Honolulu Marathon 2008


When I first ran the Honolulu Marathon back in 1994, I didn’t really expect to come back in 2008 and find things much the same as they had been 14 years earlier, however at this race consistency rules. Year after year on the second Sunday in December, runners from all over the world converge on Honolulu to follow the same course, eat the same food and meet up with the same people. This year I returned to Honolulu for my 12th Honolulu marathon.
Activities kicked off on Wednesday, when the expo and packet pick up opened. Having outgrown the previous poolside location at the Outrigger Reef several years ago, it’s now held at the new Convention Center. After all of these years, vendors and procedures haven’t changed much.
Before the race, runners still line up for their race numbers, timing chips and goodie bags and unlike most marathons there is no race participant shirt – only a finisher’s shirt which must be earned. It can only be picked up after you cross the finish line and a volunteer verifies that you actually completed the race.
Not to fear, you do have plenty of Official Marathon merchandise available to purchase as this is a Nike sponsored event. There is no lack of souvenir tee shirts and marathon gear, however; try to hold back on buying anything you may not want to wear over the weekend as come Monday and Tuesday, prices are reduced by 30 to 50%. “The Sale”, my favorite part of the race!
As the marathon starting time is 5am on Sunday, the traditional pasta dinner is held on Friday night so everyone can get a good night’s sleep on Saturday-however this is Hawaii and the tradition is a LUAU complete with music and entertainment! Not so traditional carbo-loading however effective just the same.
Saturday is a good day to lay low; relax, maybe do some sightseeing and try to stay out of the sun!
Nothing could be worse than trying to run a marathon with sunburn. Unfortunately, this would not be a concern for our runners this year (or LAST year!). It rained nearly every day during the week before the race. A few hours of sunshine the day before gave the misguided impression that the weather would cooperate for the race, however-not this year… again! For the second year in a row, the marathon started with a bang-not only the beautiful fireworks display over Ala Moana Park, but a burst of rain just as the starting gun was fired.
The usual routine for most Honolulu runners would be a 2:30am wake up call, quickly dressing-not much decision as to what to wear -shorts and a singlet will do fine as it’s already 70 degrees; followed by a brisk walk to the starting line if your hotel is close to Ala Moana, otherwise a short walk to the Zoo parking lot for a 10 minute bus ride if your hotel is closer to the finish line. As you walk out of your hotel you may notice many chartered buses and even some stretch limos. These are reserved for the Japanese tour groups. Same as every year, Japan Airlines is one of the major sponsors; therefore, nearly 60 percent of the field comes from Japan.
With such an early start, for most of the runners run nearly half of the race in the dark-for the winners the sun is just rising as they cross the finish line.
This year’s winners were a Kenyan man, Patrick Ivuti and a Japanese woman, Kiyoko Shimahara. Their finish times were 2:14:35 and 2:32:36 respectively, well ahead of the 20,056 other finishers who’s average time was 5:58:22!
The course has been the same for years—from the park a loop through downtown-you’ll notice the bar goers still out partying from the night before. There is a turn past the Ala Moana Mall and the starting area, before you hit Kalakaua Avenue. You pass the famous Waikiki Beach and hotels; even at this predawn hour, spectators line the course at this point cheering on friends and family members.
As you leave Waikiki, if you know where to look, the finish line at Kapialani Park will be visible (sort of anyway-remember it’s still dark!).
At this point you’ve passed the 10K marker and will begin climbing the one major hill on the course-Diamond Head. It’s about a mile long. For most runners you’re in the dark –no street lights, just flood lamps brought in for illumination. The pack is still thick and it’s only accentuated as you’re running on one side of the road; and don’t forget for the last 2 years, at this point it has been raining for several hours, therefore lake size puddles have formed and some runners are up to their ankles in water!
As you circle behind Diamond Head, there is an aid station where many runners stop to walk. Not for long though as the next mile is a screaming downhill and a chance to regroup for the longest stretch of the race-out and back on Kalanianiole Highway. If you’re fast enough, here you’ll have a chance to see the top runners as they go for a possible victory or after you make the loop at Hawaii Kai, you’ll have a chance to “high five” your slower friends and running partners.
One of the most beautiful and enjoyable parts of the course is mile 22 to 24 as you run through Kahala –Honolulu’s answer to Park Ave, NYC. You’ll see million dollar homes and be cheered on by many spectators as you run (or walk) through one of the most exclusive areas in Hawaii.
You then approach Diamond Head and the last hill. You’ll have a water stop at mile 24, most runners, no matter what their pace, resort to walking at this point of the race, however once you reach the top of the hill, you’ll be thrilled to see that the last mile will be downhill! A fast dash to the bottom of the hill and less than 1 mile as flat as a pancake and you’re done—or as they say in Hawaiian, you are “pau”.
Pass the finish line and the routine will continue. You will receive your finisher’s shell lei; collect your oatmeal cookies and apples-which is always the same finish line food. Then you will head over to the finisher’s shirt tent where you will receive your finisher’s shirt and key chain medal. This year it was the same medal as always-a very plain and simple depiction of a Hawaiian runner only this year the background hibiscus was in color!
At the finish line the festivities will continue as you shop for souvenirs, get a massage or just chill out and listen to the band play-that is until the rain starts again! After the drenching morning rain, a few minutes of rain here and there between the sunshine is not uncommon.
All and all this is a great, predictably good marathon. And best of all, in 2009, Honolulu and the Las Vegas Marathon will once again be offered a week apart, for those adventurous enough, as I was, to attempt two marathons or half marathon and marathon in a week. Hope to see you there!
Congratulations to 50 States Club Honolulu Finishers: Jim D’Haenes, Dedra Trotter, Ron Knecht, Christine Merriam, Mike Herrin and Richard Vogt

