39th overall, 31 State
- Haul'in Aspen was not my first choice for my Oregon (Orygun) Marathon
-- Crater Lake was (held the day before) but I would have had to miss another hockey game
- Arrived on Sat arrived and set out to Crater Lake - spectacular!!
-- Pictures do it no justice
- After driving around the lake, realized it would have been a poor choice to run, not because of the terrain but because of the scenery -- would have stopped every few feet for pictures
- After a late dinner (poor service and DC prices) it was off to my hotel/resort
- Never ask for directions in a local taco joint or ask a pierced teenager for directions either - all you will get is "ok" and "Ugh, I don't know)
- I finally made my way to the hotel and was in bed by 10pm (that would be 1am East Coast time, after a 6am flight, and after a 10:45pm hockey game Friday night)
- Never count on breakfast at a hotel/resort at 5:45am, better yet don't forget to back a banana or breakfast bars and don't ever count on the race putting food out before the race
- So that means all I had to eat before the race was water--not a good idea on a trial marathon
- The forecast had been for temps in the mid 80s well someone forgot to say that it got cold in the morning, it was approx 45F at the start; may have reached low 70s by the end of the race
-- Most people were standing between the shadows cast by the spruce pines to catch the warmth of the rising sun
- GPS batteries died before the race (time for a new one) but that meant I was running this race blind, no time and no mile markers except at the 7 aid stations
- 7am were off, the gazelles leading the way
- Started noticing white flour on the course with the occasional "X" and thought it was odd the marathon would use flour to mark the course
-- It wasn't until the CB 4 (Check Back 4) that it was from the hash the day prior, then two runners to my left from Eugene shout on-on (they didn't run the trail)
- After about a 2.86 mile loop we were back at the start - I sucked down the first of my four GUs and then it was all up-hill until mile 15
- As I may have written before I do prefer uphills and this course was ideal as I started to pick-off people right away and by mile 11 I must have passed over a dozen runners
- I passed Will, the runner I would run with for the next 15 miles, around mile 11
- At mile 12.5 I was doing great but made the mistake of stopping to get water and gatorade-that stoppage was enough to take the wind out of my sails and before I knew it I began to walk (from 12.5 to 14.5 it was uphill 1,000 ft)
- Will was a beast, he ran the whole 2 miles up the hill but I think he used too much energy because I would walk and run and catch him or pass him and this cat and mouse went on until we hit a reasonable incline around 14.5
- We hit Mile 15 at approx 2:10 - from here it was all downhill on technical single track
- Not a fan of the downhill but will Will a few feet in front of me I made sure I stayed with him and basically had him push me (vice-versa)
- Single track had a few bike obstacles, rocks, roots, hairpins turns, at times couldn't really see your footing with the waist high bushes acting as a small canopy
- We must have running close to 7 min/miles until we came upon Mile 21 and the merging of the half-marathon course
- Grrr, cramps and slow runners make for a slowing of one's time
-- Hamstring and calf cramping was horrible but I kept running through it and at times I could feel the cramp move around my calf from near the ankle up to my knee - it was like something alive was moving inside me
- What was even worse was runners who didn't move over when you announced you were passing
-- One woman, whose headphone I could hear from 3 feet away, got stepped on and an elbow as I went around her - not my fault I announced it three times w/o any acknowledgment
- Crossed mile 24 and there was a sign posted, less than 2 miles to go, that was the longest two miles of any run I've done
- I could see Will in front of me but had no chance of catching him but did manage to pass another marathoner at Mile 25
- Crossed the finish line at 3:37, 13th place and 2nd place in my age group
- Will, in his first marathon was 12th, 1st in his age (he was a rower and said that is a great leg workout, I might see myself using the rowing machine at the gym)
Post Marathon
- Walking wounded crossing the finish line was a sigh to see; 30% of the runners covered in blood; 100% of the runners covered in dirt
- Tied with the Flying Marathon for the amount and variety of food
- Cascade Lakes Brewery - awesome beer
- The watermelon was the sweetest I've had since I left Florida
- Meet up with some ladies awaiting for the award ceremony (mom/daughter/friend), mom was 72 (first in her age for the half marathon), daughter was third in her age group for the marathon
-- Got invited over for hamburgers and beer, they lived 1/2 mile from my resort
- They gave me a ride back from the race to my resort and as I get in the car, the daughter asks her dad (Toby) guess who got first in her age group, Toby responded with, "The old-bag!" I knew it was gonna be a great night as I nearly snorted chocolate milk through my nose (plus mom and dad were going to the Green Day concert in San Jose in a few weeks)
- Mom and her husband lived in Fairfax years ago, daughter lived in Seattle
- At 5:30pm I got a walking escort to their place (where Green Day was playing) and then proceeded to talk and drink beer for the next five hours - Bend hospitality at its finest
-- Talked about maps, running, collections of necklaces/leis from around the world
- It was a great way to end the weekend!!
Never rate trips but this is almost as close to perfect I've had for a race (9.8/10)!!
Race recap from the Bend Bulletin
