State # 24: JFK 50 Mile (MD) November 17, 2018

Earlier this year as I began to contemplate turning 50 next February, I knew I needed something special to commemorate it. I wouldn't have my 50 states done, I'd already done 50K (although not as an official race), so the next logical step seemed to be 50 miles. Which race to do though? Most ultras are on trail, and I'm not really a trail guy. I thought about potentially doing a timed event where you go as far as you can in a specific time frame and choosing an event where I would be likely to be able to complete 50 miles. That didn't sound like as much fun though. Having heard of the JFK, I decided to look it up and see what it was all about.

The original idea came from JFK himself:

In 1963, the initial inspiration behind the event came from then President John F. Kennedy challenging his military officers to meet the requirements that Teddy Roosevelt had set for his own military officers at the dawn of the 20th Century.  That Roosevelt requirement was for all military officers to be able to cover 50 miles on foot in 20 hours to maintain their commissions.  When word got out about the “Kennedy Challenge”, non-commissioned military personnel also wanted to take the test themselves as did certain robust members of the civilian population.

Ok, that's pretty cool. If I finish, I could have been a kick butt officer under Teddy Roosevelt! 

The course is also unique:

The first 5.5 miles (starting on road surface and joining the Appalachian Trail at 2.5 miles) gains 1,172 feet in elevation. The course from 2.5 to 15.5 miles is on the Appalachian Trail (except for two miles of paved road between 3.5 and 5.5 miles). This section of the AT is very rocky in sections as it rolls across the mountain ridge. At approximately 14.5 miles the course drops over 1,000 feet in a series of steep “switchbacks” that then crosses under Rt. 340 and connects with the C&O Canal towpath. The “Canal” section of the JFK 50 Mile is 26.3 miles (from 15.5-41.8 miles) of almost totally flat unpaved dirt/gravel surface that is free of all automotive vehicle traffic. The JFK 50 Mile route leaves the C&O Canal towpath at Dam #4 and proceeds to follow gently rolling paved country roads the last 8.4 miles to the finish. The Boonsboro start is at an elevation of 570 feet. The Williamsport finish is at 452 feet above sea level.

The idea of mixed terrain sounded more attainable than an all trail race and the fact that the trail portion was on the iconic Appalachian Trail was a draw all on its own. I thought it over for a while, consulted a couple of my pacing friends I discovered had run it, and then convinced two friends from my running group to join me. When we registered my training partner had not yet run her first marathon, and I was mid-spring race season. I was just about to have some major IT band issues.

I got a training plan from one of my friends who had done it before. (http://www.scrunners.org/ultramarathon-training-schedule-generator.html) I knew the basic idea of how training would go with a long run on Saturday and another shorter long run on Sunday. This was the same way I had trained for my previous "double" weekend where I ran marathons in NY & CT on consecutive days. I modified the plan in a few different ways: I added in other races (races are more fun than long training runs and help me earn new states), I put the longest midweek runs on Tuesday and Thursday (making it easier for me schedule-wise to split them into a morning and evening run if needed), built up the long run distance quickly so that I could get in two 20 mile runs before my first fall marathon, and accomodated my training partners needs by alternating build-up and cut-back weeks in a two week cycle rather than something longer. I also began doing a trail run every other week to work up my familiarity with trail running technique.

The beginning of the summer consisted of recovering and rebuilding. We started our 18 week plan on July 16. Training went well as I got some experience trail running and built up my long runs. 

The summer was a hot one that made all of the long miles challenging. Finally I hit 4 weeks of peak training that I refered to as my "29 days of Crazy!" This consisted of 5 marathons, a half, and a Ragnar relay. The first marathon was the next to last weekend in September. The weather was perfect! It was a repeat state that I used as a training run and had an awesome time pacing a first time marathoner!

It was still reasonable the next weekend when I ran two marathons and earned two new states. The first weekend of October bit back again when I joined a group of about 10 runners for a 10 mile run connecting 7 different brew pubs in 82° heat! The following weekend cooled off again, but got rainy for the Bourbon Chase relay and the Iron Horse half. To close out the 29 days I ran two more marathons in new states in great weather.

