State # 6: Carmel Marathon (IN) April 16, 2016

I first became interested in the Carmel Marathon in the spring of 2015 when I was looking for a fast course to run a PR. However, as the date grew closer and I wasn't getting over my IT band issues I had to pass on it. I ended up taking my first pacing job at the Murray half marathon on that day instead, which worked out amazingly for where I am now! So, in the spring of 2016 when I saw that a fellow pacer was looking to fill her spot at Carmel due to work conflicts I couldn't pass it up. I was going to be the 4:55 pacer for my third time pacing a full. It was a last minute addition to my schedule and I was excited! (I've actually paced this race twice now, 2016 & 17, and planning to go back for 2018.)

Carmel is just off of 465 on the north side of Indianapolis. It is quite a nice community with an excessive number of traffic circles (roundabouts). The course is mostly on the streets, with a few sections of paved bike trail, but I guess I really don't need to go into a lot of detail as the course will be all new in 2018. One of the quirks of this race, which I believe will be changed, is that 4 races all started from the same start line at the same time. (5k, 8k, half and full) This made for a crowded start and I couldn't really get up to pace until the second mile.

In 2016 the weather got a little bit warm although it was only 48 at the start. I had a contingent from Ft Wayne in my group that complained about the heat. That year I lost the last person in my group around mile 20. He was a man of Indian descent who was running his first marathon. In 2017 we passed each other on the course and he was running the half. The 2017 race was cold and windy throughout and was only 41 at the start. One of my favorite things about that year was two friends from Lexington (who are sisters) came to do the race--one running her first half and the other her first full marathon.

The success rate of runners in my pace group was very different for 2017 with the cooler temperatures. I still lost a few that had been with me at the beginning, but that is typical as it is quite common for people to overestimate their preparedness. This time everyone who was still with me at mile 21 went on to finish ahead of me, and a few that had fallen behind still managed to come in under 5 hours.

 in both 2016 and 2017 they gave the pacers VIP passes, which gave us access to the beer tent and more food options. In 2016 I felt the regular food was pretty good, including pizza, but in 2017 they gave a prepackaged box that didn't include any hot food. It seems that more races are moving in this direction to both save money and to improve the traffic flow in the finish chute.

Overall, this is a well organized race with a good expo and packet pickup. The course is very flat, without excessive turns, and the new course for 2018 is supposed to be even better. The medals are big and bling-y. For 2018 they will be white to finish out a loose 3 year series of red, white, and blue Indiana-shaped medals.

State #12: Oh Boy Marathon (CT) May 29, 2017

Running a marathon in every state is an expensive undertaking, so anything that can be done to save money is worth giving a try. My main money saving strategy so far is to be a pacer. Pacers get free race registrations, usually a special pacer identifying shirt, occasionally a room, and sometimes other little extras. Although race registrations can be pricey, when you are running in a state several hundred miles away travel expenses quickly become a bigger issue. Rooms, gas, airfare, rental cars, and food all add to the total race expense. In general, driving to races  is usually cheaper than flying, and then there's no need to rent a car. When traveling by myself I have also been known to sleep in my car to save money. Running clubs like Marathon Maniacs and the 50 State Marathon Club have Facebook groups that can also be a great resource for cost saving tips/tricks as well as getting together to share rides and rooms. An additional strategy to save on travel expenses is to find another race you can do on the same weekend in a nearby state. This is called doing a "double". NY/CT was my first double! Doubles don't have to be in different states, but for 50 staters that makes the most sense.

I think this race came on my radar in December 2016. It had a lot of things going for it that made me choose it for my first double.

1. It was in decent proximity to Buffalo (which I had already committed to pace)
2. It was inexpensive (they didn't use pacers, so I needed to pay my own way)
3. It had a long (9 hour) cut off time, in case I really just felt destroyed after running 26.2 the day before
4. It had race day packet pickup (so I didn't have to get there by a specific time the day before)

However, it did also have some potential negative aspects that make it a race that isn't for everybody

1. The course was a 1 mile out and back (every time you crossed the timing mat at one end you had finished two more miles)
2. Very little crowd support
3. A little bit hilly (none were very big, but because of the course you had to keep doing them over and over again)
4. Overall a low frills race (cotton t-shirt, "unique" medal)

January 11 I pulled the trigger on my registration and committed to the training that it would take to run a double well. The biggest difference from normal marathon training was doing two long runs each weekend. Obviously this is to give at least a feel for what it means to run on tired legs the second day and building a HUGE endurance base. Training plans to prepare for a double exist, but they don't take into account running five other marathons in the buildup like I was planning to do. I found a plan that I used as a rough guide for my double long runs, but mostly I was winging it based on my past experience and how my body felt on any given day/week. Of course I also had to match it up with my race schedule. April ended up being not only my peak training month, but my biggest single month mileage total ever, 241. My biggest weekend included the Carmel marathon on Saturday and a 14 mile run on Sunday.

