Race Report: Northwest Series, Day 6

Today was the last day of the Mainly Marathons Northwest Series.  For the second straight day, we were running alongside the Snake River in Hell’s Gate State Park.

I slept well, but I woke up with a considerable amount of soreness.  Some of that was from my fall yesterday.

The scrape below my knee looked ugly, but it didn’t hurt.  The scrapes on my hip were barely noticeable, but that’s where I had a lot of soreness.  My elbow didn’t look too bad, but I had yet to wash out the blood stains on the sleeve of my jacket.

I don’t usually take anything for pain or soreness, but I took some Tylenol before leaving the hotel.

As usual, I took the 6:30 start.  It was dark when I arrived at the park, but it was light by the time I started running.  Now that I knew the layout of the park, I made a point of parking near one of the bathrooms.

Today’s weather was similar to yesterday.  It was chilly enough at the start that I had to start the race with a jacket and gloves.  My legs were cold, so I had to run fast enough to stay warm.

As I got warmed up, I gradually settled into a more relaxed pace.  Halfway through my fourth lap, I took off my jacket and gloves.  I may have been a bit premature with the gloves.  For the next lap or two, my hands and arms were cold.

Yesterday, I saw a few deer, but I wasn’t able to get a picture.  Today, I ran the whole race with my phone, so I wouldn’t miss any photo ops.  I was nearing the end of my fifth lap when I saw another runner stop to take a picture.  I looked in that direction and saw a few deer milling about.

There’s a long-standing tradition that the last day of a series is hot dog day.  They have hot dogs at the aid station, and some runners dress for the occasion.

During the first half of the race, I only took one walking break.  I had several other stops though.  Besides stopping to take photos, I had two bathroom stops, I stopped to eat a hot dog, and I stopped to demonstrate some stretches for a runner with sciatica.  When I reached the halfway point, my time was slower than any of the other days.

I usually start taking walking breaks in the second half.  Today, I felt like I needed to keep running, but I ran at a relaxed pace.  I had two more bathroom stops, and I stopped at the aid station one more time to eat a hot dog.

I was halfway through my 11th lap when I caught up to Clyde.  I asked Clyde what lap he was on.  He started an hour earlier, but we were now on the same lap.  We each had three-and-a-half laps to go.

Next, I asked Clyde if he was on pace to finish in seven hours.  Clyde was confident that he was.  That meant I could walk the rest of the race with Clyde and still finish in six hours.

I thought we might be cutting it kind of close, so I kept a close eye on our pace.  Clyde maintained a brisk pace, and we were always on schedule.  By the last lap, we no longer needed to walk fast, but we did.

I finished the race in 5:53:41.  I kept my times under six hours all six days.  That was my goal.

Today, I got two pieces to add to my chain of medals.  The first one was the medal for today’s race, which was the other Idaho medal.  The second was an extra piece that goes to anyone who does the whole series.

Here’s the entire chain.

As I was leaving Hell’s Gate State Park, a deer darted across the road right in front of me.  Fortunately, I was already slowing down for a speed bump, so I was in no danger of hitting the deer.

When I got back to the hotel, I finally took the time to rinse the blood stains out of my jacket.

Tomorrow, I need to drive back to Spokane and fly home.  My flight isn’t until the afternoon, so I won’t have to get up as early tomorrow.  I’m looking forward to that.  I’m also looking forward to not having another race until October.

This was the fourth time in less than a year that I’ve run marathons on five or six consecutive days.  That’s unusual for me.  Until recently, I rarely did more than one multi-day series in a year.

Race statistics:

Distance:  26.2 miles

Time:  5:53:41

Average Pace:  13:29 per mile

First Half:  2:48:28

Second Half:  3:05:13

Marathons/Ultras in 2026:  36

Lifetime Marathons/Ultras:  608

Race Report: Northwest Series, Day 5

Today was day five of the Mainly Marathons Northwest Series.  It was the first of two days in Idaho.

