Trip Report -Bulgaria

Maddog finishing the Sofia Marathon with the help of his support team. Rossen (l) and Elenko (r) holding the tape and Nikolai pacing him to the finish line!









TRIP REPORT
Bulgaria
Oct 6 – 9/05

Photos of the trip may be viewed at www.maddog.smugmug.com. Album is called 'Bulgaria'.

Planning for this trip began one year ago shortly after the Sofia marathon in Oct 2004. I had wanted to run that marathon but only found out about it after the race was finished.
I managed to find a contact in Sofia (Anton) who was the editor of a Track and Field magazine in Bulgaria. He was not on the race committee but had contact with it. He asked me to send him an email each month to remind him to get information on the next marathon in 2005. I faithfully sent an email every month and finally in the spring I received a reply confirming that the Sofia marathon would be held on Oct 9/05. I was able to confirm this date through a second source and began planning the trip. I needed to run a marathon in Bosnia also and since there was no official marathon in Bosnia I decided to organize a small marathon for the weekend following Sofia so I could run both countries on the same trip.

Since the marathon in Sofia was an official/organized race I had no work to do except show up? Thus I spent most of my time trying to organize a marathon in Bosnia. A friend in the UK promised to run both marathons with me. As I continued to work throughout the summer with a friend from Germany to organize a Bosnia marathon I kept sending emails to Anton requesting more information on Sofia. In late August we received wonderful news – an Athletic Club in Bihac, Bosnia agreed to hold an official marathon on Oct 15/05 (more details on this effort and marathon in the Bosnia Trip Report). Everything had miraculously fallen into place? For two weeks!
Two weeks before I was to leave for Europe I emailed Anton requesting necessary details like “ where do I register and pick up my race packet” – “where and when does the race start”? He replied with the details plus a casual note “the marathon has been postponed from Oct 9 to Oct 16”! I was totally shocked – then angry! Anton had known for a year that foreign runners were coming to Sofia specifically to run the marathon – on Oct 9th! Surely he had passed this information on to the race committee? I am certain that if I had not sent that email we would not have been informed about the change in date until we had arrived in Sofia!

My UK mate was so upset and disgusted that he threw his non-refundable plane tickets in the garbage rather than waste any more time and money on Bulgaria! I was in a bigger dilemma – my tickets included Bulgaria and Bosnia and I had already made custom T-shirts for the Bosnia marathon declaring the finish of my European Tour/Goal! And I wanted to finish Europe on this trip! Like I told Tad – even if we skip Sofia and go next year there is a high probability that we will encounter the same incompetence and problem? So I decided to keep my reservations and run a Maddog ‘solo’ marathon in Sofia. Luckily I was able to scramble at the last minute and locate some marathon runners in Sofia who agreed to help me.

My first contact, Katerina had run the Sofia marathon last year but she was going away on business so she asked another runner Elenko to help me. We communicated a few times and Elenko agreed to help. An emergency plan was in place.

As the plane approached Sofia on Fri afternoon I noted the city reminded me a lot of Reno, NV. The city is in a large bowl/valley surrounded by mountains. Bulgaria has several mountain ranges with the highest mountain - Mussala (2925m) - located south of Sofia. The population of the country is 8 million – 1.1 million live in Sofia. As soon as I checked into my hotel I called Elenko and we agreed to meet for dinner to discuss our plan for the marathon. I also called Anton and he kindly met me at the hotel. He stated that the change in date was not his fault. I did not blame him and asked only that he pass my comments/criticism along to the race committee and that I would advise all international runners to avoid the Sofia marathon until they got their act together!

Although I was very tired from the 22-hour trip and jet lag I figured it would be best to stay up so I decided to explore the city and do some shopping. Sofia has no ‘old town’ or town square like many European cities and the city center is fairly compact so it can be explored on foot. I noticed that there were many upscale/chic shops and restaurants – I wondered who had the money to support these shops? I found the TZUM – the old communist/government store that had been converted to a mall and a small underground shopping area that included several souvenir shops so I was able to collect my souvenirs and postcards on the first day.

Elenko met me at my hotel – a modern 4-star hotel a few blocks off the main street where locals stayed ($42/day, B&B) – and we walked to a nice restaurant for a pasta dinner. Elenko informed me of the plan. The biggest park in the city only had a 5km path and he figured that would get boring to run a marathon so he and his friends decided to drive me up into the mountains. They had found a road between two mountain villages about 20km apart and the road looked flat on a map and would have very little traffic. Three runners would accompany me and run with me in 10km shifts. It sounded great to me.