Race weekend involved a roughly 500 mile drive to Buffalo on Saturday, pacing 4:50 for Buffalo on Sunday and then driving another 400 miles to Waterbury. I slept in the car in Buffalo, but I would need some good rest (and a shower) to be ready for day two so I "splurged" for a hotel room. I was VERY tired! I figured i needed to get up around 5 Monday morning, but as I laid in bed and started to look up what time the packet pickup started I fell asleep before setting an alarm! I woke up about 4:50 and everything worked out great. I arrived at Hamilton Park (the race venue), figured out parking, and picked up my packet at the pavilion.

I had a little bit of time to chat with the other runners before the race started. As we were preparing to line up, we found out that the race was named after the race director's daughter's favorite catch phrase when the race was first put on a few years earlier, "Oh Boy!" A drawing of the daughter's face was also used for the shirt and medal designs. It was also announced that another of the race's founders would be running with us and that it would be his 700th marathon! After the anthem and a prayer the race began. Full marathoners started out running south and half marathoners went north. The full started .2 from the timing mat, and then we needed 13 complete laps of the course to finish. The half had a special first lap turn around that put them across the mat at 1.1 and then they needed 6 more complete laps.

There was a short, steep hill down to the parking lot where the timing mat was. Every time you crossed the mat there was a monitor that would register which lap you were on. As you turned to go out for another lap there was an aid station and then you went back up the hill. After passing the stone pavilion, you turned left on the street that went past the park. There was one small hill on this part of the course. About a half mile in we turn off the street onto a sidewalk. This is the hilly part of the course. It rolls up and down a few times to the far turn around where there is another aid station. 

The weather was a refreshing change (50s with occasional light rain) to the hot and humid races I had run in the preceding month. The hills were also a nice change from the relatively flat race in Buffalo the day before. Well, the hills became less enjoyable as the race progressed, but it was nice at the beginning.  As things went along, I learned that even though day two of a double is physically challenging, it can be even more mentally challenging. At mile 8 I was feeling pretty good, thinking "8 miles already, not bad!" But my next time across the timing mat it was more like, "Only 10 miles?!?" Around this time I began suffering from nausea that would last for a major portion of the rest of the race. This was affecting me mentally as well as physically because it prevented me from fueling properly.  Another mental battle was that I had not managed to connect with anyone running my pace, so I was going it "alone". This was disappointing since you were constantly meeting other runners, and passing or being passed by them.

I had set a goal of 5 hours for this race based on the premise that 5 hours is the time that I pace most frequently, so I wanted to test myself to see if I could run a double and still pace 5 hours on the second day. However, I wasn't running this race with my pacer hat on. I was running by feel, which meant that I'd started out too fast. As I slowed down, I was not only worried about not meeting my goal, but there was all of the mental chatter and negotiations of should I just walk since my chances of meeting my goal were diminishing. I needed to do something about my stomach. I discovered that one of the drink options was Sprite, so I began taking that in the hope that it would help my stomach feel better. Eventually I started taking Gatorade at one end and Sprite at the other and over the course of several laps my stomach began to feel a bit better.

Right around mile 22 my stomach started to feel better, and I caught a second wind energy-wise. (miles 20 and 21 were my slowest of the day) I checked my watch and concluded that if I ran smart and really focused on my pace I could still meet my 5 hour goal. This is where the repetitiveness of the course began to work in my favor. I knew exactly what to expect every bit of the way as I focused mentally on a strong finish. The mental boost of being "almost there" was also a huge help in pushing through the fatigue and the pain of my sore quads. After I made the final turn off of the main street with only .2 miles left to finish the race I pushed the pace to the end and finished in 4:57:45. Not sure that I'm ready to pace on day 2 of a double yet, but I did prove that I can break 5 hours.

After finishing I headed back to the pavilion for some post race food, but there wasn't much to be found when I arrived. They had a couple of ladies there giving massages, so I decided to do that before jumping in the car for another 6 hour drive. I don't usually get the massage at races, because it can hurt more than the pain I'm already experiencing. This was an exception, and I really think it helped how my legs felt as I was cooped up in the car for the next leg of my trip. While I was on the table the pizza arrived, so I did get some food before heading out. I started to get cold and shiver a bit, so I took the opportunity to change into my quarter zip race shirt from Buffalo.

