medals, they called them “fishiner” medals.  People sometimes think that’s a spelling error, but it’s deliberate.  I placed first in my age group, so I got an extra medal to put on my ribbon.

I also got a mug.

After the race, I went to the beer garden, where I saw several other members of the 50 States Marathon Club.  It had been cloudy all morning, but as soon as I got to the beer garden the sun came out.

I don’t need to fly home until tomorrow.  After getting cleaned up, I went to dinner at one of the local breweries.  I didn’t go back to the one where I got food poisoning.

Race statistics:

Distance:  26.2 miles

Time:  4:22:53

Average Pace:  10:02 per mile

First Half:  2:09:44

Second Half:  2:13:09

Place in Age Group:  1st

Marathons/Ultras in 2026:  29

Lifetime Marathons/Ultras:  601

Minnesota Senior Games - 1 Mile Power Walk

My second event at the Minnesota Senior Games was the one-mile power walk.  This was my first time competing in a power walking event.

There used to be two different walking disciplines at the Senior Games.  One was race-walking and the other was power walking.  The two sports are almost identical.  Power walking has slightly different rules than race-walking.

I used to compete in the race-walking events, which have more stringent rules regarding keeping your knees straight.  Starting this year, they only have power walking events, so I switched to power walking.

To qualify for the power walking events at the National Senior Games, you used to have to place in your age group at the state level.  Next year, they’re making power-walking an “open” event.  That means anyone can sign up for a power walking event at the National Senior Games without having to qualify.

I didn’t need to do this event to qualify, but I’ve been very competitive in the race-walking events in the past, so I wanted to see how high I could place in power walking.

The last time I competed in the Minnesota Senior Games, I did two race-walking events on the same day, and I placed first overall in both of them.  This year, I had lower expectations.  I haven’t done much training for walking, my overall fitness level isn’t the same, and I wore myself out this morning by doing an all-out 5K run.

When I got back from my 5K race this morning, I only had five hours before this event.  I took a bath, did some stretching, and ate a light lunch.  Before I knew it, it was time to get ready for my walking event.

The race venue was the track at MSU – Mankato.  I’ve done walking events on this track before.  It’s a 400-meter track.  For a mile, we had to do four laps, plus an extra nine meters.  There’s a special starting line which accounts for that extra distance.

I had nice cool weather for my morning race, but this was a little warmer.  By 2 PM, it was in the upper 70s.  The race was short enough that I wasn’t going to overheat, but I was careful not to spend too much time in the sun before the race.

The race was conducted in two heats.  The women’s heat was first, so I watched their heat while I was waiting for the men’s heat.

Yesterday, I found out I was the only person in my age group.  I knew I would win my age group.  The question was how high could I place overall.  I also wanted to see if I could break 10 minutes.  I’ve tried several times at home, but the best I’ve done this year is 10:16.  That was on residential streets.  I was hoping I could go faster on a track.

I learned before the race that there were two guys in their 50s who were likely to be much faster than me.  We were lined up close to the first turn.  I tend to start fast, so only one of them reached the turn ahead of me.  The other one passed me right after the first turn.

For the rest of my first lap, nobody was near me, so I could focus on trying to go fast and not worry about where anybody else was.  I was just coming out of the first turn of my second lap when I heard somebody behind me.  Then I lit a fire under myself to pick up my pace.

He was just behind my right shoulder as we reached the next turn.  One of the judges warned him that he was “lifting” (i.e. he had both feet off the ground at the same time).  He must have eased up to focus on his mechanics, because he was never close to me after that.

By my third lap, I was starting to pass people who were still in their second lap.  I had to go around three of them in the first turn, which was unfortunate timing.  In my last lap, I passed a few more people.  Again, it was in the turns.

I occasionally looked ahead to see where the second-place walker was.  As I came out of the last turn, he was about 70 meters ahead of me.

When I finished, I was disappointed to see that I wasn’t any faster today than I was at home, training by myself.  My time was 10:20.  I felt like I gave it all I had, but running that 5K race in the morning probably took too much out of me.

Because I was in the second heat, I didn’t have to wait long for awards.  I picked up my second gold medal of the day, but nobody was competing with me in this race.

Race statistics:

Distance:  1 mile

Time:  10:20

Place in Age Group:  1st

Minnesota Senior Games: 5K Road Race

I’m competing in two events at the Minnesota Senior Games.  One is a road race (running) event and the other is a power walking event.  By competing in these two events at this year’s Minnesota Senior Games, I can qualify for the road race and power walk events at next year’s National Senior Games.

