Race Report: 2023 Route 66 Marathon

On November 19, I ran the Route 66 Marathon in Tulsa, OK.  This was the fourth time I’ve run this race.  It’s a popular race among members of the 50 States Marathon Club and Marathon Maniacs.

There aren’t any direct flights from Minneapolis to Tulsa, so I had to change planes in Atlanta.  To make sure I would arrive with plenty of time, I took the first flight to Atlanta.  It’s not the first time I’ve been on a 5:25 AM flight.  Whenever I do that, I regret having to get up early enough to get to the airport on time.  On the bright side, I arrived in Tulsa just after noon,

Having done this race before, I was already familiar with the logistics.  I stayed at the downtown Doubletree, which is connected by skyway to the Cox Business Convention Center, where the expo was held.  Doubletree has an airport shuttle, so I didn’t need a car.

After checking in at Doubletree, I walked over to the convention center to pick up my race packet.  My first stop was the 50 States Marathon Club, where I got my wrist band for the VIP tent in the finish area.  It’s called Maniac Corner, and it’s only available to members of Marathon Maniacs and the 50 States Marathon Club.

Next, I got my race bib.  I had to request a change to my corral assignment.  Corrals are based on your estimated finish time.  I registered for this race so long ago, that I had no idea what shape I would be in now.  At the time, I needed a good race to break four hours.  Now, I’m consistently running times in the 3:40s.  Changing my corral assignment was easy.

I reached two big milestones at this race.  I was finishing my fourth circuit of marathons or ultras in all 50 states, and this was also my 500th lifetime marathon or ultra.  As recently as two weeks ago, I was planning to go at an easy pace and treat this race like a victory lap.  Then I looked at the elevation profile for the course.

This race used to have a hilly course, but they changed the course since the last time I ran it.  It still has some hills, but it’s not as difficult as the course I remembered.  In particular, it’s no any hillier than Baltimore or Mankato, and I was able to break 3:50 in both of those races.  I saw no reason why I couldn’t do it again on this course.

After packet pickup, I had time to do a workout in the hotel’s fitness center.  Then I explored the downtown area.  I started by walking over to the Cyrus Avery Bridge, which is the on the historic Route 66.

Next to the bridge, I saw this bronze statue.  It honors Cyrus Avery, who is considered to be the father of Route 66.  I’ve run right past this statue before, but somehow I never noticed it.

Next, I walked over to the East Village district, which is on the opposite side of downtown.  The East Village is home to several breweries.  I also found a good brick oven pizzeria there.

The race didn’t start until 8:00 AM, so I didn’t have to get up outrageously early.  I set an alarm, but I was awake before it went off.

The temperature was in the 50s.  That would’ve been ideal, but it was raining.  I left the hotel wearing a plastic rain poncho, but I didn’t know if I would need it for the whole race.  I wanted warm something to wear after the race, in case I discarded the rain poncho, so I rolled up my Tyvek jacket and stuffed it into my fanny pack.  It was a tight fit, but that worked.

The starting line was only half a mile from my hotel.  They close the start corrals five minutes before the race, so I left the hotel 20 minutes before the race, to make sure I would have plenty of time to get into my corral and find the 3:50 pace group.

When I got there, I couldn’t find the 3:50 group.  I saw a 3:55 group near the back of the corral, and I saw several other pace groups closer to the front.  I saw a 1:55 pace group for the half marathon, so I lined up next to them.  They were starting at the same pace, and we would run about 12 miles before the two races separated from each other.

I mainly needed help with pacing in the first five miles.  Miles one through five had some hills, and it would be much easier to run at the right pace if I could just stay with a group and let the pace leaders set the correct pace.

The first mile started out downhill.  On my own, I probably would’ve started too fast.  At first, I stayed behind the pace leaders.  At some point, I had to move around a slower runner, and I accidentally got in front of the pace group.  I forced myself to go at a pace that felt easy, so I wouldn’t get too far ahead of them.  I assumed they would eventually catch up to me on an uphill section.

The first time I reached an aid station, I slowed down to grab a cup of Gatorade and drink, and the pace group went by me.  It just happened that we were starting to go up  a hill.  Now that I was behind the group, I found it difficult to catch up to them going up a hill.

The same thing happened again at the next aid station.  After getting ahead of the group on a downhill section, they passed me at an aid station.  Again, we were just starting to go up a hill, and I had to work hard to keep from falling further behind.

The rain poncho caused me to get hot every time we went up a hill.  It was still raining, but I had to get rid of it.  I waited until the road leveled off.  Then I took it off and handed it to a spectator, so I wouldn’t have to just dump on the sidewalk.

By the time we had run four miles, the rain seemed like it was stopping.  It was still mostly cloudy, but I started to notice small patches of blue sky between the clouds.

The next aid station came right near the end of the fifth mile.  This time, I managed to grab a cup and drink it without slowing down.  For once, I went through an aid station without getting passed by the pace group.  That was just before starting a long downhill section.

I had studied the elevation profile before the race, so I knew mile six would be mostly downhill.  I tried to stay relaxed and not work too hard, because I didn’t want to get too far ahead of the group.  Up until now, some miles were a little too fast and others were a little too slow, but on average, we were staying pretty close to out target pace of 8:46 per mile.

About halfway through the seventh mile, we started a 10-mile stretch that was flat.  I was running a little bit ahead of the group, but I was more confident that I could stay on a consistent pace now that it was flat.  I’m much better about holding my pace when I can stick with a consistent rhythm.  I can’t do that going up and down hills.

I started to feel like I was overdressed.  Normally, with temperatures in the 50s, I would wear shorts.  Because of the rain, I opted for tights.  I was starting to wonder if I would regret that decision.  I was about to take off my gloves when it started raining again.  I kept the gloves on.  I wasn’t cold, but I was no longer in any danger of getting too hot.

For the next couple of miles, we ran on a road alongside the Arkansas River.  This section was nice and flat.  I started to see runners going the other direction on a bike path that was closer to the river.

At times, I wondered if I was running away from the pace group.  They were behind me, so I never saw them again.  Then I would hear spectators cheering them, and I would realize they were right behind me.

Between 10 and 11 miles, we turned onto the Cyrus Avery Bridge.  Now we were running on Route 66.  It was here start I started talking to another runner.  His name was Charles, and he used to live in Minneapolis.  We ran together for the next several miles.

After crossing the bridge, we did a short loop and then came back to the bridge from the other side.  This was the point where the marathon and half marathon routes diverged.

Because we were talking, neither of us noticed the sign indicating that marathon runners were supposed to keep to the left of a line of traffic cones.  Charles and I were running in the lane for the half marathon.  If wasn’t a big deal at first, but soon we came to a point where the half marathon would continue across the bridge, but the marathon turned left and went onto a pedestrian bridge instead.

There was a volunteer at this point who saw our race bibs and yelled to us to get over to the other lane and turn left.  It’s a good thing he saw us.  We would’ve continued across the bridge, which would’ve put us on the half marathon course.

The pedestrian bridge was parallel to the road bridge, but it was covered.  I had never run across this bridge before.  After crossing the bridge, we went underneath the road bridge and turned onto the same bike path where I had seen runners going this way before.

By now, Charles and I were talking to another runner who was doing his first marathon.  He was happy to discover that we were on pace for 3:50.  He was hoping to break four hours, but he wasn’t wearing a watch.  Before talking to us, he didn’t know what his pace was.

Soon I learned that Charles also had a goal of breaking four hours.  I wondered how much longer I could run with these two runners.  I might have to choose between staying with them and continuing to pace myself to break 3:50.

At the 12-mile mark, I saw that we had slowed to 8:58.  That was good, because the previous mile had been 8:30, which was too fast.  I decided to wait and see what our pace was in the next mile before making a decision about continuing to run with Charles or going ahead on my own.

Charles and I kept running together and carrying on a conversation.  After a while, I realized that the guy running his first marathon was no longer keeping up with us.  It wasn’t until we finished our next mile that I saw we were speeding up again.  The pace felt somewhat tiring, but I didn’t realize how fast it was until I saw that we ran mile 13 in 8:18.  That was faster than any previous mile.

At the halfway mark, I saw that we were more than a minute and a half ahead of schedule to be on pace for 3:50.  I could afford to relax a little in the next mile.  For now, I could keep running with Charles.