As a testament to my cost saving skills, the entire trip (including gas, meals, hotel room, and race registration for CT) cost about the same as only the registration for the NYC marathon.

State #11: Buffalo Marathon (NY) May 28, 2017

I think this is the first race to work out for me where I went looking for races that had posted on their website they were looking for pacers. Most races I contacted never even responded back to my emails, but this was one where I got a quick response. So...by late October of last year I knew this one would be on my schedule. Back in 2006 I had passed through Buffalo on my way to Niagara Falls, so I was excited to go back and actually see the city.

When race weekend arrived I decided to forego my usual last chance pacing practice run in favor of getting an earlier start on the road. I didn't have as far to go as Savannah or Myrtle Beach, but I wanted to do a little sightseeing and they wanted us to spend some time working in the pacer booth at the expo. Also, the pasta dinner was running from 4-6 and Jeff Galloway was 

going to be the featured speaker.

As I approached the NY state line coming out of PA I decided to take the more scenic route right along Lake Erie instead of paying a toll to go up I 90. It was a beautiful day!

Coming into Buffalo, the first place I wanted to go was the Buffalo Main Light. I had not gotten to visit this lighthouse on my previous trip, and it was only a short drive from there to the expo at the covention center. 

When I finally found the proper hall that the expo was being held in, the pacer booth was the first thing I saw. It was good getting to meet some of the other pacers and get their insight on the course/race since most of them had run it before. One thing that felt a little odd about this race is that because the half and full stayed together until mile 13 only a few of the pacers were running the entire full marathon. Most were running either the first half or the second half because it was easy to have an exchange point. This meant that for my time slot there was not a dedicated half marathon pacer; I was covering the 2:25 half AND the 4:50 full. The expo itself was decent sized and even had speakers throughout the day. I missed getting to hear Bart Yasso who had been there earlier.

The pasta dinner continued to be a good chance to interact with other pacers since we had a couple of reserved tables that would also allow other runners to meet us and decide if they wanted to join a pace group in the morning. Along with the meal, we got our first taste of the Mile 27 beer by the Flying Bison brewery that was to be featured at the post race party. I thought it was quite good! After a short address by the race director, we got to hear Jeff Galloway. He was on the US olympic team in 1972 and these days is known for his run/walk/run method often used by beginners and older runners, but also successfully used by faster runners struggling to meet benchmark times (such as a sub 3 hour marathon) using a constant running strategy. I'm seriously thinking about trying this in the future to try to get a Boston Qualifying time.

On race morning I arrived early and ran into a fellow Beast pacer who was there to support his girlfriend who was trying to get a marathon PR. It was nice to see a familiar face cheering me on along the course, too! Before the race we were treated to a small fireworks display. The national anthem was performed, but it was either a really short version or we were a good way into it before the sound started working. 😃 

When we started I had a pretty good group around me since it was made up of both half and full marathoners. We headed north towards Delaware park for the first 5k then turned around to head back through downtown out to the lakefront. For some reason I had a really hard time nailing the pace at the beginning. I was running about 20 seconds/mile fast for the first 3 miles, so I made mile 4 kind of a "correction" mile to get my average pace closer to what it should have been. The lakefront was beautiful with great views of the lighthouse and the very cool fireboat that had its water cannons running continuously. They had several live bands along the course and I remember some of the better ones being in this area as well. 

As we were on our way back into the downtown area I started encouraging the half marathoners to push on ahead to the finish. Once the full broke off, things felt much more serious. It was getting warmer and we knew we were in for the long haul. The remaining group got pretty quiet and I could tell they needed a mental distraction so I shared my weight loss/running story with them. This got people inspired and motivated again for another mile or so, but the warm weather and fatigue were taking their toll. The group began to dwindle as we ran through Delaware Park (again) and there were only a few left as we neared the 20 mile mark. Jeremy, a first time marathoner who had been sticking pretty close to me for most of the race, was getting to the point where he knew he could no longer keep up. I gave him some advice on using a regimented run/walk strategy to finish the race and was thrilled to discover later that he had finished in 5 hours and 1 second. Somewhere between miles 21 and 22 the last of my group fell back. I'm finding that the success of my groups relates directly to race day temperatures: the hotter the day the earlier in the race I'm running on my own. On a nice, cool day I could have runners finish with me or even go on to finish ahead of me. Once I find myself in this situation I usually just want to get finished, because I very rarely find anyone along the way to repopulate my group.

In the second half of the race they had aid stations every mile. Mile 24 was in a residential area and directly across from the aid station was a big party that was spilling out into the street. I was at the point where I needed a little bit of fun, so instead of heading into the water station I went towards the party and asked if anybody had some beer. One of the guys closest to me ran about 100 yards with me and I took a few sips from his PBR.