Missoula Marathon - July 2008

Leap year moved my favorite July marathon to August! Yes, the San Francisco Marathon will be run on August 2nd . It seems to be a trend this year, marathons run at the beginning of one month moving over to the end of the previous month and vice versa. As many of you may know, I’m working running a streak of a marathon a month, so August wouldn’t do. I had to find another July marathon.
Prospects were not looking good, that is until I did a search of http://www.marathonguide.com/ and discovered the Missoula Marathon. Now in its second year, this marathon offered much more than just the fact that it’s run in July- not only did it fit perfectly into my schedule, the course was beautiful and it was very easy and reasonable to get to thanks to Allegiant Airlines.
If you are not familiar with this Las Vegas based airline, take a look at their web site, www.allegiantair.com.
They keep fares low by offering service to secondary markets-like Missoula. Granted, the planes are small and they do charge extra for baggage and seats, however once you’re past the additional fees you’ll realize you are getting a better deal than the major airlines are offering and even better-a nonstop flight where otherwise you’d spend the day connecting.
My flight left early on Saturday morning, arriving into Missoula before noon. I chose not to rent a car as everything in town is within walking distant and I didn’t see that we have any time to explore outside of the city. A quick phone call from the airport to the DoubleTree, was all it took to have the hotel shuttle at the airport within minutes and whisking me back to the hotel.
The DoubleTree is rated one of the top hotels in Missoula and I have to say I was impressed. The rooms are quite spacious and very reasonably priced. The best feature is the location; it is situated along the banks of the Clark Fork River across from the University of Montana’s campus. From the restaurant and some of the rooms, you have a great view of the river.
I had a chance to get some rest before my friends arrived, Kathy and Kevin from NYC and Donald from Arizona. All three belong to the 50 States Club and the Marathon Maniacs, as did many of the marathon runners in Missoula that weekend. This would be at least the 6th marathon of the year for each of them and my 8th.
Once they arrived we headed over to the marathon expo, which was held outdoors in a park a couple of blocks away from our hotel. It was under a huge tent, so in case of bad weather there would be no need to bring everything indoors, although this weekend there were no worries the weather was picture perfect and the temperature ideally in the 70s.
After we picked up our race numbers and tee shirts, which were very nice short sleeve tech shirts in blue (the half offered a more attractive, rust brown); we shopped a bit then took a walk around town. Later, we drove out to the suburbs for an early dinner at Carino’s, a popular chain of Italian eateries. Donald had flown into Spokane and drove 3 hours to Missoula, so we use of a car; although if we didn’t have a car, there were a number of good local restaurants that we would have been able to walk to in town.
It was an early night and an even earlier wake-up call at 4am. We were ready to go and on our way before 5am. It was a short walk from our hotel to the shuttle out to the starting line. The buses left from a parking garage offering free parking for the day for those who drove.
The race started in Frenchtown, about a 25 minute ride away. After a hundred degree day last year, the start time had been pushed up from 6:30am to 6:00am and the course was altered to provide more shade for the runners.
While we were waiting at the start, we met a couple from Australia who were running 8 marathons in 8 weeks in 8 different countries. There’s always one marathoner attempting something more extreme than the next! This is a link to their web site for more on their adventures: http://www.partnerunning.com/
At 6am sharp, a cannon blast started the race and we were off. I would say that every one of the 400 runners crossed the starting line within a minute. The morning air was crisp; temps at 6am were still in the 50s-quite a difference from a typical July morning in Las Vegas!
The view of the foothills as the sun came up was amazing. We ran past horse farms, mountains, rivers and streams. With the exception of the lumber mill, there were no sign of commerce on the first half. We were truly in Big Sky country!
Spectators were limited to the few people who were curious enough to venture out of their homes to see what was going on and to several family members and friends of runners, who followed along in their minivans or on bikes. If you like the cheering crowds of a big city; don’t run here! This is the type of race that someone runs who just wants to enjoy nature and the fact that they can run 26.2 miles.
For those goal oriented runners, there were pace groups and for those on their own, although the field was small, it never seemed that you were running alone at any point.
Aid stations were spread out 2 miles apart on the first half of the race, then every mile after that. All were well stocked with water and Power Ade and offered a port-a-pottie-with no waiting lines! Power Gel was offered at two locations on the course, as well.
Plaster leg sculptures, decorated by local artists, served as mile markers along the course. These legs where part of a fund raising project similar to the cows from Chicago or the pigs in Cincinnati. The “legs” added a fun touch to the marathon; something other than water stations to look out for! Plus they were on display at the expo the day before so you were able to recognize your favorite designs.
With the exception of the one mile long hill I was warned about at the halfway point, the rest of the course seemed to be flat, so I was a bit surprised when I found out later on that there was a total gain in elevation and the entire course is slightly uphill.
In spite of the gradual incline and elevation-Missoula is 3200 feet above sea level, I would say this is definitely a fast course. At the finish line, I heard many happy reports from those who made their Boston qualifying time and PRs.
The average finishing time was 4:16; however with a 6 hour cut off, there were not many slower runners. For those needing more time or not ready for a full marathon in the middle of the summer, there is also a half marathon.
Unfortunately, if you choose the half, you’ll miss the most beautiful part of the course. The second half runs through a residential area, as it leads you back downtown, crossing the Higgins Avenue Bridge over the Clark Fork River to the finish line in front of the historic Wilma Theater. The balloon arch was a welcome sight! I spotted it about a half mile away.
Community effort was really at work at in the finish area and it showed. The locals put a great deal of thought and effort in accommodating the runners. From frozen fruit pops to massages; and Moose Drool Beer to home-made lemon pasta salad, complete with the recipe; they thought of everything.
The one thing they didn’t plan on however was my friend, Donald, running as Elvis. The crowds cheered and broke into “Viva Las Vegas!” as he approached the finish line. As in almost any marathon, you never know what to expect!

*For anyone who likes statistics, this was my 119th marathon, 14th marathon/month streak and 16th state toward 50 States Completion, 2nd time.

