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

Race Report: 2026 Summer Camp Series, Day 4

Today was day four of the Mainly Marathons Summer Camp Series.  Today, we were running at Quarry Park and Nature Preserve in Waite Park.

This park contains 22 old granite quarries that are no longer in use.  Some of them are quite deep, and over the years they’ve filled in with rain water.  A few have been converted into swimming holes, making this park a popular summer destination.

The park has a network of gravel trails.  Over the years, Mainly Marathons has held races on at least six different routes through the park.  Today’s race was held on my favorite route.

This route goes through the middle of the park, past a swimming hole with a beach.  Then it continues past the observation deck before we turn around and come back to the aid station in the parking area.  Along the way, we passed a few other quarries.  For a marathon, we ran this route 14 times.

The weather was cooler today.  The temperature was in the mid-60s at the start and never got out of the 70s.  We also had a cool breeze, so I was never in danger of getting hot.

During my first lap, I ran the whole way, stopping only to take pictures.  During my second lap, I saw a couple of deer in the woods.

On the hotter days, I did little or no walking in the first half, so I could afford to take walking breaks as it got hotter.  Today, that wasn’t a concern.  I just needed to make sure I was staying on pace to finish in six hours.  In my third lap, I did some walking so I could talk to my friend, Karen.

This course doesn’t have any big hills, but it’s also not flat.  There are sections that are slightly uphill and sections that are slightly downhill.  After a few laps, I became more aware that some part of the course were more tiring and others were easier.  One of the tiring sections came just before the turnaround.  I continued to run everywhere else, but I started walking that section.

In lap seven, I ran about half of the lap with Ken.  His pace was a little tiring for me.  Shortly after that, I started to notice that my legs were getting sore.  On other days, I got hot and tired, but this was the first time I had sore muscles during the race.

At the halfway point, I was slower than I had been on any of the other days.  I had some room to slow down, but not much.  Instead of doing extra walking, I felt like I had to keep mostly running.

It was a big contrast with yesterday, when I felt strong in the second half.  As I thought about that, I realized I was probably sore today because I didn’t hold back enough yesterday.

I was checking my watch every three and a half laps to make sure I was on pace for a six-hour finish.  The first time I checked, I was three minutes ahead of schedule.  Halfway through the race, I had a six-minute cushion.  When I checked again with three and a half laps to go, it was still a six-minute cushion.  I was no longer adding to my cushion, even though I wasn’t doing any extra walking.

One lap later, another friend named Karen caught up to me.  I ran with her for the rest of that lap and all of the next one.  Running with Karen helped me to stay on pace.  As I started my last lap, I had a little more than 35 minutes to break 6:00.  The previous lap only took 25 minutes, so I knew I could now afford to do more walking.

I could’ve walked more, but I didn’t.  Having only one lap to go made it easier for me to coax myself to keep running.  In the first half of that lap, I did a little more walking but not much.  I reached the turnaround in 12 minutes.

As I thought about where the tiring uphill sections were, I realized most of them were in the first half of the lap.  Coming back, it was mostly downhill.  With that in mind, I ran the rest of the lap, finishing in 5:49:30.  I really struggled today, but it wasn’t my slowest race of the series.

Today’s addition to the chain of medals was a Viking.

During the race, I enjoyed the cooler temperatures.  After the race, however, I was a bit disappointed.  By doing the race, we all got free admission into the park.  On a scorching hot day, like the last four days, I would’ve enjoyed going for a swim after the race.  When it’s only in the 70s, it’s not warm enough to go swimming.  Those quarries are so deep that the water is always ice cold, even in the summer.  I saw a few people swimming, but I decided to pass on that.

There’s just one more race in this series.  Tomorrow, we’ll be coming back to Quarry Park, but we’ll be running a different route.

Race statistics:

Distance:  26.2 miles

Time:  5:49:30

Average Pace:  13:20 per mile

First Half:  2:53:24

Second Half:  2:56:06

Marathons/Ultras in 2026:  26

Lifetime Marathons/Ultras:  598

Minnesota Marathons/Ultras:  121

Race Report: 2026 Summer Camp Series, Day 3

Today was the third race in the Summer Camp Series.  Our race venue was River Bluffs Regional Park.  We were running on a paved trail near the Mississippi River, but we couldn’t see the river from the course.  As usual, the course was out-and-back.  For the marathon, we had to do 14 laps.

We started at a trailhead that has a small parking area, but it’s only big enough for the aid station.  We had to find parking on the street.  I made a point of getting there early, so I wouldn’t have to park too far away.

Most people knew that today’s medal would feature Prince.  Many of them were dressed in purple for the occasion.  At the aid station, they were playing Prince songs.

The weather today was brutal.  It was hotter than the previous three days, and this is the most sun-exposed course of the series.  I expected the hot sun to take a toll on me, so I brought a supply of crushed ice.

Most of the course was through and around a meadow.  Running across the meadow, we ran down a hill on the way out, but we had to climb that same hill coming back.

A good portion of the course was near the tree line, going around the edge of the meadow.  This part of the course had shade, but only while the sun was still low in the sky.