Next year’s National Senior Games will be held in Tulsa, OK.  I don’t know what my schedule looks like for next year, so I don’t even know if I’ll be going to Tulsa.  I wanted to qualify to keep my options open.

This year’s Minnesota Senior Games are being held in Mankato.  I drove to Mankato yesterday, so I could do my athlete check-in.  My first event was the 5K road race.

The National Senior Games have events in more than 25 different sports.  In most sports, you need to qualify by placing in the top four in your age group in any of the state Senior Games.  The road race events are an exception.  They can accommodate a large field, so you can qualify just by competing in the state games.

There are two road race events: 5K and 10K.  By competing in either of these events in Minnesota, I could qualify for both events in Tulsa.

The event schedule in Mankato had both road race events taking place at the same time, so I had to choose between the 5K and 10K.  Making matters worse, my power walking event is also today.  I chose to do the 5K road race, because running 10K would make it harder to recover in time for my power walking race.

The 5K race started at 7:30 AM at Sibley Park.  This is the same venue that was used for the 5K race four years ago, but the course was different, because of road construction.  In particular, the race started and finished in a different part of the park.  After looking at a course map, I decided to drive over there to make sure I knew where to park in the morning.

Athlete check-in started yesterday at 5:00 PM.  I made a point of getting there right when it started, so I could have an early dinner.  While I was there, I looked at the registration lists for both of my events, so I would know how many people were in my age group.  As it turns out, there was only one other person in my age group for the 5K road race.

I got to sleep early enough, but I woke up at 1 AM, and I never got back to sleep.  After four hours of resting in bed, I finally got up.

The weather was unusually cool for an August morning.  The temperature was in the upper 50s, and it didn’t warm up much by the time I finished.

I could’ve stayed in my comfort zone.  I didn’t need a fast time to qualify for Tulsa, and I was guaranteed to place in my age group, as medals go to the top three.  I chose to go all-out anyway.  It’s been a long time since I ran a 5K race, and this was a good way to evaluate my current fitness level.

There were only 36 runners, and some of them were doing the 10K race, which was two laps of the same course.  I knew there was one other runner in my age group, but I didn’t know who it was.  Mostly, I was racing the clock.

When we started running, three runners took off much faster than everyone else.  I was leading the next group.  I quickly realized I was starting too fast, so I had to ease up until my pace felt sustainable.  As I did, five or six other runners passed me.

After about a quarter mile, we left the park and turned onto residential streets.  By now, I had found my pace, and I was following the runners ahead of me, trying not to fall any farther behind.

I hit the one-mile mark in 7:55.  That’s about what I was hoping for.  The question now was whether I could sustain that pace for the rest of the race.

In the second mile, we turned onto a paved trail that follows the river bluff.  There were a couple of small hills.  The first hill slowed me down, but I was keeping pace with the runner ahead of me.  After the hill, I quickly got back up to my previous pace.

On the next hill, I also slowed a little, but I started to gain ground on the runner ahead of me.  After that hill, I passed him.  Then I tried to keep pace with another runner who was farther ahead.  At this point, he was the only runner I could still see.

My time for the second mile was 8:12.  That was a little disappointing, but not surprising.  I knew those hills slowed me down.

As I began the third mile, I reached a turnaround.  Going out, we were on the trail, but coming back, we were on the road.  I could see that I would have to run up a hill right after making the turn.  I passed the next runner as I started up that hill.

I fought hard to keep up my pace on that hill, thinking it was the last hill on the course.  When I reached the top, I saw that there was still one more hill.  That was disheartening.

That last hill really tested me.  I fought up this one as well, but I didn’t have much left in the tank.  As I got back onto residential streets to head back to the park, I was struggling to keep up my pace.

I was almost to the park, when I saw the leader of the 10K race going out on his second lap.  After entering the park, I saw my time for mile three.  It was 8:07.  I was pleased to see that it was a little better than my second mile.  I knew what I had left.  There was one more turn, so I still couldn’t see the finish line.  It seemed like it was a lot more than a tenth of a mile.

I finished in 26:17.  Officially, the course was 5 kilometers, but my watch read 3.26 miles.  I don't generally trust GPS measurements, but after talking to other runners, the consensus was that the course was a little bit long.  Going by the official distance, my average pace was 8:28.  According to my watch, my average pace was 8:04.  That's more encouraging.