Eugene Marathon

The moment I heard about the Eugene Marathon, I knew I had to run it. After all, Eugene is pretty much the Mecca of running and this year, host to the Olympic Trials for Track and Field. In their second year, Eugene has become a welcome addition to Oregon’s marathon options.
Friday night I left Las Vegas with my friend and 2007 LVTC Iron Camel Winner, Phil Weiland, on one of the last flights going out of McCarran-1150pm, arriving Eugene at 2am!-a little late, however at least we'd have all day Saturday.Only small problem with an arrival that late, in a city the size of Eugene is that all of the car rentals are closed. We had to take a cab to the hotel-which actually proved to be one of the most informative cab rides I'd ever taken. In the space of a 20 minute ride, our driver, a long time Eugene resident filled us in on all the history and "goings on" in town. Hot topics for the weekend were Barak Obama's visit a few weeks earlier, the Saturday Market, the oldest open air craft market in the US (a claim they could have made 15 years ago!) and of course, the marathoners--are they crazy or what?We arrived at our hotel--actually a motel, rather on the dreary side-however inexpensive and close to the finish line, checked in and I met my roommate for the weekend, Lois from the 50 States Club. Poor girl, I felt bad waking her up at 3am!Next morning, after the hotel’s complimentary continental breakfast- we were off to the race expo at the host hotel, the Hilton. After picking up our numbers and a bit of shopping and sampling, we walked a few blocks over to the Saturday Market.If you are ever in Eugene, this is a must, after all who doesn't enjoy live music, fresh food from the Farmers Market and the chance to shop for some very unique items?Eugene is a very "green" city-probably due to the fact that it’s a big college town and most people engage in some sort of outdoor sport or activity; in fact the marathon pace car was a hybrid Prius! Recycling bins abound and you could see from the farmer's market and selection of restaurants in town, the residents are very health conscious and completely sold on the organic life style.A visit to the market is something like a trip in time back to the sixties. Except for the ever present cell phones, the atmosphere, music-everything from an impromptu violin solo to a “hippy” with a sitar and a barber shop quartet, also well as the attire of the locals (teens or seniors) would bring to mind the days around Woodstock.
The band on center stage played anti-war songs, young girls wore long peasant skirts with strings of dandelions as necklaces and outside of Jamaica, I have never seen so many guys with dreadlocks.I don't think anyone had ever seen or used a lip gloss or an eye shadow and Miss Clairol would make a killing-no bleach blondes in this crowd!Everyone seemed very happy and friendly, so maybe there is something to this simple life thing??? We spent an hour or so shopping and listening to music until my friend Mark Ornstein, from Las Vegas and the 50 States Club came to meet us and we headed off to a great grocery store something like Whole Foods for provisions.Next we went back to the hotel to watch the Kentucky Derby on television. As I had just run the Kentucky Derby Marathon and had visited Churchill Downs a few days before, I was very excited to see the race.Well, that turned into a disaster and practically ruined the rest of the weekend for me, when Eight Belles, the runner up horse, broke both of her ankles and had to be euthanized at the end of the race, right there on the track.As many of you know, I'm an "animal person", in fact, I've even been a vegetarian since I was 14, so as you can imagine, it was very upsetting to me. I haven't even watched horse racing since Barbaro, because of the danger to the horses.Anyway, I had to try to put my sadness aside and go back to the Hilton, the marathon host hotel, for the 50 States Club Reunion Meeting. This was a special day for me; although I finished my 50 States last January, I had never formally received my trophy. Unless you can make it to one of the quarterly meetings, they just mail it to you.This was my chance to actually have it presented to me by the club's president, Tom Adair. This was the first marathon Tom has been able to travel to and run since he fell and fractured his pelvis on a glacier while running the Antarctica Marathon in March. He's fine now as according to him, the fractured bones were not any "really important" bones!About 50 club members attended the meeting, there were probably about 100, who ran the marathon.
After the meeting, we met more 50 State Club members and talked so long after the meeting that we missed the pasta dinner and ended up eating in the hotel restaurant. Pasta with veggies and a salad: my usual pre-marathon meal. It was fine.I got back to the my "motel" later than I planned and of course, as usual, went to bed too late....that is after downing a bottle of water to "hydrate" for the race and waking up every hour to use the bathroom.We were up at 4:45am, marathon morning. Lois had decided to walk to the start with a couple of the guys; Mark, Phil and I opted to drive to the finish and take the shuttle over to the start-maybe a mile or 2 away at the University of Oregon's, Hayward Field, which beginning June 27th, will be the scene of the Olympic Track and Field trials. Everything went very smoothly, even when we got to the starting line- the baggage check was easy to find and port-a-potty lines were not that bad. Of course, I wasn't at the start to get a good spot to line up; however I did find a break in the corral fence to sneak in-along with about 100 others!
The race begins in front of Hayward Field, travels around Amazon Park and the University of Oregon, then crosses the Willamette River 3 times, makes a loop through Alton Baker Park East and into neighboring Springfield. The return to Eugene follows along bike paths and at least 10 miles of very scenic trails along the river while taking you in and out of 6 parks! The finish line is at East Gate Tower in front of Autzen Stadium.I was very happy with the course, not many hills, beautiful scenery, a sprinkling of spectators and plenty of runners -but not too many!-around me to pace off. My only issue was with the temperature. I had expected it would be chilly in the morning, the race begins at 7am, however by mile 20 I was still wearing my throw away shirt! I should have planned to just wear a long sleeve shirt to begin with. I was not really comfortable with the brisk temps and cloudy skies--actually this is known as perfect marathon weather...I only wished I had an extra shirt or jacket on for it!Mark and Phil were not too happy with the course at all. Mark hates to run on concrete, and sure enough, most of the bike trails are concrete. At mile 16 he decided it wasn't his day and dropped out. This was really bad luck for him as he only needed this race-Oregon and Montana, to complete his 50 States 2nd time finish. Actually, in looking through my photos from the weekend I noticed Mark was wearing the race shirt on Saturday. Could he have fallen victim to "the curse of wearing the shirt before the race"?Unfortunately for Phil, he took a couple of wrong turns, lost the pack of runners he was following and added another hour and a half to his time getting back on course. Finally we met at the finish line. Mark drove us back to our hotel and quickly left to drive back for his flight out of Portland an hour away.
Phil and I spent the rest of the afternoon resting and relaxing with Lois. She had had run a good race and was very pleased with the marathon. At marathon number 280, she’s become an expert.We left for our flight back to LV from Eugene at about 6pm---enough time for a stop for a gelato at a downtown cafe.I definitely recommend this race for next year. See www.eugenemarathon.com for details.
AND check out www.eugenesaturdaymarket.org for more info on the Saturday Market.

