Race Report: 2025 Patagonia Running Festival

On May 3, I ran the Patagonia Running Festival Marathon.  This race is held in Torres del Paine National Park, which is in southern Chile.  I traveled there with Marathon Tours and Travel (MT&T).

Monday, April 28

I flew to Atlanta, where I connected to an overnight flight to Santiago, Chile.  I’ve done lots of flights to Europe where I stayed awake on the overnight flight.  I do that because sleeping on the flight would make it more difficult to adjust to the local time zone. 

Traveling to South America is different, because there isn’t a significant time difference.  When the U.S. is on daylight time, there’s only a one-hour difference between Minneapolis and Santiago.

I was going to have some early mornings on this trip, so I needed to get sleep any time I could.  I waited until the meal service was over, and then I dd my best to get some sleep.  I managed to fall asleep three or four times, but I kept waking up because of noise and turbulence.

Tuesday, April 29

I arrived in Santiago around 7:00 AM.  After clearing immigration/customs, I took a taxi to my hotel in Santiago.  The people in my tour group were arriving at different times on different flights, so we were on our own to get to the hotel.

I got to the hotel a little after 8:00, but check-in wasn’t until 3:00.  I paid extra to get an early check-in, so I could go to a room right away.

MT&T provided a welcome brunch at the hotel.  I already had a breakfast on my flight, so I wasn’t that hungry, but this was my first opportunity to meet other people in my tour group.  I didn’t eat much, but I drank three cups of tea.

After the brunch, I did a strength training workout in the hotel gym.  Then I took a long-overdue shower before going out to explore the neighborhood around the hotel.

There were some days when we were busy all day.  Tuesday was one of the few days when I had time to get out for a run.  I joined one of the other runners in my group for an easy training run in the afternoon.  We followed a greenway that was near our hotel.

After my run, I joined a few other runners on the patio.  We talked until it was time to go to an evening reception with drinks and appetizers.  None of the runners I was talking to at the reception felt like walking to a restaurant for dinner, so we had dinner at the hotel.

I went to bed early, and got a full night’s sleep.  I really needed that.

Wednesday, April 30

We had a buffet breakfast at our hotel.  Then we left on a day trip to Valparaiso.  On our way, we stopped at a market in Casablanca.

Our walking tour of Valparaiso lasted about three hours.  That included a few shopping and coffee/bathroom breaks.  We saw some colorful neighborhoods.  Valparaiso has some good murals, but many of them have been ruined by graffiti.

Next, we went to a winery in Casablanca.  We toured the winery, had wine tastings, and ate lunch there.  They have an excellent restaurant.  It was the best meal I had in Chile.

On our way back to Santiago, we encountered heavy traffic.  It was frustrating how late it was by the time we got back.  I wanted to get to bed early, so I had a light dinner at the hotel, and then I tried to get to sleep.

I was tired, but I couldn’t fall asleep.  My alarm was set for 12:45 AM.  When I was still awake at 10:00, I started to stress about it.  I never got to sleep that night.

Thursday, May 1

We needed to be in the lobby at 1:30 AM for a 2:00 departure to go to the airport.  I never got to sleep, so I was already awake before my alarm went off.

I tried to sleep on our early morning flight to Punta Arenas, but I wasn’t able to sleep on the flight.

MT&T had three separate itineraries, so we were split into three groups.  I was doing the 7-day itinerary.  When we got to the airport in Santiago, we were joined by the runners who were doing the 11-day itinerary.  When we got to Punta Arenas, we were joined by runners doing the 5-day itinerary.  Those runners had to fly to Punta Arenas on their own.

Altogether, there were more than 100 of us.  We left for Torres del Paine National Park in three motor coaches.  The ride took about five and a half hours, including a stop for coffee, snacks, and a bathroom break.

During the first half of our bus ride, the terrain was mostly flat.  The wildlife we saw included guanacos, ostriches, and flamingos.

After our snack break, we started to get views of the mountains, but they were partially obstructed by clouds.  As we continued through a valley, we saw leaves in color.  In the southern hemisphere, it was autumn.

As we got closer to our hotel, the sky cleared up, and we had views like this.

We got to our hotel around 3:15.  That was much later than we were expecting, so the afternoon itinerary was rearranged to accommodate any runners who wanted to go on an afternoon hike.  Most of us went on the hike.

MT&T picked our race packets and brought them to our rooms.  Besides my race bib and T-shirt, the race packet included a water bottle, a warm headband, a buff, a lanyard, five gels, two energy bars, trail mix, cereal, two packages of drink mix powder, two packages of gummies, two candy bars, and a jar of honey.  I also got a hat, a lanyard, a luggage tag, and a thermos from MT&T.

After we all checked in, we had a briefing on the various activities we could sign up for over the next few days.  The only activity on Thursday was a hike to the confluence of the Serrano and Grey rivers.  Where the rivers meet, you can see a difference in the color of the waters from the two rivers.  Along the way, I saw a variety of geese I had never seen before.

I wasn’t expecting to see an aid station on our hike, but at the confluence, there were people from the hotel who set up tables with coffee, hot cocoa, water, and cookies.

Most people stayed for a while at the aid station.  A few of us hurried back to the hotel.  I was one of them.  I wanted to have time to catch up on a few things before we met again at 6:30.

We had dinner at 7:00, but we were told to meet at 6:30 for a surprise.  Out surprise included a Patagonia barbeque and some entertainment.

The barbeque wasn’t our dinner.  We still had a full meal afterwards.  During dinner, I was talking to a few of the other runners about all the extra food and gear we got in our race packets.  One of the challenges before going home would be figuring out how to pack all the extra stuff without having to check a bag.  Some things might have to be left behind.  At some point, someone suggested a new game show: “Check It or Chuck It.”

After not sleeping at all the previous night, I slept well Thursday night.  Again, I really needed that.

Friday, May 2

We didn’t have to be up early on Friday, as our excursion didn’t leave until 9:00.  That gave me time to do a workout before breakfast.

It was the day before the race, and we had an all-day excursion called Lookouts and Race Course Recon.  We started at the hotel and drove backwards along the course, stopping at various lookout points.  There were five different race distances, and we also stopped at the starting point of each race.

Several times during our drive, we saw groups of guanacos.

From the start of the 11K race, it’s possible to get s good views of the mountains with a river in the foreground.  Unfortunately, the mountains were completely obstructed by clouds.  As we continued driving, the clouds gradually cleared up.  This is the view from a lookout point that’s near the start of the half marathon.

We had one more lookout point before reaching the marathon start.

We saw where the marathon starts, but there isn’t a good view of the mountains there.  Then we continued along the road to other lookout points.