Every other morning, I take an iron pill.  On the days I take those, I sometimes get the runs.   I didn’t have any problems on Saturday or Monday.  Today, I wasn’t so lucky.

I may have eaten breakfast too soon after taking the pill.  I also ate a breakfast that was probably too rich.  Ten minutes later, it went right through me.  I made two more trips to the bathroom before leaving the hotel.  Then I crossed my fingers that I was done.

Our race venue was Hell’s Gate State Park.  There’s normally a fee to enter the park, but that was included in our race entry.

The aid station was set up in the campground, but we couldn’t park there.  We had to park in the day use area, which is about a quarter mile away.

Most runners took the early start at 5:30 AM.  I didn’t want to get up that early, and I also didn’t want to run in the dark for the first hour.  I opted for the 6:30 start.  Unfortunately, that meant parking farther away, since all the closer parking spaces were already taken.

After parking in the closest available space, I notice a nearby building.  I had plenty of time, so I investigated to see if this building had bathrooms.  It did.  I’m real glad I took the time to use this bathroom, because there weren’t any bathrooms in the start/finish area.

It was still dark, so I needed to carry a flashlight as I made my way from my car to the starting line.  It was chilly, so kept my warm-up pants on until the last minute.

As usual, the course was out-and-back.  Usually, the aid station is set up at one end of the course.  Today, the aid station was in the middle.  We needed to run roughly half a mile to the south before turning around and coming back to the aid station.  Then we ran a similar distance to the north before turning around again.  When we got back to the aid station, that was one lap.  I needed to run 14 laps for the marathon.

Yesterday was the only day that it was warm enough in the morning that I could start the race without a jacket or gloves.  Today, I needed to keep them on.  As I started running, my legs were cold.  I didn’t have the luxury of taking any walking breaks.  I had to run to keep warm.  Fortunately, this course was flatter than the others, so there weren’t any places where I felt the need to walk.

The path we were on was paved, but there were rough patches with small rocks imbedded in the pavement.  I was near the end of my first lap when I caught my foot on one of these small rocks.  I hit the pavement hard.

As I got up, I could see scrapes on the side of my leg.  My hands and arm were protected somewhat by my gloves and jacket.  Even so, my hands hurt for several minutes.

After getting up, I immediately resumed running.  I still needed to run to keep my legs from getting too cold.

I looked at my sleeve to see if my jacket was torn.  I couldn’t see any tears, but I saw a couple dark patches.  Evidently, my elbow was bleeding under the jacket.

I kept my jacket on until I was halfway through my fourth lap.  Sure enough, there was a small scrape on my elbow.  I kept my gloves on until the end of my fifth lap.  My hands looked fine.

Early in my sixth lap, I felt the urgent need to rush to the bathroom.  There were two buildings with bathrooms.  Neither one was right along the route.  The one closer to the trail was the one near my car.  That was at the other end of the course.  The one I would pass first was farther away from the trail.

I couldn’t hold it in while running.  I had to slow to a walk until I reached the first building with bathrooms.  Then I had to take a long detour off the trail.

Later in that same lap, I stopped at the other bathroom, just to make sure I was done.  Since I was already close to my car, I stopped to get my phone, so I could take some pictures of the course.

This was our view from the northern end of the course.

Coming back from there, we ran by two beach areas.

This is the aid station, right in the middle of our route.

South of the aid station, we ran past the campground.

The aid station always has a hot foot item.  Today, it was a breakfast “hot dish” made with tater tots, eggs, cheese, and Spam.  Halfway through my seventh lap, I picked up a cup of the hot dish at the aid station.  I had to walk until I finished eating it.

When I finished that lap, I was half done.  My time at the halfway point was slower than any of the other days.  Between the bathroom stops and the walking, I lost a lot of time.

Usually, I start doing extra walking in the second half of the race.  Today, I felt like I should keep running for a few more laps before slowing down too much.