January Was Not a Good Month for Marathons!

Not for me anyway! You would think with two marathons on my schedule at least one would go well.
After struggling with a knee injury for several weeks, I had cut down on my training runs however I didn’t want to give up my marathons! I planned take it easy and keep my expectations low.
First up was P.F. Chang’s Rock and Roll Arizona on January 13th. Saturday morning, day before the race, I was up and out early for my 8am flight to Phoenix. Fortunately I was upgraded to 1st class and was able to catch up on at least an hour of sleep. Las Vegas to Phoenix is too short a flight!
10am - I arrived in Phoenix- yes, the hour flight takes 2! It's easy to forget the hour time difference this time of year.
I had planned to meet Michael Sullivan –another LVTC, LV Roadrunners and LVM21 club member. His flight arrived about the same time so I waited in baggage claim until his plane landed.
Michael arrived and we headed over to Hertz to pick up my rental car. For once I remembered to use my Hertz Gold number, so I was quite pleased with myself when I saw my name on the board and thought how quickly we'd be out and on our way.....that is until we were driving out and noticed the tire going flat. No problem we'll just get another car. The rental agent probably thought he was being nice by giving me an upgrade to an SUV, until I came back contract in hand and asked for yet another car. The SUV was too bus-like! A nice RAV4 bus, however the little steering wheel freaked me out!
Finally in car #3 we left the garage and drove about 5 minutes to the expo.
The expo was held in the convention center. Good thing, it was one of the biggest marathon expos I’ve ever been to and on Saturday afternoon, it was packed! They had a great selection of "Official" marathon shirts, jackets and souvenirs--although most things that I liked were sold out in my size. Just as well, I saved a little money. That is until I decided I needed the race poster with the artist's signature and a new magnet for the collection and a pin-for a future collection
We split up and walked around with the promise to meet in 45 minutes. No chance - it was so crowded you could hardly move!
About 2 hours later we made a much needed stop at Starbucks, then Michael and left Phoenix for Tempe. I left Michael off at his hotel and met my friend Kathy Kass, at our hotel-Hampton Inn Tempe. Kathy belongs to the 50 State Club as well as my team in NYC.
I had only decided to run RNR a few weeks before the race and hadn't really paid much attention to the logistics until about 2 weeks before the race.
At that time I discovered that there was no shuttle back from the finish line to the hotel. I thought it would be better to cancel the hotel we had booked at the start and find something close to finish-which is how I came up with Hampton Inn.
Certainly not the most posh hotel in town-however they offered a late (4pm!) check out and a shuttle directly from the hotel to the starting line. What a find, I thought-- until Kathy informed me that the shuttle to the start was full for their 615am departure, we would have to take the 515am. With a race start at 740am there was no way I wanted to do that-I planned to wake up at 5am! So we agreed to drive the mile to the finish line and take one of the race's shuttles.
After checking in to the hotel, we went over to PF Chang's- the race’s sponsor, for our "Pasta" dinner with a group of running friends. PF Chang’s had provided all of the runners with a $10 gift card for the restaurant and added coupons for free appetizers to our “goodie bags”.
The Chinese themed pasta dinner worked out fine for me. I ordered vegetable chow fun-which is just some noodles with veggies. Perfect replacement for pasta! We had a wonderful dinner and many tiny desserts, after which Kathy and I went for a drive to figure out where the shuttles would leave from and stock up on marathon supplies-bottled water, Power Bars, etc.
Sunday, Marathon Day!
After a not so restful sleep, we were up at 5am and out of the room at 6am to implement "Plan A"-“standing by” in the hotel lobby for the shuttle to the start. Hoping that someone would "no show" or they'd figure out a way to accommodate us on the 615am shuttle, we waited. If they weren't able to squeeze us in, we always had "Plan B" driving ourselves to the finish line and taking the shuttle provided by the race.
After a few anxious minutes, we did get on the shuttle and had a very hassle-free ride to the start. This is a point to point loop course; the starting line is about 10 miles from the finish-through traffic about 1/2 hour drive away.
We got to the start, saw the sun rise and waited in line for the port-a-potties a few times. There were many so there wasn't much wait time. It was chilly, probably 50 degrees (Sorry to those living in sub zero temps-what can I say? Living in Las Vegas has spoiled me!)
We milled around near the line of UPS trucks waiting to bring the checked bags to the finish line, until just a few minutes before the start. At the last minute I threw my jacket and pants into my gear bag, checked it and hurried to the starting line.
It didn't take more than a couple minutes to get from bag check to my corral 6. Very easy and hassle free race so far! I have to say I really didn't have much desire to run RNR AZ. It did RNR San Diego the second year they ran it and was not that impressed or excited about it as I see some runners are.