There was one spot where we briefly ran through the trees.  This part of the course was always shady.  Later in the race, this became my favorite part of the course, but it was too brief.

I always walked up the hill going across the meadow, but in the early laps I was running everywhere else.  When I reached the midpoint of my fourth lap, I was one fourth done with the race, so I did a time check.  I was on pace to finish in 5:25.

I was in my fifth lap when I noticed that clouds had moved in.  That gave us relief from the sun for a few more laps.

It wasn’t sunny yet, but it was still getting warmer.  Over the next few laps, I slowed down a little.  It didn’t help that I had to make a couple bathroom stops.  At the halfway point, I was on pace to finish in 5:32.

That’s when the sun came out again.  It was high enough in the sky now that it was shining over the trees.  The temperature had climbed into the 80s, and the sun was intense.

Starting with my eighth lap, I put ice in my hat every time I started a lap.  The ice was effective in cooling me down.  It did a lot to counteract the heat of the sun.

The hill in the middle of the meadow was the biggest hill, but there were a few other uphill sections.  One of them was right at the turnaround.  In the second half of the race, I walked this hill as well, giving me two walking breaks per lap.

When I was halfway through my 11th lap, I was three quarters done with the race, so I did another time check.  I was surprised to see my pace had improved, in spite of the extra walking.  Now, I was on pace to finish in 5:31.

That gave me the motivation I needed to keep up the same pace.  My usual pattern has been to do more walking in the last few laps.  Today, I was determined not to slow down.

I checked my watch again with two laps to go.  I wasn’t sure, but I thought I was on pace to break 5:30.  After that, I was checking my time after every half lap.  I was motivated to break 5:30.

When I finished lap 13, I had just over 24 minutes for the last lap, but I still needed to stop at the aid station to drink some Gatorade and put ice in my hat.  When I started running again, I had less than 24 minutes.  I didn’t know if that would be enough.

I lit a fire under myself to pick up the pace in my last lap.  In the first half, that was easy, because that was the downhill direction.

I needed to see my time at the turnaround before deciding if I could afford to walk the first small hill.  I had more than 14 minutes for the second half of that lap, and it was less than a mile.  I went ahead and walked that hill.

When I resumed running, I picked up the pace as much as I could.  When I reached the longer hill in the meadow, I ran halfway up the hill before walking the rest of it.  Shortly after that, I got my split for mile 26.  It was my fastest mile of the race, even though it included both of those hills.

After that, there’s a nice gentle downhill section at the end of the lap.  I continued to push the pace, and I finished the race in 3:25:43.  Clearly, I ran harder than necessary.

I was expecting this to be my slowest race of the series.  So far, it’s the fastest, and it’s the only one where I’ve run negative splits.  I may regret that tomorrow.  Ideally, I should always be staying in my comfort zone, so there’s still gas in the tank for the next day.  Today, I got a little carried away.

Today’s medal depicts Prince and the "Spoonbridge and Cherry" sculpture.  Also notice the purple rain.

Race statistics:

Distance:  26.2 miles

Time:  5:25:43

Average Pace:  12:25 per mile

First Half:  2:46:00

Second Half:  2:39:43

Marathons/Ultras in 2026:  25

Lifetime Marathons/Ultras:  597

Minnesota Marathons/Ultras:  120

Race Report: 2026 Summer Camp Series, Day Two

Today was day two of the Summer Camp Series.  Today, we were running in Sauk Rapids.  Our course was 16 out-and-back laps on a paved trail next to the Mississippi River.  It was the third straight day that we had views of the river.

The temperature today was a few degrees warmer than yesterday.  It was 65 at the start, and it got into the upper 80s by noon.  The air quality was still poor.

To reduce the tension on my Achilles tendon, I put extra padding under my left heel.  That helped.  I still noticed it a little, but it didn’t bother me nearly as much as yesterday.

I didn’t get as much sleep last night, so I knew I would start out feeling sluggish.  For the second straight day, I started the race drinking Coke instead of Gatorade.

In the early laps, I was running a little faster than yesterday.  I wasn’t putting any extra effort into it.  I think I was faster because I had better traction on pavement than I did yesterday running on gravel.  Also, today’s course was flatter.

I knew I would need to take walking breaks as it got hotter, but I started out running, so I would have room to slow down later.  My goal at the outset was to run at least six laps before starting to take walking breaks.  After finishing my first six laps, I committed to running for two more laps without any walking.

At the halfway point, I was about eight minutes faster than yesterday.  By now, it had warmed up about 10 degrees, so I needed to start taking walking breaks to manage the heat.

Starting with lap nine, I took a one-minute walking break at each turnaround, for a total of two minutes of walking per lap.  I did that for the next four laps.

I focused on half a lap at a time.  After I finished a walking break, I only thought about running to the next turnaround.  Then I could take another walking break.

As the temperature climbed into the 80s, one minute of walking wasn’t enough.  Beginning with lap 13, I started walking for two minutes at each turnaround.

The longer walking breaks gave me more time to cool down.  Also, since I was covering more ground walking, I didn’t have to run as far to reach the other end of the course.

