Race Report: 2024 Millennium Meadows Marathon

On August 25, I ran the Millennium Meadows Marathon in Grand Rapids, MI.  I ran this same race four years ago, so I was already familiar with the course.

I flew to Grand Rapids Saturday morning.  My flight was delayed, but it’s a relatively short flight, so I still arrived in time for lunch.  It would’ve been too early to check into my hotel room, so I stopped for lunch before driving to my hotel.

I stayed downtown, so I would be within walking distance of restaurants and breweries.  After checking in, I did a workout in the fitness room.  By the time I was done with my workout, packet pickup for the race had started.

Packet pickup was at a pub on the other side of the river.  It was about a mile from my hotel, so I decided to walk.  It was a sunny day with temperatures in the 80s, so I quickly regretting that I didn’t pack a pair of shorts.  I don’t think I saw anyone else on the street wearing long pants.

Later, while exploring the neighborhood around my hotel, I discovered a small market, and I picked up some food for breakfast.  I also found an Italian restaurant, where I later went for dinner.  After dinner, I sampled beers at one of the local breweries.

I went to bed early, but not early enough to get a full night’s sleep.  As is so often the case, when I set my alarm early, I wake up even earlier.

The race was held at Millennium Park, which was about a 15-minute drive from my hotel.  The most direct route included a few miles on a two-lane road that wasn’t well lit.  I almost panicked when I turned onto this road, and immediately saw a Road Closed sign ahead.  The navigation app I was using didn’t know anything about this road closure, and I didn’t know a good alternate route.  Fortunately, the section that was closed was only a block or two, and I was able to detour around it.

The race started at 6:00, but I arrived at Millennium Park around 5:15.  There were lots of other runners arriving about the same time, but there were still parking spaces close to the buildings.

It was a warm morning.  The temperature was in the upper 60s at the start, and I expected it to warm up at least 10 degrees by the time I finished.  With that in mind, I decided not to push for a fast time.  I was content to run this race without any time goal.

The course was six laps of a paved loop through Millennium Park.  We had to run about a mile to get to the loop and another mile to get back to the pavilion after completing our sixth lap.

It was still dark when I arrived.  It didn’t occur to me that we might be starting the race in the dark until I saw a few other runners wearing headlamps.  Talking to one of them, I learned that it would be dark for our first lap.  There aren’t any lights along the trail, so the website recommended starting with a light.  Somehow, I missed that.  When I ran this race four years ago, it must have had a later start time.  My recollection is that I ran the entire race in daylight.

While I was lining up to start the race, I bumped into my friend, Tim.  Tim had a light, so I decided to run the first lap with Tim, to make sure I could see the trail.

The first mile of the race took us through an area of the park called the Meadows.  We started on a concrete sidewalk that took us to a long wooden bridge.  I’m always cautious about my footing crossing bridges like this one.  Running across it in the dark made me nervous.

I did my best to stay close to Tim, so I could see where his light was shining.  Most of the other runners around us didn’t bring lights.

For the first few minutes of the race, staying with Tim wasn’t easy.  There were too many runners crowded onto a narrow trail.

After crossing the bridge, we started running downhill.  I remember running down this hill before, but it was more uncomfortable doing it in the dark.  Even with Tim’s light, I couldn’t see very far in front of us.

We eventually made a hairpin turn onto a paved road that led us to the main loop.  Throughout this section of the race, I found the pace to be slightly tiring.  When I’ve run with Tim in other races, it’s always been during a multi-day series.  I didn’t know what pace Tim would run in a standalone race.

Our time for the first mile was 8:46.  At that pace, we would finish the race in 3:50.  I knew I wouldn’t run that fast on such a warm day.  Already, I was feeling the humidity.  I kept running with Tim so I wouldn’t have to find my way without any light.  I expected to slow down later.

Now, we were on the main loop.  Right where we started the loop, there was an aid station, and I drank some water.

When we finished the second mile, I could hear my watch vibrating, but I didn’t see what our time was.  Tim said we were slowing down.  Out pace was now slower than nine minutes.

Somewhere in the next mile, I came close to tripping.  There were places where roots were pushing up the pavement.  They were easy to see in daylight, but in the dark, I didn’t always see them.  At one point, I felt one of my shoes scraping over the top of one of those bumps.

In mile three, our pace was 9:06.  I still felt like the pace was too fast, but I continued to keep up with Tim.

The first half of the loop was flat, but the second half had a series of small hills.  In the next two miles, we slowed down a bit.  Now, our pace was closer to 9:30.  I was fine with that.

As we neared the end of our first lap, Tim said he wanted to see if he could speed up.  I was just starting to get comfortable.  By now, there was enough light to see the trail, so I let Tim go ahead, and I continued at my own pace.

In the second lap, I gradually slowed down.  By the end of that lap, my pace was closer to 10 minutes per mile.  It was too warm and humid to run a fast time, so I gradually eased back to a pace that felt comfortable.

When I was running with Tim, we were keeping up with the other runners around us.  Now that I was slowing down, other runners were constantly passing me.  The only runners I was passing were the ones who took the 5 AM early start.  Those runners were going much slower.

Late in my second lap, I was passed by three runners who were going much faster than everyone else.  There was a half marathon that started later than the marathon.  I assumed these runners were the leaders of the half marathon.  Soon, I started to see other fast runners going by.

I was almost done with that lap when I recognized one of the runners who took the early start.  It was my friend, Rich.  As it happens, I’ve wanted to talk to Rich about another race that we’re both planning to run in November.  I slowed down and walked with Rich for at least half a mile, so we could talk.

Eventually, I needed to leave Rich behind and resume running.  Shortly after I resumed running, I started to feel rumblings in my intestines.  I needed to made a bathroom stop at the next opportunity.  By now, I was already half a mile past the aid station at the start of the loop.  I knew there was a port-o-potty there.  There was also an aid station about halfway through the loop, but that was in a more remote location.  I didn’t know if there was a port-o-potty at that aid station.  It might be three and a half miles before I could make a bathroom stop.

As it turns out, there was a port-o-potty at the more remote aid station, but I didn’t see it.  There was a line of volunteers at the aid station, handing out cups of water or Gatorade.  I couldn’t see that there was a port-o-potty behind them.  Instead, I pressed on for the rest of the lap.  My pace in that lap was about 10 minutes per mile.  I didn’t dare try to run any faster than that.