This region frequently experiences strong winds.  It was an unusually calm day.  It was so calm that you could see a reflection of the mountains in the water at our next stop.  Unfortunately, the tops of the mountains were obstructed by clouds.

We made an unscheduled stop when we saw this guanaco looking over a valley.

We made a lunch stop at Laguna Azul.  Then we headed back.

We made different stops on our way back, so we could see two waterfalls.

Our last stop was a lookout point at the top of the last hill on the marathon route.  From here we could see our hotel and the finish line of the race.

We had some free time to relax at the hotel.  Then we had a pre-race briefing, followed by a pasta dinner.  The briefing was supposed to start at 6:30, but it didn’t start until 6:45.  The briefing was still going an hour later, which made dinner late.  I ate quickly and went to bed as quickly as I could.

I got the room cooled down before going to bed, but I kept the window cracked open, so the room wouldn’t warm up during the night.

For the second straight night, I got a full night’s sleep.  This was already going to be a tough race, and it wouldn’t help if I had to start it without enough sleep.

Saturday, May 3

Saturday was race day.  Since the race was point-to-point, we had to take a bus to the start.  The bus to the start of the marathon left at 7:00, but we were requested to be in the lobby at 6:30.  Those of us who were with MT&T took a group photo before boarding the bus.

It’s possible to get a weather forecast for the national park, but the park is large, and I’m not sure where the weather station is, so I didn’t know for sure what the weather would be where we were starting.  I was expecting temperatures in the 30s with a 70% chance of rain.  I had no idea if it would be windy.

I opted to wear tights on my legs.  On my torso, I wore a rain jacket over a long-sleeve polypro shirt.  I brought both gloves and Gore-Tex mittens.  I brought a warm hat, but I wore a cap over it.  Basically, I was assuming we would have rain at some point, and I didn’t want to be caught unprepared.  We were advised to wear a buff, in case it was windy.  I chose not to, because it would get sopping wet if it was raining.  For the same reason, I didn’t wear gaiters.

We reached the start area about 30 minutes before the start.  We were able to stay on the bus before the race, so I didn’t feel the need to bring extra layers.  They had a gear check, but I didn’t need to check a bag.

This is a cupless race, and one of the tough decisions I had to make was whether to use a reusable cup or carry a bottle.  I had packed a bottle, but I didn’t have room in my suitcase for a fuel belt, so I would’ve needed to carry the bottle in my hand.  Having a bottle would’ve allowed me to drink between aid stations.  There were only six aid stations on the course.

I had a cup that I could clip to my fanny pack, so I wouldn’t have to carry anything.  With the cup, I could fill it and drink at aid stations, but I couldn’t drink in between.

I opted to go with the cup.  I made a point of drinking a cup of sports drink before the race, knowing I wouldn’t get another chance until 11.2 kilometers into the race.

The start was slightly uphill, and I was surprised how many runners started at a fast pace.  I followed the faster runners until the first turn.  Then it got steeper, and I let more runners get ahead of me.

In general, this race had a downhill trend, but it was also rolling.  Even during miles that were mostly downhill, there were usually one or two places where the road turned uphill.  On the uphill sections, I was forced to slow down.

We were running on gravel roads with lots of rocks in the road.  There were also lots of ripples in the road.  I had to watch my footing constantly, so I often had to keep from going too fast on the downhill sections, so I wouldn’t be in danger of tripping.

I didn’t bring my phone, because I didn’t think it would be a good day for taking pictures.  Early in the race, we had clear skies.  We had some great mountain views, but I wasn’t able to take pictures.

After a couple miles, I started to notice the wind.  It wasn’t too strong at this point, but we were running right into it.

At 11.2K, I reached an aid station.  I drank what I could, knowing there wouldn’t be another aid station until the halfway point.

For the first seven miles, my pace varied, but I was averaging about nine minutes per mile.  Then I started the first of three tough uphill sections.

There were only about 100 runners in the marathon, and by now we were getting spread out on the road.  As I starting this climb, I could see a few runners farther up the hill, but they quickly disappeared around a bend.

I thought I could run up this hill, but as I neared the top of the first section, I noticed my pace wasn’t much faster than a walking pace.  Rather than wear myself out, I switched to walking until I reached what appeared to be the top.  Then I resumed running.

That wasn’t actually the top.  As I turned the next corner, I saw more of the hill.  The hill continued around two more bends.  In all, it was about a mile long.

By the time I reached the top of that hill, I was getting hot and sweaty.  My polypro shirt is good for wicking moisture away from my skin, but the rain jacket was trapping that moisture.

That hill left me tired, but the next few miles were mostly downhill, so I was able to recover.  I wasn’t running quite as fast as I did in the early miles, but I was still running splits between nine and ten minutes.

Running downhill, I wasn’t working as hard.  I was still running into the wind, so I cooled down quickly.  I wouldn’t feel hot again for the rest of the race.

After about 11 miles, I started to feel a few drops of light drizzle.  I was wearing polypro gloves, but I also had Gore-Tex shell mittens in my pockets.  My plan was to put the mittens on when it started raining.

I was only two miles from the next aid station, where I wanted to drink and use the bathroom.  Those things would be more difficult with the mittens, so I waited.

After a minute or two, I no longer noticed the drizzle.  I felt like I made the right decision about the mittens.

Before I reached the halfway mark, I ran up a couple more hills that forced me to take short walking breaks.  These hills weren’t long, but they had sections that were steep enough to be tiring.

At 12 miles, I started to feel the drizzle again.  I was starting to run by a lake that I recognized from our recon the day before.  In the distance, I could see a building that I knew was just past the halfway mark.

The wind was getting stronger now.  I could see waves on the lake.  I was still running into the wind, but just past the halfway mark, I would turn and head in a more southernly direction.  The wind was from the west, so after turning, the wind would be at my side.

I was expecting an aid station with bathrooms at the halfway mark, since this was also the starting point for the half marathon.  I ran past the banners that marked the start of the half marathon, but I still couldn’t see an aid station.  The aid station was around a corner, in a spot where there was more space on the side of the road.

For the previous few miles, I sometimes saw a group of four runners who were farther up the road.  Sometimes they would disappear around a bend.  When I could see them, they were usually about half a mile ahead of me.

At the aid station, I caught up to them.  They had all stopped to eat and drink.  I filled my cup to take a quick drink.  Then I headed to the row of portable bathrooms.

I took my time in the bathroom.  I wanted to make sure I wouldn’t need to make another bathroom stop before the end of the race.

To use the bathroom, I needed to take off my gloves.  As I got back onto the course, I started walking up a steep hill.  While walking, I put my gloves on again.  Then I pulled on the mittens.