Elenko and another runner Rossen picked me up on Sat morning at 9am. I was glad they had decided on a late start because the weather was still very cool. We met up with a 3rd runner Nikolai and Rossen’s girlfriend Milena. I had a support team of four and two cars as we drove south out of the city and up into the Vitosha Mtns. The road was actually on Mt. Vitosha (2290m). Rossen and I started the first 10km of the marathon about 10am. The weather was cloudy and cool and there was little traffic. That was the good news. The bad news was that the road was NOT flat – in fact the first 3 miles climbed steadily up the mountain. The next 2 miles were downhill into a village where the locals looked at us very strangely? The cars took turns leap-frogging ahead and providing water every 3km. Then the road climbed again –steeply! Elenko had loaned me a watch/GPS to measure the distance and pace. We had crested a very steep hill at 10 miles and found the road to be closed and guarded by the military so we were forced to turn around. At least the next 10 miles would be downhill! We reached the edge of the village and the Half in 1:55. I was happy with the pace since the course was hilly and I didn’t see any need to push myself. The easy pace also allowed me to talk to my running partners during the marathon. We asked each other many questions about our respective countries/culture etc. I asked Elenko if he knew anyone on the marathon committee. He explained that the organizers were not runners – just a group of people/bureaucrats who managed to get some money/grant from the government to organize the marathon. They were only interested in making money – they did not care how many runners participated or if any foreign runners participated. They did not have a website – they did not advertise nor put up posters and the date is always subject to change? And they are completely incompetent – the marathon was only 38km in 2004! We continued on past our starting point into another village around 22 miles. Only four miles left! The road did become flat but had lots of hills so when we crested a big hill at 24 miles we decided to turn around again and run back downhill to finish the marathon. As I approached the marathon distance I could see the cars in the distance and had to start laughing when I noticed my support team were holding a red ribbon across the road/marathon finish. I broke the ribbon in 3:50:18. Marathon #250 – Country #74 – European country #50 completed! I thanked my support team and new friends for their hospitality and support. It would have been very difficult without their help!

We drove back to the city for a hot shower and I said goodbye to all my new friends. Later that evening I joined Katerina (who had returned from her business trip) and some of her friends for dinner. Since Katerina is the head of a division of ING Bank in Bulgaria I asked her many questions about the economy and standard of living. I got an answer to my question/curiosity about the chic shops. About 5% of the population is super rich and 95% is poor. The super rich have enough money to keep the shops in business because the poor can’t afford to shop there! The average salary in Bulgaria is about 200 Euros/month.

On Sun Elenko met me at an Internet café to show me how to set up my own web page on a Blogger site. I now post all my trip reports to this web page http://www.maddogwallace.blogspot.com/. After saying goodbye and many thanks to Elenko for all his help I decided to play tourist and visit the sites in Sofia until it was time to catch my night train to Belgrade. There are many old churches – some dating back to the 6th century – Roman ruins - and interesting buildings built in the 18th century. But soon it was time for dinner and a taxi to the railway station. I had reserved a sleeper cabin on the night train to Belgrade. After settling into my cabin and ordering a few beers from the conductor for a nightcap it was time to sleep – until the expected banging on the door started! Since I have traveled many times across Europe on trains I am familiar with the procedure. First the train stops on the Bulgarian side of the border – then there is a loud banging on your cabin door from the passport control officer who wants to check and stamp your passport. Just as you start to drift off again there is another loud banging – this time it is the customs officer to check your luggage. After 30 minutes the train moves across the border into Serbia and the process starts all over again. You lose more than one hour of precious sleep. Soon however I was sound asleep again and the next banging was from the conductor telling me that we were 20 minutes from Belgrade.

I planned to travel straight on to Sarajevo from Belgrade. A contact/friend in Sarajevo had advised me to take a bus because the railway system in Bosnia is very slow. So I walked next door to the bus station and asked when the next bus left for Sarajevo? In one hour! I bought a ticket and exchanged some money to buy breakfast – a ham sandwich! I could never get used to eating/enjoying a ham sandwich for breakfast at 7am! At 8am I was on my way to Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina and my next adventure.

Stay tuned!