I had to wait for everyone else to finish before they did the awards ceremony.  It was only then that I found out I won my age group.  For that, I got a gold medal.

My next race is the one-mile power-walking event this afternoon.  It starts at 2 PM, so I need to recover quickly.

Race statistics:

Distance:  5 kilometers

Time:  26:17

Average Pace:  8:28 per mile

Place in Age Group:  1st

Race Report: 2026 Xenia Avenue Marathon

On July 25, I ran the Xenia Avenue Marathon in Brooklyn Park, MN.  I’ve run this race every year since its inception in 2020.  It’s close enough to home that I don’t need to stay in a hotel.  It’s just too convenient to pass up.

I could’ve waited until Saturday morning to pick up my race packet, but I chose to drive up to Brooklyn Park on Friday.  That gave me a chance to stop at one of my favorite pizza places, which is also in Brooklyn Park.

The race started at 6:30 AM on Saturday at Orchard Trail Park.  I left home a little after 5:00, so I could get there about 45 minutes early.  Parking was available across the street at Champlin Park High School.

I saw several other runners who had done one or more races of the Summer Camp Series.  They all knew this was going to be my 600th marathon or ultra.

This race often has hot weather, and this year was no exception.  The temperature at the start was 70 degrees, with high humidity.  I expected it to get into the 80s by the time I finished.

This was my seventh marathon in a span of nine days, so I had tired legs.  Between that and the hot conditions, I wasn’t aiming for a fast time.  I just wanted to finish.

The course was one lap of a 2.2-mile loop, followed by five laps of a 4.8-mile loop.  Both loops started by running around Orchard Trail Park and then heading out to the Rush Creek Regional Trail.

On the shorter lap, we left the trail to run a loop of some residential streets.  This loop included two blocks along Xenia Avenue.

After leaving this neighborhood, we returned to Orchard Trail Park, where there was an aid station.

My pace so far was faster than the pace I typically started during the Summer Camp Series, but I was really feeling the high humidity.  After that short lap, I slowed down.

The remaining five laps were all on paved bike paths.  We once again got onto Rush Creek Regional Trail.  We followed this trail through a tunnel under Douglas Drive and then through Oak Grove Park.

There was an aid station set up at a junction in the park that we ran through three times on each lap.  On my first big lap, I drank every time I came through this aid station.  That seemed excessive, so on subsequent laps, I only drank there twice per lap.

After running through the park, we did a short out-and-back.  When we returned to the park, we turned at the aid station to run past the pavilion and playground.  There was also a building with bathrooms.

Next, we ran a loop around a meadow on the south side of the park and eventually returned to Oak Grove Park.

Then we followed the Rush Creek Regional Trail back to Orchard Trail Park.

There were mile markers on the path.  That was new this year, and it’s something you don’t usually see in a race where you’re running multiple laps.

On some sections of the course, there was two-way traffic, so I often saw runners who were ahead of me or behind me.  The runners who knew me were all congratulating me on my 600th marathon.  As the race progressed, I was also congratulated by a couple runners I didn’t recognize.  Maybe word got around.

Early in my third big lap, I reached the halfway point.  So far, I was on pace to have a faster time than I did in any of my Summer Camp races.  I expected, however, that I would slow down as it got hotter.

In the first half of the race, I was stopping to take pictures.  I also had to make a few bathroom stops.  In the second half of the race, I was able to get into a more consistent rhythm.

I didn’t get as hot as I thought I would.  It was a cloudy day, so even though the temperature was rising, it didn’t feel nearly as hot as it would on a sunny day.  We also sometimes had a cool breeze.  I was still running at the same pace, but without all the stops, my average pace was now faster.

I was paying attention to my lap times on the big laps.  With two laps to go, I realized I could run negative splits if I kept running without any stops or walking breaks.  That became my goal.

I focused first on getting through one more lap without walking breaks.  Over the last seven years, I’ve run this loop more than 30 times.  I can visualize every part of it, and I always knew what was coming up.  Instead of focusing on miles, I focused on where I was in the loop.

There were a couple points on the course where volunteers were reading our bib numbers and keeping track of how many times we had passed.  When I reached the turnaround of the out-and-back section, the volunteer greeted me by name and said I would see him one more time.

When I finished that lap, I saw that it was a few minutes faster than my previous lap.  Now, there was no doubt that I would run negative splits if I kept running without walking breaks.

I needed to make another bathroom stop, but I wanted to wait as long as possible.  As I started my last lap, I committed to waiting until I reached the bathroom in Oak Grove Park.