The halfway point was just before the end of the third lap.  I got there in 2:09:07.  At the time, I had no idea if I would be faster or slower in the second half.  As it turns out, the second half was much slower.

When I finished that lap, I saw that the port-o-potty at the aid station was occupied.  I had no choice.  I had to wait.

As I started my fourth lap, I was surrounded by runners going different paces.  We weren’t all on the same lap, and several of the runners I was seeing were doing the half marathon.  I noticed one runner who seemed to be going at about my pace, so I started running with her.  Her name was Zoe.

I started a conversation with Zoe, and I learned that this was her second marathon.  She was with three friends, but one of her friends was much faster, and the other two were doing the half marathon.  Zoe’s goal was to not be too much slower than her friends.

I started running with Zoe, because she seemed to be going at the right pace.  It wasn’t long before I started to feel like her pace might be too fast for me.  I had to pick up my effort to keep up with her, but I was willing to do that now that I was in the second half of the race.

One of the noteworthy things about this race is the mile markers.  Multi-lap courses don’t usually have mile markers for every mile of the race.  This one does.  Each mile was marked with a sign and a chalk line.  The loop was about four miles long, so in any given lap, only four of the mile markers were relevant.  You had to ignore the others.

When we finished mile 14, my time for that mile was misleading.  It included my bathroom stop.  It wasn’t until we finished mile 15 that I realized we had sped up to 9:04.  That’s about the pace I was running at the beginning of the race.

I was enjoying my conversation with Zoe, but I couldn’t keep up that pace for the rest of the race.  I told her to feel free to go on ahead if I started to slow her down.  She said if anything, she would be the one to slow down and let me go on ahead.  It turns out that neither one of us was comfortable with the pace we were running.  I was trying to keep up with her, and she was trying to keep up with me.  When we realized that, we slowed down.  For the rest of that lap, our pace was closer to 9:30.  That was more comfortable for me, but it was still too fast for Zoe.

This wasn’t Zoe’s first marathon, so I wasn’t expecting her to have any trouble finishing.  What I didn’t know at first was that her first marathon was four years ago.  Her longest run this year was 21 miles.  Once I understood that, I realized the last lap or two might be difficult for her.  From that point on, I treated her just like someone doing their first marathon.

As we started our fifth lap, Zoe needed to take a brief walking break.  When we resumed running it was at a slower pace.  Now, our pace was about 11 minutes per mile.  I decided to slow down with her and keep her company for the rest of the race, even though the pace was uncomfortably slow at times.

In the second half of that lap, we walked the hills.  Those miles were slow, but the last lap was much slower.  Even when she was running, Zoe’s pace was too slow for me to run comfortably.  At times, it was easier for me to walk at the same pace she was running.

Our pace slowed to 13 minutes, then 14 minutes.  It was getting hotter, and the sun was higher in the sky.  The course has a lot of shade, but there’s a section in the second half of the loop where you feel the sun.

After finishing our last lap, we still had about a mile to go to get to the finish.  Zoe started to pick up her pace.  Then I reminded her that the last mile would have an uphill section.  In the first mile of the race, we ran downhill after crossing the bridge.  We had to go back up that hill.  When I told her that, she conserved her energy.

I was thinking we would go back exactly the same way we came.  In fact, our route going back was slightly different.  We didn’t cross the bridge again.  Instead, we turned onto a different path that brought us around from a different direction.  As a result, we didn’t have to climb all the way to the bridge, which had been the highest point on the course.

When we passed the “26” sign, Zoe picked up her pace.  I sped up too and ran alongside her all the way to the finish line.  I finished in 4:49:39.  That’s slower than I originally expected to run, but I was OK with that.  Zoe’s three friends all met her at the finish line.

The finisher medals depict the bridge that we crossed at the beginning of the race.  It’s the signature feature of this course.

This course had lots of nice scenery.  At times, we were running next to a stream.  In general, this is a beautiful park.  Sadly, I didn’t take any pictures.  Had I known I would be running this slowly, I would’ve brought my phone to take pictures.

There was a volunteer next to the finish line handing out ice pops.  After finishing an ice pop, I made my way to the pavilion, where there was a variety of finish line food.  Among other things, they had hot dogs and beer.

Race statistics:

Distance:  26.2 miles

Time:  4:49:39

Average Pace:  11:03 per mile

First Half:  2:09:07

Second Half:  2:40:32

Lifetime Marathons/Ultras:  525

2024 Minnesota Senior Games: Race-Walking Events

This is my second post from the 2024 Minnesota Senior Games.  Yesterday’s post included my two running events.  This one covers the two race-walking events.

The race-walk, power-walk, and track and field events were all held at the Sauk Rapids Middle School, and they were all scheduled for Saturday.  Last month, I saw one of the race-walking judges at another event, and I asked him if he was aware of the schedule conflict.  He was, but he didn’t seem too concerned about it.  I got the impression that all of the events would be held on the same track

Yesterday, I drove over to the school, and I noticed a one kilometer loop around the school buildings marked off with traffic cones.  The distance around the building must be just under one kilometer, because the route included a detour into one of the parking lots for a short out-and-back.

My first race today was the 5,000 meter race-walk.  It started at 7 AM, so I had to set my alarm earlier today.  When I arrived at the school, I confirmed that this race wasn’t going to be on the track.  It was five laps of the one kilometer loop marked off with cones.

The last time I was healthy and well-trained for the Minnesota Senior Games was three years ago.  On that occasion, I was the overall winner of the 5,000 meter race-walk.  I’m healthy this year, and I’m in comparable condition, so I expected to win again.  My goal was to break 31 minutes, but that’s ambitious.  I would need to average 10 minutes per mile.

I assumed the lead from the beginning of the race.  I started out at a fast enough pace, but after making the first turn, I encountered a headwind.  Walking as fast as I could into the wind caused me to get out of breath, so I was forced to back off a little in my pace.

After following the cones through a parking lot on the back side of the school building, we walked along a driveway that took us out to the street on the other side.  We were going counter-clockwise around the school, so most of our turns were left turns.  This driveway was an exception.  It bent to the left, then the right, and then back to the left.  Here, I needed to be mindful to walk the tangents.