With two laps to go, it occurred to me that I could walk the rest of the way and still finish in six hours.  I wanted to get done sooner if I could, so I kept up the same run/walk mix.

When I was halfway through my last lap, I caught up to Fran, who was doing a mixture of running and brisk walking.  I finished that lap with her.  My finish time was 5:35:15, which was faster than the previous two days.

I added a new piece to my chain of medals.  Today’s medal featured the battle of the state birds.  The loon is the official state bird.  Most Minnesotans regard the mosquito as the unofficial state bird.

Today went well, but tomorrow will be tougher.  We had a lot of shade today, but tomorrow’s course is mostly out in the open.

Race statistics:

Distance:  26.2 miles

Time:  5:35:15

Average Pace:  12:47 per mile

First Half:  2:39:02

Second Half:  2:56:13

Marathons/Ultras in 2026:  24

Lifetime Marathons/Ultras:  596

Minnesota Marathons/Ultras:  119

Race Report: 2026 Summer Camp Series, Day 1

Today was the first day of the Mainly Marathons Summer Camp Series, which is a series of five marathons in the St. Cloud area.  For me, it was the second day of six, because I also did the last day of the Heartland Series yesterday.

Today’s race venue was Bend in the River Regional Park.  Our course was a gravel trail that took us around a historic farmstead and out to three viewpoints overlooking the Minnesota River.

There was one aid station, which was set up under the park pavilion.  We came back to it after every lap.  To complete a marathon, I had to run 14 laps.

It wasn’t quite as hot as yesterday.  The temperature ranged from low 60s to low 80s.  The air quality was also better, although it was still in the “poor” range.

Before the race, I noticed a chocolate cake on one of the aid station tables.  At first, I wondered whose birthday it was.  Then I saw the writing on the cake.  It was for Monte finishing 50 states yesterday.

When I started running, I immediately noticed two things.  First, my left Achilles tendon was so tight that I was running with a slight limp.  Within a minute or two, my stride smoothed out, but the discomfort was there for the whole race.

The second thing I noticed is that I was really sluggish.  I was running slower than yesterday, but it was more tiring.

The temperature at the start was about 10 degrees cooler than yesterday.  I knew it would be hot in the second half of the race, so I committed to running the first half of the race with no walking breaks.

I ran my first lap in 24 minutes.  At that pace, it would take me 5:36 to finish.  My goal was to finish in six hours, so I had room to slow down, but I needed to hold that pace for the first half of the race, if I could.

I usually only drink Gatorade at the aid stations.  Today, I drank Coke for the first four laps.  That seemed to energize me.  I wasn’t running any faster, but after a couple laps, it was easier to force myself to keep running.

When I finished my fourth lap, I saw the aid station volunteers cutting Monte’s cake.  Before heading out, I had a small slice of cake, drank the last of my Coke, and filled my bottle with Gatorade.

I stuck to only running for three more laps.  At the halfway mark, I was still on pace for 5:36.

Another treat at the aid station was “Minnesota fluff,” which is made with Jell-O and marshmallows.  The volunteers were filling Styrofoam cups with it.  Before I headed out for my next lap, I had a cup of Minnesota fluff.

It was hotter now, so I needed to start taking walking breaks.  I was disciplined about it, limiting myself to two one-minute walking breaks per lap.  The walking breaks didn’t add that much to my lap times, but they gave me a chance to cool down.

It didn’t get as hot as it did yesterday, but there wasn’t as much shade on today’s course, and it was a bright sunny day.  About half of the course was shady, but the other half was exposed to the sun.  When I was in the sun, it felt intense, and I got hotter with each lap.  I stuck to only two minutes of walking per lap, but my running pace was getting slower as I got hotter.

With three laps to go, I did a time check.  I was still focused on finishing in six hours.  At this point, I just needed to average 30 minutes per lap in my last three laps.  My recent laps had been 25 or 26 minutes, so I could afford to do a lot more walking.

I wanted to have a big cushion going into my last two laps, so I stuck to only two minutes of walking for another lap.  Then I did another time check.

Now, I could afford to average almost 33 minutes per lap.  I was tempted to take longer walking breaks, but I stuck to my plan for one more lap.  I did a little more walking in that lap, but not much.

As I started my last lap, I realized that I could probably walk the entire lap and still finish in six hours.  Instead, I decided to run until I caught up to someone I knew who was walking.  Then I’d walk with them.

This park is sometimes used for weddings.  As I ran through the farmstead, I saw a wedding party taking pictures.

After running for about half a mile, I caught up with Karen and Lisa.  I walked with them for the rest of the lap.  Despite walking for most of that lap, I still finished in 5:53:00.

Because this series is all in Minnesota, the medals are various Minnesota icons.  The starter piece for the Summer Camp chain of medals features Paul Bunyan and Babe, the blue ox.  The piece for today’s race depicts a loon (the state bird) paddling a canoe.  Over the next four days, I'll add to this chain.

Before leaving the finish area, I took the time to start rehydrating.  When I got back to the hotel, I had more to eat and drink.