I knew it wasn’t a good idea to keep running at that pace, and I worried the pace would break Charles if he kept up with me.  As we started out next mile, we decided to back off a little.  That didn’t last long.  As we continued talking, we quickly went back to running at a pace that felt tiring.  The next mile was even faster.  It was 8:13.

We managed to back off a bit in the mile 15.  It was still a little fast, but not so fast that it felt tiring.

We were nearing the end of a long flat section of the course, but I knew a long uphill section was coming.  In the middle of the 17th mile, we would start a section that would be mostly uphill for about four miles.  It wouldn’t be steep, but it would be a long grind.  In anticipation of that section, we eased up a bit to conserve energy.

By now, the rain had stopped again.  I didn’t mind the rain.  It was just sprinkling lightly.  It wasn’t enough to make me feel cold or soaking wet.  Without the rain, I most likely would’ve been getting hot.

About halfway through mile 17, we started up a long gradual hill.  I knew we would have an uphill trend for the next four miles, so I ran with an effort that didn’t feel tiring.  We started this section with a cushion of at least two minutes, so we could afford to give back about 30 seconds per mile over the next four miles.

At first, Charles started to fall behind me.  I made a point of slowing down enough that he could keep up on the hills.  Over the next few miles, we averaged about nine minutes per mile.  We could afford that.

This is a race where spectators will set up beer stops, as well as stronger stuff.  I had seen beer stops, mimosa stops, and Jell-O shots.  I also saw spectators giving out donuts.  If I was just going at an easy pace, I would have indulged in a few of these.  Because I had a time goal that would take a good effort, I wasn’t willing to even consider an adult beverage until I was past this long uphill section.  Even then, I would have to be confident that I would have no trouble maintaining my pace.

Midway through the 19th mile, which we were going up a hill, I noticed another beer stop.  Nope.  Too soon, and certainly not on a hill.

I was thinking the uphill section ended at 20 miles.  I was off a bit.  Charles and I were about halfway through the 20th mile when we started up a long hill.  We told ourselves this was the last hill.  We were wrong.  We crested that hill and saw another one.

This next hill came in two parts.  About halfway up the hill, we would go downhill briefly to go under a bridge.  Then we would continue up the hill.  The 20 mile sign was under the bridge.

There was an aid station just before the 20 mile sign.  Charles took a little longer at that aid station, and I was afraid he would fall behind me as I started the last part of the hill.

At the 20 mile sign, I saw that we were still about 50 seconds ahead of schedule.  I continued up the hill at the same pace and hoped Charles could stay with me.

At the top of the hill, we turned a corner.  As I made the turn, I looked back for Charles.  He wasn’t too far behind me.  Looking ahead, I saw that we still had to go slightly uphill for about half a block.  I went slowly enough that Charles was able to catch up.  Then we started a long gradual downhill section.

On our right, I saw spectators offering whiskey shots.  I couldn’t do that so soon after the hill.  I needed time to recover and get us back to our previous pace.  Maybe in a mile or two, but not now.

The next mile was mostly downhill, but as we got closer to 21, we had to go uphill again.  I knew the last six miles had a downhill trend, but it wasn’t all downhill.  The 21 mile sign was right at the top of this hill.  When we got there, we were still on pace, but our cushion was only 24 seconds.

Charles fell behind me at another aid station.  We had the luxury of going a little slower over the previous four miles, but we couldn’t keep doing that.  We had to get back on our previous pace.  My legs were getting heavy, and I knew I would have to work harder now.  I put in the necessary effort and hoped that Charles could keep up.  I knew there was a good chance he would fall behind.  I enjoyed running with him, but I was determined to break 3:50.  Charles had been shooting for anything under four hours.  I couldn’t expect him to run at my pace for the whole race.

In the next mile, I sped up more than I needed to.  That mile was mostly downhill, and I sped up to 8:22.  That was about 24 seconds too fast.  I knew at that point that I wouldn’t see Charles again until the finish.

The aid stations had water and Gatorade.  Some also had gels or other food.  The next time I reached an aid station, there was a volunteer in the middle of the street with Gatorade and another volunteer was next to the table on my right.  I’m right-handed, so I prefer to take a cup with my right hand.  I went by the guy in the middle of the street and then saw that the woman by the table was filling cups with pieces of bananas and oranges.  There were cups on the table, but there were all filled with water.  Having missed my chance to get a cup of Gatorade, I just kept running.  I quickly realized that was probably a mistake.  I worked up a real sweat on that long uphill section.  I should’ve had something to drink, even if it was water.  I prefer Gatorade, so I can get some sugar, but this late in the race, that didn’t matter so much.

Mile 23 wasn’t as fast as mile 22, but it was still faster than my goal pace.  I had dropped Charles, but I was staying on a pace that would easily get me to the finish in less than 3:50.

Most of the aid stations had small cups, and they were usually only half full.  That makes it easier to grab a cup and drink without spilling.  Right at 23 miles, I reached an aid station with larger cups.  I grabbed a cup of Gatorade that was almost full.  Drinking that made up for missing the previous aid station, but I had to slow to a walk for several seconds.  A runner who had been near me for the last two miles was now almost half a block ahead of me.  I was determined to catch up to him.

The runner I was chasing was hard to catch.  I was slowly gaining ground, but he was maintaining a fast pace.  He was passing most of the other runners.  As I chased him, I also passed most of the other runners.  I finally caught him at the end of the 24th mile.  That mile was my fastest in several miles.

At this point, I knew I could just follow this runner for the rest of the race, and he would bring me in under 3:50.  Then it occurred to me that he looked like he could easily be in my age group.  Were we competing for an age group award?  I had to pass him.  Going into the last two miles, I picked up my effort even more.

I was getting close to the downtown area.  I was at least halfway through the 25th mile when I looked ahead of me and saw a bridge.  I could see that coming up to the bridge meant going up a small hill.  Then I thought the bridge looked familiar.  I started to recognize all the businesses I was passing as I approached the bridge.  I knew exactly where I was.  I had walked over this same bridge on Saturday.  I was running through the East Village.

After crossing the bridge, I turned right, and I immediately felt rain.  It felt different this time.  It was coming down in bigger drops, and I immediately felt cold.

I only ran one block in this direction before turning left.  After turning, I ran right past the pizzeria where I had dinner the night before.  As the crow flies, I was getting close to where I would finish, but there were still lots of turns.  My actual route to the finish was still well over a mile.

At the 25 mile sign, I saw that I was at least a minute ahead of schedule.  I ran mile 25 in 8:14.  That was my second fastest mile so far.

In the last mile, there’s a detour you can take to a place in downtown Tulsa called the Center of the Universe.  The Center of the Universe is a circle with interesting acoustics.  When you stand in the center and talk, you can hear your voice echo, but people standing a short distance away can barely hear you.  The detour to the Center of the Universe and back adds three tenths of a mile to the race distance.

Runners who do this detour get a souvenir coin.  In past years, you had to sign up in advance, but this year you could decide when you got there.

If I was just taking it easy, I would’ve taken the detour.  If I was on pace to break 3:50 by a wide margin, I might have taken the detour.  If I couldn’t break 3:50, but I was still on pace to break four hours by a wide margin, I would’ve taken the detour.

I was on pace to break 3:50, but I didn’t think I could afford to go three tenths of a mile out of my way.  I skipped the detour and kept running straight.

When I finally made the next turn, I saw that I was about to do downhill to go under a railroad bridge.  On the other side of the bridge, I would have to go uphill again.  Suddenly, this all looked familiar.  Other parts of the course were different, but the last few turns before the finish were the same.

I fought my way up the hill and made the next turn.  I saw a large digital clock about a block ahead of me.  It was the 25.9 mile mark.

They put that there for the benefit of people who took the Center of the Universe detour.  For them, this was the 26.2 mark.  It’s a marathon split with a timing mat.  Your time there, however, is just for your own information.  Your official time is measured at the finish line, which is still three tenths of a mile away.

As I reached this clock, I looked at my watch and realized I would break 3:50 by at least three minutes.  I actually did have time to take the detour, but I didn’t know that at the time.  That’s assuming, of course, that I didn’t slow down on the detour.  To get to the Center of the Universe, you have to go up and over a hill.  Then you turn around and go over the same hill from the other side.  That probably would’ve slowed me down.

There were still two more turns.  After the first of those turns, I went up the last little hill.  Halfway up that hill, I reached the 26 mile mark.  I ran that mile in 8:09.  That was my fastest mile of the race.