I really don't care for the this type of big corporate sponsored race and was only doing it as it's a short trip to Phoenix, Kathy and some other friends from the club would be there and if I do decide to go for completing the 50 states for a 2nd time--it would give me a "second Arizona”. Needless to say, I was very surprised to find this RNR race to be nearly "the Perfect race".
I would definitely recommend this race to anyone, no matter what pace they run. It was a fast course if you were looking for time and there was plenty of company for slower runners. The weather was good-no torrential rain, gale force winds or oppressive heat-in fact, it was actually great!
The water stations were plentiful and set up quite well. The volunteers were excellent-everyone ready and doing the jobs. The bands actually played songs you could recognize and the cheerleaders' energy was contagious!
So what happened to my race and my time?
I started out a little too slow but okay-early on I knew it would be a tough day. After weeks of minimal training due to my knee problem, what could I expect?
I was getting a bit bored and wishing I had someone to run with when I saw James, one of the fellows from the LVM21 Club.. We ran together and spoke for a couple of miles. He was doing a walk/run and seemed to really be picking up the pace on the run.
It became clear to me very soon that I was not going to be able to keep up with him. Oh well, I thought, I'll just take it easy, enjoy my run and listen to my tunes.
At mile 16 I encountered my worst nightmare-the battery in my MP3 player died.
Just like that- one moment I was happily singing along to Rihanna, the next sheer silence! Apparently when I had charged the rechargeable battery my computer was off! This was a cause of a similar mistake with my Garmin, a couple marathons back.
I tried to turn it off and on, hoping that it may come back on, but no luck. There I was 10 miles to go and no music-panic was about to set in. I tried to calm myself down and come up with a resourceful idea. I'd find someone to run with!
Well, at the pace I was running, the runners were more of the type that on another day in another race they may have been fast-but not today. Everyone seemed to be struggling....in silence. Not a conversational marathoner in sight!
UNTIL - up ahead I spotted a fellow running in the most uncomfortable and ridiculous looking costume that I'd see all day. Red tights and long sleeve shirt with yellow shorts and he was wearing antennae! I had noticed when I had been running near him earlier he was getting a lot of cheers and recognition from the crowd so I figured he must be purposely dressed like this as some sort of character that I was unfamiliar with.
I ran up next to him and asked him who he was supposed to be. “Chapulin Colorado”, he responded- a Mexican superhero! This explained why only the Spanish speaking spectators knew who he was!
Chapulin is actually a parody of a superhero. Know as the "Red Grasshopper"", he would unwittingly save the day by somehow bumbling up the situation and then take credit for the outcome.
We chatted and ran/walked the rest of the race. It turned out that Jorge was from Las Vegas, too! Of course, he had run the LV Marathon dressed as Elvis, so he had a lot of experience with dealing with the cheers and sayings from the crowds whether they recognized him or just laughed with him as they thought he was a bug!
It was so great to meet him-it really made the last few miles of the marathon go by not faster, but a lot more enjoyable! Maybe there is something to the USATF "no headphones" rule. I doubt that had I been listening to my music I would have met anyone and had an experience that, in spite of a slow time, turned out to be so much fun.
After the race, I met Kathy, walked around the grounds, paid a visit to the medical tent-just to ice my knee this time. We did some shopping at the Official Race Merchandise store and headed back to Las Vegas that night.
Two weeks later I was back on the road again! This time it was the ING Miami Marathon with two fellow LVTC members-Steffen Schneider and Phil Weiland.
If I thought R&R AZ was a tough race, I didn’t know what I was getting myself into in Florida! In addition to my lack of training I caught a cold the week before the race and been taking Sudafed, the most dehydrating over the counter medication available.
Needless to say the first half of the race went okay. In fact, if they hadn’t offered their amazing ‘Spinning Palm Tree” marathon medal-this year with a “diamond” center, I would have dropped down to the half. No way with this medal at stake-I planned to stick it out, no matter how miserable I felt.
Now keep in mind that this was only MY bad day. The weather was great-temps in the 60-70s, humidity was low and the sky was overcast. The course is completely flat, full of beautiful scenery, plentiful water stations and friendly spectators.
In fact, Phil was so energized that “mid-course” he switched from the half to the full marathon!
I had just finished the race, claimed my gear bag and was listening to the voicemail message he had left for me from mile 20, when he came across the finish line!! What a surprise!
Minutes after the race we checked out of our hotel, drove 2 miles to the Port of Miami set sail for a 5 day Caribbean cruise on NCL’s Norwegian Jewel with a group of friends and fellow runners. Not a bad way to end a month of not so successful marathons!