From this point downtown and the finish line were getting ever closer. I continued to monitor my pace and make adjustments as needed. The course seemed to be running a bit long, so the quick miles I ran early in the race actually got me in the neighborhood of where I needed to be to meet my goal time. I was mostly passing other runners, but occasionally the presence of a pacer would inspire someone to dig deep and push on even though they were hot and exhausted. Eventually I made it as far south as I needed to go and got to turn back north for the final few blocks to the finish line. My finish time was 4:49:13. Most of the time I would be happy making it in within a minute of my goal time, but we were having a pacer contest and I didn't think it would be close enough to win. Final distance on my Garmin was 26.5, the longest I've had for any marathon I've run.

After collecting my medal and bottle opener I headed up to the post race party. I was not too proud to take the escalator back up to the second floor of the convention center. Upon my arrival I ran into a woman who had been in my pace group at the Biltmore last year! After a nice little catch up, I headed for the far side of the room where the beer and pizza could be found. They made us work for the good stuff! 😉 Everything including the beer was self-serve, so you could get as much as you could carry. I refueled as much as I could handle before hitting the road, as there was another marathon to run the next day and it was about a 6 hour drive.

Overall, this was a good medium size race. The marathon had the same basic shortcomings that most marathons struggle with--the second half of the course was not quite as interesting and didn't have nearly as many spectators. On course entertainment and aid was very good. The race director claimed they had trained medical staff at almost every aid station. After race food and drink were excellent, and they even had a live feed of the finish line on a big screen in the room. The biggest variable in this race is the weather. It got a bit warm this year, but last year was worse. From what I hear they took good care of the runners, but I definitely wouldn't target this race to be a fast one since the chance of heat on Memorial Day weekend is too high.

State # 7: Morgantown Marathon (WV) September 18, 2016

Morgantown was a late addition to my fall schedule for 2016. I already had WV on my schedule for November (Marshall University Marathon), but in early August I got an email that they were looking for pacers. I thought about it for a couple of days. Even though WV isn't that far, it was going to be about a 5 hour drive to Morgantown. I kept checking out their website and FB page to learn about the hilly course but their medal won me over and I decided to go for it. (overall elevation gain of almost 1800 feet, with 200 feet in in the final mile) I would be the 5 hour pacer, which would make things a little interesting for the races I already had in place. I was already pacing a 10 mile race on the day before, and 6 days later I had another 5 hour marathon to pace in IN.

The 10 miler went perfectly, so after grabbing some food and changing clothes I jumped in the car to head to Morgantown. On the way I picked up another pacer in Huntington, so it was nice to have some company for the rest of the trip. Once we arrived in Morgantown we went straight to the expo to pick up our race packets. We weren't completely last minute, but most of the vendors/exhibitors had already packed up so there wasn't a lot to see. After checking into our room, we decided to go back out and drive some of the course. I especially wanted to check out the biggest hill (in the middle of the course) and the final hill (about 200 feet of climb in the last mile). I also finally got a late dinner and then we headed back to the room. There was no parking at the race venue, but we stayed close enough to walk rather than deal with shuttling from the minor league baseball park.

We were up early the next morning for the pacer meeting and picture. When it came time to line up for the start we realized just how small of a race this was: there were only 319 finishers for the half and 185 for the full. Because of the hilly course I decided to use an effort-based strategy for this race rather than trying to run even splits. I got a pace band from findmymarathon.com which gave varied splits per mile based on the severity of the hills and asking for a little bit quicker pace on the downhills.

I felt like I never had a cohesive pace group from the beginning of this race, maybe just because the race field was small and the course was hilly. It was also a very warm day, already 70 at the start. The course for the half was almost a literal out and back, so we had half marathoners running back toward us for a few miles (for those of us at the back of the pack). Things really thinned out as we left the half behind and shortly there after came upon the biggest climb of the course. When I was nearly at the top a minivan came by to cheer on a man that I was catching up to. It turned out that it was a local man who was running his first full marathon and his wife and kids would show up every so often to cheer him on. We ran together for a bit, mostly through the considerable downhill section that took us through the heart of the WVU campus. On the next major uphill where I slowed down a bit as indicated by the pace band I was using he pulled ahead. I ran behind him for a long time, but did eventually catch up to him again. He was running very strong, never once falling behind me, and eventually he pulled away and finished well ahead of me.