After the last turn, I could see the finish line, but there were patches of mud all over the street.  With the rain, it was getting slick.  I watched my footing carefully as I charged toward the finish line.  I got there in 3:46:48.

Shortly after crossing the line, I stopped to put on my gloves.  I also took the Tyvek jacket out of my fanny pack and put that on.  Then I started watching for Charles.  He came in about three minutes behind me.  He also broke 3:50, but just barely.

This race always has cool finisher medals.  They had special versions for people who also completed a challenge by also running other races.  Mine is their regular marathon medal.

Besides my medal, I also received a much-needed space blanket.  Then I kept moving through the finish area.

As I reached the food tent, I saw people walking away with slices of pizza.  I walked past all the other food without looking.  I just wanted a slice of pizza.

I continued to make my way through the finish area to get to Maniac Corner.  Along the way, I stopped at the beer tent.  I had coupons on my race bib for two free beers, but I could only carry one, and I didn’t want to stand there in the rain long enough to drink one.  I hurried to get to Maniac Corner, where I could sit down under a tent.

Inside the tent, they had two kinds of burritos.  One had chicken, the other had BBQ pork.  The BBQ pork burrito really hit the spot.

I wanted to stay in the tent and talk to other runners, but there was a limit to how long I could stay.  I had to walk more than a mile to get back to my hotel, and I needed to get started before I got too cold.

The walk back to the hotel was cold.  The rain eventually stopped, but the wind picked up.  It was blowing so hard that my space blanket was rattling in the wind.  Along the way, I saw another runner who looked even colder.  I asked him if he was OK.  He was really cold, but his hotel was close.  I stayed with him until I could see that his hotel only a block away.  When I knew he would get there safely, I continued to my own hotel.

When I got there, I couldn’t get my room card out of my fanny pack.  If was in a small zip-lock bag in a compartment that was hard to reach.  My hands were almost numb.  I managed to take off my fanny pack and asked someone at the front desk of the hotel if he could get my room card out for me.  Once I had it in my hand, I was able to go to my room.

I had to run warm water over my hands for a couple minutes before I could use them.  They were still white, and they felt tingly, but now I could continue getting out of my wet clothes.  I took a long hot bath.  Then, finally, my hands had color again.

Some friends from Houston were also in Tulsa for this race.  After changing into dry clothes, I met them for lunch and beers.  We spent the afternoon together trading stories about the race.  When I got back to the hotel, I didn’t feel like going back out again.  I eventually had dinner at the hotel.

I’ve gone all out for Boston-qualifying times in six of my last seven races.  I have a few weeks before my next race.  I plan to take it easy in that one.  Really.

Race statistics:

Distance:  26.2 miles

Time:  3:46:48  

Average Pace:  8:40 

First Half:  1:53:14

Second Half:  1:53:34

Lifetime Marathons/Ultras:  500

Boston Qualifiers:  159

Oklahoma Marathons:  4

Circuits of Marathons/Ultras in all 50 States:  4

Race Report: 2023 Patriots Run

On September 9, I ran the Patriots’ Run in Overland Park, KS.  This is a fixed-time race where you run as far as you can in nine hours and 11 minutes.  I ran this race in 2005, but several things have changed since then.

First, the race used to be held on September 11, regardless of what day of the week it was.  Now they hold it on the weekend, which makes it easier for people who work during the week.

The second change was the course.  It used to be a 0.72 mile loop around a park in Olathe.  Now it’s a 1.5 mile road loop around the Aspiria Campus in Overland Park.  The longer loop is significant, since fractional laps don’t count.  You only get credit for laps that you complete within the time limit.

The third change was the start time.  The race used to start at noon and go until 9:11 PM.  When I ran this race in 2005, it was a 90-degree sunny day, and I had to run through the hottest hours of the day.  Now the race starts at 7 AM.  It was going to be another hot afternoon, so I was glad I could get a few hours under my belt before it got hot.

The fourth change was the prize money.  In 2005, there wasn’t any.  Now there are cash prizes to the top three men & women.  In 2005, I won the race, but I was only competing against the local runners.  There weren’t any other experienced ultrarunners.  This year, I had every reason to expect that the prize money would attract some serious competition.

The last thing that changed was me.  I’m 18 years older now.  I’m just not the same runner I was when I was still in my mid-40s.  I’m more experienced, and I have a good mileage base, but my top speed today is slower than my “all day” pace was back then.

When I did this race in 2005, I drove, and Deb came with me.  The drive time is about seven hours.  That used to be within my driving range, but my lower back doesn’t tolerate long drives the way it used to.  This year, I chose to fly to Kansas City and rent a car.

I flew to Kansas City Friday morning.  My flight arrived early, giving me time to buy groceries before lunch.  I bought several bottles of Gatorade for the race and some pastries for my pre-race breakfast.

I had lunch with my friend, John, who lives in the area.  I first met John 13 years ago at a reunion of the 50 States Marathon Club, when we were both celebrating our 50 states finish.  It’s been a long time since I last saw John at a race, so it was nice to have a chance to catch up.

After lunch, I went to my hotel to check in.  I had a mini fridge in the room, so I was able to get the Gatorade cold before the race.

Packet pickup didn’t start until 4:00 PM, so I had time to do some exercises at the hotel.  Then I drove around the course.  John has run this race since they switched to the current course, and he had warned me that it was hilly.  I wanted to see it for myself before the race.  I had studied the course map, so I knew where to go, but it would’ve been pretty obvious even if I didn’t.  The entire loop was marked with small American flags.  The loop had a couple hills, but they were fairly gradual.  It was actually very similar to the loop I used for my training runs at home.

Packet pickup was at the ROKC climbing gym in Olathe.  Besides my race bib and T-shirt, I got a pair of red, white & blue socks.

When I was looking for a place to eat dinner, I noticed there was a North Italia.  This is a restaurant I’ve been to in California, but I didn’t realize it was a national chain.  Their pizza menu includes a chef’s special, which changes from day to day.  Their chef’s special on Friday was an asparagus and mushroom pizza.  I like asparagus, but I don’t have it very often.  Anytime I can get asparagus on a pizza, I’m going to give it a try.

I got to bed early enough to get a reasonable amount of sleep.  That’s more important for an ultra than it is for a marathon.

I had to leave before the hotel restaurant started serving breakfast, so I made some tea in my room and ate several of the pastries I picked up on Friday.  I ate a bigger breakfast than I normally would, knowing that I would be hard-pressed to take in enough calories during the race.

I got a real break on the weather.  As recently as a week ago, it looked like the temperature would get into the upper 90s.  Since then, cooler weather arrived.  In the morning, the temperature was in the low 60s, and the forecast high was only 86.  That’s still hot, but I was expecting worse.

There was an area near the start/finish line where people could set up tents.  All of the relay teams had canopies and tables.  Many of the solo ultra runners also had canopies and tables.  I didn’t have a tent or table.  I just had two small coolers and a tote bag to store my warm-up clothes.

I didn’t know how far I was capable of running, so I set multiple goals.  My first goal was 32 laps, which is 48 miles.  That’s just short of the 48.06 miles that I ran in 2005.  Since I was starting earlier in the day, that seemed like it should be an attainable goal.  Still, it’s not very satisfying to come up just short of what you’ve done before.

My next goal was 33 laps, which is 49.5 miles.  This goal was more challenging, but it still seemed realistic.  My ultimate goal was to run 34 laps, or 51 miles.  I didn’t know if this was realistic, but it would be much more satisfying to get above 50 miles, and the only way to do that was to complete that 34th lap.  I also thought 51 miles might be enough to get me into the top three.

There was an aid station with food, water, and a sports drink, but I brought my own supply of Gatorade.  Besides wanting to drink something familiar, I also thought it would be easier to keep track of my fluid intake if I was drinking from bottles.  I brought a small cooler filled with bottles of Gatorade, and I also had a large insulated bag filled with ice, so I could put ice cubes in my hat when it started getting hot.  I also brought a small supply of gel packets and some electrolyte capsules.

My last ultra was the FANS 6-hour race in early June.  In that race, I was able to run the whole race at a slow-but-steady pace, without taking any walking breaks.  I knew I wouldn’t be able to do this race without walking.  For starters, this race was longer.  Also, it was going to be a hotter day.  Knowing I would inevitably need to do some walking, I started to take walking breaks at the beginning of my second lap.