Tomorrow’s race will have similar temperatures, but that course has more shade.  I expect my Achilles tendon to be an issue all week, but hopefully I won’t get as hot tomorrow.

Last year, I did the same six races, and my goal was to keep all my times under six hours.  At the time, that seemed like a really easy goal.  I was able to do all kinds of walking.  This year, it’s a more challenging goal.  With four days to go, it may get increasingly difficult.

Race statistics:

Distance:  26.2 miles

Time:  5:53:00

Average Pace:  13:28 per mile

First Half:  2:47:31

Second Half:  3:05:29

Marathons/Ultras in 2026:  23

Lifetime Marathons/Ultras:  595

Minnesota Marathons/Ultras:  118

Race Report: 2026 Heartland Series, Day 7

On July 17, I ran the last race of the Mainly Marathons Heartland Series.  This series has races in Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Wisconsin, and Minnesota.  I only ran the Minnesota race, which was in St. Cloud.

I’ve never done any of the other races of this series, but I’ve done the Minnesota race several times.  I find it convenient, because it’s usually the day before the Summer Camp Series starts, and all the races of that series are in the St. Cloud area.  I’ve come to think of today’s race as Summer Camp, day zero.

I drove to St. Cloud yesterday.  I’ll be staying in the same hotel for a week.  My room has a kitchenette with a full-size refrigerator, so I brought a few gel ice packs from home.  After checking in, I went grocery shopping, so I can make my own breakfast and lunch each day.

Today’s race was held on the Beaver Islands Trail.  The start/finish area was set up in a gravel parking lot just south of the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center.

The race started at 6:00, but they had an early start at 5:00 for people who wanted extra time.  I was planning to take the 6:00 start, but I woke up early and couldn’t get back to sleep.  Since I was already up, I got there in time for the early start.

The course was 12 laps of an out-and-back route.  The entire course was paved.  The start/finish area was in a parking lot.

Conditions were far from ideal.  It was a hot day.  That’s not unusual for July.  My bigger concern was the air quality.  There are forest fires in southern Ontario and northeastern Minnesota.  Earlier in the week, the smoke from those fires was blowing farther east.  Yesterday, a shift in wind direction started bringing that smoke into central and southern Minnesota.  Thankfully, the air quality improved overnight.  Yesterday, it was in the “hazardous” range.  This morning, it was only “poor.”

My only goal was to keep my time under six hours.  I was mostly running at a comfortable pace, but I also took walking breaks.

There was one well-stocked aid station in the start finish area.  I came back to the aid station often enough that I didn’t need to carry fluids with me.  I kept a bottle of Gatorade at the aid station, and I periodically refilled it.

Because I took the early start, I started running before the sun rose.  I didn’t bring a flashlight or headlamp, but there was enough ambient light that I could see the course.

By my second lap, there was more light, and I started to get views of the Beaver Islands and the Mississippi River.

For the first half of the race, the temperature was in the 70s, but I felt surprisingly comfortable.  I was mostly running.  I only took walking breaks when I had the opportunity to briefly walk with someone I knew.

After four laps, I was on pace to finish in five hours, but after that, I gradually slowed down.

After six laps, I was half done.  I was still well ahead of my target pace, but it was getting hotter now, so I knew I would need to walk more to keep from overexerting myself in the heat.

There’s always some type of hot food at the aid station, but it’s something different each day.  The last day of a series is hot dog day, so today they had different kinds of hot dogs.  Before starting my seventh lap, I paused at the aid station long enough to eat half a hot dog and wash it down with some Gatorade.

In the second half of the race, the temperature was in the 80s and climbing toward 90.  The sun was getting higher in the sky.  Most of the course is well-shaded, but I really noticed the sun when I came out in the open.

Starting with my seventh lap, I took a long walking break on the same section of each lap.  I picked a section that was slightly uphill.

As I got hot and sweaty, the sweat seemed to attract biting flies.  I had applied bug spray before the race, but in one lap, I got bites on both of my shoulders.

I was nearing the end of my 10th lap when I saw my friend Karen going the other direction.  She was walking, and she said she was waiting for me to catch up to her.

In my next lap, I skipped my walking break, so I would have a better chance of catching up to Karen.  I finally caught up with her near the end of lap 11.  I walked with Karen for the rest of that lap and all of my last lap.

When I got back to the start/finish area for the last time, I tried to run the last little bit through the parking lot.  After walking for so long, it was tough to run.  I finished in 5:40:20.

The finisher medals for this series are designed to form a chain.  The more races you do, the longer the chain gets.  Since I only did one race of this series, my chain was minimal.  The top and bottom pieces go to anyone who does at least one race of this series.  The middle piece was the medal for today’s race.

After the race, I had the opportunity to pick up my race packet for the Summer Camp Series.  I’ll wear the same race bib every day, so won’t have to arrive early for packet pickup before any of the Summer Camp races.

Before leaving, I had another half hot dog and an ice pop.  When I walked back to my car, my legs were already getting stiff, even though I went slow today.  Hot weather races always take more out of me.