I really ended up running most of this race alone, occasionally catching up to someone and chatting a bit before moving on. Most of the race I was a bit ahead of pace since my strategy involved what was essentially banking some time for the big final hill. About half way through my energy took a big dip and I think that one of my issues was that I hadn't really fueled properly after my 10-mile race the day before. This was when I learned that fuel gels really do make a difference.  I decided that I needed to take a gel at the next water station and it just so happened that they provided one at that stop. I started to feel the effect of it, so at the next water station I used one of the gels that I was carrying with me. This little fuel up actually helped me to have more energy at mile 20 than I did at mile 14.

Right around mile 20/21 my stomach started to tell me I really needed a pit stop. I passed up one portapotty thinking I was on a short out and back and would be coming back by it very soon. This wasn't the case! I had to go all the way around a park and found one when I was about to head back out to the main road. When I pulled up my bib belt to get it out of the way I was so sweaty that the bib stuck to me and tore out one of the holes that I was using to attach it to the belt. I had to use the bottom hole to reattach the bib, so that's why it looks all crinkled and weird in some of the pictures.

Shortly after finishing that section of the race was a nice downhill. This led to a flat path right along the river. It was a nice park-like area with some live music. During this part of the race came one of the best aid station treats ever, popsicles! I had read about this in a race review from the previous year and was delighted to find them on the course again this year. Not only did they hit the spot, but gave a huge mental boost as well. All of this was the calm before the storm. After hitting mile 25 and exiting the path back out to the main road, the huge final climb began. I had been shaving time off of the flatter and downhill miles for the entire race for this moment! I definitely burned some of the extra time, but the hill had worried me enough that I still wasn't really willing to let it all go. I made it to mile 26 at the top of the hill and had essentially only to go across the big WVU colliseum parking lot to reach the finish. There wasn't enough race left to slow down properly with spectators all around, it would just look like unnecessary walking. Official finish time was 4:58:48, just 12 seconds faster than my 1 minute guideline.

Even with a 5 hour finish, this race still had plenty to offer. The live band was still going strong, there was plenty of pizza, Panera baked goods, and beer. The local Mothman Black IPA was excellent! The medal was huge and had a spinner! 

This was a hot day on a tough course, but they tried to make it all worth it with a better than average after party and an awesome medal. This year's medal was gaudy while last year's was classy, but both were worthy bling!

State # 10: Skidaway Island (GA) March 25, 2017

Looking back I see that I had gotten an email about the 2016 race in January of 2016, but I don't remember even considering it at all. I think that the reason was the exact reason I was interested in it for 2017--it was in Georgia! It was last spring that I decided I wanted to go for 50 states, so when I got an email about the 2017 race in July last year I decided to go for it. I think that made it the first 2017 marathon that I put on my schedule. I was originally scheduled to pace 4:45, but later got moved to 4:30. I was supposed to have a co-pacer, but things fell through with that and I was on my own again.

Just like Myrtle Beach, it was going to be a long day in the car to get to Savannah. On Friday I got up at 4 again, did 30 minutes at race pace, finished packing/loading the car and got on the road right around 6 again. I wanted to visit the Tybee Island lighthouse, so I knew I needed to get there by 4:30. I made it around 4:15, which meant I got to climb the 178 steps to the top. Next I headed to the local Dick's for the packet pick up--there was no expo. The line was long and when I looked on Facebook I saw that the Race Director had posted that two volunteers were no-shows so he was on his way down to help out. I took the time to chat with some of the other runners and get some info on the race/area. The wait ended up not being too bad and things went smoothly when I got my turn. (I also picked up for one of the other pacers.) After that I got a bit to eat and settled in for the evening. Pacer meeting was going to be at 6:00, and I would need to allow a little time to find the race venue/parking.

On race morning I woke up around 3 to use the bathroom and couldn't fall asleep again. I got an early start to head out to the venue, which was good because my phone kept loosing GPS signal and I had a little struggle finding it. We were starting from the University of Georgia Oceanographic Institute, but most of the race was in a gated housing development called The Landings. I ended up still being early enough that I had a short wait for the pacer meeting/picture. It was fun to meet pacers from a completely different region that are still part of the "Beast family".

As the time for the race got closer we lined up for the start. Even though it's a smaller race, the course is pretty narrow in some sections so we had a two wave start. 4:30 full/2:15 half was the cut off for the first wave, so I was lining up at the back. One of the other pacers claimed there was no timing mat at the start, so I was a little frustrated with having to line up all the way at the back when I would have to essentially go by the gun time rather than when I crossed the start line.