I had to make one more bathroom stop.  Other than that, I forced myself to keep running until I was done with my 10th lap.

With four laps to go, I wasn’t sure exactly what pace I needed to break six hours.  I knew 16-minute miles was fast enough and 17-minute miles would be too slow.

I saw my friend Fran a short distance ahead of me.  I kept running until I caught up with Fran.  Fran was walking, but she often walks at a brisk pace.

I asked Fran what pace she was walking.  She said about 16 and a half minutes.  That was probably fast enough for me, so I started walking with Fran.  I quickly found I had to work hard to keep up with her.  She didn’t want to slow me down, so she was picking up her pace.

After one lap with Fran, I checked my watch.  I needed to walk the last three laps in an average of 32 minutes.  It seemed like we were going faster than that.

In one of our laps, I saw Clyde was a short distance behind us as we reached one of the turnarounds.  One lap later, it seemed like he was still the same distance behind us.  I told Fran we were walking as fast as Clyde, who is usually the fastest walker on the course.

Fran seemed skeptical, but when we reached the turnaround at the other end of the course, it was obvious that we were now farther ahead of Clyde.  Knowing we were walking faster than Clyde seemed to light a fire under Fran.  We walked even faster.  In one mile, we got as fast as 14:50.

Each time we finished a lap, we were faster than the pace I needed.  With a lap to go, I told Fran a casual walking pace would be fast enough.  At this point, she was determined to stay ahead of Clyde.

We were almost back to the aid station, in the middle of the lap, when Fran tripped on something in the trail.  She bumped her head, and she got some scrapes, but she seemed to be OK.  When we reached the aid station, Fran stopped briefly to clean herself up.  Despite the fall, and the time at the aid station, we were even farther ahead of Clyde when we reached the last turnaround.

This was my last lap, but Fran was doing the 50K race, so she still had a few laps to go.  It was Clyde’s last lap, so Fran just needed to stay ahead of Clyde until we got back to the aid station.

When we were almost there, I broke into an all-out racewalk until I reached the finisher bell.  I finished in 5:50:32.  Fran applied an icepack where she bumped her head.  Then she started her next lap.

Today I received the first of two styles of medal for Idaho.

After a race, my top priority is usually soaking my legs and stretching.  Today, it was cleaning up my scrapes.  I had a bloody scrape on my right knee and smaller scrapes on my right hip and right elbow.

When I took off my socks, I saw a blood stain from one of my toes.  I had a sharp corner on one toenail, and it was cutting the adjacent toe.  It looked messy, but it didn’t hurt at all.  Those things always look worse than they are.

There’s just one more race in this series.  We’ll be on the same course tomorrow.  I’ll probably go out of my way to park in the same place, so I can be close to the bathroom.

I felt tired today, and I expect to be even more tired tomorrow.  I may also have some sore spots.  I’m glad tomorrow is the last day of the series.

Race statistics:

Distance:  26.2 miles

Time:  5:50:32

Average Pace:  13:22 per mile

First Half:  2:42:34

Second Half:  3:07:58

Marathons/Ultras in 2026:  35

Lifetime Marathons/Ultras:  607

Race Report: Northwest Series, Day 4

Today was the fourth day of the Mainly Marathons Northwest Series.  Today, we were in Clarkston, WA again running the same route as yesterday.

I got to bed early, and I got a good night’s sleep.  For once, I didn’t feel like I was dragging myself out of bed in the morning.

We didn’t experience as wide of a temperature range today.  It was warmer at the start, but it didn’t warm up as quickly in the late morning hours.

My goal today was the same as yesterday.  I just wanted to keep my time under six hours.  As usual, I planned to mostly run in the first half, so I could do a lot more walking in the second half, as it got hotter.

Yesterday, I picked out two small hills to walk during my first seven laps, and I started walking two more hills later.  Today, I was walking all four of those hills from the very beginning.