My most ambitious goal was 34 laps.  If I wanted to have any chance of reaching that goal, I had to pace for it from the beginning.  If I started at a slower pace, I couldn’t realistically expect to speed up in the afternoon.  It was only going to get hotter as the race progressed.

I employed a pacing strategy I’ve used many times before.  I call it Variable-Length Walking Breaks.  I set a target time for each lap.  If I finished a lap early, I walked until I reached the time that I was supposed to finish the previous lap.

To finish 34 laps in 9:11, I needed to average 16:12 per lap.  Rather than target that pace from the beginning, I chose a target pace of 16:00 per lap.  Why 16:00?  It’s a nice round number, which made the mental arithmetic easier.  Also, it gave me room to slow down a little in the afternoon, when it got hotter.

The race started just as the sun was rising.  As we were lined up for the start, I could see half of the sun above the horizon.  It was a red-orange disk.  When I was far enough into my first lap to see the sun again, it was already fully visible above the horizon.  Now it was yellow.

The loop we were running was shaped like a pear.  We were running clockwise, so most of the time we were curving to the right.  There were two places in each lap where the road briefly bent to the left.  As I saw those turns coming, I always paid attention to running the tangents.

After each lap, I stopped to get a bottle of Gatorade from my cooler.  After taking a drink and returning the bottle to the cooler, I’d check my watch to see how much time I had for a walking break.  After my first lap, I was able to walk for a minute and 20 seconds.  On my walking breaks, I usually power walked.  The more ground I could cover while walking, the less I needed to run.

When I resumed running, I was already partway into the lap, so I was farther ahead of schedule after two laps than I was after one.  As a result, my walking breaks gradually got longer.  On my third lap, I was able to walk for two minutes, and my walking breaks eventually got as long as four minutes.

Early in my fourth lap, another runner lapped me.  At first, I didn’t know if he was doing the solo ultra or if he was on a relay team.  Later in the same lap, another runner lapped me.  In his case, it was obvious that he was on a relay team, because he was wearing a pack.

There were two types of relay teams.  Runners on teams in the “heavy” division had to wear heavy packs.  That made them easy to identify.  There was also a “light” division.  I didn’t know at first how to distinguish those runners from solo runners.  It wasn’t until about two hours had elapsed that I started to notice the runners on the “light” relay teams were carrying batons.  The batons were small and flat, so they weren’t easy to see.

After about five laps, I had to make a bathroom stop.  The port-o-potties in the start/finish area were a distance away from the course.  There was a port-o-potty about halfway through the loop that was right next to the course, so I stopped there.

The time I spent on my bathroom stop cut into my next walking break.  Whenever I made a bathroom stop or took longer than usual in the start area, my walking breaks would shrink.  If I didn’t have excessive downtime, they would gradually grow.  For most of the race, they were between two and four minutes.

I was set up right next to an aid station.  They had a sports drink that was provided by one of the sponsors.  There were about four guys working that aid station.  One of them told me to let him know if I needed anything.  At the time, I was eating a gel, so I asked him if he could throw away the wrapper for me.

He told me his name, but by the time the race was over, I was having trouble remembering.  Eventually, he noticed that I was opening one of my coolers to take out a bottle of Gatorade each time I finished a lap.  Whenever he was around and saw me finish a lap, he opened the cooler and took out a bottle before I got there.  After I drank, he would put the bottle back and close the cooler for me.  That probably saved me about 10 seconds.  It was really nice to have a total stranger crewing for me.  I arrived at the race expecting to be completely self-sufficient.

I brought enough 20 oz. bottles of Gatorade to be able to go through a bottle every three laps.  In the first half of the race, I didn’t need that much.  The weather was still comfortable enough that it was all I could do to drink 5 oz. after each lap.  At that rate, a bottle lasted four laps.

Despite drink less Gatorade than I planned, I kept making bathroom stops.  In the first four hours of the race, I made four bathroom stops.

After about three hours, I started to feel sweaty.  The sun was high enough in the sky that I could feel it.  There wasn’t a cloud in the sky, and there isn’t much shade on this course.  By now, it was 70 degrees, and the sun made it feel hotter.

To stay cool, I started putting ice cubes in my hat.  The hat I was wearing drapes down to cover the back of my neck.  As the ice cubes melted, the ice water filtered down through the back of my hat.  I also wore one of those cooling bandanas around my neck.  The ice water dripping down through my hat was absorbed by the bandana, so it was always cold.  I used to have a problem with ice water from my hat running all the way down my back and legs and eventually getting into my shoes.  The bandana prevented that from happening.

At first, I didn't need to put ice in my hat every lap.  It took more than a lap for the ice to melt completely, so I added more ice every other lap.

When I finished 17 laps, I was halfway to my goal.  During the next lap, I reached the marathon mark, although I wouldn’t get credit for it until I finished my 18th lap.  For what it’s worth, I reached the marathon mark in roughly 4:35.

In theory, if I could run a marathon in 4:35, I was on pace to run 52.5 miles by the end of the race.  That would be slightly less than two marathons.  That was a little misleading though.  I started the race by running the first full lap.  That was my only lap without a walking break, so it was faster than the others.  I wouldn’t have a fast lap like that in the second half.  To be on pace for 52.5 miles, I would need to speed up a little.  That wasn’t going to happen.  I had finished the more comfortable half of the race.  The second half would be brutally hot.  If anything, I was going to slow down.

In the second half of the race, I finally felt like drinking more Gatorade.  For the rest of the race, I was drinking a third of a bottle after every lap.  Despite drinking more, I no longer needed to make bathroom stops.

I wasn’t noticing as many runners on the course now.  Some people were starting to take breaks.  Others reached their goals and stopped.  I know a few runners just wanted to do enough laps to complete a marathon.

For most of the summer, I’ve been doing my training runs in the afternoon.  I’ve been doing that to get used to the summer heat.  I usually ran at least 10 miles, with temperatures ranging from the upper 70s to the upper 90s.  On one of those runs, the heat index climbed to 109 by the time I was done running.  I didn’t take walking breaks on those runs.  Instead, I ran at a deliberately slow pace, so I wouldn’t overheat.

When I ran this race in 2005, I didn’t realize how hot it would be.  I didn’t do any heat training that year, and on race day, I really suffered.  After finishing enough laps for a marathon, I was feeling so awful that I decided to stop as soon as I completed enough laps for 50K.  I dragged myself through the next seven laps by promising myself I could quit after 44 laps.

When I finished my 44th lap, I asked the lap counter how many laps the leader had.  Earlier in the race, there were a few runners who lapped my multiple times, but nobody had lapped me again recently.  I didn’t think I could complete with them.  I was just curious.

The lap counter looked through her sheets and then said, “Number 138 has 44 laps.”  I looked down at my shirt.  I was wearing bib number 138.  I was shocked to find out I was leading the race.  What happened to those guys who were way ahead of me?

As it turns out, I was the only one who kept moving the whole time.  Everyone else had to stop and take a break after overheating.  I had been prepared to quit, but you can’t quit when you’re winning.  I dragged myself through 17 more miles, not stopping until I was out of time.  I ended up winning that race by one lap.

On this year’s course, I needed 21 laps to get past 50K.  When I finished my 21st lap, I wanted to ask the same question, but they no longer do manual lap counting.  Now they have chip timing, so laps are recorded electronically.  They had a display that showed real-time results, but it was confusing, and the print wasn’t big enough for me to read it without leaving the course.

I knew by now there were at least two runners who had lapped me three or four times.  There was at least one other runner who may have lapped me early in the race and who always seemed to be ahead of me when we were on the same lap.  I assumed, at best, I was in third place, but that seemed doubtful.  It wasn’t going to affect my race strategy.  I was going to run until time was up, and I was still focused on finishing 51 miles.  I couldn’t do more, and I wouldn’t settle for less.

After another lap, I just needed 12 more laps to get to 51 miles.  That’s 18 miles.  Last weekend, I did an 18-mile training run on a loop that was the same length.  That run was a dry run for this race.  I was pacing myself the same way, and I was also rehearsing my nutrition strategy.  Since the remaining distance was something I had done recently in training, it seemed more manageable.  It was the first time in the race that the remaining distance didn’t seem intimidating.

There was a half marathon, but it didn’t start until 1:00 PM.  They had a different starting line.  That had to run 1.1 miles, followed by eight complete laps.  I ran by them as they were getting ready to start.