By now, I had fallen behind the four runners I caught at the aid station, but I caught up to two of them again on this hill.

The race had three tough uphill sections.  I had already run one of them.  My recollection was that the second one was right after the halfway point.  The hill I was on was steep, but it was also fairly short.  I was expecting something longer.

The wind was getting much stronger.  Now, I could see whitecaps on the lake.  I was relieved that I was no longer running directly into it.

After more than a mile of easy running, I reached a longer section that was uphill.  This was the tough hill I was expecting.  It was similar to the first hill in that I couldn’t see the whole hill at once.

I had made a turn just before starting up the first part of this hill.  I briefly had the wind at my back.  Just as I reached the point where I expected to walk, a strong wind gust helped push me up the hill.

By the time I finished the second long uphill section, I had passed another runner.  Then I noticed that the drizzle was turning into a steady rain.  My jacket was doing a good job of keeping my torso dry, but my tights and shoes were wet.  I could see rain dripping off the brim of my cap.

I told myself I was two thirds done.  As far as distance was concerned, I was really only about 60 percent done.  More significantly, however, I had completed two of the three tough uphill sections.

In theory, the next several miles were easier than the early part of the race.  There weren’t as many hills.  In spite of that, I was more apt to take walking breaks on the hills.

Just before 17 miles, I reached another aid station.  I wasn’t expecting to see it so soon.  I was expecting it to be at 28K.  I probably remembered that wrong.  It was actually 27K.  Unclipping my cup was more awkward now that I was wearing an extra layer on my hands.  Clipping it back onto my fanny pack proved to be even more difficult.  I had to come to a complete stop to do that.

As the rain continued, puddles formed all over the road.  The previous two days, the roads were dry and dusty.  It was quite a contrast.

I was starting to gain ground on another of the runners who I had frequently seen ahead of me.  Of the original group of four, she was now the only one who was still ahead of me.  At one point, she was more than half a mile ahead of me.  By the time I reached the Weber Bridge, I was only about a minute behind her.

The next aid station was at the starting point of the 11K race.  That was just on the other side of the bridge.  I was about to catch the runner in front of me, but she didn’t stop at the aid station, and I did.

After drinking at the aid station, I had more difficulty clipping my cup back to my fanny pack.  I had to take off my mitten.  Wearing just a glove, I still couldn’t get it clipped.  Water had soaked through my mittens and the gloves underneath.  My hands weren’t numb yet, but they were so cold that I didn’t have enough strength in my fingers to hold the clip open.  After trying futilely for two or three minutes, I finally gave up and put my cup in my pocket.  Then I zipped that pocket shut.  I was done drinking.

After stopping for so long, I was much colder.  While trying to clip the cup to my fanny pack, I had to lift the front of my jacket.  That allowed the front of the shirt underneath to get wet.  Also, I had been standing in the cold wind for too long.  The rest of the race wasn’t about pace or distance.  It was about enduring the cold long enough to finish.

With about nine kilometers to go, I turned a corner and ran by another aid station.  I skipped this one.  After turning, I was running directly into the wind.  I would have to run into this wind for a long time.

The woman ahead of me was at least half a mile ahead of me, but she sometimes stopped to walk.  We were on a long flat section, and I wasn’t slowing down for anything.  I was getting to be intolerably cold, and I was fighting to get to the finish at the best pace I could manage.

I was noticing water under my jacket.  Some of it was from when I lifted my jacket for so long trying to clip my cup to my fanny pack.  The back of my shirt also felt wet.  Maybe it was getting in around my neck and running down my back.  My sleeves wete also wet.  Maybe the strong wind was blowing water into my sleeves.  The more depressing possibility is that the jacket I thought was waterproof realty wasn’t.  At this point, everything I was wearing felt like a wet rag.

I was running through a section without any distinguishing landmarks.  There was flat grassland on either side of the road.  Obviously, running into the wind was tiring, but it was also cold.  My face started to feel numb.  My thumbs and some of my fingers were getting painful.  I pressed on.

I caught up the to woman I had been following.  In response, she picked up her pace.  For a few minutes, we ran side by side.  Neither of us said a word, but we were motivating each other to keep running.

With about four miles to go, my legs were getting really cold.  I was worried that I would get hypothermic and start to lose circulation to my legs.  I needed at least 40 minutes to finish the race, and I didn’t know if I could make it.

I eventually pulled away from the woman running next to me.  Then I saw two more runners in the distance.  Could I possibly be catching up to two runners who had previously been so far ahead that I never saw them before?  No.  These were the last two runners from the half marathon, which started later than the marathon.  I gradually caught up to them.  Then I passed them.

By now, my hands were no longer painful.  Now, they were numb.  I pressed on.  What else could I do?  There weren’t any more aid stations with medical personal.  I was now on my own.  I had to finish.  That’s why cold conditions scare me more than hot conditions.  If you’re too hot and you stop running, you cool off.  If you’re too cold and you stop running, you get colder.

With less than 5K to go, I went past the entrance to the national park.  Ahead of me, I could see the bridge over the Serrano River.  After crossing that bridge, I would start the last of the tough uphill sections.  This was probably the toughest hill, but I was glad to see it.  When I reached the top, I would be within sight of the hotel and the finish line.

I crossed the bridge and started up the hill.  The first part was runnable.  After turning a corner, I reached a section that was much too steep.  I had to walk it.

Most of the course was dirt roads, but the first part of this hill was paved.  With good footing, I was able to power walk it.  Going up the hill, I passed another walker from one of the shorter races.

When the hill leveled off, I was able to run again.  I still couldn’t see the viewpoint at the top of the hill.  Then I saw that there was more hill ahead.  I wasn’t even halfway there.  As the road got steeper again, I had to do more walking.

When I finally got up to the viewpoint, I was able to run again.  Just past it, I could see the 40K sign.

From here on, it was all downhill or flat, but now my feet were also getting numb.  They felt rubbery.

I had to go down a steep hill to get down into the valley where the hotel was.  Running downhill without being able to feel my feet was scary.  As I reached the steepest part of the hill, I also had trouble feeling my quads.  Running into the wind had chilled them.

The descent was uncomfortable, but I got it done.  The rest was flat.  I had to go past the hotel, and then turn and run on the grass.  After another sharp turn, I could run toward the finish line, which was behind the hotel.

As I approached, I took off both of my mittens and held them in my left hand.  I needed to stop my watch with my right hand when I crossed the finish line.  I was barely able to do it.

I finished in 4:23:01.  As soon as I received my finisher medal, I went into the hotel.  I was thankful that the race finished right behind the hotel, because I needed to get out of the rain and the cold wind.