When I got back to the hotel, I took a hot bath and did some stretches.  My legs felt better, but my left Achilles tendon is tight.  I expect that to be an issue for all of the Summer Camp races.

Race statistics:

Distance:  26.2 miles

Time:  5:40:20

Average Pace:  12:59 per mile

First Half:  2:36:07

Second Half:  3:04:13

Marathons/Ultras in 2026:  22

Lifetime Marathons/Ultras:  594

Minnesota Marathons/Ultras:  117

Race Report: 2026 Victoria Falls Marathon

On July 5, I ran the Victoria Falls Marathon in Zimbabwe.  This race has been on my bucket list for years.

I do a lot of solo travel, but sometimes I prefer to be with a group.  For this trip I was traveling with Coddiwomple Travel.  Besides the marathon, their itinerary included visits to two national parks and a sunset cruise on the Zambezi River.  I also booked a guided tour of the falls from both sides of the river.

Tuesday, June 30

Malaria is endemic in Zimbabwe, so I needed to start taking anti-malaria medication two days before I arrived.  That happened to be the same day I left home.  Malaria risk at this time of year is relatively low, but I wasn’t taking any chances.

I left Tuesday afternoon for Johannesburg, South Africa, with a layover in Atlanta.  I’ve been on the Atlanta to Johannesburg flight before.  It’s a 15-hour flight.

Wednesday, July 1

With the time change, it was already 7 PM when I arrived in Johannesburg.  I had a 15-hour layover before my flight to Victoria Falls, so I checked into an airport hotel for the night.

I didn’t get any sleep on my flight, so I was pretty tired.  I went to bed within an hour of getting to the hotel, but it took me several hours to get to sleep.  I only slept for an hour or two before I needed to get up again.

Thursday, July 2

After breakfast, I had to hurry back to the airport for my flight to Victoria Falls.  Because I left the terminal, I had to allow time for going through security again.

I arrived in Victoria Falls around noon.  On arrival, I had to pay for a visa for entry into Zimbabwe.  My itinerary included day trips into Zambia and Botswana, so I had to get a KAZA visa.  This type of visa allows multiple border crossings between Zimbabwe and Zambia.  It also allows for day trips into Botswana.

Coddiwomple Travel provided transportation to our hotel.  I was surprised how far away the airport was.  It took about 30 minutes to get into town.  For the next five nights, I stayed at Ilala Lodge Hotel in Victoria Falls.

When I got to the hotel, I was met by the tour guide from Coddiwomple.  I was the first person in our group to arrive.  The others came in on a later flight.

I had a surprisingly filling sandwich on my flight, so I wasn’t hungry for lunch.  I did a workout at the hotel, explored some local shops, and then I had an early dinner.

I have a knack for finding good pizza in any city.  I found a place a few blocks from the hotel called The Three Monkeys.  They had a variety of different brick oven pizzas.  Most of them were fairly traditional, but they had one with bacon and bananas.  I’ve never had banana slices on a pizza before, so I had to try it.  I wasn’t disappointed.

Ilala Lodge was right next to Victoria Falls National Park, and animals from the park would sometimes wander onto the property.  In the afternoon, I saw two warthogs from my balcony.  At dusk, I saw two elephants from a walkway behind the pool area.

Later, I met the other members of my tour group at a reception by the hotel pool.  We were a small group, but there were enough appetizers to feed a much larger group.  The appetizers ended being our dinner.

I had an easy time getting to sleep that night, but I still wasn’t able to sleep through the night.  Adjusting to this time zone was taking longer than usual.

Friday, July 3

Friday was a free day to explore Victoria Falls on our own.  I booked a guided tour of falls.  This tour took me through two national parks, one in Zimbabwe and one in Zambia.

First, I saw the falls from the Zimbabwe side of the river.  Here’s a sampling of the photos I took.

To get to the other side, I had to go through border crossing stations on both sides of the bridge.  Each side had long lines.

Once across, I was able to view the falls from the Zambia side of the river.  This side had different views.

Near the falls, there’s a lot of spray, and in a few places, it felt like it was raining.  I was wearing a rain poncho, but my pants got wet below the knees, and my sleeves got wet below the elbows.

When I got back to the hotel, my race packet had been delivered to my room.  Besides my race bib and T-shirt, there was a visor, a pair socks, a fanny pack, a towel, and a buff.

I had lunch at a smokehouse/brewery near the hotel.  Then I walked to where the race starts and finishes. 

I spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing at the hotel.  I met a runner from South Africa who runs the Comrades Marathon every year.  While we were talking, a large group of elephants came onto the property.  They were behind the trees, so I couldn’t get an exact count, but I saw at least five adults and about as many baby elephants.  Later, I saw more elephants, and I finally got a clear picture.

For dinner, I went back to The Three Monkeys, so I could try one of their other pizzas.

Saturday, July 4

On Saturday, we had a game drive in Zambezi National Park.  We had to leave early, so the hotel gave us grab-and-go breakfasts.  When we got to the park, we had to drive a long way before we saw any animals.  The first giraffes we saw were too far away to get a good photo.