Once we got out of the parking area for the Institute we had to head down the road almost 3 miles before we got to The Landings. At the start I was a bit apprehensive about my left knee that had bothered me for an entire 10 mile race I had paced the weekend before. As we went around a very long curve that had a bit of a bank to it I searched for a flat spot in the road to try to "baby" the knee a bit. When we eventually turned off into The Landings we started out on sidewalk, which was also a bit disconcerting to me as concrete sidewalk has less give to it than asphalt and would mean more impact to my knee. The sidewalk didn't last too long (although there would be more stretches of sidewalk later on). We would encounter varying surfaces for the entire race: asphalt, concrete, a thin layer of sand on one path, and a few short wooden bridges. All in all, my knee did fine for the entire race and didn't give me any problems.

At the 3 mile mark I decided I needed to abandon my conservative strategy because I was about 20 seconds behind pace. It seemed like even from the first mile marker they were consistently .2 of a mile too long, but of course some of this was also with my watch tracking from where I had lined up at the start rather than the actual start line. Fairly early on we some got nice views of the marshes, but we also ended up just going down neighborhood streets quite a bit. There were also sections where we were crossing through a golf course. Conversation ranged from the usual running/training/races to hearing a bit about climbing Kilimanjaro. Very interesting!

 

Things were going fairly smoothly through the first half, but the heat/humidity were beginning to take a toll. The biggest climb of the race was in mile 18, where we had to cross a bridge. Most of my group had already fallen behind at this point. My lone companion from mile 20 on was a graduate student named Molly. (green shirt/black shorts in the picture above) This was her third marathon and her goal was to beat Oprah's marathon time: 4:29:15. There was an out and back section (miles 20-22.5) that seemed like it would never end. We were both getting pretty tired and my hamstrings were really starting to tighten up. When we hit the aid stop Molly wanted to walk (we were somewhere between 60 and 90 seconds ahead of pace) I agreed, but warned that the longer we walked the harder it would be to get going again. The last aid stop was around mile 24. I walked a  little, but Molly walked longer and fell behind. At this point I just had to keep myself going to come in on time.

 

The last two miles were hard and lonely. I was passing people who were running with traffic (on the opposite side of the road) rather than against it. I knew that I was coming in a little faster than I needed to, but I just couldn't find any other pace in my legs that felt good. I would be either a 10 min/mile or walking. (goal pace is 10:17/mile) I finished in 4:28:45. I got my medal and a bottle of water. There wasn't much of a food spread, but my stomach wasn't really ready to eat much anyway. One of the best things was an ice bucket with wash cloths in it that you could put on your head to help cool down. (they had these out on the course at Mill Race, and they felt sooo good!) I found Molly who hadn't beaten Oprah, but still came in under 4:30 for a 20 minute PR!

 

Eventually I went to the car to get out of my shoes (swollen feet) and sweaty shirt. I still didn't feel that great and waited around for nearly an hour before getting in the car to start my trip back home. I did get to see some more people from my group come in and I got to see another 50-stater finish her 50 state journey.

Overall this was a nice race with a beautiful and mostly flat course. The race director was very engaged and truly wanted everyone to have a great experience. I don't really know if this is true and didn't try to confirm with anyone closer to the start line, but it actually sounded like he was the one who sang the national anthem. He also led out in an opening prayer that sounded very Psalm-like with some fun word changes that related more directly to running. Also, you can fearlessly sign up for this race because even if you need to drop out at a later date you can get a "no questions asked" full refund until very close to race day. The volunteers and support on the course were quite good with many more gels offered than had been promised. I would have liked more options in the finish line food spread (they had Oreos, Cliff bars, bananas, oranges and grapes) but there was plenty of it there. The weather was a bit warm for my preference, but it was actually the coolest and least humid year that they have had so far. I think the reason that I struggled as much as I did with the weather was just because I hadn't gotten acclimated yet this season. No regrets for choosing this as my race for Georgia!

State # 8: Appalachian Series Day 3 (TN) October 11, 2016

This race was put on by Mainly Marathons. They are known for putting on race series all over the country where you can run a different state every day for a week. For 2016 they were offering a free race to anyone who wanted one as long as you registered at least 90 days in advance. This was just for a single race and not a whole series. I picked this particular race for a number reasons: it was close by, it was a state I needed, and it was on my 4th run-iversary. (the day I started couch to 5k in 2012) Somewhat oddly though, it was on a Tuesday.

The race was held at Steele Creek park in Bristol, TN. By holding the race in a park they don't have to block any streets and don't have to have a strict cut off time. The downside is they have short courses that you have to run multiple times to reach your distance. This was a 2.184 mile out and back course that I had to run 12 times to get to 26.2. At the start/finish line there was a big food/drink area and at the very end was a table full of rubber bands. The rubber band table was there to make sure you got the full distance and you would take a rubber band every time to help keep track of your progress. At the other end of the course was just a traffic cone in the middle of the path/trail to show you where to turn around and a camera to keep people honest. There was also a camera recording the traffic at the rubber band table. The course started near one of the park shelters and was on a paved path for a short while and then became a gravel path that went along a lake. The scenery was nice, but it did get a bit monotonous having to run it 12 times, also I'm not a big fan of running on gravel.