On the out-and-back section, I was already done with it before the next two walkers started that section.  At that point, I knew nobody would catch up to me.  I was only racing the clock now.

There were two race-walking judges.  One was in the start-finish area.  The other was next to the out-and-back section, where he could watch us in both directions.  The judge in the start/finish area was also the time keeper.  When I finished my first lap, he told me my time was 6:20.

To be on pace for 31 minutes, I needed to average 6:12 per lap.  I was already eight seconds too slow.

At this point, it might have been possible to speed up enough to bring my pace down, but this was my third race of 5K or 10K in three days.  These are intense races where you’re at or near your aerobic limit for the entire race.  To pick up my pace, I would need to go into oxygen debt.  I just couldn’t force myself to do that again.  Instead, I continued at about a 95% effort.

The course was mostly flat, but it was slightly uphill where we turned into a parking lot to begin the short out-and-back segment.  Here, I had to stay focused on keeping my knee straight as my lead foot made contact with the ground.  That’s one of the rules of race-walking.

When I finished the out-and-back on my second lap, I couldn’t see any other walkers approaching, they were still somewhere behind the school building.

My time for the first mile was 10:26.  Now I knew for sure that I wasn’t going to break 31 minutes no mater how hard I pushed.  I had no incentive to go all-out, knowing I would easily win the race.

My time for the second lap was 6:32.  That was 12 seconds slower than my first lap.  That was disappointing, but not surprising.

As I was finishing my third lap, I passed a walker who was still on her second lap.  That was the last time I saw another walker during the race.  Nobody else was every close to me.

My third lap was only one second slower than my second lap, but when I got my split for the second mile, it was 10:40.  I knew I wasn’t pushing as hard as I could, but that was still disappointing.  There was a time, several years ago, when my marathon pace was almost that fast.

As I finished my fourth lap, the race-walking judge told me that my right knee looked a little soft.  It was just a warning, but after that, I paid more attention to keeping my knees straight.

I managed to pick up my pace in my last lap.  I finished with a time of 32:45.  I won the race by about three minutes.

There was enough time between finishers that the race-walking judge in the finish area was able to take video of our form as we each finished our last lap.  On my last lap, I did a better job of keeping my knees straight.

After everyone was finished, we had a brief awards ceremony.  I was first overall, so I already knew I won the gold medal for my age group.

Race statistics:

Distance:  5,000 meters

Time:  32:45

Average Pace:  6:33 per kilometer (10:32 per mile)

Place in Age Group:  1st

After my first race, I went back to the hotel to get cleaned up and change into dry clothes and shoes.  I had a couple hours to relax, but then I needed to head back to the school for my second event, which was scheduled to start at 11:30.

My second race was the 1,500 meter race-walk.  This race was on the track, so it had to be scheduled around the various track and field events.  When I got back to the track, I found our that the track events were running behind schedule.  At 11:45, the only remaining track event was the men’s 200 meter, but there were seven heats.

While I waited, I was standing in the parking lot, talking to other walkers.  Spending so much time out in the sun wasn’t helpful.

At times, I noticed a strong breeze.  Before the race, it helped keep me cool, but I didn’t want to feel that same strong breeze during the race.

My primary goal was to win this race, but I also wanted a fast time.  My time in this event will be my qualifying time for the same event at next year’s National Senior Games.  Lane assignments will be based on our qualifying times, and I wanted to get a good lane assignment.

It was a 400-meter track, so we needed to do three full laps, plus an additional 300 meters.  We started at the beginning of the far straightaway.  My goal for the first 100 meters was to be the first person to reach the turn, so I could go around the turn in lane one, with nobody in front of me.

They lined us up with the women in the inside lanes.  Other than that, we were lined up in order of our bib numbers, which were essentially random.  I had about five people on my left.

When the gun went off, I started fast and raced for the turn, which was 100 meters away.  There was one woman who went out faster.  I had never seen her at a race before, but I couldn’t match her speed in the first 100 meters.  She was a stride or two ahead of me as we entered the first turn.

I followed her around the turn.  As soon as we were out of the turn, I poured it on to see if I could pass her.  Within the next 50 meters, I pulled alongside of her.  In the next 50 meters, I got far enough in front that I was able to move into the inside lane for the second turn.  After that, I led for the rest of the race.

The start of that turn was our eventual finish line.  I had walked 300 meters, and I now had three full laps to go.  I looked at my watch as I crossed the line.  My time so far was 1:46.

My goal was nine minutes, but I knew I could only do that if I went all out the whole way, without ever letting up.  Before the race, I figured out what time I needed at the 300 meter mark to be on pace for a nine minute finish.  The time I needed was 1:48, so I was two seconds ahead of schedule.

My first 300 meters were only that fast because I had worked so hard to get into the lead.  It wasn’t a pace that I could sustain.

As I came out of the second turn, I felt a headwind.  The strong breeze came back.  For the next 100 meters, I had to fight it.  That made my pace more tiring.

About half of the time, I was focused on going as fast as I could.  The other half of the time, I was focused on making sure my knees were straight.  That’s the difficult thing about race-walking.  You need to constantly pay attention to making sure your form is legal.  At this race, the judging was fairly lenient.  At the National Senior Games, the judging is strict.  I need to be thinking about that now, so I don’t develop bad habits.

As I got back to the eventual finish line, I had two full laps to go.  I did my best to keep up my effort.  I didn’t check my watch again until I had 500 meters to go.

To be on pace for a nine minute finish, I needed to complete the first 1,000 meters in six minutes.  I got there in 6:13.  I was winning the race, but my time was going to be disappointing.

I was about to pass the two slowest walkers in the race.  They were walking side by side in the first two lanes.  I was able to pass them before reaching the turn to begin my last full lap.

In my last lap, I had to fight the wind again.  That caused me so slow down in that lap.  As I came around to the final 100 meters, I knew I wouldn’t like my time, but I made sure I was keeping my knees straight.  I finished in 9:26.

The woman who led for the first 250 meters was second overall with a time of 10:15.  She’s fairly new to race-walking.  I encouraged her to keep training for the next year and go to the National Senior Games next July.  If she does, she’ll be competitive in her age group.