But before I conclude this trip report I must update and advise all runners about the Sofia marathon. My friend Elenko ran the half marathon on Oct 16/05 and sent me a report on the race. A friend of my UK mate – Witold, a 60 year-old marathoner from Poland had traveled for 3 days by train from Poland to run the marathon. He was refused entry into the race (even though he had a letter of approval from his doctor) because he didn’t pass their mandatory medical exam. He took the EKG results back to his doctor who said that the equipment used was so obsolete that the results were meaningless. Witold did what I would have done – he ran the marathon as a bandit (without a race number) but now he is fighting with the race organization to be included in the race results.
Elenko also reported that the half was 17km and the marathon 38km in distance? Since he is a journalist he wrote a scathing report of criticism in a local paper and asked for an investigation into the race committee.

Thus I must issue a WARNING- DO NOT RUN THE SOFIA MARATHON – until they get their act together!

Kansas City Marathon, KS

Race Stats:

Waddell & Reed Kansas City Marathon

Kansas City, KS

Marathon #249 - 38^th state (2^nd loop)

3:35:52 - 36th OA - 1^st AG

I decided to run this marathon for two reasons:

a) I wanted to arrange/schedule my marathons so that I ran marathon #250 on my trip to Europe

b) I needed to run a 2^nd marathon in Kansas as I slowly work my way around the 50 states for the 2^nd time.

And besides it was conveniently located on the route home from Colorado to Florida. Thus my sports manager and I stopped in KC on Fri afternoon to pick up my race package at the Crown Center in downtown KC. The expo was a disappointment – only a few sports/shoe vendors and the prices were not attractive. The marathon date had been changed to coincide with several other events/activities happening in KC. But that was not all good because it was difficult to get around the city and the restaurants were full. We had to find a small local neighborhood restaurant for our pasta dinner.

The race started at 7am at the Crown Center and finished in the Freight House District in downtown KC. There were about 2,000 runners in 3 events – marathon/Half and a relay - about 700 runners in the full Marathon. The weather was not good (for running) – about 70F and 100% humidity (fog) at the start. I lined up with the Big Dogs and took off. There were no mile markers until mile 4 and I passed that in 29:17. I thought that pace was too fast but was not sure if it was correct so I kept pushing in spite of a lot of hills? I reached the next mile marker at mile 7 in 53:26! Way too fast for the weather and hills so I slowed my pace. I passed mile 10 in 1:18:48. I felt OK but was concerned because the first 9 miles had been very hilly. Fortunately the course flattened out with a few rolling hills over the next few miles and I passed the half in 1:44:03.

I still felt OK but knew that I couldn’t repeat that pace for the 2^nd Half with the hills and heat so decided to slow the pace down some more. That turned out to be a wise decision because the sun burned through the fog around 14 miles and the temps soared into the 80s. I figured right then that most runners would be in ‘survival’ mode by 20 miles because of the heat. I reached mile 20 in 2:42:10. The heat had become brutal and although I felt OK my legs were feeling very heavy so I decided to ignore my pace for the last 10K and just run off my heart monitor. I kept my heart rate below 90% Max in order to give the old ticker some cushion to handle the extreme heat. The course had looped back on itself around mile 15 and I had not seen any old farts in front of me so I was fairly certain that I was winning my age group and did not have to kill myself in the heat. I managed to run/cruise at an 8:30 pace w/o getting into any trouble and passed about 30 runners who had succumbed to the heat and were walking.

I crossed the finish line in 3:35:52. Even though the race had been timed by chip they still did not have any marathon results for the winners so I figured there was no sense waiting around. We returned to our hotel for a quick hot soak and shower and by noon were back on I 70 heading east towards St Louis, MO. I drove for 6 hrs until we reached Marion, IL and then told the sports manager it was time for a beer and something to eat – I had not eaten all day!

I didn’t get any official results until we returned home. I was not surprised to learn that I won my age group but was surprised to discover that 2^nd place finished 48 minutes behind me and that my time was good enough for 36^th overall (700 runners). I guess the heat took a bigger toll than I thought?

That was my final tune up race for my European trip. Hopefully the weather will be a little better. I would like to run a flat course in cool weather to see if I can break 3:30 again?

Stay tuned for the next trip report!

Maddog

Road Kill Half marathon

RACE REPORT
Road Kill Half Marathon
Kremmling, CO

Race Stats:
Sept 10/05
Road Kill Half Marathon
Kremmling, CO
1:38:24 1st AG


This race was to be my final race and speed workout for the summer season in the High Country. To make it more fun and memorable I invited (or coerced) a running friend - Fast Freddy – from Dallas, TX to visit and be my ‘rabbit’ for the race.