They had an assortment of post-race food, including empanadas, pasta, bread, and Patagonian barbeque.  They also had an assortment of local beers.  I had to skip all that for now.  I headed straight for my room.

I had to ask one of the other runners to take my room card from my fanny pack and unlock my door for me.  I couldn’t do it.  My hands wouldn’t work.

With numb hands and feet, getting undressed was challenging, but I needed to get out of all the wet clothes.

Before I could take a shower, I needed to warm up my hands in the sink.  When I could feel my hands, I took a long hot shower.  After several minutes in the shower, my feet still felt rubbery.

I eventually dried off and got dressed.  Then I went back out to enjoy the post-race food.  I got some food and beer, found a table that had just been vacated, and I was joined by a few friends who had finished earlier.

I eventually learned that I placed first in my age group.  In theory, the awards were supposed to start at 3:00 PM in a room called the Salon.  The Salon was being used to treat runners who needed medical attention, so they did the awards ceremony outside instead.

By the time the awards ceremony started, the rain had stopped, and it was a sunny afternoon.  It was still cold though, so I had to go back to my room to put on warmer clothes.  I put on two jackets, a dry pair of gloves, and a dry hat.

Awards started with the 5K race.  Then they did the 11K, the half marathon, the marathon, and the 50K.  I had to wait a long time before they got to the marathon, but in the meantime, I saw several others in our tour group win awards in the shorter races.

In the evening, MT&T had a dinner for us.  At the dinner, they recognized everyone in our group who won an award.  People who weren’t at the awards ceremony to receive their awards were able to get them from our MT&T guides.

After dinner, I saw several runners the bar, so I was hanging out with them for at least another hour.

I usually sleep well after a marathon, but my sleep was restless that night.  I only managed to sleep for about half the night.

Sunday, May 4

It was a clear morning.  From behind the hotel, I could finally see the mountains without any clouds in the way.

[morning mountains (2)]

After breakfast, I went on an excursion called Grey Navigation.  We were driven to Grey Lake.  From where we parked, we walked about a mile around the south end of the lake.  Then we boarded a catamaran.  We cruised to the other end of the lake to see the Grey Glacier.

Grey Lake is between the Andes Mountains and the Paine Mountains.  We had good views of both mountain ranges.

Grey Glacier is part of the Patagonian ice sheet.  It’s the third largest mass of ice in the world.  Only Antarctica and Greenland have larger ice sheets.

There are three branches of the glacier that terminate at this lake.  We got close-up views of each branch.

After getting back to the hotel, I had some free time on my own.  That gave me time to do a workout.

It turns out we didn’t all get the same things in our race packet.  Upon learning that, one of the runners organized an exchange.  Before dinner, we could drop off items we didn’t want to bring home and pick up items we wanted to keep instead.  I dropped off a few food items I knew I wouldn’t eat.  I also dropped off a water bottle that I knew wouldn’t fit in my suitcase.  In exchange, I picked up an extra headband.

Monday, May 5

Monday was our last full day in Patagonia.  One of the excursions offered that day was an all-day hike to the base of the Three Towers.  People doing that hike wouldn’t get back until late in the day, and they would eat dinner later.

We had to be in the hotel lobby by 2:15 Tuesday morning for the long drive back to the airport.  I didn’t want to have a late night when I needed to be up that early, so I chose to do a shorter hike instead.

For this hike, we left before dawn, and drove to a trailhead that was about 15 miles from our hotel.  When we got there, it was still before sunrise, but there was just enough light to see the trail.  From there, we hiked about two miles each way, stopping at three viewpoints.  Our first viewpoint was at this waterfall.

The second viewpoint is a place where other runners saw a beautiful sunrise the day before.  By the time we got to this viewpoint, it was starting to drizzle, and there were too many clouds to see much of the mountains.  After pausing for a few minutes, we continued to the final viewpoint.  We had a nice view of a glacial lake, but the mountains were still obscured by the clouds.  On the plus side, I got to see a caracara flying overhead.  Our guide said there were two, but I only saw one of them.

After we got back, I had lunch at the hotel bar.  After doing some packing, I went for a short afternoon run.  I ran out and back along the last part of the marathon route.  Two of my friends ran the same route, but started about 10 minutes after I did.  I met them as I was coming back up the hill and they were on the way down.

We had a buffet dinner that started at 7:00, but a few other runners were ordering dinner at the bar as early as 6:00.  All of our food was included, regardless of whether we ate with the group or on our own, so I also ate an early dinner.  My alarm was set for 1:15 AM, so I got to sleep as early as I could.

I woke up a couple times during the night, but I may have slept for as much as four hours.  That’s way better than the night before our first long travel day.

Tuesday, May 6

We needed to be in the lobby with our luggage by 2:15 AM, but there were some things that I couldn’t pack until morning, so I was up an hour before we needed to leave.

For the entire ride, it was still dark outside.  The lights inside the bus were kept off so people could sleep.  I wasn’t able to sleep, but I relaxed with my eyes closed for about half of the trip.

On our flight back to Santiago, I struggled to keep my eyes open.  I was dozing off intermittently for about a third of the flight.

When I booked this trip, I didn’t know when we would get back to Santiago.  Rather than risk a tight connection, I chose to spend one more night in Santiago and fly home the next day.  I had originally booked a hotel in the same neighborhood where we stayed before, but that was before I knew how horrible the traffic is near the city center.  At least four other runners were staying at a Hilton Garden Inn near the airport, so I changed my reservation and stayed at the same hotel.  That made getting to and from the hotel easier, but the hotel was in a less exciting part of the city.

Two of the other runners staying at the Hilton Garden Inn were on the same flight.  After we arrived, I called the hotel to ask when and where we could catch their airport shuttle.  The directions to the shuttle location were sufficiently complicated that they asked for my phone number so they could send me instructions via a WhatsApp chat.

After leaving the terminal and walking across the street to a parking garage, we needed to wait next to a specific parking space.  Our instructions were to follow the llama signs to the mountain signs.  I’m glad I called.  I would never have found this myself.

The three of us were all going to be on the same flight Wednesday evening.  When we checked in, we asked for late checkouts.   We were each able to check out at 5:00 PM for no extra charge.

The three of us had lunch together in the hotel’s restaurant.  Later, I went for an afternoon run.  On the map, I saw what looked like a greenway, but there was no way to get to it.  I ended up running on sidewalks through a mostly industrial neighborhood.

The three of had dinner together at the hotel.  Two other runners from our tour group arrived on a later flight, and we saw them at dinner.

I got to bed later that night, but that was OK.  I didn’t have to get up early on Wednesday.

Wednesday, May 7

I slept as late as I could before going down to breakfast.  I got at least eight hours of sleep.  It was nice not having to set an alarm.