Because it was such a short race, we didn’t have to wait long for everyone to be finished.  I won my second gold medal of the day.  I also won a gold and a silver in my running events, so I came away from the Minnesota Senior Games with three gold medals and one silver medal.

Race statistics:

Distance:  1,500 meters

Time:  9:26

Average Pace:  6:17 per kilometer (10:07 per mile)

Place in Age Group:  1st

2024 Minnesota Senior Games: Running Events

The Minnesota Senior Games include events in 15 different sports.  Anyone over the age of 50 is eligible to compete.  This year’s games were held in St. Cloud, with events taking place between August 15 and 18.

I’m competing in four events this year.  Two are running events, and the other two are race-walking events.  This report covers the two running events.

St. Cloud is about 100 miles from where I live, so I stayed at a hotel.  I drove to St. Cloud on Thursday, stopping for lunch along the way.

All athletes had to check in at a central location before competing in any events.  Athlete check-in was at the Whitney Recreation Center.  As I drove there, all the streets looked familiar.  When I got there, I realized why.  The Whitney Recreation Center is right next to the Whitney Sports Complex.  A few years ago, I ran a marathon there.

My athlete packet included a program, a towel, two water bottles, a pair of socks, St. Cloud tourist information, and some coupons.

After athlete check-in, I picked up a few groceries.  Then I relaxed at the hotel until it was time for my first race.

My first event was the 5K road race.  This race started at 6:00 PM on Thursday.  My second event was the 10K road race.  That race was scheduled for 8:00 AM on Friday.

I knew I wouldn’t be able to have quality efforts in both road race events.  An all-out effort in the 5K would take too much out of me to come back and have a good 10K race the next morning.  Realistically, I had to choose which race would get my best effort.

I had previously seen a list of participants online, so I already knew how much competition I would have in each of my events.  There were four runners in my age group in the 5K race, but only two in the 10K race.  With that in mind, I decided to go all-out in the 5K race.  That gave me the best possible chance to place in the top three in both events.

The course for the 5K race was out-and-back along a section of the Lake Wobegon Trail.  This is a 10-foot wide, paved trail.  The beginning and end were concrete, but the majority of the course was asphalt.

The section we ran was mostly straight and relatively flat.  We started and finished at the eastern terminus of the trail, which is in Waite Park.

I still needed to check in at the event site to get my race number.  I got there about 45 minutes early, so I would have plenty of time to get ready.  Already, there were about 10 people waiting in line to get their race bibs.

The temperature was in the mid-70s.  I was happy with that.  At this time of year, it could easily have been much hotter.  When I left the hotel, I was surprised to see that the streets were wet.  A rain shower passed through in the late afternoon, but it was already done when I left for the race.

I lined up near the front and went out fast, taking short rapid strides.  At first, there were only two runners ahead of me.  Within the first few minutes, I realized I was starting at an unsustainable pace.  I was already going into oxygen debt, so I had to take it down a notch.

I didn’t slow down much, but it was enough that another runner gradually passed me.  There was no way I could keep up with him.  I gradually fell behind him.

The trail was fairly linear, but there were a few places where the trail would bend slightly to one side and then come back to the original line.  I had to get past at least two of these before I could see far enough ahead to see the first mile marker.  Long before I got there, I had to knock my pace down again.  I started much too fast, and I was already deep in oxygen debt.

It seemed to take forever to finish the first mile.  My time for that first mile was 7:36, but I was already slowing down, and it was hard to imagine sustaining this effort for two more miles.

I had to get around another pair of bends in the trail before I could see something that looked like it might be the turnaround.  When I saw the leader coming back, I knew for sure that was the turn.

All the way out, I was running into the wind.  That made my fast start feel more tiring.  I looked forward to having the wind at my back in the second half of the race.

The overall leader was a woman.  There were two men ahead of me.  Even if they were both in my age group, I would still be in the top three in my age group.  That was my primary goal.

After taking the turn, I saw that that I had a sizable lead over the next two men.  I couldn’t sustain the same pace the rest of the way, but I was motivated to limit the damage.  I didn’t want anyone else to catch up to me.

I had to get around another pair of bends before I could see the two mile sign.  When I got there, my pace for the second mile was 7:54.  That was slower than my first mile, but I questioned whether I could keep up this pace for another 1.1 miles.  I felt like I was completely out of gas.

Having the wind at my back was a mixed blessing.  In the first half, the wind kept me cool.  Coming back, I started to get hot and sweaty.

The course was mostly flat, but there were a couple of small rises.  Going out, I was able to take them in stride.  On the way back, each small rise was tiring.  I was able to use the downhill sections to regain my momentum.

Early in the race, we crossed a bridge over a creek.  In the last mile, we crossed it again.  From a distance, I saw a bend in the trail, but I didn’t realize I was about to cross the bridge until I got closer.  When I saw the bridge, I knew I was getting close to the finish.  Then I was able to dig deep and push hard to the finish.

In my third mile, I sped up to 7:43.  That was a pleasant surprise.  I was confident at this point that nobody would catch me from behind, but I still ran hard to the finish.  I finished in 24:05.

My overall time was the same as my last 5K race, but I felt like I did it the hard way.  I started too fast, and I was in oxygen debt for the entire race.

The overall winner was a woman.  I walked over to her and asked her if her name was Wanda.  It was.  Friends had told me how fast Wanda Gau was, but I had never met her before.  She almost always wins her age group.  In a race where everyone was over 50, she was the overall winner.

We had to wait for everyone to finish before they did the awards.  By then, it was after 7:00.  I still didn’t know if the two men who finished ahead of me were in my age group.  As it turns out, one was, but the other wasn’t.  I won the silver medal for my age group.

Race statistics:

Distance:  5 kilometers

Time:  24:05

Average Pace:  7:45 per mile (4:49 per kilometer)

Place in Age Group:  2nd

By the time I got back to my hotel, it was already 7:30.  I had picked up food for dinner earlier, so I just had to heat it up.  I took a hot bath, did some stretches, and tried to get to bed as early as I could.  I slept well.

I got up early enough on Friday to take another bath, do some stretches, and massage my legs with a massage stick.  This is the first time I’ve done a 10K race so soon after a 5K.

Breakfast at the hotel started at 6:30, so I was able to eat a light breakfast before leaving for the race.