With my road racing season completed, I had just 4 more weeks until race day. The first week went smoothly concluding with an 18 miler on Saturday and my first trail run in a month on Sunday. The second week personal tragedy struck! On Monday I took my wife to the hospital for pancreatitis. We dealt with this about 3-4 times a year, so it felt kind of routine. What wasn't routine this time was the extreme nausea and vomiting. On Tuesday morning she aspirated vomit and less than 24 hours later passed on. Running, on my own or with a group, was my primary connection to what still felt like normal. I was blown away by the number of runners that came out to support me when I moved a 16 mile run to Friday morning because the funeral was on Saturday.

I had been running 40+ mile weeks (peaking at 77) for 7 weeks in a row. I decided to run the race in her  memory, and ordered a commemorative bib from races2remember.com to wear on my back.

The Sunday before the race I had scheduled to be a pacer for another half marathon. I had chosen the 2:45 slot as a pace that would be easy for me, but give me a fun way to get in my last double digit training run. It was a cold start, just 25°! The course was a simple out and back on a paved bike path, 6.55 miles out and then turn around and come back. There was also the option for a full, which was 13.1 out and then back. There was a young woman who was hanging out with my group who was doing her first full. There was no 5:30 pacer, and I really wished there would have been an easy way for me to spend more miles with her. I had a copacer and if it hadn't been race week I would've spontaneously run the full with her the whole way. I grudgingly turned around at 6.55. I finished the half on time and feeling like I'd barely done anything. I was ready!

Stalking the weather forecast and the official race Facebook page made us a little nervous during the week. It snowed on Thursday, giving us concern about conditions on the AT section. They even posted a picture of snow being cleared off of the finish line  that night. The weather actually looked decent for Saturday, but course conditions were a big cause for concern.

On Friday we flew into Baltimore, just about an hour drive from our hotel in Hagerstown, which was also the race headquarters. 

We were there a little early, so we relaxed until packet pickup started. At the pickup there was some general merchandise, but it was mostly JFK themed apparel and products by Altra (the primary sponsor of the race). I got a JFK50 magnet for my car. 

We  inquired about tickets for the "Legends" pasta dinner and found out that it was primarily through pre-reservation, but we could stiil get in because there had been cancelations. In this process I got to meet the race director, Mike Spinnler, who had won the race in 1982 & 83. One of our primary reasons for going to the dinner was to see if we could meet someone to recruit as our crew for the race. (There was crew access at 3 different points along the course.) This didn't work out, but we got a history lesson in JFK50 participants. We were introduced to runners who had completed the race 30, 40, or even 1 person who was going for his 50th finish!

We were up early on Saturday, since we still had to drive to Boonsboro and gather for the pre-race meeting in the school gym at 5:50. 

We were introduced to some "on the spot" pacers and then it was time to walk downtown to the starting area. Bathroom access had been crowded and when I got down to the start line I noticed a few runners heading into the local barbershop. It looked like a quick and easy stop, so I went in too. It was decently quick, but I missed the actual start and there was no timing mat so I started out about a minute behind.

We started down the road out of town, going along at a decent pace until we started heading uphill. The climb started to get steep fairly quickly. With a steady stream of traffic cones down the center of the road, I started walking two cones and running two cones to help conserve some energy. At 2.5 miles in we made a right turn onto the first mile of the AT. This section leveled out a bit and was wide enough to run 2 people side by side. We were quickly back on a paved fire road and resumed climbing.

It got pretty steep until at mile 5.5 we reached the highest point of the course and were back on the AT, over 1100  feet of climb from the start!

This began what would be the "usual" for the rest of the trail section: narrower, rocky, sometimes muddy, sometimes REALLY muddy, and undulating up and down. Sometimes you'd be stuck in a line of people, and other times it would start to get spread out a bit. This was tough going and my longest trail run ever. Around mile 9 we came out into a park and there was an aid station. I grabbed some pretzels and walked for a bit as we climbed back up out of the park. Still several miles to go before reaching the steep switchbacks down off of the trail and onto the towpath. I was ready to be done with the trail, expecting a much easier time on the towpath. As I was getting closer to the switchbacks I heard a noise that I thought maybe was a train (I'd read that there was a RR crossing around the start of the towpath) but it turned out to be some guys with cowbells cheering people on as they started the switchbacks. 