My flight to Atlanta wasn’t until the evening, so I had almost a full day.  There wasn’t much around this hotel, so rather than try to see any more of Santiago, I spent the day at the hotel.  I did some strength training and some running, but otherwise, I just relaxed.

The airport shuttle leaves every hour on the hour.  After we check out, we’ll take the 5 PM shuttle back to the airport.  That’ll give us more than three hours before our overnight flight to Atlanta.  Wish me luck on getting sleep on the plane.

Race statistics:

Distance:  42.2 kilometers

Time:  4:23:01

Average Pace:  10:02 per mile (6:14 per kilometer)

First Half:  2:05:36

Second Half:  2:17:25

Place in age group:  1st

Lifetime Marathons/Ultras:  544

Countries:  55

Race Report: 2025 Marrakech Marathon

On January 26, I ran Marrakech Marathon.  I’ve been interested in traveling to Marrakech, but I didn’t know enough about Morocco to be comfortable planning a solo trip.  Then I found out that Marathon Tours & Travel (MT&T) goes there.

I first saw this race on the MT&T race calendar for 2024, but I already had plans for that weekend.  I made it a priority to go there this year.

Thursday, January 23

I arrived in Paris on an overnight flight from Minneapolis.  I had a four-hour layover in Paris, but there were two other runners from Minnesota who were on the same two flights.  We spent the next three hours together in the Air France lounge before boarding our flight to Marrakech.

We arrived in Marrakech in the late afternoon.  As it turns out, there were dozens of runners in my tour group who arrived on the same flight from Paris.  Once everyone had their luggage and got through immigration and customs, we left together to go to our hotel.  MT&T arranged for our transportation.

Our group stayed at the Kenzi Farah Rose Garden, which is a five-star hotel near the old town.  After everyone had time to check in, we went for a three-mile shakeout run.  This was our first chance to see the neighborhood around our hotel.

We had a welcome reception in the evening at the hotel bar.  After the reception, I had dinner with my friend Gwen at an Italian restaurant at the hotel.  By the time we paid our bill, I was struggling to stay awake.

I had no trouble getting to sleep, but I couldn’t sleep through the night.  I woke up at midnight and it took me a few hours to get back to sleep.

Friday, January 24

We had a buffet breakfast at the hotel.  Besides our group, there were other large groups staying at the same hotel.  I made a point of getting to breakfast before it got too crowded.

The air was really dry.  I didn’t drink enough water the day I arrived, so I drank as much as possible with breakfast to get rehydrated.  That became a daily routine.

After breakfast, we had a half-day guided tour of the city.  They transported us by bus to the Koutoubia Mosque.  We started our tour with the mosque and its gardens.

From there, our tour was on foot.  There were 90 of us, so we split into four small groups. We walked through one of the main gates in the medina, which is the old town.  Then we visited the Saadian Tombs.

We walked by several small shops to get to the Bahia Palace, which includes numerous rooms and gardens.  We spent a fair amount of time there, but I only took one picture.  This room is part of the prime minister’s private chamber.

The rest of our tour took us through a large marketplace.  We navigated through a maze of narrow alleyways with dozens of small shops.

We made a stop at a local pharmaceutical shop, where we got to taste the Moroccan mint tea.  We also had an opportunity to buy various cosmetics.

As we made our way back through the market, we stopped at the main square, and we had some time to explore on our own.

We were going to be bused back to the hotel, but it was only about a mile away, so some of us just walked back rather than wait for the buses to arrive.

MT&T had already gone to the expo to pick up everyone’s race packets.  After getting back to the hotel, we could get our race packets in the hotel lobby.

A few of us had a late lunch on the terrace next to the hotel pool.  Then I went to the fitness room to do weight training before relaxing until dinner.

Our dinner was a Moroccan meal at Chez Ali, which is an entertainment venue on the outskirts of the city.  We were scheduled to leave at 7:00 PM, but nothing ever happens on time in Morocco.  We left about 20 minutes late.  With traffic, we didn’t arrive at Chez Ali until 8:00.

Our dinner was a four-course meal.  We had a choice of entrée.  Mine was a tagine dish with lamb, prunes, and almonds.  Between courses, various groups came into our tent to entertain us.

Dinner was going to be followed by a Moroccan folklore show, which included a parade, acrobats, and traditional songs and dances.

We didn’t finish dinner until 10:15.  I didn’t know long the show would be, but I didn’t expect to get back to the hotel any earlier than midnight.

I didn’t sleep at all Wednesday night, and I only slept half the night on Thursday, so getting back so late wasn’t ideal.

Somebody else asked one of the MT&T guides if it was possible to go back to the hotel early.  That was only possible if enough other people were interested.  We came in a motor coach and three large vans.  They would need to have enough people going home early to fill at least one of the vans.

One of the MT&T guys went from table to table to see how many people wanted to skip the show and go home early.  Of the 90 people on our tour, 31 were interested in going back right away.  I was one of them.  I’m sure it was a good show, but I desperately needed to get some sleep.

We got back to the hotel at 11:00.  It took me about an hour to get to sleep.  I slept better than the previous night, but I still didn’t get a full night’s sleep.

Saturday, January 25

I set an alarm for 8:30, just so I wouldn’t miss breakfast.  Noise from one of the other rooms woke me up much earlier, and I couldn’t get back to sleep.

I had a late breakfast.  One of the other runners in our group said the show was spectacular, but she didn’t get to sleep until 3 AM.  I’m sure I would’ve enjoyed the show, but I don’t regret going back early.

We didn’t have any planned activities until the afternoon, so I spent the rest of the morning with Gwen, walking through the same marketplace that was part of our tour on Friday.  Gwen was able to buy some Moroccan coffee, mint tea, and a tagine.

Our tour in the afternoon took us to three gardens.  The first was Parc Lalla Hasna.  We had seen this park on our first tour, and some of had walked through it on our way back from the marketplace.

Our second stop was Menara Gardens.  This park has thousands of olive trees and a central reservoir which provides water for irrigation,

We spent the majority of the afternoon at Le Jardin Secret (the secret garden).  The entrance to these gardens is a doorway in a narrow alleyway in the medina.  You could easily miss it if you didn’t know it was there.  This was by far the most interesting of all the gardens.

Our last stop was a place where we could ride camels.  We split into three groups, and each group formed a caravan of about 15 camels.

We got back just in time for our pre-race dinner.  It was a buffet that included pasta and also other entrees.

That night, I got to bed earlier.  For the first time during this trip, I slept well.

Sunday, January 26

Sunday was race day.  The marathon didn’t start until 8:30, so I was able to have a light breakfast at the hotel before walking to the start.