Fred arrived on Wed. to allow himself some time to acclimate to the altitude. I thought it important to initiate him quickly into Maddog’s ‘Suicidal High Altitude Training Camp’ so we immediately hit the hot tub with some margaritas and Colorado microbrew to prepare for a hike on Thu.

On Thu morning we hiked to the 12,000 ft level of Ptarmigan Mtn to acclimate Freddy to the high altitudes and single track trails that we would encounter during the race.

A side note is necessary here to explain some of the events to follow.
During the weeks before Fred arrived some friends (Joe & Brenda) who go back 30+ years and who live(d) in New Orleans had been forced to evacuate the Big Easy because of Hurricane Katrina. Fortunately they had evacuated a few days before Katrina hit and the rest is history. Unfortunately they thought they were only leaving for a few days so had only packed a week of clothes and belongings and were wandering around TX wondering when they might be able to go back home to collect more clothes and belongings and check on their home? We invited them to visit and stay with us in Colorado. Well, they arrived the same day as Fred - only late that night! Now on with the story that will make more sense.

Fred is renowned for making a great margarita and happily Joe, Brenda and Nicole love margaritas so we decided it was necessary to initiate Joe and Brenda to the pleasures of the High Country – margaritas in the hot tub while watching the Blue river flow by! They adapted very quickly although they may have a tough job selling a story to FEMA that they are refugees?

On Fri we took all our guests to a musical festival in Fairplay and then Fred resumed his job as margarita bartender even though he and I were sadly on the wagon in preparation for the race on Sat. The race – the ‘Road Kill Half Marathon’ – was held in Kremmling, CO, about 40 miles north of Silverthorne. The race started at 12 pm/noon, which is unusual for a race in CO? All of us piled into a car for the drive to Kremmling. The sports manager and the Treiges decided they would watch the start/finish of the race and explore the town while we were running.

The description of the race was not pretty –start /finish in the town square at 7300 ft, 50% trails, 50 % road, lots of hills and a climb to the top of the landmark ‘Kremmling Cliffs’. My research had revealed that the winning time last year in my age group was 1:53. Based on the description of the course I believed a sub-1:50 should win the age group?

It was sunny and warm at the 12 pm start with temps in the low 60s. The race director advised the 50+ runners that it had rained hard on Fri night and the course was very wet and muddy. They did not want to change their challenging but scenic course so we were warned to be careful in the muddy sections? And the race started!

Well let me tell you – the course description and explanation before the race left out a lot of wee details? Like the wooden rail fence that we had to climb (or hurdle) in the 1st half-mile and all the ravines/gulleys that we had to jump over or climb down and up? There was lots of water and mud as promised and my shoes had picked up about 10 pounds of mud each in the 1st mile. The race was essentially a cross-country and steeplechase run on single-track trails across the high plains /desert around the town! It was a bitch!
And the best was yet to come?

Around 2 miles the trail climbed the Cliffs. The trail went straight up the cliffs that rose 300 ft in elevation above the town. And I mean straight up – no switchbacks – straight up the cliffs! My rabbit was right behind me as we approached the Cliffs (aren’t rabbits suppose to set the pace – in front?). An old fart passed me at the bottom of the cliffs and I tried to stay with him on the steep climb but half way up I decided the wisest strategy was to walk the top section and save some energy for the run back down on the other side!
When I reached the top of the Kremmling Cliffs the rabbit was still behind me but I decided to catch the old fart and took off and never saw the rabbit again?

The next 3 or 4 miles were the same challenging terrain – water, mud, ravines and hills! When I reached the 2nd water stop I checked my watch – about 50 minutes! There were no mile markers anywhere on the course but I figured that the water stop was between 5 and 6 miles, which meant I was averaging about 10 min/mile. If the rest of the course was this tough I would be lucky to finish under 2 hours? However shortly after the water stop the course climbed a very steep hill and dumped out on a dirt road – a real road that cars traveled on. I was finally able to scrape off the 10 pounds of mud on each shoe and haul ass down that road for a few miles. Unfortunately the course again turned off into the plains/desert but the trail followed the tire ruts/tracks of an old 4X4 road and if you selected the proper rut the footing was OK. I managed to hold a fast pace on the ruts and finally reached the 3rd and final water stop. I asked a race volunteer how far it was to the finish line. “About 3 miles” was the response. I looked at my watch – only 1:16. It didn’t make sense – if this was really 10 miles I was running a sub 8-min pace? I didn’t believe the answer – there had to be at least 4 miles to the finish?