The 10K race was also on the Lake Wobegon Trail.  We started and finished in the same place as the 5K race, but we had to go twice as far before turning around.

The temperature was in the mid-60s.  There was a fine mist in the air.  I could feel it, but I wasn’t seeing drops on the pavement.

In this race, I was guaranteed to finish no worse than second in my age group.  After going out too fast in the 5K race, I wanted to run this one at a sustainable pace.  I needed to find a pace that was within my aerobic capacity, but faster that my marathon pace.

I started running at a pace that felt somewhat tiring, but didn’t have me feeling out of breath.  Initially, there were four runners ahead of me.  Two were men and two were women.

Within the first half mile, another guy passed me.  Before the end of the first mile, I caught and passed one of the runners who had started faster.  Now there were two men ahead of men but it wasn’t the same two men as before.

I finished the first mile in 8:13.  That was a bit disappointing.  That’s not as fast as I started my last marathon.  Still, I didn’t feel like I should be trying to go any faster at this point in the race.  I maintained the same effort as I started the second mile.

About halfway through the second mile, I passed the point where I turned around in the 5K race.  From there, the course was straight and flat almost all the way to the turnaround.

My second mile was two seconds faster than the first one.  I was satisfied with that.  I maintained the same effort as I started the third mile.

About halfway through the third mile, I started looking ahead to see if I could spot the turnaround.  I saw something bright colored, and I wondered if that was it.  As I got closer, I realized I was seeing Wanda, who was wearing a pink shirt.  She was already on her way back.

As I got closer, I saw a yellow sign.  That was the three mile sign.  The turnaround was just around a bend, where I couldn’t see it.

My time in mile three was the same as mile two.  I felt like I was under control.  I was working somewhat hard, but not too hard.

When I reached the turnaround, I glanced at my watch.  I thought it read 26:30.  In fact, it must’ve been 25:30, but I misread it.  Before the race, I thought 50 minutes would be a reasonable goal.  Now that seemed way out of reach.

After turning around, I saw that I had a big gap over the next two men.  They weren’t likely to catch me unless I slowed down.

I wasn’t sure how fast I would run in the second half.  I felt like I was probably capable of speeding up, but I didn’t want to go too soon and risk running out of gas.  I decided to maintain my same effort for another mile.

Throughout the second half of the race, there were always two voices in my head.  One was telling me to race hard, now that I only had a few miles left.  The other was telling me to do just enough to stay ahead of the guy behind me.  I have two more races tomorrow, so I should conserve my energy.

When I reached the four mile mark, I saw that I sped up to 7:58 in that mile.  Apparently, I was listening to the first voice.  I didn’t make a conscious decision to speed up.  I did it without realizing I was doing it.

Midway through the next mile, I spotted a street crossing.  I knew when I got there I would be past the point where we turned around in the 5K race.  After that, everything was familiar.  I knew each bend and each small hill.

I kept up the same effort in mile five.  My pace for that mile was 7:56.  With 1.2 miles to go, I still had the same two voices in my head.  I knew I could probably speed up.  This close to the finish, I wouldn’t be in danger of running out of gas.  On the other hand, I had nothing to prove.  I couldn’t possibly catch the guys ahead of me, and nobody behind me was close enough to catch me.

When I reached the last street crossing, I was within sight of the bridge.  I picked up my effort a little.  After crossing the bridge, I came within sight of the six mile sign.  I picked up my effort again.

I ran mile six in 7:58.  That was a but disappointing.  At the end of that mile, I was working harder.  Maybe my effort was a bit soft in the first half of that mile.

Now I could see the digital clock at the finish line.  I ran harder the rest of the way.  It wasn’t an all-out sprint, but I ran faster here than anywhere else.

I finished in 50:06.  Had I known I would be that close to 50 minutes, I would’ve pushed much harder in those last two miles.

I ate a banana and walked back to my car.  I was the third male overall, but I didn’t know if one of the men ahead of me was in my age group.  I had to wait until the awards ceremony.

It was another hour before the last runner finished.  We all lined up to cheer for her as she approached the finish line.  She was the oldest woman in the race.  She was the only woman in her age group, so she won the gold medal for her age group.

During the awards, I learned that I had won my age group.  I collected a gold medal to go with the silver medal that I won in the 5K race.

Race statistics:

Distance:  10 kilometers

Time:  50:06

Average Pace:  8:04 per mile (5:01 per kilometer)

First Half:  25:30

Second Half:  24:36

Place in Age Group:  1st

 

My race-walking events are both tomorrow.  Stay tuned for my next report.

Race Report: 2024 Tunnel Vision Marathon

Deb and I went to Washington state for a week, and while we were there, I ran the Tunnel Vision Marathon.  We spent two days in Seattle, two days in Leavenworth, and two days in Issaquah.

Tuesday, August 6

We flew to Seattle Tuesday morning.  Because of the two-hour time change, it was still mid-morning when we arrived.  It was too cloudy for mountain views, and it was too early to check into our hotel, so we spent the rest of the morning at the Woodland Park Zoo.

The animals are in large habitat areas, so some of them weren’t in view, but we got to see quite a few others.

After a quick lunch stop, we went to the hotel.  We stayed at the north end of the downtown area, near the Space Needle.

After checking in, Deb went grocery shopping while I did a workout.  Then, we went to Chihuly Garden & Glass, which was just a short distance from our hotel.

We had spent most of the day on our feet, so we took a break at the hotel before having an early dinner.

Wednesday, August 7

After breakfast, I went for a morning run with my friend Stefanie, who lives in Seattle.  We ran around Lake Union, with a short detour to the Freemont Troll.

Deb and I spent the rest of the morning at Pike Place Market, and we had lunch there.

In the afternoon, Stefanie met us at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and gave us a tour of the Discovery Center.

It was another day that we spent too much time on our feet.  We went back to the hotel until we were ready to go out for dinner.

Thursday, August 8

On Thursday, we drove to Leavenworth.  We took the more scenic route, along the Stevens Pass Greenway, stopping occasionally to take pictures at the overlooks.

Leavenworth is styled as a Bavarian village.  The architecture is German, and there are several German restaurants.

After stopping at the Leavenworth Visitor Center and checking into our hotel, we went to Whistlepunk Ice Cream Company for ice cream flights.  That ended up being our lunch.