During my first lap, I had another nice sunrise view through the river valley.

For the first three laps, I was running by myself.  I was able to run most of laps four and five with Ken.  I think those laps were a little bit faster, but they seemed easier.  In laps six and seven, I was on my own again.

At the halfway point, my time was similar to the last two days.  That gave me room to do more walking in the second half.

Yesterday, I noticed my heart rate was spiking in the second half of the race.  It was a hot sunny day, and I probably didn’t realize how hard I was working.

Today, it didn’t get as hot.  We had some clouds, and I sometimes felt a cool breeze through the river valley.

I kept an eye on my heart rate, and I never saw it get any higher than 119.  As long as it stayed low, I could continue running.

I ran at the same race for three more laps.  With four laps to go, I could afford to walk for the rest of the race, but I wanted to find someone else to walk with.  The people I walked with on other days did shorter races today.

As I was finishing lap ten, I noticed that Clyde was also finishing a lap.  Clyde had taken the earlier start, but we each had four laps to go.

Clyde is a power walker.  He walks the entire race, but he walks faster than anyone else on the course.  I knew if I walked the last four laps with Clyde, I would stay on pace to finish in six hours.

Walking at Clyde’s pace forced me to work, but I really enjoyed those laps.  It turns out
Clyde and I have similar backgrounds.  We have more in common than I would have guessed.

After power walking the last four laps, I finished in 5:41:52.

There are two styles of finisher medals for each state.  Today, I got the second Washington medal.

There are two races left in this series.  For the next two days, we’ll be in Idaho.

Race statistics:

Distance:  26.2 miles

Time:  5:41:52

Average Pace:  13:02 per mile

First Half:  2:33:52

Second Half:  3:08:00

Marathons/Ultras in 2026:  34

Lifetime Marathons/Ultras:  606

Race Report: Northwest Series, Day 3

Today was day three of the Mainly Marathons Northwest Series.  I usually find the third day of a series to be the day it starts getting difficult.  I found the first two days to be difficult, so I expected today to be a struggle.  I slept better than the previous night, but I still didn’t get as much sleep as I wanted.  My biggest concern was a tight Achilles tendon.

The temperature at the start was warmer than the previous two days.  Also, I was taking the 6:30 start instead of the 5:30 early start.  For those reasons, I didn’t have to be afraid of getting too cold if I took walking breaks in the first half of the race.

Today, we were running an out-and-back route that was mostly along the Snake River in Clarkston, WA.  I was staying in Lewiston, ID, which is just across the border.  It only took about 10 minutes to drive to the race venue from my hotel in Lewiston.

Our route started in a parking lot, where the aid station was set up.  After leaving the parking lot, we ran around a small park.  Then we continued onto the Green Belt Trail, which is a paved bike path alongside the river.  We ran almost a mile before turning around to come back the way we came.  To complete a marathon, I need to run 14 laps.

For the third straight day, I started out drinking Coke before switching to Gatorade.  Today, it seemed to help more, although I was still tired.

Today’s course was mostly flat, but there were a few small rises.  From the first lap, I was walking two of these small hills and running everywhere else.

The first time I got into the river valley, I saw a nice sunrise through the valley.  I would’ve taken a picture, but I left my phone in the car.  This is a picture that was posted to our Facebook group.

My legs never got cold, but I still started the race with a jacket and gloves.  I was able to take off the jacket after my first lap.  I took off the gloves after my second lap.

I noticed some discomfort in my Achilles tendon, but it was mild.  It was something I could easily tune out, and it never got worse.

I continued to walk the same two short hills for the first half of the race.  Twice, I did a little bit of extra walking while talking to a friend.

Despite taking walking breaks, my time at the halfway point was only about a minute slower than yesterday.  The hills I was walking were so short that it didn’t slow me down much.

Starting with my eighth lap, I slowed it down a bit.  I was still mostly running, but I picked out two more small hills to walk.