As we continued through the park, we started to see more animals, and we got closer to them.  We saw zebras, giraffes, warthogs, cape buffalo, and greater kudu.  We also saw a variety of birds, including pelicans.

When we got back to the hotel, I did a workout.  Then I relaxed until our next outing.

In the afternoon, we went into Zambia to have high tea at the Royal Livingstone Victoria Falls Hotel.  This is the nicest hotel on the Zambia side of the river.  It’s right on the river, and there are zebras, giraffes, and other wildlife right on the property.

While we were there, we discovered that there’s a marathon next weekend in Livingstone, Zambia called the Zambezi Waterfront Marathon.  Had I known that before, I would’ve planned a longer trip, so I could run marathons in both Zimbabwe and Zambia.  At this point, it was too late to change my plans.

After we got back from Zambia, we had a pre-race pasta dinner at the hotel, even though we were all still full from all the food we ate at high tea.  The food was served family-style.  It was more food than we could eat, so we all got to-go boxes.  The others took the leftover pasta and meat.  I took the leftover desserts, which gave me food for my pre-race breakfast and a post-race snack.

Sunday, July 5

Sunday was race day.  Our tour package included bus transportation to the start, which was at Baobab Primary School.  The race started at 6:15 AM, but I had to catch the bus at 5:20.  I considered just walking, since the start was only about a kilometer away.  I took the bus on the recommendation of the hotel staff.  It’s still dark at that hour, and we were right next to a national park with various wild animals.

I was the only one running the marathon who was picked up at this hotel.  They had a later pickup time for people running the half marathon.  After I was picked up, the bus stopped at one other hotel before driving to the school.  We got dropped off about 30 minutes before the marathon started.

The temperature in the morning was in the 40s.  I knew it would get much warmer later, but I tend to dress for the temperature at the start.  I wore tights and a T-shirt, but I also wore a Tyvek jacket while I was waiting for the race to start.

They didn’t have portable toilets in the start area, but we could use the bathrooms in the school buildings.  In the boys’ bathroom, none of the stalls had toilet paper.  There wasn’t even a place for toilet paper.  Fortunately, I only needed to pee.

I knew we would be running near the falls in the early miles.  I didn’t know if I would get wet from the spray coming from the falls, so I kept my jacket on as I started running.  I unzipped it in front, so my race bib would be visible.

When we started, it was still dark.  The only light was from street lamps.  As we left the school grounds, we were initially running on grass and dirt, so I started hesitantly and watched my footing carefully.  Once we turned onto city streets, I was more confident in my footing.

After about one kilometer, I could see the glow of the sunrise.  I could also see the mist rising from the falls.

The aid stations had water in cylindrical plastic bags.  To drink, you needed to tear a hole in the bag with your teeth and then squeeze the water out.  I’ve seen the same thing at races in central America and the Caribbean.  Tap water in Zimbabwe isn’t generally safe to drink.  Seeing that it was in sealed bags gave me confidence that it was similar in quality to bottled water.

We ran past the immigration station on the Zimbabwe side of the river, and then we started running toward the bridge.  Before I reached the bridge, I noticed the road was wet.  As I got onto the bridge, I could feel a little bit of spray from the falls.  It felt like light drizzle.  That’s why I kept my jacket on.

There are immigration offices on each side of the river, but they’re both a distance away from the river, because they need to be located where there’s enough room for cars to park.  The actual border is the Zambezi River, so as soon as we crossed the bridge, we were in Zambia.

Most of the course was relatively flat, but there were some uphill and downhill sections.  One of the uphill sections was right after crossing the bridge.  I had to slow down a little, but I didn’t have to walk.  That was encouraging.  In my last several races, I had to walk almost every hill.

We ran almost to the gate by the Zambia immigration station.  Then we turned around and crossed the bridge again.

When we crossed the bridge on Saturday, you could see the falls.  Sunday morning, there was too much mist.

After crossing the bridge for a second time, we didn’t take the same road back into town.  Instead, we turned onto a road that took us closer to the river.

Now that I was no longer near the falls, I took off my jacket and tied it around my waist.  I had already taken off my gloves.

About four miles into the race, I started to notice some discomfort from a tight Achilles tendon.  It was encouraging that I didn’t notice it before.  Usually, I feel it from the first mile.  I probably helped that I had a few days off from running before the race.

The aid stations were closer together than I expected.  After drinking water at the first two, I decided to skip every other aid station, so I wouldn’t overhydrate.

The first few aid stations only had water, but I eventually reached aid stations that also had Coke.  The first time I saw Coke, it was at an aid station that I was planning to skip.  Whenever I saw it at an aid station where I was drinking, I opted for Coke instead of water.

Just past the 9K sign, I saw a 26K sign.  At that point, I knew we would be running along this road again later in the race.  It eventually became clear that the marathon was two loops, but I suspected there would be differences between the two loops.

At 12K, I saw baboons running across the road.  I had already seen baboons in two of the national parks, but apparently, they’re all over the place.

Some aid stations also had fruit.  I ate a banana at one, but I mostly just drank water and Coke.