By the time I finished that lap, the half marathon had started and the fastest runners were catching up to me.  For the rest of the race, the course didn’t seem as empty.

By now, it was hot enough that I had to put ice in my hat after every lap.  By the time I finished a lap, the ice had mostly melted.

After I finished my 23rd lap, another runner started his lap just as I was done putting ice in my hat.  It was a runner who I had seen go by five times.  I asked him what lap he was on.  He said he didn’t know his lap count, but he had 42 miles.  I was at 34.5 miles, so he was 7.5 miles ahead of me.  That was five laps.  Surprisingly, he wasn’t winning the race.  He said there was another runner ahead of him.

There was a long gradual uphill section in the first half of each lap.  The race organizers thought it was notable enough that they put signs at the top.  On one side of the road, a sign read, “End Patriot Ascent Section.”  A sign on the other side of the road read, “Start Patriot Descent Section.”  Early in the race, I didn’t think of this as a “hill,” but later in the race I did.

For most of the race, I was running the last mile of the loop as fast as 9:30.  That mile included the descent section, so it was net downhill.  Now, it was consistently taking me more than 10 minutes to run that mile.  The miles were adding up, and the heat was taking a toll on me.  I couldn’t run as fast.  Because of that, my walking breaks were getting shorter.  When they got to be less than two minutes, I knew I had to make an adjustment.

Since the beginning of the race, I had been setting a target time of 16 minutes for each lap.  That was a faster pace than I really needed to get to 51 miles.  With each lap, I was putting 12 seconds in the bank, and that time gradually adds up.  It was time to make a withdrawal.

With 10 laps to go, I did the math and realized I could afford to average 16:40 per lap the rest of the way.  I didn’t want to cut it too close, so I adjusted my target time to 16:30.  That still gave me room to slow down a little more later.  It also meant my “walk to” time would still be a whole minute on every other lap.  I really needed those extra 30 seconds of walking.  Now I was back to walking almost as far as before.

After another lap, I only had nine to go.  Three laps earlier, 12 laps seemed like a manageable distance.  Now, nine laps seemed like a lot.

After two more laps, I only had seven to go.  That’s 10.5 miles, which is the distance I do most frequently for training runs.  Knowing that didn’t make it seem any more manageable.  Each lap was tough now, and 10.5 miles still seemed like a lot.

I felt the same way with six, five, and four laps to go.  I could grind out the laps, one at a time, but the remaining distance to get to 51 miles always seemed intimidating.

There was a 5K race that started at 3:00 PM.  Their starting line was a tenth of a mile before the start/finish line of the ultra.  As I was finishing my 31st lap, I saw those runners lined up on one side of the road.  I passed them just before they started.  Then the fastest 5K runners raced by me before I crossed the line to finish the lap.  Most of the others passed me as I was stopping to drink some Gatorade and put ice in my hat.

After crossing the main start/finish line, the 5K runners had to do two full laps.  I still needed to do four laps.  I was jealous.

With four laps to go, I was able to make another adjustment to my target time for the remaining laps.  Now I could budget 17 minutes for each lap.  Even with the extra 30 seconds of walking, my walking breaks still weren’t as long as they were earlier in the race.

While I was on my walking break, the last of the 5K runners went by.  I few of them were walking the whole way.  I heard one 5K runner say to another, “This is stupid.  When I signed up for this, I didn’t realize how hot it would be.”  It seemed cruel to make them start at the hottest hour of the day, but at least they only had to run a few miles.  It seemed even more cruel to make the half marathon runners start at 1:00.  They had to go a long enough distance that the heat would take more of a toll on them.  It wasn’t until after the race that I realized why they did that.  The time limit for every race came at 4:11 PM.  That made it possible to do all the awards at the same time.

As I resumed running, I passed the people who were walking.  Then I started to pass the runners at the back of the pack.  Amazingly, I was passing 5K runners all the way up the hill.  It wasn’t until the descent section that I stopped passing them.  I could go a little faster there, but they could too.

Late in the race, I found that every time I drank some of my Gatorade, I had a sudden urge to pee.  Since I always felt that while I was drinking, it seemed like it must be a psychological thing.  When I started moving again, the urge would subside.

With three laps to go, the urge to pee wasn’t subsiding.  When I reached the port-o-potty at the other end of the loop, I made a bathroom stop.  I managed to pee a little, but only a few drops.  Then I couldn’t pee any more.  I think I was under too much physical stress to relax enough to pee.  The same thing happened to me once in a 100-mile trail run where I was overheated.  I was frustrated that I wasted time on an unproductive bathroom stop.  That time would come out of my next walking break.

After my 32nd lap, I had already reached my minimum goal.  At this point, however, I wasn’t going to be satisfied with anything less than 51 miles.  I knew I had enough time.  I only had to run three more miles, and I would have two walking breaks.  For the first time in 10 laps, the remaining distance didn’t seem intimidating.  I would still have to work hard in those two laps, but I knew I could do it, and it wouldn’t take too much longer.

When I finished that lap, there was 20 minutes left in the race.  I drank some Gatorade, but I didn’t bother to put ice in my hat.  The ice from the previous lap had melted, but my hat was still wet.  With only one lap to go, I figured that was good enough.  In retrospect, that was probably a mistake.  I didn’t realize how much I was in danger of overheating.

I usually worked a little harder on the hill, so I wouldn’t slow down.  In this lap, I seemed to be slowing down on that section.  I didn’t feel confident until I crested the hill and began the descent section.  At that point, I knew I could run to the finish, but that didn’t make it any easier.

I finished the race with 51 miles.  That was my top goal, but it took a toll on me.  As I walked to where my coolers were, I went by the tent where they were handing out finisher medals.

Shortly after finishing, I had to sit down on one of my coolers.  I sat there for several minutes.  When I felt like I could get up, I walked over to the timing tent, where several other runners were looking at the screen with live results.  The screen was so confusing, that I couldn’t tell where I placed.  I couldn’t even tell what my own mileage was, although I already knew.

I recognized another runner who had lapped me several times, and I asked him how far he ran.  He said 53 miles.  In fact, he ran 52.5 miles, but his watch was reading high by about half a mile.  Mine was too.

After talking to him, I needed to sit down again.  I saw a few large coolers and sat down on one.  After sitting for a minute or two, I started to feel light-headed.  I felt like I came close to passing out.

At least two people asked me if I was OK.  Without hesitation, I told them I wasn’t.  I’ve never felt like this after a race.  I was pushing pretty hard for the last several laps, and I was closer to my limit than I realized.  Also, I don’t think my body reacted well to sitting down.  Ideally, I should’ve kept walking around, but I was too tired.

They had a doctor in the finish area, but he had to tend to a runner who had collapsed near the finish line.  The people tending to me were other runners.  One of them asked me if I knew where I was.  I did.  I felt lightheaded, but I was still coherent.

They placed several wet rags over my head, neck, arms, and legs to cool me down.  After several minutes, they asked me if I wanted to lie down.  Three people helped me walk over to an open space on the grass, and they helped me lie down.  Then they brought a chair so I could elevate my legs.

After a while, one of them asked me if I wanted something to drink.  I couldn’t drink more Gatorade, but water sounded good.  I couldn’t drink while I was lying down on the grass, but now I felt like I could sit in a chair.  The wet rags had been effective in bringing my core temperature down.

Holding an ice cold bottle of water made my right hand so cold that my fingers turned white.  I have Raynaud’s Syndrome, so when one hand gets cold, both hands turn white.  I was hot earlier, but now I needed to put on a jacket, so I wouldn’t get any colder.

By now, they were doing the awards ceremony.  They started with age group awards for the 5K and half marathon.  By the time they got to age group awards for the ultra, I was able to get up and walk.  I didn’t place in the top three overall, but I won my age group.  This was the fourth straight race where I won an age group award.

This race is a fundraiser for Folds of Honor, which provides scholarships for military and first responders.  The age group awards were Folds of Honor squadron coins.

While we were waiting for the overall awards, one of the other runners brought me some food.  I ate a banana, some orange slices, and half a hamburger.

When they got to the first place award for the solo ultra, it was a guy I didn’t recognize.  He had changed into different clothes.  If he was still wearing his running clothes, I probably would’ve remembered seeing him pass me.

The second place runner was the guy who had been five laps ahead of me when I talked to him during the race.  Later in the race, he had to start walking, but he still finished four laps ahead of me.  It was a long time before they got to third place, but I already knew there was another runner who finished a lap ahead of me. 