While going down the switchbacks I caught up to a runner who was an amputee. He had one of the "blade" running prosthetics and I had no idea how he was managing all of the snow and mud. After coming down the rock steps at the bottom of the Weverton cliffs, there was a crew area that also had a few portapotties. I quickly ducked into one and noticed that I had been letting myself get dehydrated.

There was still a short section of trail left to go to connect to the towpath. It went right up under a highway overpass that felt a bit strange. Finally we hit the aid station that was right by the start of the towpath section. I was a little nervous about what the conditions on the towpath would be like so I decided to wait on changing my socks, I'd only brought one extra pair and we still had a long way to go. I spent some time refueling and rehydrating and crossed onto the towpath right before a train came through. 

My plan here was to start a pattern of 5 minutes running and 1 minute walking. Conditions didn't seem too bad, so I planned to change my socks at the next aid stop. About mile 17 as I was starting a new run interval my entire right thigh cramped up. It was quite painful and it took over a minute for it to subside so that I could resume moving forward again. When I got to the aid station at mile 19, there was no where to sit to change my socks, so I grabbed some grilled cheese and kept going. There were some big unavoidable puddles and mud right after I left the aid station, so I was happy I hadn't gotten fresh socks wet.

At the next aid station there was an obvious chair, so I sat down to change my socks and immediately cramped up again though not quite as badly. The volunteer directly across from where I was sitting had bananas, so I ate one and never cramped up again the rest of the race. The rest of the towpath was a cycle of aid stations and pushing on to the get to the next one. It seemed like the mud continued to get worse, or at least my attitude about it did. I kept messing with my run/walk intervals to find something I could continue to use. Somewhere around mile 35 I had gotten so tired of the mud that I just shifted into a mostly walk strategy. I was able to consistently maintain a 15 min/mile walk, which I had roughly calculated would still get me in under the 13 hour cutoff. The most memorable aid station of the second half of the race was mile 38, referred to as the "38 Special". One of the traditional treats at this aid station is red velvet cake. I had some of the cake, and it was the last thing I ate on the course. My stomach just didn't want much anymore. I continued to grab some Gatorade or Coke (and I had water in my Camelbak) at the later aid stations, but that was it.

Mile 42 was the last aid station/checkpoint on the towpath. It was here that you had to get a reflective vest if you reached it after a time that meant it was likely that you would finish in the dark. I got my vest and happily left the towpath behind as I now returned to pavement and no more mud! There was a somewhat long hill right at the beginning of this segment and then it turned to some occasional rolling hills. I would sometimes run down the backside of the hills but I was able to calculate when I reached this point that I could finish under 12 hours if I could maintain my 4 mph walk.


8 miles of mostly walking takes a long time, two hours at the pace I going. With about 6 miles left to go I began to be very aware of a small pebble in my left shoe. At first I didn't think I would really need to do anything about it, but the longer I went the worse it felt. There were a couple of problems with trying to get it out though, I needed a place to sit since there was no way I could balance or hold myself up and there was the fear that if I stopped I may not be able to get started again. Even with aid stations every two miles to the finish, finding a place to sit was tough. The pain was getting bad enough that I was nearly willing to sacrifice my sub 12 hour finish. However, I just kept pushing my way through. There were mile countdown signs every mile once we got on the road and eventually I passed the one mile to go mark. I was still managing to maintain my pace and in 15 minutes it would all be over. I could hear the PA at the finish line as I got ever closer. There was portable lighting powered by generators lighting up the area and we were moving toward the light. "Moving into the light" didn't seem like such a bad idea at this point, but not until that medal was around my neck! I heard one of my friend's names called over the PA as she finished, and I wasn't too far behind. I wasn't going to start running again until I actually got in the finish chute, but a spectator encouraged us to start again. I finished and got my medal. 11:54:00 finish! I looked for my friend a little, but didn't see her so I headed inside.

I got changed into fresh clothes, got a massage, and had some hot food. There was pulled pork and sloppy joes.

We had to wait for the shuttle back to the start. The shuttle was a school bus, and it was miserable. I felt like the worst backseat kid asking, "Are we there yet?" Crammed in the seat, my legs were in a lot of pain. When we arrived at the school in Boonsboro at least half an hour later, we stopped in all the different lots so people didn't have to waddle too far to their cars. When I got out it felt like it took me at least a full minute to make my way down the three tall steps.