When I reached the turnaround for the last time, the volunteer again greeted me by name.  He said, “This is the last time you’ll see me.”  I said, “until next year – maybe.”

When I got to the building with bathrooms, I made my last bathroom stop.  I had been worried that my legs might get stiff after stopping.  When I resumed running, my legs still felt fine, and I quickly got back into the same pace.

On my last trip around the meadow, I reached the 24-mile marker.  My watch had been reading high, so I depended on the mile markers to know how much I had left.  I checked my watch.  It looked like I would run negative splits by about nine minutes.  I wondered if I could shave off another minute and make it ten.

I picked up my effort as I ran back through Oak Grove Park for the last time.  When I got back to the aid station, I didn’t stop to drink.  I didn’t want to do anything that would slow me down.

From the aid station, I had about 1.5 miles to go.  I was done with loops and out-and-backs.  Now, I just needed to run back to Orchard Trail Park and finish.

At the 25-mile marker, I checked my watch again.  I didn’t speed up at all in that mile.  I could’ve just taken it easy the rest of the way, but I tried harder to pick up my pace.

When I ran through the tunnel, I had just under a mile to go.  I was pouring it on now.  I started looking for the mile markers from earlier laps.  They were staggered by about two tenths of a mile.  When I saw the “11” marker, I had eight tenths to go.  When I saw the “16” marker, I had six tenths to go.

Just after the “21” marker, I came around a bend and saw the junction where I would leave the Rush Creek Regional Trail and run back into Orchard Trail Park.  On my way to the park, I saw the “26” marker.

I accelerated all the way to the finish.  I finished in 5:10:13.  I ran faster today than I did in any of the Summer Camp races.  I also ran negative splits by more than 10 minutes.

I finished before the temperature reached 80 degrees, but I always felt the high humidity.  When I finished, my clothes were soaked and I was dripping with sweat.

Two of my friends from Summer Camp were still there when I finished.  Eleven runners were still on the course.  Everyone else had already left.

Because of road construction, I knew the drive home would take longer than usual.  Rather than have lunch somewhere in the area, I drove straight home.  I was still soaking wet when I got there.

My July schedule has been intense, but August will be easier.  I only have one marathon scheduled in August, plus a couple of shorter races at the Minnesota Senior Games.

Race statistics:

Distance:  26.2 miles

Time:  5:10:13

Average Pace:  11:50 per mile

First Half:  2:40:51

Second Half:  2:29:22

Marathons/Ultras in 2026:  28

Lifetime Marathons/Ultras:  600

Minnesota Marathons/Ultras:  123

Race Report: Summer Camp Series, Day 5

Today was the last day of the Mainly Marathons Summer Camp Series.  It was my sixth marathon in six days.  Up to this point, I had kept all my times under six hours, but yesterday I really had to work at it.  I didn’t know how today would go.

For the second straight day, we were running through Quarry Park and Nature Preserve.  Today, we ran a different route.

Before every race, there are pre-race announcements.  At the end of the announcements, they recognize people who have reached significant milestones.

Today was my 50th Minnesota marathon with Mainly Marathons since the two Minnesota brothers took over the business.  I think I was the eighth person to do that.

The man of the hour was Robert Manon, who achieved Loony Legend status today.  To be a Loony Legend, you need to run at least 100 marathons or half marathons with Mainly Marathons.  You also need to complete all 13 of their series.  When someone becomes a Loony Legend, a friend or family member tells everyone their story.  That honor went to Karen “Evil Twin” Vollan.

After that, there were three group pictures.  Throughout the year, there were three instances of two series being held back-to-back.  If you run them both, it’s called a Running Ragged series, and you get a special belt buckle.  This is a picture of everyone who completed the Triple Crown by doing all three Running Ragged series this year.

This is a picture of the AAA group.  These runners did all 75 Mainly Marathons races in the same year.  Yes, these runners are completely loony.

The last group was every Loony Legend who was here today.  I wasn’t quick enough to get a picture of that group.

The last day of a series is hot dog day.  They had hot dogs and brats at the aid station.  They also had emotional support hot dogs that you could carry with you on one of your laps.  A few runners wore special outfits for the occasion.

With all the pre-race hoopla, I didn’t have time to make a bathroom stop before the race.  I also forgot to put my watch in run mode.  While everyone else started running, I was still getting my watch ready.