At 14K, I was one third done, so I checked my time.  I was almost on pace to finish in 4:30.  I expected to slow down as it got hotter, but I was pretty confident that I would break five hours.  That was my only goal, other than finishing.

At 15K, I reached a hill that was steep enough that some of the runners ahead of me were walking it.  That seemed prudent, so I also walked most of this hill.  I had been running well, but I didn’t want to wear myself out by working too hard on a hill.

At the top of that hill, I turned onto a road that was paved with bricks.  The footing was really uneven here.  It felt like cobblestones.  I found running this section to be tiring, in addition to being uncomfortable.

I eventually realized, that this section was still slightly uphill, which is one reason it was tiring.  The uneven footing also made it tiring.

After that section, there was another hill where I needed to take a walking break.  After that, it got easier.

Up until now, I had been averaging about 10:30 per mile.  The mile with the hills and the next mile were both slower than 11 minutes.

There was a half marathon that started later than the marathon.  I had seen some half marathon runners go by, but only the fastest ones.  Shortly past 17K, I reached a junction where the two courses diverged.  Runners doing the half marathon turned left.  Those of us doing the marathon kept going straight to do an extra out-and-back section.  As a result, our first lap was longer.

After two slower miles, I was able to bring my pace back down to where it was before.  Then I reached the halfway point.  I was no longer on pace for 4:30, but I was easily on pace to break five hours by a wide margin.  The question was whether I would come apart in the second half.  It was warming up quickly, and the sun was getting higher in the sky.

Now that it was warming up, I started drinking at every aid station.  I drank Coke when I saw it.  Otherwise, I drank water.

I finished the out-and-back section and came back to the junction where the half marathon turned.  Now, we were on the same route again.  I had somewhere between 3K and 4K to go to finish the first lap.

At 24K, I saw some portable toilets, so I stopped.  I knew I would need to pee at some point, and I was also feeling some pressure building in my colon.  I was dismayed to see that the portable toilets also didn’t have toilet paper.  Apparently local runners know to bring their own.  I didn’t have the foresight to do that, so I resigned myself to holding it in until after the race.  That made the rest of the race somewhat uncomfortable.

The first lap was roughly 25K.  Then the half marathon runners turned to head back to the school, while those of us doing the marathon continued straight to begin our second lap.

I knew at this point that the second lap would only be 17K.  The difference is that we took a shorter route through town, and we didn’t run out to the bridge again.

Traffic on the bridge had been closed for the race.  That meant closing the only nearby border crossing.  I’m sure they wanted to re-open the border as soon as possible, which is why we didn’t run across the bridge again.

After running through town for another kilometer, I turned back onto a road that I had run before.  I once again saw the 9K sign, followed by the 26K sign.  From here on, I was running on roads that I had run before.  I knew what to expect now.  There was one tough section with steeper hills and bricks that felt like cobblestones.  Other than that, nothing would be too tough,

I wanted to do another time check at 28K.  I never noticed the 28K sign, but all my recent mile splits were under 11 minutes.  That made me pretty confident that I was staying on pace for a time under five hours.

At about 29K, I caught up to the back of pack of the half marathon.  Everyone at the back was walking.  The half marathon walkers greater outnumbered the marathon runners.  I had to scan the road ahead to spot the marathon runners, so I could try to keep up with the runners ahead of me.

At 32K, I reached the first of the two hills where I had taken walking breaks before.  I knew that was followed by the brick/cobblestone section.  Running on that surface was uncomfortable, so I wanted to walk it this time.  I contemplated running the hill.

When I saw other runners ahead of me starting to walk up the hill, I had second thoughts.  Then I noticed for the first time how hot and sweaty I was getting.  The sun was intense now.  That persuaded me to walk the hill again.

Because I walked up the hill, I forced myself to run on the uncomfortable brick section.  This time, I was much more conscious that it was slightly uphill.

When I finished that section, I reached the second hill that I had previously walked.  It wasn’t actually any steeper than the brick section.  I needed to walk most of it, because I was already tired from the previous section.

I knew that mile would be my slowest of the race.  The first time, my pace slowed to almost 12 minutes.  I expected to be slower than 12 minutes this time, but I was a bit dismayed to be slower than 13 minutes.  The good news is that I knew it would be easier the rest of the way.

I once again reached the junction where the half marathon turned left and the marathon went straight.  We had about 8K to go.  They had slightly more than 3K to go.  I was jealous.

I was determined to bring my pace back down, but I had to focus on one section of the course at a time.  First, I needed to reach the turnaround of this out-and-back section.  That was a little over two kilometers.

When I reached the turn, I focused on keeping up my pace until I got back to the same junction.  That was also just over two kilometers.

I got back to that junction, turned right, drank Coke at an aid station, and then forced myself to run up a short hill.  A short time later, my watch gave me a split for 24 miles.  I knew I had more than 2.2 miles to go.  The 39K mark would be two miles to go, and that was nowhere in sight.  I had to ignore my watch and just look for the kilometer markers.

When I reached the 39K mark, I should have done a time check, but I didn’t think of it.  I pressed on.