Fall Marathon Rundown

As many of our club members know I recently completed running a marathon in all 50 States. So what’s next? I’m basically running a marathon a month, however choosing those marathons that offer something special.
This fall I was fortunate enough to run two of the most beautiful marathons, in September, one that I’ve always wanted to run, the Maui Marathon and in October- St. George, Utah. This was my third St. George, as it’s one of my favorites. Both are very different, however at the same time, very similar.
As they say, beauty is in the eyes of the beholder-so take your pick. Both boast beautiful scenery; one mountains and ocean, the other buttes, canyons and high desert.
From Las Vegas we are just two hours away from one of the world’s most spectacular marathons-St. George. The St. George Marathon is held every year on the first Saturday in October; however don’t wait until October to decide to run! Unless you’re a resident, you need to be a lottery winner to run this marathon! On line registration begins April 1, and stays open until May 1. A drawing is made shortly after, the results are announced a few days later and that’s it. The race is closed.
Who would have guessed that this small town race would be so popular? Probably no one, until Runner’s World magazine voted it one of the 10 most scenic marathons in the USA, as well as one of the fastest courses!
If you are looking for a PR or a Boston qualifying time, this is the race to run. With a drop in elevation from 5243 feet down to 2678, this a super fast course! Based on my unscientific study, I would say your St. George finish time will be about 20 minutes faster than your average marathon time.
Amazing as this may sound, do keep in mind that a drop in elevations does not mean all downhill. There are plenty of small, steep hills. Train for a downhill race, but don’t overlook the up hills. And before you even begin your training, make your hotel reservations even if you are just thinking that you may want to run- don’t wait until you’re accepted into the lottery. With 7000 runners coming into town, St. George will be booked solid.
If you are checking now and finding everything already sold out, don’t worry. One of my favorite hotels, The Rococo doesn’t even start taking reservations until August-three months prior to race day. The hotel itself is basically a motel. Rates run about $85 per night and they strictly enforce the two night minimum stay that all of the town’s hotels have agreed to. This hotel, however, has one unique feature that none of the newer, more posh hotels have-it’s perched on the bluff by the airport overlooking the entire city with a spectacular view.
On race day, buses leave from the finish line from 4am to 5:30am taking runners to the starting line up in the canyon. Be sure to wear something warm! Pre- dawn temps at 5000 feet plus can be chilly-30-40 degrees! The good news is the bonfires lighting up the night and keeping the runners warm.
Once the race gets started you’ll see the sunrise over the mountains and view spectacular rock formations as you run one of your fastest marathons. I’m not exaggerating, the average finish time this year was 4:11. With a cut off time of 6 hours this is not really a race for walkers or the undertrained.
If you’re not into a fast time and more into a vacation, the Maui Marathon may be your choice. In fact, if you’d like to do a destination marathon but hate training in the summer heat, Maui also offers a half marathon and even a 5k.
Currently ATA has a nonstop flight from Las Vegas to Maui at very affordable fares. Hotels and condos are plentiful, however this is one the world’s most popular resort areas so expect too many bargains! In fact, this is an ideal opportunity to plan early and use your frequent flyer miles, hotel points or time share exchange.
The Maui Marathon is run on the second Sunday in September. The race headquarters and finish line are located at the Maui Westin next to the Whaler Village in Kaanapali. You don’t necessarily need to stay at the Westin, however it would be easiest to stay in the area. Marathon morning buses depart from the finish line at 3:30am, two hours prior to race time to take runners across the island to the starting line near the airport.
With a 5:30am start you’ll be running through sugarcane fields as the sun rises over Haleakala, the island’s dormant volcano. The only uphill section of the race is the next few miles as you come around the West Maui Mountains and make your way along the cliffs overlooking the Pacific. Once you’ve passed through the tunnel, from mile 12 to 22 you’ll have amazing views of the neighbor islands Molokai and Lanai.
As for entertainment, at mile 17 you’ll hear and then see the Maui Taiko Drummers. At various other points on the course you’ll see “keiki” hula dancers.
From about mile 13 on the course is basically flat-in fact, if you opt to run the half, the entire course is flat!
At mile22, you’ll pass through the historic old whaling town of Lahaina, now a mecca for art galleries, shops and restaurants. And remember the course is only 10 to 100 feet from the ocean, so expect trade winds. The only real challenge I found was dealing with the humidity-especially coming from running in Nevada where there is none! And the sun-it is an island beach resort, so do plan that it may be sunny and warm-expect temps in the 80s!
In this race you won’t have to worry about speed. There is an 8 hour cut off time. The average finish time this year was 5 hours! The marathon usually gets about 3000 runners total-1000 for the marathon and 2000 for the half.
Whether you choose Utah or Hawaii either marathon will be a great tune up for our hometown Zappos Las Vegas Marathon in December. Happy running everyone! See you on the road!

“Laissez Les Bon Temps Rouler”…Let the Good Times Roll at the Mardi Gras Marathon!