During my ninth lap, I noticed something unusual.  I happened to glance at my watch, and I saw that my heart rate was 139.  In the previous two races, I rarely saw it get any higher than 110.

In the next lap, I looked at my watch again, and my heart rate had climbed to 143.  That’s about where it tops out in a race where I’m going all out.  This wasn’t an all-out effort.  I didn’t feel like I was working any harder than I did in the first two races, although today was a hotter day.

I considered doing more walking, but I wanted to wait until I caught up to my friend Karen.  I caught up to Karen early in the next lap.  Then I started walking with her.

I initially assumed I could walk with Karen for a lap or two, but I would eventually need to do more running.  As it turns out, our walking pace was fast enough that I was able to walk with Karen for the rest of the race.

After walking for a while, I looked at my watch.  My heart rate had settled down to 100.  After another lap, I looked again, and it was 95.

With two laps to go, I needed to make a bathroom stop.  While I was already stopping at the aid station, I also went to my car to get my phone, so I could take a few pictures of the course.  Karen went ahead, so I needed to run until I caught up to her.

This picture shows the park we were running through at the beginning of each lap.

These pictures show our views of the Snake River from the trail.

Without doing any more running, I was able to finish the race in 5:53:42.  That’s slower than the previous two races, but my only goal was to keep my time under six hours.

Today, I got my first of two Washington medals.  Each one will have a different design.

The runner hitting a major milestone today was Keenan Haga.  Keenan got an extra medal today for completing a Macon.  That requires some explanation if you don’t know who Larry Macon is.

Larry Macon was the first runner to ever run 100 or more marathons in a calendar year.  He did that several times.  The first year he did that, he ran 105 marathons.  Mainly Marathons has a special medal for anyone who runs 105 marathons in a year.  Today, Keenan reached that milestone.

I finished my race just in time to get a picture of Keenan with his Macon medal.  The medal is a caricature of Larry, who used to be a regular at these races.

When I downloaded the data from my watch, I looked at the graph of my heart rate.  It got as high as 153.  As you can see from this graph, there were a couple laps where it was much higher than it had been in the first half of the race.  I can’t explain that, but I’ll probably keep an eye on that tomorrow.

Yesterday, I discovered a good restaurant just down the road from my hotel.  There are so many things on their menu that I want to try that I’m going back tonight.  I may eat dinner there every night that I’m in town.

Race statistics:

Distance:  26.2 miles

Time:  5:53:42

Average Pace:  13:29 per mile

First Half:  2:34:19

Second Half:  3:19:23

Marathons/Ultras in 2026:  33

Lifetime Marathons/Ultras:  605

Race Report: Northwest Series, Day 2

Today was the second day of the Mainly Marathons Northwest Series.  Today’s race was in Hermiston, OR.  It was the same course as yesterday’s race.

Today I arrived earlier, so I could take the early start at 5:30 AM.  I wanted to finish earlier, since I needed time to drive back to Kennewick and get cleaned up before checking out and getting on the road.  Today was the only day that I’ll have to do that.  The next four races are all close to each other, so I’ll be able to stay in the same hotel for the rest of the series.

I only slept for about half the night.  Then I woke up and couldn’t get back to sleep.  I’m usually able to shake that off, but today I couldn’t.  I was dragging.

During pre-race announcements, they always recognize runners who are reaching a big milestone.  Today was Clyde Shank’s 800th marathon, but this was no ordinary celebration.

Clyde does cryochamber treatments to help him recover from races.  He recently posted a picture on Facebook that showed him standing next to the cryochamber in his underwear.  Today, to tease him about that, dozens of runners doing the early start wore tidy whities over their running clothes.

Clyde was a good sport about it.  He also put on a pair of underwear over his running clothes.  It was a real spectacle throughout the races seeing all these runners wearing underwear over their running gear.  I wonder what other people using the trail thought of it.