We spent the afternoon visiting various shops.  Most of the shops had German-themed souvenirs, but the only place we bought anything was a shop with souvenirs from Russia.  We bought these two sets of miniature nesting dolls.

We had dinner at a restaurant next door to our hotel.

Friday, August 9

I went for an early morning run before breakfast.  About half of my run was on trails near the river.  A section of the trail was closed, because of a bear in the area.  I found a way to detour around that area, but I sometimes saw piles of bear scat on the trails that were still open.  My route took me onto an island where I saw two deer.

The shops and galleries in Leavenworth don’t open until 10 AM., so after breakfast we went to a glassworks gallery outside of town that was open earlier.  We were amazed at the detail of some of the pieces.  One of the owners explained how they make the larger and more intricate pieces, some of which take two weeks to make.  We bought this pumpkin, which was one of the smaller pieces.

When we got back to Leavenworth, we visited more shops, a few art galleries, and the Nutcracker Museum.  We also went to an art fair in Front Street Park.

In the afternoon, we drove to Cashmere to visit a large antique store.  We were there for a couple hours.

We opted to have an early dinner, so we could get back to the hotel before a thunderstorm moved through.

Saturday, August 10

There’s a farmers’ market in Leavenworth every Saturday.  We were able to shop at the market before beginning the drive to Issaquah, where we stayed for the next two nights.

We made three stops on our way to Issaquah.  Our first stop was the parking area where the marathon starts.  I wanted to make sure I knew how to get there, and it was also an opportunity for Deb to see the tunnel that I would run through during the race.

Our next stop was packet pickup, which was held at Twin Falls Middle School in North Bend.

Issaquah also has a farmers’ market on Saturdays.  We put off going to Snoqualmie Falls, so we could get to the farmers’ market with enough time to shop.

After checking into our hotel and unpacking a few things, we went to Snoqualmie Falls.

I still had enough time before dinner to do a workout in the hotel’s fitness room.

Sunday, August 11

Sunday was race day.  Tunnel Vision is the fourth different marathon that I’ve run on the “tunnel” course.  This is the same course used for the Light at the End of the Tunnel Marathon, which was the original “tunnel” race.

The course is point-to-point.  It starts at Snoqualmie Pass and finishes in North Bend.  In the first mile, we enter an old railroad tunnel that’s two and a half miles long.  From there, we run downhill all the way to the finish.  This is a popular course, because it’s fast.

When I’ve done other “tunnel” races, we always parked in North Bend, and there were buses to take us to the start.  The procedure is different now.  We had to park at the start, and there were buses to take us back to the start after finishing the race.

From our hotel in Issaquah, it was a 40-minute drive to get to Snoqualmie Pass.  The race started at 7:00, but I left the hotel at 5:30 to give myself plenty of time to get to the start and get through the bathroom line.  I arrived at 6:10, but already the parking lot at the trailhead was filling up.

Most of the race was on the Iron Horse Trail, which follows an old railroad line.  We were divided into three waves, which started 10 minutes apart.  There was also an early start at 6:00 for people needing extra time.

We were seeded into waves based on past race results that can be found on Ultrasignup.  I was assigned to the first wave.  After we lined up, we were told that the slowest pace group in this wave was 3:15.  That made me wonder why I was assigned to this wave.  Most of my recent results are much slower than that, but the last time I ran a “tunnel” race, my time was 3:17.  That’s probably the result that put me in this wave, even though it was from four years ago.

My fastest time so far this year was 3:39, but that was in May.  Since then, I’ve been running much slower.  Partly, that’s because I’ve been racing so frequently.  Partly, that’s because summer heat forces me to train and race at a slow pace.

The weather for this race was ideal.  It was low 50s at the start, and it was still be in the 60s when I finished.  This is a fast course, so I felt like I should be aiming for something in the 3:30s.

We ran about a quarter mile on a dusty trail with rocks before entering the tunnel.  I did my best to keep up with the runners around me, so I could establish a fast pace before entering the tunnel.

With so many runners on a dry trail, we raised a cloud of dust.  That ended as soon as we reached the tunnel.

The surface inside the tunnel is hard-packed clay, but there are ruts and depressions, so you have to pay close attention to your footing.  Everyone around me had lights, so I could see the tunnel just fine even without my own light.  I carried a flashlight at waist level and aimed it at the ground in front of me, so I could watch my footing.

It’s damp inside the tunnel, and I occasionally felt a drop falling from the ceiling.  Puddles form inside the tunnel, so I made a point to look for them.  Whenever I saw one, I yelled, “puddle,” for the benefit of the runners behind me.

Inside the tunnel you’re out of contact with GPS satellites.  The only way your watch can estimate your distance is by extrapolating from your last known position.

The first two mile markers were inside the tunnel.  I was coming up on the first one when I felt my watch vibrating.  I must have been maintaining a consistent pace, because my watch tracked pretty close to the mile marker.

I ran the first mile in 8:10.  I was hoping to average 8:15, so that was just a little bit fast.  That pace would be reasonable when the course turned downhill, but the first two miles were flat.  This was an ambitious pace, but I stuck with it.

During the second mile, I started to notice fewer runners right around me.  It seemed like I was one of the slowest runners in my wave, and I was starting to fall behind.  I knew there were at least a few runners behind me, because I could see their shadows.  I now depended much more on my own light.

Before the end of the that mile, I could see the light at the end of the tunnel.  There were taller runners ahead of me, so I didn’t always have a clear view.  When my view wasn’t obstructed, I could see the top of the tunnel opening.  It was white, in contrast to the darkness everywhere else.

As I reached the second mile marker, my watch recorded another split.  It was still tracking close to the mile markers.  I ran the second mile in 8:05.

As I approached the exit from the tunnel, I turned off my flashlight and got ready to turn it in.  That caused me to slow down slightly, and at least one runner passed me.

Outside the tunnel, there were bins where we could drop off our headlamps or flashlights.  I slowed down, so I could carefully place my light in one of the bins.  Just beyond that, there was an aid station.  This was my first chance to drink some water.

Right after the tunnel, the trail turned downhill.  It was a gentle grade, but it would be steadily downhill for the next 18 miles.  The trail surface was dirt, but with lots of small rocks.