I continued to push the pace on the 4X4 ruts in the hope of catching the old fart in front of me but I could never get closer than 300 yards and a few miles later the ruts reached the edge of the town and dumped out on to a paved road. Again I asked a volunteer how far? He didn’t know. Shit! I needed to know how far to determine how hard to push the old bod! I decided to push as hard as I could and hope I didn’t crash. The paved road was a straight shot into the town center and soon I could see the town square and finish line about 1 mile ahead. I looked at my watch –about 1:31! I was really confused and concerned because this could only mean one of three things:

a) I was running ‘way over my head’ and would finish under 1:40
or

b) The course was short? But they had emphasized that the course was the same as last year and the times had not been that fast.
or

c) There was an ugly surprise waiting near the town square – an additional loop of a ½ mile or more around the town center?

I really hoped it wasn’t option c) because I was hurting and didn’t think I had either the energy or willpower to run a loop before the finish line. I decided to push as hard as I could and fortunately there was no ugly surprise and I raced across the finish line in 1:38:24 to the cheers of our supporters/Fan Club!

I joined the Fan Club to wait and cheer Fast Freddy as he finished in 1:48:19. I could hear him grumbling “Too damn many hills – I hate hills – there are no hills in Dallas”! We both concluded/agreed that no matter what date the ‘Road Kill Half Marathon’ is next year that our social calendar “is busy”. It was a BITCH!

There was a great post-race party with live band and a lunch of wild game dishes- Buffalo lasagna, Venison chili, Elk Fajitas and tacos and other wild game delicacies.
Unfortunately I had pushed the old bod too hard and was suffering severe stomach cramps and couldn’t stand the thought of food. Fred wasn’t very hungry either so Joe bought one lunch and filled up a sampler plate so the group could taste all of the wild game dishes. That worked out OK.

I wanted to see the race results but they never did post any at the finish area nor have they posted them to the website yet in spite of my requests and complaints! There were no age group awards - only awards for the top three overall and Masters. I didn’t win any of them nor did the old fart who beat me? The three Master winners didn’t even look like they were 40? I am curious to see the results but can’t delay the report any longer.
Update: I did win my age group and established a new course record by 15 minutes. However it may not last long since the old fart who beat me was 59 and will be in my age group next year.

After the race we returned home for a soak in the hot tub – and yes – more margaritas and microbrew. Then we fed the racers and the refugees some great grilled steaks and of course more margaritas/wine/beer. In fact we had to make another (of several) run to the liquor store for more tequila and margarita mix in preparation for our nightly party in the hot tub!

A great way to finish the race season in the High Country – with good friends, a hot tub and lots of margaritas!

I have scheduled one more marathon in Kansas City on the drive back to FL.

So stay tuned for the next race report!


Maddog

American Discovery Trail Marathon

RACE REPORT
Colorado Springs, CO
Sept 5/05

Race Stats:
Sept 5/05
American Discovery Trail Marathon
Colorado Springs, CO
Marathon # 248
3:58:49 1st AG

This marathon was neither exciting nor memorable – it was just plain (friggin) Ugly and Painful! Let me tell you about it before my mind erases it like childbirth.

I ran this marathon last year but I had suffered a foot injury at Pike’s Peak two weeks earlier that had not completely healed and had prevented me from training during those two weeks. Somehow I finished in 3:44 and won my age group. This year I felt confident that I was in much better shape so I set my goals to:
1) Win my age group and defend my Senior Title
2) Finish at least 10 min faster than last year

With these goals in mind I decided as I lined up at the start line with about 250 runners “to go out as hard and fast as I could and try to hang on”! It would either be a really, really Good race or a really, really Bad race! There would/could be no in-between. Thus I lined up with the Big Dogs for the 6:30 am start. The weather was sunny with temps in the low 50s. I followed the lead group (including 3 or 4 ‘gray hairs’ who looked like they were only in their 40s?) through the first 2 miles at a 7:30/7:45 pace. I knew I could not hold that pace over 26 miles on this course. The course started at Confluence Park @ 6200 ft and followed paved and dirt bike trails along Monument and Fountain Creeks to a turn-around point near the Air Force Academy at mile 16. Miles 14 to 18 were a series of BAHs (Bad Ass Hills) that rose 300 ft in elevation! I backed off on the pace and by mile 5 had settled into a smooth and easy 8-min pace. Then the problems started. The mile markers became totally screwed up and useless! Mile 6 was 6:29 (impossible) followed by mile 7 in 9:06?