Post race recovery was a bit different than I'm accustomed to because of the distance for sure, but also the conditions. Over the next few days what hurt the most was my hamstrings. Wednesday was the first day that I could stand up from a seated position without pain.

Overall, I thought the race was a good one. Its longevity and the number of runners that run it every year is certainly a testament to that. The aid stations were incredible with salty and sweet options, hot broth/noodle soup, and Coke  available at pretty much all of them. The conditions made it tougher this year than most. A number of runners with MANY finishes were forced to DNF because of their inabilty to make the time cutoffs. For this reason I have no immediate desire to attempt this race or even the 50 mile distance again. Running in memory of Leslie (with the sign on my back) did help me to push through at times, but getting choked up while trying to run was not that helpful. Sometimes people would express sympathy as they passed me. I did end up in a couple of more extended conversations. It was fitting though, to commemorate one of the hardest things I've been through with one of the hardest things I've ever done.

It was worth it, but I think this definitely qualifies as completing Maryland the hard way. It filled my final gap in the mid-Atlantic region. I also officially earned the title, ultramarathoner!

State # 17: Mississippi River Marathon (MS) February 10, 2018

I had been pondering which Mississippi race to do for a while. A number of the races/courses interested me for one reason or another, but it was tough to narrow down a decision while juggling different criteria such as cost, travel distance, expected weather, medal, etc. Finally, the decision was made easier when I responded to a call for pacers and got a slot! (5:45) This process all started in September 2017, so it was one of the first races to go on my schedule for 2018. One of the unique features of Mississippi River is that it starts in one state and ends in another, this actually makes it allowable to count for either of the states (AR or MS). It was my plan to count it for MS, because I really wanted to do Little Rock for AR. They also offered half marathons for either state or the Delta Double Down which is running the full but counting it as two half marathons, one in each state! The other big draw of the course was to cross the river on a very cool and modern looking bridge.

In the week leading up to the race I was starting to get more and more cynical about the weather. Rain was predicted and I knew that because it was a point-to-point race we were being bused out to the start and then dropped off in a field waiting for the race to start. Who wants to get soaked and have wet, muddy shoes before the race even starts‽ (yes, that's an interrobang)  I was also grumbling about the slow finish time I had been assigned knowing that it was a long way back home and we would lose an hour crossing back from central to eastern time.

The trip down to MS was a lot like my trip to Louisiana, I just didn't have to go as far. This time, however,  after turning to the south at Memphis I stuck a bit closer to the river and went through the town of Leland.  This is where a young Jim Henson grew up playing in the creek and came up with the idea for the Kermit the Frog character. There is a small museum full of Jim Henson/muppet memorabilia.

The race expo was easy to find. It was small and very personal. We ended up talking with the race director for quite a while. He is a fellow 50 stater, and is working towards finishing out his goal. We got plenty of assurance that we would not just be dumped out of the bus to wait in a muddy field and that even with my long finishing time there would still be plenty of food left at the finish line.

Race morning it was, in fact, raining and 57º. I wore a dollar store rain poncho over my race gear and put on an old pair of goretex shoes to try to keep my feet dry. We got a quick pacer picture, and then it was time to board the shuttle bus.

The bus took us across the river and from the south end of Lake Chicot, the largest oxbow lake in North America, up to the north end. It wasn't raining very hard, and since it was kind of hot/humid on the bus I got off and got in the bathroom line. The lines weren't moving that fast, but there was still plenty of time before the race started and my need wasn't urgent. While waiting in line, I met the Maniacs regional ambassador from Miami. She was working on 50 states, too! I can't imagine having to travel from Miami--you'd have to fly almost anywhere!

As the race started I ditched the sign for the 6 hour pacer (maybe he got on the wrong shuttle bus?) and fell in at the back of the pack. Because of the slower pace I had decided to use a run walk ratio of 30 sec run/35 sec walk. I had been practicing! We started by crossing a causeway/bridge from the inner side of the lake to the outer side and then followed the lake shore to the south. Along with the rain it was very foggy/misty so we couldn't see very far out onto the lake. It didn't take very long before I met Renee, who would be my constant companion for nearly the next six hours. She was from Florida and doing the Delta Double to collect both states for her 50 state half marathon quest. She was also doing another half in AL the next day to make it 3 states in one weekend! Even though the pace was slow, the time went by quickly as we talked about races and life in general. We were going a little faster than we needed to on the run intervals, so we had plenty of time to walk through aid stations, take extra walk breaks, and stop for pictures.