When I was up to it, I drove back to the hotel.  By now, it was already 5:30 PM.  Fortunately, I didn’t have to drive far.  I took a long hot shower, did some stretches, and worked on a few muscles with a massage stick.

I was tempted to go to the pool area and soak in the hot tub.  That would be soothing for my legs, but I was worried I would overheat.  When you’ve overheated recently, it doesn’t take much for you to overheat again.

After my shower, I ate a bag of potato chips I brought back from the race.  Between that and the food I ate in the finish area, I didn’t feel like eating dinner until 8:00.  I didn’t feel like going anywhere, and I wouldn’t have wanted to take the time to drive to a restaurant.  Fortunately, the hotel had a restaurant.  By the time I was done with dinner, I was ready to crash for the night.

I can usually tell if I got dehydrated during a run.  I didn’t feel that way later in the day, nor did I feel like that the next morning.  I think what I experienced was a spike in core temperature after finishing the race.  That can happen when you stop running.  Your metabolism doesn’t just shut off.  Your muscles are still producing energy, but it all turns into heat when you stop moving.

In retrospect, I should’ve put ice in my hat before my last lap.  I also should’ve put ice in my hat after I finished.

Surprisingly, I didn’t have any sore muscles the next morning.  At the pace I was going, I wasn’t putting too much stress on my legs.  What made this race so difficult was the afternoon heat.

Race statistics:

Distance:  51 miles

Official Time:  9:11:00

Actual Time Before Stopping:  9:07:29

Average Pace:  10:44 per mile

Place in Age Group:  First

Lifetime Marathons/Ultras:  493

Kansas Marathons/Ultras:  5

Race Report: 2023 Boston Marathon

On April 17, I ran my 12th Boston Marathon.  This is my favorite race, and I’ll run it every year for as long as I’m still able to qualify.

For the second straight year, I also did the B.A.A. 5K race on Saturday.  For more on that race, see my previous race report.  This post picks up where that one left off.

Saturday, April 15

Besides being the day of the 5K race, Saturday was also the 10th anniversary of the bombing at the 2013 race.  April 15 is now known as One Boston Day.  There was a public ceremony in the afternoon to honor the victims of the bombing.

The Boston Marathon is my favorite race, but I also enjoy other things about this weekend.  It’s an opportunity to get together with runners from different running clubs who organize meet-ups or group photos.

After attending the afternoon ceremony, I joined members of the Boston Squeakers group for a happy hour gathering at Clerys.  The squeakers are runners who, at one time or another, have qualified for Boston, but didn’t know if they would get into the race.  There have been years when you had to beat the qualifying time for your age group by almost five minutes to get in.

I joined this group in 2016.  That was the only year that I was on the bubble.  I didn’t get a qualifying time until a few weeks before registration started.  I qualified with three minutes to spare, but I didn’t know for sure if that would be good enough.  After registering for the race, I had to wait more than a week to find out if I got in.  That’s the life of a squeaker.  Since then, I’ve always qualified by a wide enough margin that I knew I’d get in.  I still identify with the squeakers, however.  If you’ve ever been a squeaker, you can relate to that feeling of uncertainty.

When our happy hour was done, I stayed for dinner.  Then I spent the evening relaxing at the hotel.  I had every intention of getting to bed early, but for the second straight night, I stayed up late talking to other runners in the hotel lobby.  All weekend, I kept meeting other runners, as well as their friends and family who came to support them.  I also bumped into two friends who came to Boston to volunteer.  They just happened to be staying at the same hotel.

Sunday, April 16

I didn’t have to get up early, so I was able to catch up on sleep.  I didn’t get up until I could see that it was getting light outside.  Then I did some strength training exercises in the hotel’s fitness room.

After my workout, I walked into the North End to have brunch at the North Street Grille.  I wanted to try someplace new, and multiple sources ranked them among the best brunch restaurants in Boston.  Where else can you get a lobster omelet with home fries and raspberry cream cheese French toast?

Sunday is the day that various running clubs meet at the finish line for group photos.  I belong to three clubs that were doing group photos that day.  The first was Marathon Maniacs, which always meets for a group photo at noon.  This is a big group, and I saw a lot of people I know.  I was talking to people for about 20 minutes before I left.

I had a couple hours before the next group photo, so I went back to the hotel to start organizing my clothes for the race.  It was hard to decide what to wear, since I didn’t know yet whether it would rain during the race.

I went back to the finish line at 2:20 for a group photo with members of the World Marathon Majors Challenge group.  This is a Facebook group for runners who aspire to run all six of the World Marathon Majors (Boston, Chicago, New York City, London, Tokyo, and Berlin).  I finished this goal in 2016, but I joined the group to share advice with others who are working toward this goal.

The next photo was with Boston Squeakers.  They’ve been doing group photos at the finish line for 10 years, but I always used to miss them, because they conflicted with my next meet-up.  This year, the picture was earlier.

After the last group photo, I rushed to Time Out Market for a happy hour meet-up with the 50sub4 club.  Members of this club have a common goal of running marathons in all 50 states with times under four hours.

Time Out Market is a large hall with dozens of long tables in the center, and several different counter-serve restaurants on the sides.  There are also two bars.  This was a great venue for our group.  It was easy to find a place where we could all sit together.  While I was there, I had dinner.

I went to bed early that night and slept well for most of the night.

Monday, April 3

Monday was race day.  The marathon is held on the third Monday in April, which is a holiday known as Patriots’ Day.

The race starts in the small town of Hopkinton, MA.  Most of the runners get to Hopkinton by taking school buses that leave from Boston Common.  For the third time, I got to Hopkinton via a motorcoach that left from the Boston Park Plaza hotel.  There are several motorcoaches that are commissioned by different running clubs.  This one was for members of Marathon Maniacs.  A seat on the bus cost $90.

The bus left at 6:45 AM, so I had to leave the hotel early to make sure I got there on time.  I set my alarm for 5:00, so I could be ready to leave my hotel on time.  I was staying downtown, so I had to allow time to catch a green line train to Boston Common.  From there, it was just one block to the Boston Park Plaza.

I left the hotel before they started their breakfast service, but I had saved my post-race snack bag from Saturday’s 5K race, so I had plenty of food to eat while I was on the bus.  The trip to Hopkinton takes about an hour.  The drivers have to avoid roads that are blocked off for the marathon, so they inevitably have to take a circuitous route into Hopkinton.

When you take one of the school buses from Boston Common, you get dropped off at the Athletes’ Village, which is set up on the grounds of Hopkinton High School.  After getting dropped off, you wait there until it’s time to walk to the start corrals.  Waiting in the Athletes’ Village can be fun if the weather is nice and you’re with friends.  I still have fond memories of waiting there in 2012, which was an unusually warm day.

Waiting in the Athletes’ Village is far less fun if it’s raining, like it was in 2018.  Then, you hope you can find a space under one of the large tents, and you just hunker down and try to stay warm.

The advantage of arriving by motorcoach is that you don’t have to wait outside in the Athletes’ Village.  Instead, the motorcoaches all wait in a parking area that’s a few blocks away from the high school.  We can stay on the bus as long as we need to, and there a plenty of port-o-potties nearby.  The only downside was getting to Hopkinton at 7:45, when my wave didn’t start until 10:50.

The temperature was in the upper 40s, and I didn’t expect it to warm up much during the race.  By the time I left to head to the start corrals, it was drizzly.  I wore the same cheetah outfit I wore last year.  I also wore a plastic rain poncho as I walked to the start corrals.

About five minutes before my wave was going to start, the rain stopped.  I made a last-minute decision to discard the rain poncho.  I would’ve kept it on if it was still raining, but it would’ve been too hot now that the rain had stopped.  The rain poncho kept my clothes mostly dry, but I had to start the race with wet shoes.

Two weeks ago, I ran the Bratislava Marathon in 4:11:08 on a mostly flat course.  I had two goals for this race.  First, I wanted to improve on my time from Bratislava.  I didn’t need to be much faster.  I’d be happy to improve by a minute.  I just wanted to make incremental progress.

My second goal was much more challenging.  I wanted to run negative splits.  I did that in Bratislava, but I’ve only done it once before on this course.  This course is mostly downhill in the first half, but has rolling hills in the second half.  It’s tough just running even spits on this course.  It takes an incredible amount of discipline to hold back enough in the first half to actually go faster in the more difficult half.