The starting line was a 10-minute walk from our hotel.  We met in the lobby at 8:00 to walk to the start together.  We crossed the first street, and about half of the group went around some barriers, so they could keep going straight.  Then the police moved the barriers, so nobody else could get through.

I found a way through on the other side of the street, but I don’t know if the rest of the group was able to follow me.  They could get to the start area another way, but we weren’t all able to go as a group.

On the way to the start area, I caught up with Gwen.  After we entered the start corral, we were reunited with Julie.  Julie wasn’t part of our tour group, but Gwen and I met her on our flights.

The temperature was in the upper 40s at the start, and I expected it to remain chilly for the first half of the race.  The sun had just risen, and it wouldn’t warm up much until the sun got higher in the sky.

In the second half of the race, I expected it to warm up rapidly, getting to 60 degrees by the time I finished.  I wore tights, because I would rather risk being hot in the second half than be cold for the first half of the race.

I wasn’t sure how fast I would run.  My only other race this year was a 48-hour race.  My previous three races were all marathons, but none of those races was conducive to running fast.  As a result, I haven’t tried for a fast time since early November.

For the last two months, I’ve been training in cold weather, so I’ve been wearing bulky clothes that slow me down.  I normally train at an easy pace, but all my recent training has been slower than normal.  That had me feeling unsure of my readiness for  running a fast race.

I had to start the race before I could evaluate what pace I could sustain.  At a minimum, I wanted to start the race on pace to break four hours.  Ideally, I wanted to start fast enough to break 3:50, which would be a Boston qualifier.  To do that, I would need to average about 8:45 per mile.

This is a large enough race that the start was congested, but it didn’t take long before I could run at my own pace.  I kept accelerating for the first kilometer.  By then, I started to feel like I might be going too fast.  I didn’t know for sure until my watch gave me my split for the first mile.  I ran that mile in 8:21.

I knew that pace wouldn’t be sustainable, so I eased up a little in the second mile.  That mile was 8:36.  That was still too fast, so I eased up some more.  By now, it seemed like 8:45 would be a sustainable pace, but I worried that anything faster might not be.

There were a lot of turns in the early miles.  At about two miles, we made a large U-turn and came back on the opposite side of a divided parkway.

As soon as we made that turn, I felt a breeze.  It---- was probably at our backs when we were on the other side of the road.  I hadn’t noticed any wind since arriving in Marrakech.  Having a breeze during the race meant I was less likely to feel overdressed in the second half of the race.

In the third mile, my pace slowed to 8:42.  That was pretty close to the pace I wanted to average.  Ideally, I would have settled into that pace now for the rest of the race.  That was easier said than done.  Because of my fast start, I was surrounded by people who had also started faster.

They had aid stations every five kilometers.  On the course map, the aid station locations were denoted by an image of a water bottle.  I couldn’t find any information indicating whether they would have other food or beverages.

At the 5K aid station, I just saw bottles of water.  I grabbed a bottle, took the cap off and drank about two thirds of it.  That was as much as I could drink at one time.  After drinking what I could, I tossed the bottle onto the sidewalk, so other runners wouldn’t be in danger of tripping on it.

In the next two miles, I started running too fast again.  I’d tell my self to slow down, but then I’d go back to running at the same pace as the people around me.  It wasn’t until the sixth mile that I had a mile that was slower than 8:45.

As I was approached 10K, I saw people who seemed to be assembling tables.  As I got closer, I realized they were tearing down the tables.  Those were the fluid tables for the elite athletes, and they were no longer needed at this point.  I was still surprised how quickly they were taken down.

At the 10K water station, I only drank half of my bottle.  That was as much as I could drink without slowing down to walk.

After slowing down to 8:53 in mile six, I picked up my effort.  I didn’t want my pace to get any slower than 8:45.  I evidently overcompensated, because I sped up to 8:11.  I settled down a little bit after that, but I kept running faster than I needed to.  I’m still surprised that I was able to run that fast without realizing it.

By now, we had left the older part of the city and were getting into the more modern parts of the city.  I recognized a mural that we had driven by on Friday, so I stopped briefly to take a picture.

When I finished that mile, I saw that I was slower than my target time of 8:45, but only by a few seconds.  If I hadn’t stopped to take a picture, my pace would’ve been just right.

At 15K, I took off my gloves.  My hands weren’t getting hot, but they no longer felt cold, and I knew it would start warming up soon.

In mile 10, I was back to running too fast.  I sped up to 8:21 in that mile.  I wasn’t trying to run that fast, but I kept falling into the trap of running with the pack, and the people around me were going that fast.

There’s a rule of thumb that if you don’t feel fresh after 10 miles, you’re going too fast.  I didn’t feel fresh.  I definitely felt like I was working to run at this pace.  On the other hand, I didn’t feel like the pace was taking a toll on me.  I felt about the same after 10 miles as I did in the first few miles.

In the 11th mile, we went through a roundabout that had an elaborate fountain in the center.  I was tempted to take a picture, but I didn’t want to lose time again.  As it turns out, I sped up to 8:18 in that mile.  If I had realized I was running that fast, I would’ve stopped to take the picture.  It would’ve help me to settle down.

A couple miles after taking off my gloves, my hands starting to feel cold.  I didn’t worry about it too much, because it would warm up about 10 degrees by the time I finished, and the sun would get higher in the sky.  The fact that I had cold hands this late in the race was encouraging.   I didn’t worry as much about being too hot later.

The first three aid stations only had water.  The aid station at 20K was the first pone where I saw food.  I saw bananas and other food, but I didn’t want to slow down long enough to eat anything.  I was in a good rhythm, and I didn’t want to do anything to disrupt that.

I run best when I can stay in a consistent rhythm.  This race has one of the flattest courses I’ve seen, and the whole route had nice smooth pavement.  I was surprised how comfortable I felt at the pace I was running, but this was an ideal course for me.

Halfway through the race, I was on pace in finish in about 3:44, but I expected to slow down in the section half.  My only goal at this point was to break 3:50.  That gave me some room to slow down in the second half, but I kept running with about the same effort.

After running miles 12 and 13 in 8:25, I ran the next two in 8:33 and 8:40.  I was still going faster than my target pace, but it was starting to take more effort with each mile, and I wondered if I would keep slowing down.

When I’m running on an unfamiliar course, I’ll sometimes think about where I would be if I was at the equivalent point on a course that’s familiar to me.  As I approached 25K, I though about where I would be at 25K of the Boston Marathon course.  That race is pretty easy for the first 16 miles, but you have to hold back or you’ll struggle when you reach the hills between 16 and 21.

In Boston, my goal is to reach the 16-mile mark feeling like I’ve been hold back.  I was only at 25K, and I was clearly working hard.  If I felt the same way at 25K on the Boston course, I’d be heading for a train wreck.  That was a wake-up call.