At this point we got on the highway, so we weren't right next to the lake anymore. We headed east towards the river, and the state line. We were going along with fields (mostly cotton, I think) on our right and the lake (out of sight) on our left. During this somewhat barren stretch Caroline caught up to us and joined our group. She was originally from the UK, but living in FL. Also, like Renee, she was running in AL the next day. When we made it to the halfway point the bridge itself was barely visible in the fog. We got a picture together on the bridge with the river in the background.

As we crossed the long bridge I had gotten warm enough that I took off the poncho. The three of us kept trekking along and working our way through just about any topic of coversation we could think of. We even heard the story of how Caroline had nearly drowned on a scuba diving excursion! The rain continued and filled the ruts in the road we turned onto next. Going by the map, I expected to be on this road for a while but it wasn't long before we turned to go through a neighborhood. The map may have been outdated, but I suspect we were re-routed due to flooding. However, as we wound our way through the neighborhood there was often standing AND running water. It was in this stretch that I got my first drink of beer from an aid station. We passed the 20 mile mark in this section and we were well on our way to downtown Greenville and the finish line. In the final 10k I got both beer and pizza from another aid station. This was turning out to be a pretty good race!

In the last stretch I realized I was coming in a bit faster than I wanted to, so I sent the ladies ahead while I took some extra walk breaks to adjust my pace. I crossed the finish right in the zone I had been hoping. After having a little celebration with Renee & Caroline getting into dry clothes was the first thing on my agenda! We had not been lied to; there was plenty of finish line food including pizza, donuts, and tamales.

Even though the course felt a little boring at times, and there were very few spectators, I wouldn't hesitate to endorse this race. The race director has run a lot of races and attends to all of the details that only a frequent particpant knows matter to other runners. Great aid support and finish line food. Awesome swag, too! One of my top 3 largest medals and the race shirt is one of my all time favorites.

State # 16: First Light Marathon (AL) January 14, 2018

There were a few different Alabama races I was considering, but I had pretty much decided on doing Rocket City at some point due to it being a race I had heard good things about and it being both relatively close and inexpensive. However, an opportunity came along that made me go with another option: I got the chance to pace and got a friend to go with me that could drive if needed and share some of the travel expenses. It was a VERY last minute addition to my schedule with just over a week until race day. First Light marathon is in Mobile, AL, all the way down on the gulf coast. I had mostly heard about this race in connection with the Mississippi Blues marathon in Jackson, MS that had been a very popular double weekend with Maniacs and 50 Staters. Mississippi Blues had to cancel in 2017 because of an ice storm and lost their primary sponsor. When they got new sponsorship in place, they were not able to come back on the same weekend. With MS Blues being the more popular of the two races, First Light really took a hit. In 2016 and 2017 FLM had over 300 finishers for the full marathon, but only 178 in 2018. Half marathoners still had a good double option in nearby Pensacola, FL.

When race weekend arrived, the first challenge was travel. We had snow in KY and northern TN, making driving treacherous until we got south of Nashville. Also, this was one of the longest distances I had travelled to a race. We travelled the entire length of AL on I-65, 365 miles! On either side of the TN/AL state line there were interesting roadside attractions like a giant chicken at a gas station and a huge rocket at a rest area.

 There wasn't much daylight left upon our arrival in Mobile, so we decided to go get a look at the beach before it got dark. The expo was open later and was quite close to the hotel. Even though it was pretty, and nice to see the gulf (my first time) it was much colder than I had hoped for in southern AL.

After a quick trip to the expo (that at this point felt a lot more like just a packet pickup than a proper expo) we found a local pizza place for the pre-race carb loading that was very close to where the finish line would be the next day. Even though it wasn't that far away, it was a super cold walk.