My first visit to New Orleans and the Mardi Gras Marathon was two years ago, shortly after Hurricane Katrina. In those weeks after the storm it was unclear as to whether or not they would even be able to hold the marathon so once it was announced that the marathon would go on I decided the best way for me as a runner to show my support for the city was to be there at the starting line.
The city put its best foot forward that day despite the loss and devastation they had seen just a few months before. The field was much smaller than past years, however the friendliness and enthusiasm for the event was great.
In a city that depends on tourism it was clear there was still a long road ahead in order to get back to normal. Many of the hotels were still closed or housing evacuees. Businesses were boarded up waiting inspections that would verify that their buildings were sound. Restaurant menus highlighted “Help Wanted” in bold print; the food took second billing.
This year, I was back again and I do have to say that things have improved a lot. The hotels are bustling, the shops and restaurants are thriving and the tourists are back on Bourbon Street, partying day and night.
I arrived on Saturday morning from an overnight red-eye flight and was able to get an early check-in. Once again I decided to stay at the Intercontinental, the same hotel where I stayed two years ago. It was close to the French Quarter and just a short walk from the Superdome- the start and finish line for the marathon. I thought I had scored a good rate until I heard that my friend, Mark, had booked through Hotwire, a discount travel web site, and paid just $84.00-a steal for a 4 star hotel!
I freshened up and headed over to the expo. This year it was held at the Hilton Riverwalk and it was much bigger than last time! I picked up my number and bumped into a friend from NYC, then met another friend, James from Texas and set out to explore the French Quarter.
James had arrived two days before which was a much better plan for enjoying the city and running the marathon than the day before like I had. Those extra days give you a chance to enjoy the Cajun and Creole cuisine New Orleans is noted for; drink-the bars never seem to close, and stay up late enough to enjoy the live music found in nearly every club in town!
Actually, you don’t need to go very far to enjoy the local entertainment, as we walked near Jackson Square a wedding party complete with a jazz band came dancing out of a restaurant and closed down the street. Guests waved white handkerchiefs as the couple danced their traditional wedding dance.
Earlier in the day, James came across a jazz funeral!
The French Quarter was filled with musicians, artists and mule drawn buggies. The shops and cafes were doing a brisk business, in fact the wait at the famous Café du Monde, was so long that we had to leave for our pasta dinner before we even had a chance to order our café au lait and beignets!
I’m not even sure if the marathon offered a pasta dinner, however we had enough runners in our group to put together our own. The venue for our dinner was Tony Moran’s located in the Old Absinthe House on Bourbon Street. The group consisted of friends from my club in NYC, the 50 State Club and the LVM21 Club-the message board club for the Las Vegas Marathon. These runners get around! Aside from Las Vegas, we had runners from Texas, Washington, New York and Arizona.
After a great dinner, I unfortunately had to skip the Saturday night fun to get a good night’s rest before the marathon---I can’t speak for the rest of the group, as I did see a few late arrivals at the starting line!
Sunday morning came quickly; next thing I knew we were at the Superdome waiting for the gun to go off. It seemed like a big crowd and why wouldn’t it be? With mild temperatures and a nearly flat course (there is one overpass), what more could anyone ask for in a marathon? If you’ve done your training, it’s almost a guaranteed PR.
This year for the first time, runners had the opportunity to run down Bourbon Street—nearly the equivalent of running on the Strip in Vegas! At 7am, you can still smell the beer and actually see some of the late night revelers trying to figure out what is going on.
Another big change: this year the course was reversed! After you passed Bourbon Street, the first big loop was around Audubon Park. It was an out and back past some very old stately homes along St. Charles-famous for the streetcar line.
One interesting note about the Mardi Gras Marathon is that it is not held during Mardi Gras, the celebration is in full swing for the two weeks before “Fat Tuesday”- the day before Ash Wednesday, which marks the beginning of Lent. Check your events calendar carefully when making plans to run here as the marathon can be either before or after depending on how early Easter falls.
Surprisingly, you’ll find this a benefit-the hotels are plentiful and not nearly as pricey as they would be during Mardi Gras, plus there are less temptations to overindulge as you would have during those weeks of constant partying!
Even a few weeks after the craziness, there were still a few Mardi Gras reminders on the course-hundreds of strands of beads hung from the bare tree branches! And as we came out of the park we were greeted by a cheering “king” still in his parade gear!
As you head back toward the Superdome, if you’ve opted to run the Half Marathon, you’ll be entering the final miles. If not, you’re halfway home.
In this half of the race, you’ll see more of the flood damage you’ve heard about. It’s interesting to see how many homes have been renovated, however next to a beautiful, freshly painted house you’ll see a house next door still sadly in a state of severe disrepair.
Over the next miles you’ll hit the one “hill” on the course at mile 18. You’ll be offered beer and Margaritas by a group of Hashers in red dresses. AND finally, after an out and back through City Park; the Superdome will come into view and you’ll be back at the finish line!
No matter how late you finish; no worry! The post-race food is plentiful-rice and beans, Subway sandwiches, Mardi Gras “King” cake as well as fruit abound!
As the city gets back on it’s feet, I believe the marathon will continue to grow and probably exceed it’s past popularity to become one of the top “destination marathons”. After all, this was their 44th year and in spite of major setbacks, they are still running strong!

RUNSFM '07

I'm finally getting a little report together on the San Francisco Marathon!
First of all congratulations to Richard! You're making all of you running accomplishments look so effortless, it's easy to forget that you've only been racing a year! Good job!! Something to remember for next time- this was not an easy marathon for a first time out.

In fact, my friend Laurie, who ran her 130something marathon that day, said she had a tough race. Laurie competes in Ironman and has won 10 marathons, so if she thinks a race is difficult – she knows what she’s talking about.
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Anyway, with no friends to travel with from Las Vegas (the usual suspects are injured and over-raced) I took an hour and half flight out of LV Saturday morning and arrived about shortly before noon.

(Me saying good bye to Sunny at McCarran.)


Laurie was flying up from San Diego. We met at SFO and took the Bart into the city. This was my 4th time running the marathon, plus I'd been to SF several other times; however I had never taken the train before.
After living in NYC for about 10 years, I've taken enough public transportation, however not wanting to seem like a "princess", I went along with the train idea without any objection.
I do have to say it was easy, fairly fast-about 30 minutes to downtown, very cheap and best of all dropped us outside of our hotel, the Hyatt Regency Embarcadero.


Without a doubt, the Hyatt is one of the best places to stay for the marathon.
The expo is outside on the Plaza, the start and finish lines were just a block or so away. Even better, I had booked very early and got a travel agent discount (something that is seldom available in any city during a big marathon weekend).

After we checked in, we went to the expo. Packet pick up was in a building across the street from the hotel and the expo just downstairs.



It was great. Lots of good speakers-Dean Karnazes was one. Unfortunately, I hadn't checked the schedule so we were too late to see him.
There was quite a bit of shopping. After vowing to myself, that I wasn't going to buy anything....$80 later, I was stocked up on Power Gel and Gu, new sunglasses and replacement socks (the puppy seems to have a sock fetish and either chews or runs off with my running socks leaving me a drawer full of unmatched socks!)



After the expo, I went back to the hotel and hung out while Laurie went to church. When she got back, we decided to do the Pasta Dinner held in one of the hotel's restaurants. Granted San Francisco has great restaurants, so there are probably hundreds of better choices, however this worked out fine as it was just the 2 of us and this was very convenient.

After dinner I just watched a movie and went to sleep fairly early.

SUNDAY morning, with 2 wake up calls ordered, a clock radio and a cell phone set to go off at 430am, I found myself up at 415am.


[
San Francisco has a "wave" start-the fastest runners are out at 530am, and then each wave starts every 5 minutes after that up to I believe 615am. Your wave placement is based on your predicted finish time, I had signed up for 4:15 so I didn't start until 6:10am.
Laurie’s start was about a half hour before mine, so she was up and out before 5:30am.



This left me time (too much time actually!) to recharge the batteries in my camera and MP3 player, plus try on a few outfits that I thought might be more comfortable, warmer or cooler than what I planned to wear. I finally decided to wear what I have picked out the week before.
About 5:50am I realized that maybe I should be getting to the start...
this sounds later, however is worked out fine-- from my room on the 2nd floor to the street was about a minute, the baggage check was right in front of me and the start a block away. In fact as I was dropping my bag, I saw the 6:05am runners take off.