I regretted not having anything to eat at 20K, because I didn’t know if other aid stations would have food.  When I saw food at the 25K aid station, I decided I should eat something.  I didn’t see any bananas, but I grabbed a date and a handful of golden raisins.

Eating the date, I had to be careful to chew around the pit.  I was carrying a water bottle, but I didn’t start drinking until I was done eating the raisins.

Running with a water bottle while chewing raisins caused me to get out of breath.  It was starting to warm up now, so I should’ve had more to drink, but it was all I could do to drink half the bottle.

It took me a few minutes to catch my breath.  Then I gradually started to catch up with the runners who were near me before the aid station.

About half a mile later, we ran down a ramp to go under two bridges.  Then we had to come back up a ramp.  It was the only hill on the course, but at this point I needed to be careful not to work too hard.  Going up the ramp, I tried to maintain a consistent effort and not worry about my pace.  I ran that mile in 8:45 despite slowing down for the ramp.  I was satisfied with that.

Just after coming up the ramp, I saw runners merging in from the right.  There was a half marathon that started at 9:45.  They had a different course, but it overlapped with the marathon route in a few places.

The half marathon runners outnumbered the marathon runners by about ten to one.  I’m not sure how far they had run by this point, but it seemed like they had not spread out much.  The road was now filled with a wall of runners.

I quickly discovered that these runners weren’t going as fast as I was trying to run.  To stay on pace, I needed to work hard to get around the slower runners.

It was no longer possible to run the tangents.  Instead, I was weaving back and forth, always looking for a gap I could run through.  When I broke through one wall of runners, I would accelerate.  Then I’d have to figure out where to break through the next wall of runners.  I was like a running back who has to follow his blocks, only I didn’t have any blockers.

When I finished the next mile, I was pleasantly surprised to see that I actually sped up in that mile.  It took a lot of extra energy though.

I was still fighting my way through this horde of slower runners when I reached the 30K mark.  The aid station was total chaos.  I had to come to a stop before I could get through the other runners to get to one of the water tables.  Runners were grabbing bottles faster than the volunteers could unpack them.  I eventually got a water bottle, but it cost me some time.

That mile was slower than my target pace, but there was a good reason for it.  The next mile was equally slow, but now it was because I was getting tired.

At 20 miles, I finally reached a point where marathon runners went straight, but the half marathon runners turned right.  It was a relief to be out of the crowd.  Now I could follow other runners and know we were all doing the same race.  I could once again use the other runners to gauge my pace.

We did a short out-and-back.  Then we turned onto the same street where the half marathon had turned previously.

There were barriers in the middle of the street, but they were spaced about 100 feet apart.  I think they were supposed to be connected with caution tape, but the tape was missing.

It was obvious to me that the marathon runners were supposed to stay on the left side of the street, and the half marathon runners were supposed to stay on the right.  There was nothing to prevent runners from crossing over, and most of the runners moved over to the left side of the street.  That was frustrating.

This street was wide enough that I could easily get around the slower runners.  Unfortunately, I didn’t know which runners were doing the marathon.  I couldn’t gauge my pace according to the other runners without knowing if they were doing the marathon.

Occasionally, I would pass a runner who I remembered passing before.  I had run an out-and-back that they didn’t have to run, so they all got ahead of me again.

I was struggling to keep up my pace, but I no longer needed to average 8:45.  After 22 miles, I calculated that I could slow down to roughly 9:30, and I would still finish in 3:50.  That’s all I cared about.

The two races diverged again.  We turned to the left, and the runners doing the half marathon turned to the right.  In theory, I could once again stay on pace just by following the runners in front of me.  In practice, the wheels were coming off.  The pace I had been running for most of the race was too fast, and it was catching up to me.  The extra effort I put into weaving around slower runners didn’t help.  My legs now felt like lead.

I reached the 35K sign, but the aid station was farther down the street.  Before I got there, my watch gave me my time for mile 22.  I slowed to 8:58.  That was my slowest mile so far, but I viewed anything faster than 9:30 as extra time in the bank.  With 4.2 miles to go, I just needed to average 9:37.

The aid station had bananas.  They were cut in half, but I needed to remove the peel.  As I pulled back the peel, the banana squirted out.  It popped up in the air.  I couldn’t catch it, but I kept it from hitting the ground by deflecting it onto the table.  I don’t know how clean the table was, but it was a lot cleaner than the street.  I still ate the banana.  Then I slowed to a walk while drinking some water.

When I looked at the course map before the race, I saw aid stations every 5K, up to 35K.  I didn’t see an aid station at 40K.  As far as I knew, this was the last aid station, so I drank as much as I could stomach.  Then I forced myself to run again.

When I finished the next mile, I saw that I had slowed to 9:35.  That made me panic.  I couldn’t afford to slow down much more.  I momentarily forgot that I had lost a lot of time at the aid station.

I could no longer count on the runners ahead of me to keep a consistent pace.  Most were slowing down.  Some were walking.  I spotted a runner who looked like he was still going strong, and I challenged myself to keep up with him.  Then I passed him.  Then I looked for another runner to chase.

In October I bought a new running watch.  My old watch displayed my current pace, but it never seemed to be accurate, so I didn’t trust it.  I didn’t know how fast I was going, so I looked at my watch.  I saw my current pace, but the readout was tiny.  My watch said my current pace was 8:45.  If that was accurate, it was encouraging.  That gave me the motivation I needed to keep up my effort.

For the next mile, I moved up through the field.  Then we merged with the half marathon again.  I continued to focus on the same two runners I had been following.  One was a guy wearing a red shirt.  The other was a woman with a pink shirt and a camelback.  I ignored everyone else, knowing that most of the other runners were doing the half marathon.

When I finished mile 24, I saw that I had sped up to 8:43.  To break 3:50, I needed to run the last 2.2 miles in 23 minutes.  I could afford to slack off, but I didn’t want to get lazy.  I did my best to keep chasing those same two runners.

In the second-to last mile, I went through a roundabout and saw cars going through it.                   Often, in races with traffic control, the police will let a few cars though when there’s a large gap between runners.  Here, it seemed like too many cars were going through.  I continued to run through the roundabout, even though cars were entering from another direction.

It wasn’t until later in the day that I learned from other runners that the roads were opened to traffic long before the race was over.  I only encountered cars at the last roundabout, but the slowest runners were sharing the road with cars for the last two hours of the race.  These weren’t quiet residential streets.  The course was on streets that are normally busy.

When I reached the 40K sign, I didn’t see an aid station.  Then I turned a corner, and my watch recorded my split for mile 25.  I slowed to 8:54 in that mile, but that was still much faster than the pace I needed.