The night before the race I stayed with friends who lived about half an hour away from Bristol. I headed out early on race morning to pick up my race packet. I got my bib, my shirt, and the main part of the medal along with the year tag. After the race I would get the "charm" that corresponded to the state I finished. For people that were doing multiple days they would get the corresponding state each day to turn into one long monster medal.

My goal for this race was to run about 4 hours. It was the first marathon of 2016 that I wasn't pacing and I wanted to run quite a bit closer to my regular pace as I prepped to attempt a PR at Marshall in November. Due to the way the course was setup you would be constantly encountering other runners, either meeting them going in the other direction or passing them going the same direction. Since this was day 3 of the series it meant that many of the other participants were either taking it easy or even walking for most of the race. There were a few other quicker runners that I tried to keep an eye on, although some of them were doing the half rather than the full. I was passing a lot of runners, but I also got lapped a number of times. I also had to take a bathroom stop early on that meant I had to essentially leave the course to run up the hill near the shelter where the facilities were.

I just barely missed finishing half way in two hours and my energy started to sag. I grabbed something to eat and drink on pretty much every trip to the rubber band table, but I just couldn't keep up the pace I started with. There wasn't a lot of drama, just a lot of running back and forth as the miles went by. When I went out for my last lap I picked up the pace knowing that I didn't have to keep anything in reserve. (although I would be running Bourbon Chase just a few days later) I picked things up enough that people could tell this was my last lap and they cheered me on as I ran by. I was ready to be done in just a few more minutes.

As I finished my lap I went to the timing table to let them know that I was done. I got the TN charm for my medal and that was pretty much it. My finish time was 4:12:10. I hung out for a bit to recover and change clothes before getting the car to head home. Since the races don't have a cutoff, the final finisher gets recognized with a special "caboose" award and the "winners" don't get any special recognition. When I later found the results on line I discovered that I was the third overall finisher for the marathon, but also humbled that the two people who finished ahead of me had also run marathons the previous two days of the series.

I can see the attraction of these races for someone who wants to cross several states off of their list in a short time while saving some money on travel, but since I was only doing one day I didn't really have that much fun. I ran by myself for pretty much the entire race and the monotony of the course just wasn't very motivating. It was also hard to run fast because you had to slow down to make a 180 degree turn at either end of each lap. The food, drink and rubber band tables were pretty much self serve so that slowed things down as well. I probably wouldn't do another "one off" race with them, but might consider doing several days of a series. On the other hand, I do have another race on my current schedule (Oh, Boy! in Waterbury, CT) that will be similar in format with a few key differences. 1. It will be my first "double" (I'm pacing the Buffalo marathon the day before) so I won't be going for speed and will probably hang out and chat with other runners on the course. 2. The course has a little loop at either end so there is no 180 degree turn. 3. The race is chip timed, so no rubber band table!

State # 9: Myrtle Beach Marathon (SC) March 4, 2017

Back on December 13 I found out that I would be on the pace team for the Myrtle Beach Marathon. I really wanted to get a South Carolina race for 2017 since it was one of the closer states that I needed for my 50 state goal. I had sent emails to a couple of other races looking for a pacer spot without even getting a response, so I was thrilled to get on for this popular race. This was my first race of 2017 and I was the 5 hour pacer so I'd been practicing the required 11:27/mile pace for many of my easy runs for a couple of months. It's getting a feel for the effort level and running form (shorter stride than usual) that will get me going at the proper pace.

Myrtle Beach is about 600 miles from Lexington, so I knew I would be in the car for a good while getting there. I took the day off on Friday so I would be able to get there in time for the expo and the race kickoff party/dinner. I got up around 4 AM did a 3 mile run at race pace, finished gathering everything up, packed the car and got on the road by 6. They had warned us that there would be a $5 parking charge at the expo, which seemed ridiculous to me so I had scoped out a free place to park beforehand. It was a little bit of a walk, but what's that to a marathoner? I also knew that stretching my legs a little bit after all that time in the car would do me good. Once I got parked and walked over to the expo it was around 5 o'clock. I liked the layout of the expo because all of the necessary things were along the outside of the room and you weren't forced to walk through all of the vendors in the middle of the room if you didn't want to. I picked up my pacer shirt and sign as well as my bib and regular swag and was ready to find my way to the kickoff party.