Today’s weather was much cooler.  It was only 52 degrees at the start, and it didn’t get up to 70 until noon.  I actually started the race wearing gloves and a light jacket.  I was stopping to take pictures during my first lap, so it took me a while to get warmed up.

Today’s route took us past the main park pavilion and through the woods.  We crossed over a small berm that I call the “speed bump.”  Then we continued through the woods until we reached a clearing.

We crossed a floating bridge over a marsh.  Then we continued on the gravel trails until we reached quarry #2.  This is one of the quarries that has been converted into a swimming area.

On the opposite side of the trail, we ran past another quarry that’s been made into a fishing hole.

Then we continued to the eastern edge of the park, turned and kept going until we reached the turnaround cone.  Then we ran back the way we came.  We ran this route 14 times for a marathon or 7 times for a half marathon.

On the way back, the approach to the “speed bump” is steeper.  I always walked up the speed bump in this direction.

After my first lap, I had to make a bathroom stop.  Then I headed out again.  I felt better today than I did yesterday.  Partly that’s because it was a cooler day, but I also wasn’t noticing my Achilles tendon as much.

I made three more stops in the next three laps.  After my second lap, I took off my jacket and put it in my drop bag.  After my third lap, I made another bathroom stop.  After my fourth lap, I took the time to eat part of a brat.  They were cut into pieces, so you didn’t need to eat a whole one at once.  Despite all those stops, I was on roughly the same pace as yesterday.

For the first half of the race, I was walking up one side of the speed bump, but I was running everywhere else.  With the cool conditions, I needed to run to stay warm.

When I finished my seventh lap, I was half done.  So far, I was one minute faster than yesterday.  Before heading out for my eighth lap, I ate part of a hot dog.  That was the last time that I ate any solid food.

By now, it was finally warm enough that I could do extra walking without my hands getting cold.  I picked out another small hill that I always found to be tiring.  For the rest of the race, I walked this hill in addition to the “speed bump.”

The extra energy I had earlier faded as the race progressed.  With about five laps to go, I was feeling the cumulative fatigue of running six marathons in six days.

With three laps to go, I needed to make another bathroom stop.  Even after stopping, I was still a minute ahead of yesterday’s pace.  I knew I could afford to do more walking, but I wanted to wait until my last lap.

Yesterday, I had someone to run with in the late laps.  Today, I was on my own.  At this point, most people were walking.  Those who were still running were too fast for me.  That made it tougher to stay on pace.  In retrospect, I probably should have run a lap with an emotional support hot dog.

With two laps to go, I could no longer focus on a whole lap.  I needed to break it up into shorter segments.  First, I focused on running to the bridge.  Then I ran to the swimming hole.  Then I ran to the corner near the eastern edge of the park.  Finally, I ran the rest of the way to the turnaround.  These segments were different lengths, but none of them was much more than a quarter mile.

Coming back, I had to do the same four segments in reverse.  When I was running from the bridge back to the aid station, I passed two groups of college-age kids who were on their way to go swimming.  I didn’t think it was warm enough to go swimming, but I don’t have the metabolism of a 20-year-old.

My goal was to keep my time under six hours.  With one lap to go, I could afford to take 35 minutes.  I had time to walk most of the lap.  I walked a few more of the uphill segments, but I was mostly running.

With about half a mile left, I caught up to Sally.  She was doing a run/walk mix at a pace I found comfortable.  I ran the rest of that lap with her, finishing in 5:51:01.

I got two more pieces to add to my chain of medals.  The medal for today’s race was a loon with a hot dog, because it’s hot dog day.  I also got an extra piece that goes to anyone who did every race of the series.

This is what the whole chain looks like.  It’s too long for me to actually wear this.

As I was leaving, I almost forgot to retrieve my drop bag.  After getting back to the hotel, I realized I had left my bottle at the aid station.  Apparently, today was my day to forget things.  After washing up and changing into clean clothes, I drove back to Quarry Park to retrieve my bottle.  While I was there, I got to see a couple runners finish their marathons.

The Rueckert brothers both live in the St. Cloud area, and after the Summer Camp Series they host an annual banquet called The Loonies.  A few people had to begin their journeys home, but most of us will be partying tonight.

Race statistics:

Distance:  26.2 miles

Time:  5:51:01

Average Pace:  13:23 per mile

First Half:  2:52:25

Second Half:  2:58:36

Marathons/Ultras in 2026:  27

Lifetime Marathons/Ultras:  599

Minnesota Marathons/Ultras:  122