Running downhill, I generally take short rapid steps.  It’s tough to do that while also picking up your feet enough to avoid the rocks.  I had to make a conscious effort to pick up my feet more than usual.  I also tried to keep my eyes on the trail at all times.

I could see a group of about 10 runners a short distance ahead of me, but they were too fast for me to keep up with them.  Two of them were runners who passed me since exiting the tunnel.  I wasn’t sure if there was anyone else behind me.

At three miles, my watch was still tracking close to the mile markers.  From here on out, I expected my watch to stay in contact with the GPS satellites.  My time for that mile was 8:13.  That’s the pace I wanted to run now that we were going downhill.  The first three miles were tiring, but now I could run the same pace without working as hard.

I was just past the four mile mark when I saw one of the runners ahead of me slowing down and stopping.  He wasn’t wearing gaiters, and he was apparently trying to remove some grit from one of his shoes.  He was the first runner that I passed.

Looking at him as I went by distracted me.  As soon as I took my attention off the trail, I tripped on a rock.  It happened so fast that I wasn’t able to keep my feet under me.  I hit the trail and collected a few scrapes.

I got up and resumed running as quickly as I could.  I didn’t take the time to access the damage.  As I was getting up, I saw dirt all over my right leg.  I didn’t take the time to take a close look, but I could see my right thigh had at least one bloody scrape.

I quickly got back to my previous pace.  Then I looked at my hands.  I was glad I was wearing gloves.  Both gloves had dirt ground into the fabric.  Had I not been wearing gloves, both of my hands would’ve been shredded.

I could feel a scrape above my left knee, but I didn’t bother to look at it.  A quick glance at my right elbow was all I needed to see that it was a bloody mess.

In three previous races on this course, I’ve never fallen before.  This year, there seemed to be more rocks than I remembered.  From here on, I was more mindful to not only keep my eyes on the trail, but to also pick up my feet more.

I’m used to running on roads, and my natural tendency is to glide just above the pavement.  It’s an efficient stride for roads, but it doesn’t work for a trail with rocks.  With effort, I could pick up my feet more, but it took more energy just to run the same pace.  I could feel my head bobbing up and down with each stride.  I wasn’t as efficient now.

When I got my split for the fifth mile, I was surprised to see that I sped up slightly, in spite of the fall.  Then I reached an aid station.  Besides drinking some water, I also poured some on my elbow to rinse off the dirt.  Then I grabbed another cup.  I poured some of the water on my right thigh and the rest on the scrape above my left knee.  Some of the water ran into my shoes.  I had to run the next several miles with wet shoes and socks, but I felt it was important to rinse the dirt from my wounds.

While I was at that aid station, four runners passed me.  There were still runners behind me after all, just not very many.

Mile six was about 20 seconds slower than mile five.  I attributed that to the extra time I spent at the aid station.  In the next few miles, I got back to my previous pace.

Those first two aid stations were the only ones where I drank water.  The aid stations also had Tailwind.  For the rest of the race, I skipped the water tables and looked for the Tailwind, so I could start taking in some calories.

We briefly ran through some fog.  For several miles after that, I could feel moisture in the air.  It was like a mist.  That kept me cool enough that I was comfortable keeping my gloves on for most of the race.

There are several bridges on the course.  I reached the first of the bridges at about seven miles.  Most of the bridges were in places where we crossed deep valleys.  There were creeks at the bottom of the valleys, but the valleys were so deep that I could never see the water.

Near the end of the eighth mile, I was passed by two runners who were going much faster than any of the other runners near me.  They must’ve been the fastest runners from the second wave, and they were catching up to the slowest runners from wave one.

After nine miles, I could tell myself I was one third done.  I questioned whether my effort would be sustainable for another 17 miles.  My pace would’ve been sustainable on a paved course with the same elevation profile.  What made it more tiring was the extra effort I was putting into picking up my feet.

Earlier, when I was in the tunnel, I saw my friend Steve go by me.  Steve is a faster runner, so I didn’t expect to see him again.  Now, I saw him a short distance ahead of me.  I picked up my effort to see if I could catch up to him.

In mile 10, I sped up to 8:00.  That was my fastest mile so far, but it wasn’t fast enough to catch up to Steve.  I gave up and settled back into my previous pace.

When I finished mile 11, I saw that I had slowed down too much.  That mile took 8:34, which was my slowest mile so far.  After that, I was able to back to the 8:10 to 8:15 range for the next few miles.

Somewhere around 12 miles, I passed a couple people who were walking.  I couldn’t imagine anyone from wave one walking at this point in the race.  I was catching up to people who took the early start.

By now, I was starting to notice a difference in the trail surface.  There were far fewer rocks.  As the trail got gentler, I didn’t need to put as much effort into picking up my feet.

At the halfway mark, I was on pace for a time in the low 3:30s, but I questioned whether I could run the same pace in the second half.  My effort still felt too tiring, and I knew the course would get more difficult in the late miles, after we left the Iron Horse Trail.

Earlier, I had given up on catching up to Steve, but suddenly I found myself right behind him.  To keep from slowing down, I had to go by him.  That surprised me.

At about 14 miles, I crossed another bridge.  This is the longest of the bridges, and it’s the one you often see in race photos.  There was a photographer about halfway across the bridge.

The trail is never far from the freeway, and sometimes I could hear the traffic.  At 15 miles, I saw the freeway for the first time.  Usually, we were surrounded by trees, but now we were on the side of a hill, and there were no trees to our right.  The freeway was hundreds of feet below us.  I knew from driving it that the freeway descends much faster than the trail does.  Eventually, it would level off and go uphill in spots.  The trail would keep descending at the same gradual rate.  Eventually, we would cross under that freeway.

Over the next several miles, my pace became erratic.  In some miles, I would slow into the 8:20s or 8:30s.  Then I’d speed up to about 8:15 in the next mile.  Eventually, I began to correlate the slower miles with aid stations.  I would slow to a walk for a few seconds while I drank.  When I resumed running, I didn’t always get back to the same pace.

When I realized that, I made more of an effort to speed up to my previous pace after drinking at an aid station.  It didn’t help.

