Short form: 4:05, 3rd place age group
Long form:
It was a beautiful start. Chilly, but not too bad. We hung out near camp fires with my sister and her friends, plus a bunch of other runners. Some people had run the ultra marathon the day before in the McDowell Mountains. I thought that sounded like fun – do a back to back ultra-marathon.
The first seven miles were on a hard packed dirt road. It was beautiful and the desert was uncharacteristically green. Then a little over a mile on highway 60 – I didn’t enjoy this part. The aid stations were great. Most of the aid stations appeared to be staffed by retired folks and the were tremendous. On task. Friendly. And some played oompa music on boom boxes to keep us motivated.
At around mile 17, I started to cramp up and my pace slowed considerably. I was cramping from my periformis to my Achilles on the right side and I hated it. Every time I tried to pick it up a little, it would flare. There were times when I thought I wouldn’t finish. Well, I didn’t seriously consider dropping out, but I wondered how long it would take me to finish. I only walked once to put my jacket back on because I got cold around mile 21. But it was a slow shuffle to be sure. Somewhere in the last 10K I came to believe that if I want to keep doing this, I have to get more serious.
My sister had a great run. She finished in 3:17 and won overall, first master, and first in our age group. Dad says that I can say that I came in second because losing to her doesn’t really count. I love Dad.
The finishers medal is really cool. As is the plaque I got for 3rd place. I can see why Runner’s World said this was one of the best little marathons around. Definitely worth it.