I learned yesterday how dark it is before 6:30.  There’s no light sources along the course, so a flashlight or headlamp was essential for the first hour.  I started the race with a small flashlight.

I wanted to go a little faster today, so I could get back to my hotel sooner.  At a minimum, I wanted to keep my time under 5:30.  Five hours would be better, but I had to see how it went.

Because I was starting earlier, it was chilly for an extra hour before it started to warm up.  I wore a warmer T-shirt than the one I wore yesterday.  Like yesterday, I started the race with gloves and a Tyvek jacket.

Most people who took the early start were walking, but there were several other people who started out running.  I just followed them.

A few of those runners took walking breaks the first time they reached a hill.  My legs were cold, so I had to keep running to stay warm.

I started at about the same pace as yesterday, but by the time I reached the turnaround, I was already falling behind the lead group of runners.  From that point on, I was always running by myself.

As I was finishing my first lap, I saw a faint orange glow on the horizon.  The course was still dark though.

By my second lap, I was already slowing down.  Already, I was almost a minute per mile slower.  I kept up that slower pace for the first half of the race.

After my second lap, there was enough light that I no longer needed my flashlight.  I stopped at the aid station to put it in my drop bag.

Now I could clearly see where the hills were.  I was tempted to walk the hills, but my legs were still too cold to take walking breaks.  I had to keep running until it warmed up.

The temperature was still dropping until the sun rose.  An hour into the race it was a degree or two colder than when we started.

As I reached the turnaround in my third lap, I saw a blanket of fog over a field that was just past the turnaround.  I’m sure that fog was there earlier, but it was too dark for me to see it.

After three laps, I was roughly on pace for a five-hour finish, but I knew that wasn’t a realistic goal.  I had already slowed down since my first lap, and I would eventually need to start taking walking breaks.

By the end of my fourth lap, I was feeling sweat under my jacket.  My legs were still cold, but I needed to unzip my jacket.

They always have some type of hot food at the aid station.  Today, it was breakfast poutine.  As I started my fifth lap, I grabbed a cup of it at the aid station and walked while I ate it.  It was nice to eat something warm, but the walking break gave my legs a chance to get colder.

After another lap, I was finally warm enough that I could take off my jacket.  I still needed my gloves for two more laps.

As I started my sixth lap, I was no longer worried about my legs getting cold if I walked.  I was tempted to start walking the hills, but I forced myself to keep running them for one more lap.

After six laps, I was half done.  My halfway split was 12 minutes slower than yesterday, even though I didn’t do any walking yet.  I was just slow today.

For the first half of the race, I was drinking Coke.  I was hoping the caffeine would give me an energy boost, but it didn’t seem to help at all.  Before starting lap seven, I filled my bottle with Gatorade and made a bathroom stop.

Starting with lap seven, I took walking breaks on the hills.  On the way out, there were two short hills that I consistently walked.  After that, it was mostly downhill all the way to the turnaround.

Coming back from the turnaround there were two long uphill sections.  The first one was a gently enough grade that I could force myself to run it.  The next one was more tiring.  For the rest of the race, I always had to walk that section.

There were two more short uphill sections after that.  In lap seven, I was able to run them.  Starting with lap eight, I had to walk the last one.

With four laps to go, I had to drag myself through each lap, but I was disciplined about where I walked.  I stuck to the same pattern for the rest of the race.

It wasn’t until my 11th lap that I realized I was getting hot and sweaty.  It warms up quickly after the sun comes up, but starting earlier meant I got farther into the race before I felt the heat.

As I started my last lap, I allowed myself to take an extra walking break, so I could eat a turkey sandwich.  As soon as I put the last bite in my mouth, I forced myself to resume running.

I always found the turnaround point to be the toughest part of the course.  After the turn, I was beginning the uphill direction.  I wanted to immediately start walking, but I had to force myself to run.  I was relieved when I made that turn for the last time.

I finished the race in 5:20:20.  The first half was slower than yesterday, but the second half was much faster.  I needed to do that, so I could get on the road as soon as possible.