At 19 miles, I realized I was nearing the end of the Iron Horse Trail.  I thought we would leave the trail after 20 miles.  In fact, it wasn’t until just past 21.  I had mixed feelings about leaving this trail.  On one hand, I knew the late miles would be flatter, so it would be much tougher to sustain the same pace.  On the other hand, I was starting to see more rocks again.  The trail would be much gentler in the late miles.

With six miles to go, it was obvious I would run slower in the second half, but I was still optimistic about running a time in the 3:30s.  Mile 21 was still downhill, but I slowed down to 8:44 in that mile.  Now, I wasn’t as optimistic.  The trail would level off soon, and I couldn’t see myself going faster on a flat mile than I did on a downhill mile.

As I was leaving the Iron Horse Trail, Steve ran by me.  Then I began a short series of switchbacks.  The trail descended more rapidly here, but only briefly.  Then I ran by a campground and got onto another trail that was level.

The good news is that this trail was a cinder trail with no rocks larger than ½ inch in diameter.  There were two well-worn paths where the surface was nice and smooth.

For the rest of the race, I didn’t have to worry about tripping on anything.  Instead, I focused on pumping my arms faster to force myself into a faster pace.  I couldn’t sustain this effort for the rest of the race, but I focused on one mile at a time.

For the first time, my hands started to feel hot, so I finally took off my gloves.  My fingers were covered with dust that had worked its way through my gloves.

Mile 22 was mostly flat, but I sped up to 8:07.  That was a pleasant surprise.  I couldn’t keep up the same effort in the remaining miles, but I could see the trail starting to turn downhill again.  It was just barely downhill, but that was still easier than a flat mile.

I last ran a “tunnel” race four years ago, but all I could think of was the one I ran eight years ago.  That was also an August race, and I did not yet have a Boston qualifier for the following year.  In the late miles, I was fighting like mad for every second.

For the next few miles, I fought hard, but I couldn’t go as fast as I did in mile 22.  I slowed to 8:20, then 8:23, then 8:30.

At aid stations, the volunteers at each table would usually call out “water” or “electrolyte.”  At the last aid station on the course, I heard a volunteer say, “water, water … OH NO!”  I didn’t understand that exclamation at first.  Then I realized he was probably reacting to seeing my bloody elbow.

At 25 miles, I realized that even though I had slowed down some, this was still going to be my fastest marathon this year.  That spurred me on to pick up the pace in the last full mile.

I recognized the section of trail I was on, but I couldn’t visualize the finish.  I imagined myself closer to the finish than I really was, and I started fighting for every second.  I could hear a faster runner coming up from behind me.  She was shouting out encouragement to everyone she passed.  I kept up with her for as long as I could.  Then I saw where we crossed under the freeway.

The 26 mile sign was between the two bridges that we ran under.  I ran that mile in 7:54.  It was my fastest mile of the race.  Beyond the bridges, I could see the finish line.  I realized now that I had a good chance of breaking 3:36.  Just a mile earlier, I didn’t know if I would break 3:37.

I finished in 3:35:50.  I was a couple minutes slower in the second half, but it was still my fastest time this year.  As I moved through the finisher chute, I was handed my finisher medal, a glass of water, and a wet towel.

I used the towel to clean my left elbow.  I worked hard to remove as much of the dirt as I could.  Unfortunately, I also removed a scab.  For most of the race, my elbow wasn’t bleeding.  Now, it was bleeding again.

I drank half of the water, and poured the rest into the towel to get it wet again.  Then I used it to clean both of my legs.

There were several tables with post-race food and beverages, but I only ate a cookie and a piece of cake.  I could’ve used more fluids, but I was in a rush to get back to my car, so I immediately got in line to board a bus back to the start.  I didn’t take the time to go to the medical tent, but I saw a bottle of hand sanitizer and used it to disinfect the open wound on my elbow.  It didn’t sting as much as I thought it would.

I saw Steve again in the finish area, and I found out why I was able to keep up with him for most of the race.  He ran a 50K race the day before.

Photo credit: Steve Walters

I now had blood running down my arm.  I saw another runner who still had here wert towel and asked her if she was done with it.  I used the towel to contain the bleeding.  Then I returned the towel and picked up two paper towels for the same purpose.

I got onto a bus, and the driver was about to pull away when I suddenly realized I had forgotten my flashlight.  I got off the bus and ran over to the gear retrieval area.  Once I had my flashlight, I boarded the next bus.

During the bus ride, I started to notice soreness on both sides of my back.  I continued to feel that for the rest of the afternoon.  It seemed to be muscular, rather than spinal.  I don’t know if it was from my fall or from the pounding of running downhill.  Picking up my feet more than usual presumably meant more impact each time my feet struck the ground.

When I got back to the trailhead where my car was parked, I saw a drinking fountain outside the bathrooms.  By now, I was desperately thirsty, so I took a long drink before getting in my car and driving back to the hotel.

After getting cleaned up, I used multiple bandages to keep my elbow from bleeding.  Then Deb and I went to lunch at a diner that was amazingly good.  It’s such a popular spot for the Sunday lunch crowd that there would’ve been a wait of more than an hour to get a table.  Fortunately, we were able to find two seats at the counter.  The kitchen was really busy, and it was entertaining to see all the orders being delivered.

Deb and I both had aches and pains, so we spent the rest of the day relaxing.  I’m happy to say that my back felt better by the end of the day.  I wish I could say the same about my elbow.  I bumped it at least twice.  Each time, it hurt more than the time before.  Also, each bump restarted the bleeding, and it got more difficult to bandage it sufficiently.  The bandages restricted my range of motion.  By the end of the day, I was doing everything with my left hand.

Sleeping was difficult.  It was nearly impossible to find a position that didn’t make my elbow hurt.  I nodded off a few times, but for most of the night I was awake.

Monday, August 12

Our flight home wasn’t until late afternoon, so we still had time to do some sightseeing before driving to the airport.  We drove back to Seattle and went to the Museum of Pop Culture.  That’s something we wanted to do when we were in Seattle earlier, but we didn’t have time.  Next, we went back to Pike Place Market, where we had lunch.

Race statistics:

Distance:  26.2 miles

Time:  3:35:50

Average Pace:  8:14 per mile

First Half:  1:46:50

Second Half:  1:49:00

Lifetime Marathons/Ultras:  524

Boston Qualifiers:  167