Race morning was still cold and quite windy. We took cover in a hotel lobby close to the starting line for as long as we could get away with before lining up for the race. With a 4:25 finish time, I was the only full marathon pacer. I met another 50 stater from AZ, and then I had a guy ask about bathroom availability on the second half of the course. I didn't know so I went to ask the pacing coordinator who didn't know either, since she had only run the half. On my way to find her, I had seen Larry Macon and Henry Rueden in the crowd (between the two of them they've run literally a few thousand marathons) so I went back and asked them! 😂

When we got lined up and ready to start, I met Kelly, who would end up running with me until about mile 20. Early on there was a loop around a large cemetery. During this time we somehow ended up in a very long conversation about what I had studied in graduate school. Around mile 10 we added Craig to our group. He had a lot of experience and told us stories of his younger days when he was chasing a sub 3 hour marathon. After the half marathon course split off the amount of lane space they gave us was pretty small. Since we were mostly in the gutter, the surface we were running on was slanted to the side. This would give me issues later on! This was also were we began to get some hills. I led us through the hills with some nice walk breaks to help conserve energy. We were still ahead on every mile as I checked my pace band. The biggest hill of the course was at mile 17. By this point the slanted surfaces were getting to me and my whole left side was getting sore and tight. The top of the last hill was at mile 20 as we wound through the Springhill College campus. Kelly saw someone she knew and took a break, while Craig and I took off on the big downhill section.

At mile 23 there was suddenly a correction in the mile markers and any time cushion I had up to that point was gone. I pushed on as best I could as Craig began to drop back. From that point on I was dealing with leg and back pain from the uneven surfaces and I had to take frequent walk breaks due to the pain even though my energy level was actually ok. There were several aid stations in the final miles, (I think there were even two in the last mile) and I took every opportunity for a walk break. As I struggled along, I was joined by Cruz who encouraged me. He was using the race as a training run for a 100 mile ultra! I saw my time was getting away from me, but I just couldn't push through the pain. I even ended up needing a walk break right before the finish, but I just couldn't help it! My official time was 4:25:52. Missed my target, but by less than a minute.

The post race food, red beans and rice, was good but I didn't have a lot of time to enjoy it before I had to get back to the room. I kind of limped back, knowing I didn't have much time before checkout. Getting a nice warm shower helped me feel better before getting in the car for the LONG drive home.

Overall this was a good race, but I couldn't help but feel a little disappointed by it. I expected warmer weather and a bigger race with more crowd support. I have to admit though, that my perception was probably affected by being in pain and missing my target time. However, there were tons of aid stations, the people were friendly, and I guess they couldn't really control the weather.

One last thing:

The race charity is L'Arche Mobile. L'Arche is an "international federation of communities in which people with an intellectual disability and those who help them can live, work, and share their lives together". The finisher medal is made by members of the community. People tend to either love it or hate it. It certainly has an "arts & crafts" feel to it, but I like it! It is a unique addition to my collection.

State # 15: Cotton Land Marathon (LA) November 12, 2017

The Cotton Land marathon was not a race that was on my "must-do" list. I first learned about it when a friend posted that there was a 24 hour sale on registration for only $17! I did some quick research on the race and discovered that it was in West Monroe, LA the hometown of the Robertson family of Duck Dynasty fame. It was also the only marathon in Northeastern LA, the closest part of the state to where I live. I attempted to register, but had some issues with the registration site and didn't make the 24-hour cutoff. A couple of weeks later they had a black Friday sale for $27 and I made it in for that one. I think the big sales increased their visibility and their registrations. The best information I've been able to find is that they only had 37 finishers for the full in 2016, but 80 for 2017.

As I continued to learn more about the race (reasonably flat and an average temperature range that looked decent) I decided that it would be a good chance to go for a new PR. I got a friend that I had met through my local running group to coach me. It ended up being a tough summer of training. It was hot, although not quite as bad as the previous summer. I trained hard with a goal time of 3:45. It looked a bit out of reach when I first started, but as race day drew near I was knocking out some 8:30 race pace miles over some decent distances. I wasn't completely sure I could hold the pace for 26.2, but it at least seemed possible. I had 3 fall marathons leading up to the race, all of which turned out to be pretty hot days.

When race weekend arrived I was at least as excited about the road trip as I was about the race. I would be passing through the delta area of Mississippi (known for early blues music) and ending up in Duck Dynasty country. Friday was a beautiful day to drive and when I made it into MS I sat on a bench at the welcome center to eat my lunch.