In Bratislava, my average pace for the entire race was 9:35 per mile.  Ideally, I wanted to run that same pace in the first half of this race and then speed up.  That’s easier said than done.

As I started running, I could feel a slight headwind.  Early in the race, the course was crowded enough that other runners partially blocked the wind.  I was dressed fairly warm, but there was enough wind to ensure I would never get hot.

The first two miles are sharply downhill, but there are a couple of spots where the road briefly turns uphill.  Running downhill, I stayed relaxed.  I knew I’d be going a little fast, but that was OK as lot as I didn’t put any extra energy into it.  On the short uphill sections, I allowed myself to slow down.  I knew my overall pace would still be fast enough.

The early miles go through smaller towns, where all the spectators are local residents.  The same people come out to cheer every year.  Near the end of the first mile, I saw a guy holding up a sign that read, “25.3.”  I have no doubt that was accurate.  We had 25.3 miles to go.

I ran the first two miles in 9:14, and 9:13 respectively.  That’s a little faster than my goal pace, but I expected that.  Those are the two miles with the most elevation loss, but I wasn’t excessively fast.

When I reached an aid station, I was conflicted about whether to drink some Gatorade.  I had made a bathroom stop 25 minutes before I started, but I already felt like I needed to pee again.  I drank there, but I decided to only drink at every other aid station for the rest of the race.  I didn’t want to have to make any bathroom stops during the race.  The conditions were cool enough that I wasn’t expecting to sweat too much.

Starting with mile three, my goal was to keep my mile times between 9:30 and 9:45.  I ran mile three in 9:28.  That was just a little bit fast, so I tried to relax more in the next mile.

My qualifying time for this race was 3:33, but I’m not currently in shape to run nearly that fast.  Wave and corral assignments are based on your qualifying time, so I started the race surrounded by people who were running much faster than I was prepared to run.  To keep from going too fast, I needed to ignore the runners around me and run my own pace.  In mile four, I was drifting back in comparison with the runners around me, but I was still too fast.  I ran that mile in 9:24.

In the next mile, I eased up some more.  Now, everybody was going by me.  I apparently relaxed a little too much.  I slowed to 9:54 in that mile.  That’s only nine seconds slower than my target range, but it was 30 seconds slower than the previous mile.  I was concerned about slowing down that much, so I picked up my effort.  Mile six was the first mile where I felt like I was working to pick up my pace.  I overcompensated and sped up to 9:02.

I drank Gatorade at two miles and four miles, but when I got to six miles, I still felt like I was drinking more often than I needed to.  I was feeling the wind more now, so I cut back to only drinking at every third mile.

In mile seven, I slowed to 9:47.  I kept missing my target range.  Sometimes I was faster, and sometimes I was slower.  It wasn’t until the 8th mile that I finally got it just right.

When I wear the cheetah outfit, I always get reactions from the crowd.  I also get compliments from other runners.  This year, one of the other runners remembered seeing me in the same outfit last year.  Another remembered seeing me at the New York City Marathon.

Of my first 10 miles, only two were within my target range, but my average pace was OK.  It was right at the low end of my target range.  I also felt pretty comfortable.  I felt similar to the way I felt in the first half of the Bratislava Marathon, and that was a race where I had the energy to speed up in the second half.

When I got to the 12-mile mark, I took off my gloves and took my phone out of my fanny pack in anticipation of the “Wellesley scream tunnel,” which begins at 20K.  As soon as I took my phone out, it started sprinkling.  It wasn’t a heavy rain, but it was more significant than the light drizzle we had before the race.

Wellesley College is an all-women’s school that’s right next to the marathon route.  The students always come out to cheer.  There’s also a long tradition of runners stopping to get a kiss from one of the students.  I wasn’t going to stop, but I unlocked the screen on my phone and took several pictures.  I was taking pictures randomly while I kept running.  I took more than a dozen pictures, hoping a few of them would be clear.  It had only been raining for about five minutes, but many of the students already had umbrellas out.

After the Wellesley scream tunnel, I put my phone back in my fanny pack.  My hands were getting cold, and I regretted taking my gloves off.  I was tempted to put them on again, but it’s tough to pull them on when my hands are already wet.  Instead, I stuffed the gloves around my phone, to keep it from getting too wet.

I was almost to the halfway point.  This was the first of three places where one of my friends was volunteering.  When I reached halfway, I looked for my friend Jody, who was stationed by the digital clock.  The crowds were so thick, that I had trouble spotting her, but she saw me and yelled to me.  I slowed down briefly to wave to her, and she took a picture of me.

I reached the halfway mark in 2:04:38.  That put me on pace to finish in roughly 4:09, which would’ve been two minutes faster than I ran in Bratislava.  The challenge now was to run faster in the second half.

I was just starting the second half when I started feeling larger drops.  It was no longer a light sprinkle.  Now it was a soaking rain.  I really missed the plastic rain poncho that I discarded before the start of the race.  The second half was going to be cold, but I just had to endure it.  I figured it would be about hours before I finished.

I immediately picked up my effort.  The next mile was slightly downhill, and I used it to pick up my pace.  In the first half of the race, everyone was passing me.  Now, for the first time, I passed a few runners.  I wanted to run the second half faster, but that wasn’t my only motivation for working harder now.  I also needed to work harder to stay warm.

I ran the 14th mile in 9:10.  Earlier, I didn’t want to run any faster than 9:30.  Now I didn’t want to run  any slower than that.

I kept up the same effort in mile 15, but I never noticed when my watched recorded my split.  Now that it was raining, I didn’t hear the subtle beep, nor did I feel the vibration.  I assumed my pace was faster than 9:30, because my effort was similar to the previous mile.

When I reached the aid station just past 15 miles, I decided to drink now, so I wouldn’t need to drink at the next aid station.  I remembered that the next aid station would come during a hill, and I didn’t want to have to stop on the hill.

As I got closer to the Charles River, the road turned sharply downhill.  I shifted into my downhill racing stride, taking short rapid steps.  That was the last downhill mile before reaching the Newton hills, and I wanted to run it fast.

As I entered Newton, I began a long gradual hill.  I lifted my effort.  I wanted to keep my pace under 9:30, even going uphill.  Near the beginning of that hill, I passed the 16-mile mark.  I was curious to know how fast I ran the previous mile, but I missed getting the split from my watch.

The hill I was on isn’t at all steep, but it’s almost a mile long.  I picked up my effort enough that I was now passing many of the runners around me.  Toward the end of that mile, I was running hard enough that my breathing was somewhat faster.  I was curious to know what my pace was, but when I got to 17, I once again missed getting the split form my watch.

After that hill, the road turns downhill and then levels off.  I used that section to recover before the next hill.

It was here that I noticed it had stopped raining.  It may have only been raining hard for two or three miles, but my clothes were soaked, so I was cold for the rest of the race.  Later, I would occasionally notice some light drizzle, but it never rained hard again. 

At 17.5 miles, I made the right turn onto Commonwealth Avenue and ran by the Newton Fire Station.  This is the beginning of the second hill.  It’s steeper, but not too long.  I really attacked this hill.  I was passing other runners again here.  The hill was just a little bit longer than I remembered, and I couldn’t keep up the same pace all the way to the top.

After cresting that hill, I used the downhill to pick up my pace again.  I ran this downhill hard enough that I briefly started breathing faster.  That was the only time I was breathing hard while running downhill.

I was anticipating seeing my friend David, who was volunteering in Newton.  He was stationed by the clock at 30K, but I got mixed up and looked for him at 18 miles instead.  As a result, I never saw him.  I also missed another split, so I didn’t know how well I kept up my pace.  I felt like I was running strong, so I was reasonably confident that I was at least keeping my pace under 9:30.  Still, it was frustrating not knowing for sure.

The next mile was rolling.  It had some small undulations, but nothing that I really think of as a hill.  Ahead of me, I spotted a runner who had passed me earlier in the race.  He’s a much stronger runner than I am, so I was surprised that I was close enough to see him.  By the end of that mile, I realized I was gaining on him.  That gave me more confidence that I was running strong through Newton.

When I finished that mile, I once again missed getting the split from my watch.  That was five consecutive miles that I didn’t know my pace.  It wasn’t until after the race, when I downloaded the data from my watch, that I discovered how fast I was going.  I ran those five miles in 9:06, 8:34, 8:55, 8:52, and 8:40 respectively.  I felt strong, but had no idea that I was running that fast.

