RR Denver

RR Denver

Race Report
Jesus Run Marathon
Denver, CO
June 9/02

This was marathon # 198! I would have preferred to run a marathon at the end of June to space out numbers 198 and 199 more evenly to provide better training in preparation for # 200 in late August.However a fellow 50 State member and good running friend, Edson from NYC, was running the Jesus Run in Denver and I promised to do it with him. Edson is one of the 'three musketeers'. Edson, Marty (FL) and myself all met during the the early 90s when we were trying to complete the 50 states. We would run into each other at the start line of marathons across the US and since we were fairly evenly matched we would compete throughout the races and thus became good friends. After we all finished the 50 states we stayed in touch at various races around the world and finally last January at the Walt Disney Marathon we all came together again for the first time in eight years! And as usual we competed unofficially to beat each other - Marty won that race! However I have since beat both Edson and Marty in marathons and have claimed myself the champion of the three musketeers. Furthermore I have made up a 'trophy' or medal that is to be held by the champion. It can only be won (or lost) by defeating the current champ directly in a marathon. Thus I was defending my title against Edson in Denver!However I had a big advantage! Edson had just returned from the Great Wall Marathon in China and his body was still screwed up from jet lag. I might have had some sympathy until he told me he was leaving for South Africa on Wed to run the Comrades Ultra ( a 56 mile race). Also he was going up 5,000 feet in elevation from NYC and I was comimg down 4,000 feet from Summit County (or 9,000 ft if you consider my race last weekend up Mt Evans?). So maybe it wasn't fair - but who said life was fair?So now the scenario is set up. The marathon - the Jesus Run - not surprisingly is a race set up by a religious organization to raise funds. Most runners solicit donations from their family/friends for Jesus. Aren't you glad I didn't hit you up? It is run in the city of Denver. The course starts and ends at City Park and runs through residential streets as well as downtown. It is not an exciting or pretty course. Some of the residential areas were OK and the course did run through Cheesman and Washington Parks. There were very few spectators even in downtown Denver. Then again there were very few runners! Only 200 in the Half and about 200 in the marathon including the relay teams. Much of the course looped back on itself to use the same streets but they still had about 15 miles of Denver streets coned off and closed down with police support at every intersection. I don't know how they can afford the budget with so few runners?The course is fairly flat, elevation 5,300 feet with only a few rolling hills. I was not impressed with the race course/organization. Almost every mile marker was screwed up/incorrect. I ran mile 1 in 6:45, mile 2 in 6:51 and mile 3 in 11:56? In the first Half my mile paces ranged from 5:46 to 11:56! There is no way that you can adjust your pace and settle in to a smooth pace with crap like that! Only at the Half mark where they had mats for the electronic chips to record the official Half time did I trust the marker. And I crossed that in 1:45:21 - an 8 minute pace which was way too fast for my training and that altitude! I knew at that point that this was either going to be a great day or get very ugly!The other big problem on the course was water or lack of water. There was supposed to be water or aid stations every three miles. Well, they seemed to be very sporadic and not often enough. In the first half I drank one-4 oz cup at every stop. In the second half I was drinking two-4 oz cups at every stop and within a mile my mouth was bone dry? I was quite concerned about dehydration. And when I finally made a pit stop (for a pee) at mile 16 I knew that I was headed for trouble? I normally make two or three pit stops in a race when I am well-hydrated.I still felt good at 19 miles but then the wheels started to fall off - quickly! By 20 miles ( a 9:52 pace) and 21 miles (a 10.20 pace) - if you could believe the mile markers - my legs felt like rubber and I had no energy! I decided to just keep moving and struggling since I only had 5 more miles to go. At mile 22 I encountered the last hill on the course but it felt like a damn mountain at that point! But the upside was that when I finally crested the hill the flat course felt so much easier and I was able to pick up the pace.I was so looking forward to mile 23 because once I reach that point it is normally easy to convince myself that it is only another 5K to go. But on this course I passed a bank at mile 23 and the outside thermometer sign indicated that the temperature was now 79 degrees F (vs the 63 F at the start). Immediately the two sides of my brain went into conflict. Ever see those ads with the devil on one side and an angel on the other?Well the evil/dark side wanted to quit at that point and the good/ 'force is with you' side wanted to keep running. So here is a brief exerpt of the discourse that I had to put up with.Evil/dark side: Holy shit! Look at that temperature! 79F!Your legs fell like shit. You are dehydrated. Be smart. Quit! Stop or at least walk! This race isn't important.Good side: Only 5K to go! You have run under worse conditions lots of times. Don't be a wimp! Think how mad you will be at yourself if you quit. Quitting is not an option. If you walk it will take much longer to finish and you will only suffer longer! Edson is closing on you. If you walk he will beat you. Pick up the pace! Let's get this over with quicker! The force is with you!Fortunately the good side won and I actually picked up the pace in spite of rubbery legs that seemed to weigh about 1000 pounds each. Finally I reentered City Park at mile 25 and could see the finish line - across the lake. God - if only I could run across water! Keep struggling - keep the legs moving - you are almost there! As I approached the end of the park I could still see the finish line but there was no mile marker for mile 26 and I began to fear that I might have to do another loop or leave the park and come back? Please, please NO - my legs are finished. So I desperately watched a runner about 500 feet in front of me to see where he went! Oh thank God - he turned on to a bike path and headed for the finish line. Time to draw on the 'force' and every last once of energy I can find to sprint the final few hundred yards to cross the finish line in 3:40:27.I was actually pleased with that time because my pre-race goal/expectation had been to run a 3:40 to 3:45. But I had not run a smart race due to the screwed-up mile markers and had paid for it dearly during the last 10K. I could have run the same time with much less pain and agony. Oh well - I'll live to try it again.I waited around to cheer Edson across the finish line as he had to sprint to finish a few seconds under 4 hours! We didn't even wait for the awards ceremony even though I was pretty sure that I had won my age group.After a quick shower Edson and I enjoyed a victory lunch and discussed our planned schedules to see where we might meet again. My sports manager had not accompanied me on this trip since I planned to share Edson's room with him on Saturday night to save a long, early drive into Denver on Sunday morning.So #198 is in the bag and a distant memory already. After much deliberation I have finally narrowed three choices for #199 down to the final one. The date is August 3rd but I will leave the destination for another story. My concern now is the eight week gap between now and #199. Obviously I can't run a 'practice' marathon because that will screw up my numbers - so I have decided to run some of the local 10Ks and Half Marathons (at 10,000 ft) to stay in shape. This will also give me an opportunity to work on my speed and meet some local runners. So stay tuned!