When the gun went off, I noticed the 4:15 pace group right in front of me. I looked through the crowd however I didn’t see Richard or anyone else I knew. I remembered that we were in the same wave however I imagined that he had sped ahead when the gun went off.
I have to mention that I was not a fan of this "wave" start, I really didn't see that it was necessary (SF is nowhere near the size of NYC or Chicago), however I did find that it did work well and kept things organized. Back in May when I race the ING Georgia marathon, it had taken me over 14 minutes to get to the start here it was a mere 90 seconds.

My goal was 4 -4:15. Knowing that I always go out too fast and fall off the pace, I decided to keep ahead of the 4:15 group as long as I could. Who knew, it could have been a good day? As I passed the group, a tall, yellow shirted figure came in to view. At about 6'5” in a LVM21 shirt with red shorts it could only be Michael. We chatted for a few minutes. When he told me that Richard was BEHIND us, I was a bit surprised. I guess that I shouldn’t have been as sticking with the group probably would have been the best move for all of us!
As I moved ahead, I could hear the fellow Michael was running with ask him about the Las Vegas marathon!

Next thing I knew, Richard was aside of me. I was so happy to see him! I had a feeling that even though we hadn’t made a plan, we’d meet up.

The first couple miles are along the water and by Fisherman’s wharf. All fairly flat. You really don’t encounter any for the hills until about the fourth or fifth mile.
Somewhere at that point, I lost Richard in a water station-he stopped to walk and I just grabbed my water and kept running.

For the first half of the race, I kept my MP3 player off. The crowd and the scenery were entertaining enough! I listened to conversations around me, heard the spectators cheering and even birds singing! As much as I love my music, it’s nice to take a break once in a while.

We got to the Golden Gate Bridge at mile 5. It seemed like most of the runners really enjoyed this part of the race. I found it hectic! One side of the road was open to traffic and the other was out and back runner. Very crowded and due to the mist and drizzle-slippery! Plus the distance is much longer than I thought – mile 7 and 8 are on the other side.

I was mid-bridge when I heard someone mention my name. Actually, it was more like “Martha, Get out of my way!” Who could this charming person be? Michael again. He said hello and took off! He looked so strong ass he passed everyone.

After the bridge came the Golden Gate Park. Sadly at this point my hamstrings started to cramp. One would think that running in weather fifty degrees cooler than you’re typically running in would be easy. “Refreshing” to remember Angie’s description of running in 40 degree, drizzle---no not at all. I completely blame the dampness and chill for messing up my hamstrings and blowing my chance for a good time.

At mile eleven, the 4:15 group passed me. Trying not to get too depressed, I convinced myself that it was okay—just because the group went on didn’t mean that I couldn’t have a 4:16 or 4:17 on my own.

At the halfway point, Richard reappeared. He looked strong too and quickly passed me. Hills and more hills is all the entire park is made up of! Actually, it is very beautiful—much “woodsier” than Central Park in NYC.

In most marathons where they also have a half, I’m subconsciously waiting for the half marathoners to finish. In my mind, that’s when the marathon really begins.
No such luck with that approach in San Francisco! As the half marathon veered off to their finish line, I happened to glance over to the other side and saw an entire field of runners waiting for their “2nd Half Marathon” to start!

A unique feature of the San Francisco Half Marathon is that you have choice of running the first half or the second half. A bit complicated system, however they pull it off like clockwork! They end route them away for them the marathon runners for the first couple of miles.

Once out of the park, we hit Haight Street. The Haight came to fame with the hippy movement back in the 70’s. Not much has changed since; as you look around you‘d think you’d stepped back in time. This Sunday, I hardly noticed – all I could see was more hills. AND as if the up hills weren’t enough, the down hills are so steep they’re just as difficult to run.

I decided at this point, my up hill running was slower and more uncomfortable than walking. I start to alternate, walking mostly up hill. At roughly mile 20, I noticed another gal running near me, so I struck up an “on and off” conversation with her. On and off meaning we’d talk, one of us would stop, one would go on and we’d keep meeting. This worked out great---I had some motivation and got myself back into the race.

About mile 22, I catch up to Richard. We talk and run a couple miles together. He wasn’t looking too good, so I tried to keep his spirits up and say something encouraging. When I heard his account of what I said, it came off rather bitchy. Oh well, hopefully he’s a follower of “tough love”!

With just two FLAT miles left to go, Lynda-the gal from mile 20, said to me, “We can still break 4:30.”, I look at my watch and am totally confused by the time. I guess along with my hamstrings, I’ve lost my mathematics skills! I then realized that she’s right.
A sub-4:30-finish time would put me into my “acceptable” time range; so I decided to go for it.
Suddenly, I felt better than I had all day. So I took off. I thought Richard and Lynda had followed however when I turned around they were not in sight.
I just kept running, amazingly the time for my last mile was my fastest of the second half.

I waited at the finish line for Lynda and Richard. I congratulated both of them, took some photos and checked out the post race food. It looked as though they had a lot, however when you looked at each item, most were not that appetizing!





It was there again I spotted Michael. Surprisingly, he had finished behind Richard and me—although I guess it wouldn’t be too much of a shocker as he claimed that this was his ONLY long run.


I hung around the finish line a bit longer, then headed back to the hotel, to check out and set off for an adventure in “finding something to do until my flight”.


The medal had a great picture of the sea lions from Pier 39.


I decided to pay tribute to them and visit.




Pier 39 is no longer a working pier! The sea lions have kicked out all of the boats and have taken over. The pier itself is basically a mall and food court.



After about an hour, of walking around, I took the street car back to the hotel, grabbed my luggage and headed back to the airport via BART.

Ond of the Wyland Whale Walls across from Pier 39


I would rate San Francisco as the premier marathon of the summer. Nothing else comes close.
Yes, even with the hills!