In mile 20, I reached the third of the four Newton hills.  This one isn’t that tough, but I ran a measured effort here.  I wanted to make sure I would still have plenty of energy for the last hill.  When I finished that mile, I finally saw my time.  I ran that one in 8:52.  I still didn’t know my times from the previous five miles, but running this one that fast gave me a lot of confidence.

The last significant hill on the course is Heartbreak Hill.  This one starts out fairly easy, but gets steeper about halfway up.  Having run it several times before, I knew exactly how long it was, so I was able to ration my energy well.

After Heartbreak Hill, the road turns downhill, but only briefly.  Then there’s one more small rise before the 21-mile mark.  I really wanted to know how fast I ran that mile.  I knew I wouldn’t hear or feel my watch recording my split, so I kept looking at my watch.  I looked at 20.95 and 20.97.  Then I got distracted.  When I looked again, it was already 21.03.  I missed getting my split for the sixth time out of seven miles.  After the race, I learned that I ran that mile in 9:16.

Now, I was almost home free.  The rest of the race has a downhill trend.  There are a few small hills, but nothing significant.  As I ran past Boston College, I had a nice long downhill segment.  I shifted into my downhill racing stride and picked up speed.  I ran that mile in 8:36.

In the next mile, the road leveled off a bit.  I throttled back my effort just a bit to make sure I wouldn’t run out of gas before the end of the race.  Near the end of that mile, there are some tracks in the street.  I always pay close attention to my footing going around the turn, to make sure I won’t trip on the tracks.

After the turn, I entered Brookline.  Wellesley College, Boston College, and Boylston Street have reputations for great crowd support, but the people of Brookline really turned out.  The crowds here really kept me pumped up.

I ran mile 23 in 8:59.  My total time so far was 3:33 and change.  I did a quick calculation and realized that if I kept up the same pace for the last 3.2 miles, I would run negative splits by six or seven minutes.  Both of my pre-race goals were in the bag now, so I set a more ambitious goal.  My fastest race so far this year was the Las Cruces Marathon in early January.   I couldn’t remember my exact time in that race, but I knew it was 4:03 and change.  At the pace I was going, it was going to be close, but I had a realistic shot at beating that time.

With 5K to go, I thought back to the 5K race I ran on Saturday.  I imagined myself needing to run that same course now, but at a pace that was about a minute per mile slower.  That seemed manageable.

My friend Mary was volunteering at 24 miles.  By the time I got there, I was so focused on my pace and effort that I forgot to look for her.  I also wasn’t paying enough attention to my watch to see how fast that mile was.  It didn’t really matter that much.  I was going to run the last 2.2 miles as hard as I could regardless.

The most iconic landmark on the course is the giant Citgo sign across from Fenway Park.  I usually see it at least a mile before I get there.  This year, it was such a gray day that I didn’t notice it until I was only half a mile away.

It’s easy to tell when you’re approaching the 25-mile sign, because you see the 40K sign first.  There’s also a small hill there as you cross a bridge over the freeway.  That gave me a heads up that it was time to start paying attention to my watch.  I ran mile 25 in 8:55.

When I reached the Citgo sign and Fenway Park, I had exactly a mile to go.  It’s painted on the street too.  I looked at my watched and realized for the first time that I was definitely going to beat my time from the Las Cruses Marathon.

Shortly after that, I ran under a bridge that was painted with the words, “Boston Strong.”  After running under that bridge, I was on the section of the course that’s also part of the course for the B.A.A 5K race.  I had run this section of the course just two days earlier, so it was fresh in my mind.  The road dips down as you run under Massachusetts Avenue.  Then you have to come up a small ramp.  Sometimes I struggle with this ramp, but not this year.

After making the right turn onto Hereford, it’s slightly uphill for two short blocks before the final turn onto Boylston.  I ran a measured effort on Hereford, but poured it on when I got onto Boylston.

As soon as you turn onto Boylston, you can see the finish line in the distance.  There was so much mist in the air that I could barely see it.

I ran hard to the line and finished in 4:02:21, easily beating my time from Las Cruces.  I ran negative splits by a huge margin.  After running the first half in 2:04:38, I ran the second half in 1:57:43.

In spite of the cold rain, this was one of my favorite Boston Marathon experiences.  I love how strong I felt in the second half of the race.  It took me 12 tries, but I finally paced myself well on this course.

The Boston Marathon finisher medal is something I always treasure.  Other races have new designs every year, but the Boston medal has the same classic design every year.  There are small changes in styling, but it’s always the logo of the Boston Athletic Association.

As I continued through the finish area, I encountered a volunteer who was having trouble getting a mylar blanket turned to the reflective side.  This blanket was twice as long as it was supposed to be.  He asked me if I minded getting a “double wide” blanket.  That worked for me.  I was freezing cold, and the more blanket I could wrap around me the better.  There were other volunteers with tape to help hold it in place.

As I kept moving forward, another volunteer handed me a food bag.  I took it without thinking.  As I kept walking, it occurred to me that I really didn’t need it.  I already had plenty of water back at the hotel, so I didn’t need any water or Gatorade.  I also didn’t need any food.  It was already after 3:00.  By the time I got back to the hotel and got cleaned up, it would be close to dinner time.  I didn’t want to eat anything now that would spoil my appetite for dinner.  I also didn’t need to save any food for Tuesday.  I was getting a free breakfast at the hotel and then I needed to fly home.

I made my way to Arlington Station, which is the closest T station after the finish line.  When I got into the station, I found out there was no inbound train service on the green line, because of a disabled train that was tying up the track.  I had to leave that station and walk four blocks to get to the nearest station on the orange line.  By the time I got there, my hands were so cold that they turned completely white.  I have Raynaud’s Syndrome, so that’s a common problem for me if I get too cold.

I tried a couple times to give away my food bag, but I wasn’t finding any takers.  Finally, after boarding a train, I saw a woman with a young boy.  I asked her if her son would like some snacks.  She happily accepted the food bag.  I didn’t need it, so I was glad to give it to someone who could use it.

After getting back to the hotel, I took a long hot bath.  The color came back to my hands, but my fingers felt tingly at first.

Now that I was done running and my hands were finally working, I could use my phone to track some of my friends who were running.  Three of them were running the Boston Marathon for the first time.  Of those, one was finishing her journey to run marathons in all 50 states.  They all finished.  One of the friends I was tracking is a veteran of this race, but he was injured, so he had to walk most of the race.  He didn’t know if he would be alle to finish before they shut off the clocks.  He did.

When you’re running the marathon, you don’t get to watch the elite runners on TV.  I had to wait until after the race to see who won.  I was curious to see how Eliud Kipchoge did.  He’s the world record holder, and he’s set course records at several races, but most of those were races with flat courses.  I was curious to see how he would do on this course.  Apparently, this course was challenging for him.  Kipchoge came in sixth.  The male winner was Evans Chabet, who also won the race in 2022.  The female winner was Hellen Obiri.  Minnesota native Emma Bates was the first American woman.

Jody was one of the friends who was staying at the same hotel as me.  When Jody got back from volunteering, we went to dinner at Night Shift Brewing.  They were offering free pizzas to marathon finishers.  Shortly after we arrived, I saw two other friends arrive, so the four of us ate together.  Three of us got free pizzas for running the marathon and Jody got a free pizza for volunteering.

Tuesday, April 18

Tuesday morning, I saw several other marathon runners who were walking uncomfortably.  I felt fine.  I didn’t have any sore muscles or other aches and pains.  I’m feeling pretty optimistic about my running.  Earlier in the year, I had a few setbacks, but I’m finally able to train consistently, and my race times are improving.

When I got to the airport, I saw lots of other runners wearing Boston Marathon gear and/or finisher medals.  I had a chance to talk to a few runners I had never met and hear about their race experiences.

Race statistics:

Distance:  26.2 miles

Time:  4:02:21

Average Pace:  9:15 per mile

First Half:  2:04:38

Second Half:  1:57:43

Lifetime Marathons/Ultras:  479

World Marathon Majors:  24 (12 Boston, 5 Chicago, 4 NYC, 1 London, 1 Tokyo, 1 Berlin)

Unicorns:  15 (12 Boston Marathons, 1 Virtual Boston Marathon, 2 B.A.A. 5Ks)