A little farther up the road, I saw water tables on the left.  The guy in the red shirt stopped to grab a bottle, so I figured I could too.  He resumed running while I was still drinking.  After that, I couldn’t keep up with him.  All I could do is to try to keep him in sight.

I had already been out of breath for the last two miles.  I’ve never felt like this in the late miles of as marathon.  I might be fatigued or have sore legs, but it’s not normal to be out of breath in a race as long as a marathon.  I felt like I was running a 10K race.

I wanted to give my maximum effort, but I could no longer force myself to do it.  I did my best to limit the damage, and I only slowed to 9:11 in that mile.

The last turn was in front of the Menara Mall.  We had driven by there on at least one of our tours, so I had a good idea where I was.

After turning the corner, I saw the first of several balloon arches.  I remember seeing at least two other arches at the beginning of the race after crossing the starting line.  Now, I was about to go back through them.  I was expecting the finish line to be under the third arch.

As I ran under the first arch, I looked ahead for the digital clock at the finish line.  I could see now that there were more arches than I remembered.  It now looked like I had to run to the fourth arch.  Then I saw another … then another.  There were six or seven other balloon arches before the finish line.

I knew I was going to break 3:50, but I had to run farther than I expected.  With two arches to go, I finally summoned up the strength to put on a strong finish.  I crossed the line in 3:48:24.

Immediately after finishing, I started to feel light-headed.  Fortunately, that feeling passed quickly.  I continued to move forward, but I couldn’t get far before I encountered a wall of runners who weren’t moving.  They were packed in like sardines from one side of the street to the other.  The start/finish area was fenced off, so there was no place to go but forward.

I never felt too hot during the race, but with hundreds of runners packed in around me, I quickly got hot and sweaty.  I was uncomfortable, but there was nothing I could do about it.

For the longest time, nobody in front of me was moving forward.  Gwen had told me before the race that she was going to stay and watch for me after she finished.  I sent her a text to let her know I had finished.  Then I got a text from Gwen saying she was still in the crowd of runners in front of me, even though she had finished much earlier.

Eventually, the crowd started moving forward, but only at a snail’s pace.  It wasn’t until I was almost to the last balloon arch in the start/finish area that I saw the problem.  There were only a few narrow openings for us to squeeze through.  In between, there were tables with volunteers handing out food bags.  It was like six lanes of traffic having to merge down to two lanes.  It was a bottleneck.

I eventually got through and got my food bag and finisher medal.  By the time I got out to the street, 36 minutes had elapsed since I finished the race.

The food bag contained a bottle of water, a banana, two oranges, and a package with dates and raisins.  I ate the banana and drank half of the water while walking back to the hotel.  I ate the rest of the food when I got back to my room.

After showering and changing into clean clothes, I relaxed in my room until I started to get hungry again.  Then I went down to the pool bar to have a late lunch.

While I was eating, I saw other runners I knew, and we shared our race experiences.  I learned that the race ran out of medals, so many of the runners who finished later didn’t get one.  That’s also when I learned that the streets were opened up to traffic.

My own race experience was mostly positive until I crossed the finish line.  The post-race experience was bad for me and worse for others.

I spent the rest of the afternoon with other runners in the pool area.  Then I went to a post-race celebration with all the runners in our tour group.

Many of the runners weren’t showing up in the race results.  When I looked up my bib number, it didn’t initially show any result.  MT&T made a list of all the runners who either didn’t get a medal or didn’t get listed in the results.  I’m confident they’ll make sure everyone gets a medal and an official result.

I was one of the last runners to leave the party.  By then everyone else had already made dinner plans.  Despite having a late lunch, I still needed to have something to eat before going to bed.  I eventually had dinner by myself at an Italian restaurant at the hotel.

I’m happy to say that I slept well for the second straight night.

Monday, January 27

MT&T had an option for a four-day extension to see more of Morocco, but I didn’t want this to be too long of a trip.  Instead, I flew home.

I didn’t have a lot of options for flights.  I could wake up in the middle of the night for an early morning flight, or I could take a late afternoon flight and have an overnight connection in Paris.  I chose the afternoon flight.  That allowed me to get a full night’s sleep and have one last breakfast with the other runners.

Many of the runners either left early or had booked other excursions.  At breakfast, I saw two runners I knew, and I met two others.  We had done many of the same races, so we talked for almost three hours.

After breakfast, I had just enough time to do a workout and finish packing before I needed to check out.  I checked out before noon, but I didn’t need to leave for the airport until 1:30, so I continued visiting with other runners who were in the lobby.

One of the topics that came up was the problems with results.  I looked up my result again.  They now showed a time for my bib number which matched the time on my watch.  There wasn’t any name associated with my bib number.

That was a common problem.  In the participant list, there were numerous bib numbers that weren’t associates with any name.  Mine was one of them.  My best guess is that it was a data entry error associated with runners who were registered by a tour group.  I talked to a runner who registered himself, and his result was fine.  If that’s the only problem, I’m sure MT&T can get it straightened out.

I got to the airport about two and a half hours before my flight to Paris.  Check in, security, and passport control were all quick, so I had time to relax and eat an early dinner in an airport lounge.

In Paris, I spent the night at an airport hotel.  I was leaving the terminal, so I had to go through passport control for entering the Schengen zone.  After that, getting to my hotel was fairly easy.  I took an automated train from Terminal 2 to Terminal 3.  From the terminal 3 stop, I only had to walk a quarter mile to get to my hotel.  I got there around 9:00.

When I got to my room, it was a little too warm.  I set the thermostat and went down to the lounge to have a beer while I waited got the room to cool down.  When I got back to my room, I was disappointed to find that it had only cooled down by one degree.  I was so tired that I crashed hard anyway.

Tuesday, January 28

My flight wasn’t until 10:30, so I had time to eat breakfast before going back to the airport.  I’ve made connections at CDG before, but this was the first time I’ve departed from this airport.  It’s a large airport, and it can be confusing, but I found it to be a breeze.  There were airport employees in various places scanning boarding passes and directing people to the right gate area or the best security line.

Flying home from Europe is always a long travel day, but it helps that I got a good night’s sleep, and I only have one flight today.

UPDATE: I checked the results again on Tuesday, and my result now shows up correctly.  I also checked the results of some of the other runners, and their results are there too.

Race statistics:

Distance:  42.2 kilometers

Time:  3:48:24

Average Pace:  8:43 per mile (5:25 per kilometer)

First Half:  1:52:07

Second Half:  1:56:17

Lifetime Marathons/Ultras:  537

Boston Qualifiers:  174

Countries:  52