I got another piece to add to my chain of medals.  This was another Oregon medal, but it was a different style from yesterday’s medal.

I managed to leave by 11:00.  I got back to my hotel in Kennewick around 11:30.  I didn’t need to check out until 2:00, so I had more than enough time to have a snack, take a bath, do some stretching and finish packing.  I didn’t take any longer than I needed.  I had a long drive ahead of me, and I wanted to get on the road as soon as I could.

For the rest of this series, I’ll be staying at a hotel in Lewiston, ID.  From Kennewick, it took about two hours and 45 minutes to drive to my hotel in Lewiston.  The drive was mostly on two-lane local roads.  At one point, I went an hour and a half without seeing any towns.  When I finally drove through a small town with a gas station, I stopped to fill up.

Tomorrow’s race is in Clarkston, WA, which is just across the river from Lewiston.  I can take the 6:30 start, so I won’t need to get up as early.  Today was the only day that I needed to change hotels after the race, so I won’t need any more early starts.

The first two races of this series were much more tiring than I expected them to be.  That doesn’t bode well for the rest of the series.  My only time goal is to keep the rest of my finish times under six hours, but that may prove to be difficult.  I desperately need to get more sleep tonight.

Race statistics:

Distance:  26.2 miles

Time:  5:20:20

Average Pace:  12:13 per mile

First Half:  2:33:02

Second Half:  2:47:18

Marathons/Ultras in 2026:  32

Lifetime Marathons/Ultras:  604

Race Report: Northwest Series, Day 1

On September 19, I ran the first race of the Mainly Marathons Northwest Series.  This series consists of marathons on six consecutive days.  The first two marathons are in Hermiston, OR.  The next two are in Clarkston, WA, and the last two are in Lewiston, ID.

The most convenient airport was Spokane, WA.  I flew to Spokane yesterday and drove to Kennewick, WA.  My hotel in Kennewick is 28 miles from the race venue in Hermiston.  I could’ve stayed at a hotel in Hermiston, but I chose to stay in Kennewick so I could stay at a hotel where I could guarantee a late checkout.  That’ll be important tomorrow.  After tomorrow’s race, I’ll want to go back to the hotel to shower and change clothes before getting on the road to drive to my next hotel.

After checking in at my hotel, I drove to Hermiston to pick up my race packet.  I could’ve waiting until this morning, but going there yesterday gave me an opportunity to find the race venue when it wasn’t dark.  Getting my race packet yesterday also saved me some time this morning.

For people doing the whole series, race numbers are assigned according to how many marathons you’ve run.  I’ve run a lot of marathons, but there were six people here who have run more.  I’ll wear the same race bib for the whole series.

The race started at 6:30 AM, with an optional early start at 5:30.  I had to allow 30 minutes for the drive from Kennewick, and I didn’t need to be in a rush to get back after the race.  For those reasons, I chose to take the 6:30 start.

The course was a 1.1-mile segment of the Oxbow Trail.  There were multiple distance options.  The marathon was 12 laps.

The temperature at the start was in the low 50s.  The sun was just rising, so it felt chilly.  I started the race with gloves and a Tyvek jacket.

Because this was the first race of a six-day series, I was planning to pace myself cautiously.  My only goal was to keep my time under six hours.  I planned to take walking breaks, but I had to wait until it warmed up.  Early in the race, I needed to run to stay warm.

As I started running, I noticed another runner who was starting at about the same pace.  I started running with her, and we started talking.  Her name was Julie, and she was doing the half marathon.  Her goal was two and a half hours.  That seemed like a reasonable pace for the first half of my race, so I ran with Julie for the first six laps.

The beginning of the trail was next to a barren field.  I was afraid this would be a boring course, but I was pleasantly surprised.  After the second turn, we entered an area with plush vegetation on either side of the trail.  There were a lot of gentle turns, so we weren’t just running in a straight line.  I enjoyed the scenery much more than I thought I would.