As I made my way South through Mississippi, I saw cotton still in the field. I also saw lots of delta blues sites and a few Oh Brother, Where Art Thou filming locations. Once I made it to Vicksburg, I stopped for the night and got some sleep before heading into Louisiana the next morning.

Upon my arrival in West Monroe, I began to scope out the course and got a shake out run on a portion of it. About that time, I started having a problem with my car. It seemed like one of the rear drum brakes was dragging, but it turned out to be a bad wheel bearing. I drove around town a bit getting a blueberry muffin at Miss Kay's and going to the packet pickup, and then managed to get my car fixed.

After that, I got lunch at the Duck Diner, saw the Duck Commander headquarters, and checked into my hotel for the evening.

At the hotel I laid out my clothes for the race. I had been planning a kind of Jase Robertson costume with camo shorts, a black shirt, and my beard that I had been growing out since the end of August. That night I decided to go with the race shirt that I got from my very first marathon. I had been wearing it the year before when I ran a PR at Marshall, so I thought maybe it would be good luck.

Race morning I arrived early at Kiroli park (start and finish location) and met some of the other runners (maniacs and 50 staters). The race ended up starting a bit late as we waited on our celebrity race starter. It was Willie Robertson, who by tradition, started the race by blowing a duck call. I had lined up with the 3:45 pace group. It was a good thing that I wasn't leading the group, because it didn't take all that long for things to start going south for me. The weather was about 10 degrees warmer than I had been anticipating and it made a huge difference. The course was a double out and and back, but with a few changes that made things a bit complicated if you hadn't studied the map or watched the video on their Facebook page.

The first 10k was a pretty direct route from Kiroli park down to Lazarre Park. We hit the first turn around where there was an aid stop with a gel. I got a little bogged down getting my gel and fell back from my pace group. Not wanting to burn too much energy trying to catch back up to the group, I took my time and gradually made my way back catching up to them around mile 8. However, by about mile 10 I was starting to fall behind again. I already knew at the turn around that it wasn't going to be my day, but since I pace so many races I don't get that many opportunities to just go for it and take a chance. Not the best thinking for a race strategy, but sometimes you just need to risk it. 

A little beyond mile 11 we made the second turn around to head back out again. By mile 13 the 3:45 pace group was pretty much out of sight and any thoughts of a new PR were gone. Making my way back onto the main section of the course, I started my second out and back. I would run this part of the course 4 times, which meant it would get a bit boring by the time I finished. A bright spot of this part of the course was the "One Mile of Love" public art project. Elementary students submitted designs that were brought to life as a mural on the Trenton street levee.

We ran a straight shot back out to Lazarre park. About mile 17 I needed to start taking some walk breaks as the fatigue continued to accumulate. This is also where the course modifications on the second time out got a little complicated. The second time going through Lazarre we had to go all the way to the back of the park before turning around and when we left the park we had to make a left instead of a right and add mileage going around a school. Before I made it back past the park I was passed by the 4 hour pacer.

When I came back through this dip underpass the 4th time I was feeling pretty much done and that was only about mile 20. I was tired, had a side stitch that wouldn't go away and had various other aches and pains. I stopped by an aid station that had some "adult" beverages, and had nearly resolved to walking the rest of the race. I kept trudging on, occasionally brining my pace up to a trot. 

Finally in the last quarter of a mile or so I pulled myself together enough to run it in to the end. My only motivation at this point was to try to finish less than an hour longer than my original goal time. And, that's excactly what I did--4:44:28! There wasn't much of a finish line party, so I didn't hang out for very long. I had a long way to go to get beck home!

This race would be towards the bottom of my list to recommend. It was definitely a low budget, no-frills race. I got LA checked off of my list as inexpensively as I could, and that's about all I can say about it. The road trip was fun, but because of family issues my wife didn't even get to go along. I surprised her with his and hers Uncle Si sweet tea cups when I got home!

Overall, 2017 was a good marathoning year for me. I ran 11 races, 7 of which were new states, which put me at 15 states completed. Still a long way to go, but I added nearly as many new states as I had run since I started doing marathons in 2014!