I eventually reached the 40K sign, followed by the 19K sign for the half marathon.  I had 2100 meters to go.  If I could run it in 11 minutes, I could break 4:40.  It was mostly downhill, but the remaining distance was too far to have any realistic chance of running it in 11 minutes.  I was going to finish with a time in the low 4:40s.

I enjoyed the nice long downhill section.  I never saw the 41K sign, but I knew I was getting close when I could see tents that were set up in the finish area.  As the crow flies it was close, but we had to take a circuitous route.

We turned left and follow the road alongside the school until we reached the entrance to the school grounds.  After running up a small hill, I turned onto the dirt and grass section.  I had to make a big curve that was sort of like running halfway around a track.  Then the finish line came into sight.

I ran under the same arch that had been the starting line.  I thought that was the finish line, but I hesitated for a few seconds before stopping my watch.  Then I walked the rest of the way through the finisher chute.

By my watch, I finished in 4:42:06, but I wanted to see what my official time was.  I continued through the chute and got my finisher medal.  Another volunteer handed me a bottle of water.  I was hot and thirsty, but I didn’t want to drink any more water until I got back to the hotel and made a bathroom stop.  I gave the water bottle back.

After finishing, I saw a large display screen that showed the times of recent finishers.  It showed my time as 4:42:29.  I didn’t know if that was gun time or net time, but that’s the same time I saw later when I looked up my result online.  Either way, I was pretty happy with that time.  It was my fastest time in two months.

I could have taken a shuttle back to the hotel, but they only ran once per hour.  It was faster to walk.

I was wearing a T-shirt from the Comrades Marathon, and throughout the race, I often got shoutouts from other runners who noticed it.  We were close to South Africa, so there were a lot of other runners who have either run Comrades or are familiar with the race.  While I was walking back to the hotel, I also heard someone in town say, “Comrades Marathon.  Much respect.”

When I got to the hotel, I didn’t wait until I got back to my room.  I stopped at the closest bathroom, which was inside the lobby.

After taking a shower and sitting for a while, my Achilles tendon got much tighter.  For the rest of the day, walking was difficult.

Later in the day, we had a sunset cruise on the Zambezi River.  While we were waiting for the sun to set, we occasionally saw hippos popping out of the water.  We also saw crocodiles on a nearby island.

We stayed until the sun set.  Then we went back and had a nice dinner.  We were sitting at the same table as some runners from South Africa, and we got along well.

By the time we got back to the hotel, it was late, so I went to bed as quickly as I could.

Monday, July 6

On Sunday, we visited another national park.  This time, it was Chobe National Park in Botswana.  We left right after breakfast.  First, we had to drive to Botswana.  We got through passport control on the Zimbabwe side fairly quickly, but it took more than two hours to get through the line on the Botswana side.  We heard later that they had a power outage that morning.  I assume a long line built up while they were unable to process anyone.

When we arrived at the national park, we began our safari.  The first part was a boat ride on the Chobe River.  I was surprised how much wildlife we could see from the water.  We saw impalas, cape buffalo, hippos, giraffes, and elephants.

After a lunch break, we continued our safari on land.  There, we saw kudu, impalas, giraffes, cape buffalo, hippos, elephants, and a lion.

On the way back, border control went quicker.  We got back to our hotel around 7 PM.  We hadn’t had dinner yet, so it turned into a late night.

Tuesday, July 7

Tuesday was the only day that I didn’t need to get up early, but I woke up at 4:30 and couldn’t get back to sleep.  On the bright side, it gave me plenty of time to do a workout and pack for the journey home.

Coddiwomple arranged transport to the airport for my afternoon flight to Johannesburg.  My first flight was about 30 minutes late, but that wasn’t a big deal.  I had a 6-hour layover in Johannesburg before the long flight back to Atlanta.

I had some drama when I got off the plane in Johannesburg.  I was almost to passport control when I realized I had forgotten to take my carry-on bag out of the overhead bin.  I turned around and ran back down the long hallway as fast as I could.

Along the way, I passed a South African Airlink employee who was pushing a wheelchair.  I told him I forgot my bag, but he already knew.  He told me the flight crew had it and they were bringing it off the plane for me.  When I got back to the jet bridge, they were waiting for me.

On my way back, another Airlink employee offered to give me a lounge pass.  I thanked him, but I already had access to the lounge.

After passport control, I stopped to open the Delta app to see where the lounge was located.  The app gave me confusing directions.  I saw two more Airlink employees and asked them how to get to the lounge.  They said they would take me there, and one of them carried my bag.  I still had to go through security, but they escorted me to the head of the line.  Then they brought me to the lounge.  I can’t express enough how impressed I am with this airline’s customer service.

I still have two more flights.  Hopefully, I won’t have any more drama..

Race statistics:

Distance:  42.2 kilometers

Time:  4:42:29

Average Pace:  6:42 per kilometer (10:46 per mile)

First Half:  2:19:11

Second Half:  2:23:18

Marathons/Ultras in 2026:  21

Lifetime Marathons/Ultras:  593

Countries:  61