Julie was trying out a run/walk strategy.  I walked when she walked.  At first, my legs got a little cold during the walking breaks.  Fortunately, they were short.

Seven is the lowest bib number I’ve ever had for one of these series.  Early in the race, I saw why.  Several of the regulars weren’t here.  The race was still well-attended, though.  I saw several new faces.

By the end of our second lap, I had warmed up enough to unzip my jacket.  During the third lap, I took it off and tied it around my waist.  By the end of that lap, I needed to take my gloves off.

Julie wanted to keep her average pace under 11 minutes per mile.  Whenever I checked, our pace was in the 10:40s.

As we got into Julie’s last two laps, we had a couple of faster miles.  One was as fast as 10:06.  I sometimes found the pace a little tiring, but I was planning to slow down as soon as Julie was done with her race.

At the halfway point, I was on pace for a time in the low 4:40s.  That’s faster than I would’ve run on my own, but carrying on a conversation the whole time made those first six laps feel easy.

Before starting my seventh lap, I made a bathroom stop.  Then I continued on my own.  Without Julie setting the pace, I eased into a more casual pace.  I also did more walking.  I started walking the uphill sections.  On average, I was going at least a minute per mile slower now.

During my eighth lap, I caught up to my friend Fran.  She was walking, but at a brisk pace.  I started walking with Fran, so we could talk.

Fran’s walking pace was fast enough that I felt like I had to work to keep up with her.  After a lap at Fran’s pace, I realized I could walk with her for the rest of the race and still finish in less than six hours.  I wanted to keep some running in the mix, so I coaxed Fran into running briefly on the downhill sections.

It was a sunny day, and there wasn’t any shade on the course.  As the temperature climbed into the 70s, it felt much hotter.  I was getting hot, even though we were mostly walking.

In the first half of the race, I was drinking Coke and Gatorade, but I wasn’t eating anything.  In the second half, I occasionally grabbed a small bite to eat at the aid station.

I found the second half of the race to be tiring, even though it was much slower than the first half.  Maybe brisk walking was more tiring than an easy running pace.  Maybe the heat wore me down.  Maybe I ran the first half too fast and it caught up to me.  I’m not really sure.

Late in the race, I heard some other runners say that they saw bobcats on either side of the trail.  We were right at the edge of town, where it borders on wilderness.

I finished the race in 5:42:14.  My second half was roughly an hour slower than the first half.  That was mostly by design, since I knew the second half would be much warmer.

As with most Mainly Marathons series, the finisher medals are designed to form a chain.  The top piece goes to anyone doing at least one race of the series.  The next piece was the medal for today’s race, which depicted things Oregon is known for.

I didn’t eat much during the race, so before leaving, I took the time to eat part of a sandwich and drink some chocolate milk.  I had a snack after getting back to the hotel, but I waited until later in the day before eating a real meal.

One down, five to go.

Race statistics:

Distance:  26.2 miles

Time:  5:42:14

Average Pace:  13:03 per mile

First Half:  2:21:05

Second Half:  3:21:09

Marathons/Ultras in 2026:  31

Lifetime Marathons/Ultras:  603

Race Report: Summer Camp Series, Day 5

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Race statistics:

Distance:  26.2 miles

Time:  5:51:01

Average Pace:  13:23 per mile

First Half:  2:52:25

Second Half:  2:58:36

Marathons/Ultras in 2026:  27

Lifetime Marathons/Ultras:  599

Minnesota Marathons/Ultras:  122

Race Report: 2026 Summer Camp Series, Day 4

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Race statistics:

Distance:  26.2 miles

Time:  5:49:30

Average Pace:  13:20 per mile

First Half:  2:53:24

Second Half:  2:56:06

Marathons/Ultras in 2026:  26

Lifetime Marathons/Ultras:  598

Minnesota Marathons/Ultras:  121