The party was being held at the Grande Dunes Marina which was in another part of town. I put the address in my phone and headed over. The problem was the GPS wanted to take me on streets that were blocked for the Family Fun Run that started at 5:30 and the 5k which was at 7:00. I finally found my way there but discovered that the food wasn't ready yet. It was also a bit too cold to really enjoy sitting outside to eat. I chatted with another pacer about races we had done or were looking forward to while we waited for the food to be ready.

After finishing my meal and chatting with some folks I had enough of being cold and ended up heading back to the expo to pick things up for a person from the 50 States Facebook group who was going to be too late because of flight delays. After dropping stuff off it was time to get some sleep; our pre-race pacer meeting was going to be at 5:50 in the morning. The meeting was mostly to get a group picture, we really didn't get much in the way of instruction or expectations.

 

Then it was off to the start line to get lined up so that pace groups could form around us. It was a chilly 36 at the 6:30 start as the sun was just really coming up. As usual, when I pace 5 hours, I got a group of people start to form around me that included a number of first time marathoners. Unfortunately, it seems like most of the time they don't make it with me all the way to the end. 😢

There were two starting arches because we were on a very wide street with a large grass median in the center. It seems that in the past they had the half line up on one side the and the full on the other, but they said that this year in didn't matter--anyone could go on either side. I lined up on the right hand side, which turned out to be the wrong side since our first turn was to the left so I added on a little bit of unnecessary distance. Around this same time I felt like something was stuck to the bottom of my left shoe. I was scuffing my foot while a ran to try to get whatever it was loose and this awkward gait caused the sunglasses which I was wearing on top of my head (thought I'd want them later) to fall in the street and be destroyed. Oh well, we'd gotten a pair of sunglasses in our swag bags at the expo but that wasn't going to help me now.

There wasn't a lot to see in the early miles, but the company was good. I ended up with two very nice ladies (Sandy and Suzy) that ran WITH me rather than behind me and we chatted for most of the race. Once we got onto Ocean Blvd we could catch glimpses of the beach/ocean between hotels on our right side. I tried to focus on that rather than all the tourist traps. 😃 Somewhere around mile 5 or 6 I was just starting to develop a need for a "pit stop", but decided I would wait until after mile 11 when I wouldn't have to wait in line behind all of the half marathoners. When we got there Sandy took my pace sign while Suzy and I stopped to use the facilities. We had been a bit ahead of pace before I stopped and it turned out that I could have just kept my sign and rejoined the race because I hadn't used up all of my extra time in the porta-pot. Now I had to run faster to get my sign back and then try to slow the group down a little. A little after getting off of Ocean Blvd we had a short portion of paved trail that got us off of the main roads. It was a nice break to be in a little bit quieter surroundings and away from traffic. Sandy's husband got the super-fan award for meeting us several times out on the course and for getting some pictures of us.

Somewhere shortly before mile 25 Sandy starting pulling out ahead of us and Suzy followed shortly after her. I was left fussing about the placement of the mile markers and having some interactions with some of the other runners left around me. It turned out that a guy who had been behind me pretty much the whole time was headed for a 40+ minute PR! The 23 mile marker had been placed a bit long (according to my Garmin) but 24 matched up again, so when 25 was a bit long I expected 26 to correct again. 26 was also long, which caused me to panic a bit needlessly since I was still ahead of pace. Once I could see the finish line (there were of a couple of 90 turns) I started trying to slow down a bit. I was also yelling at all the people around me to hurry and finish in front of me. I didn't really have enough "runway" left to slow down as much as I wanted and finished almost a minute and a half fast at 4:58:23. After posing for a few pictures, I headed for the awesome finish line celebration. A lot of times the party is nearly over at 5+ hours, but not here! The live band was still going strong and interacting with the crowd and there was still plenty of beer and pizza. Even this wasn't the end, as there was another after party (free to participants) at the House of Blues that night. I didn't have the time to stick around, but I did make a quick trip down to the beach before I headed back home.

This was a very nice race: good weather, flat course (only 115 feet of elevation gain), great finish line celebration/after party, nice/big medal (4.5" diameter), helpful pacers, good traffic control (I always felt safe), convenient and free race day parking. They advertise their cut off time as 7 hours, but looking at the results the last person listed with a time took almost 8 hours. The biggest marathon in South Carolina--1239 finishers. There weren't huge crowds, but that's not that important to me and I tend to run smaller races. In addition to the race shirt, we also received a pair of running socks and a pair of sunglasses in our race bags. I also received a nice pair of Balega socks as a pacer gift. Biggest disappointments: $5 parking fee for the expo (which I avoided), and the pre-race party/dinner (which I got for free as a pacer).