It was impossible to determine my pace and adjust as needed so I was forced to pace off my heart monitor and try to stay with a group of young runners who had been running a sub 8-min pace. I passed mile 10 in 1:20 and already knew that I would not be able to hold an 8-min pace through 26 miles but decided to hold that pace through the first Half or even 16 miles and then reassess the situation? However the mile marker problem got worse. After mile 12 I never saw another marker until mile 18? That really upset me and messed with my mind because I had no idea what pace I was running or what adjustment I needed to make? ! I figured that I struggled through the BAHs over miles 14 to 16 at an 8:30 pace. When I reached the turn-around at the AF Academy I was hurting and knew at that point the race was going to get Ugly! I struggled on the return loop through the BAHs and reached mile 18 in 2:31. My fuzzy mind calculated that I had averaged an 8:30 pace through the hills – but my legs were mush!

When I reached mile 20 in 2:51 and a 10 min pace and the temps had soared into the 70s (F) I knew that the race was over for me! I struggled to run mile 21 in 10:20 (if the marker was correct)? The wheels were falling off but I figured that I was still in 1st place in my age group so I was forced to go into ‘semi-survival’ mode – just try to keep the legs running/moving at a10-min pace to preserve my lead and hope that I could finish the race – safely, injury-free and alive! My legs were screaming/crying/pleading with me “to stop and walk” but I ignored them – until mile 24. At mile 24 there was a BAH that looked like Pikes Peak! As I contemplated how to trick my tired/used-up legs to run up that hill a competitor with a flock of gray hair and a gray beard passed me. He certainly looked like he was in my age group? Instead of trying to respond which I knew was hopeless it took a lot of stress off me. Not only had I blown my time goal I had now blown my age group goal! And I knew from the nausea and dizziness I was beginning to experience that I was pushing my old bod beyond its limits on this particular day! I recognized these problems as symptoms that my electrolytes were out of balance and/or my blood sugar levels were too low? So I went immediately into ‘full survival mode’ – just try to finish the race - ALIVE! Screw the time- screw all goals – except the primary goal of finishing alive!

I started walking. I managed to walk/run/crawl the next mile in 11:52. I reached mile 25 in 3:45. My very foggy and disoriented mind somehow calculated that if I could walk/crawl the last mile in the same time I could break 4 hrs and salvage some respect?
Bad News! I knew that Maddog would take over! I won’t repeat the names he called me or what other incentives he screamed at me but we finally agreed that I could walk for two –1 min intervals if I forced my old/wasted/exhausted legs and half-dead body to run the rest of the time! I ignored the pain – I ignored the dizziness and tingling in my arms – I totally focused all my will power and energy on keeping the legs moving and finally struggled across the finish line in 3:58! At least I had salvaged some sort of respect!

Other than collecting my finisher’s medal I did not stop at the finish line- I did not stop to look at the preliminary results – I went directly to the car to suck up some high-octane sports drink that I knew would replenish and rebalance my electrolytes and increase my blood sugar level to correct the problems I was suffering. It worked almost immediately as expected and I became lucent and felt better within a few minutes.

We had to return to the hotel immediately. Since I had run so slowly and the hotel would not extend our checkout (another complaint – the host hotel would not grant late checkouts for the runners) I needed to get back for a quick shower! After a shower we returned to the finish area for the customary finish line photo and to check the race results.

My official finish time was 3:58:49. Needless to say I was not pleased with my time or performance but neither was I disappointed. I had set an aggressive (in hindsight – a foolish) goal and deserved the painful consequences. But Maddog was absolutely disgusted with my time and performance. He was very upset that I had set an aggressive goal and couldn’t follow through and “do it”!


The only thing that saved my ass was the shock and surprising discovery that I had finished 1st in my age group? Mr. Gray Beard who passed me at mile 24 was only 50 years old. I need to take a course/lesson in guessing ages of old farts? I stayed to humbly collect my award since 2nd place finished 15 min behind me.

In summary it was an ugly/painful race that resulted from an aggressive and foolish race strategy. It proves that even after 248 marathons it is still possible/likely to make foolish race decisions and have to live with the painful consequences! It was not the first time nor is it likely to be the last. However because of the poor results I have already resolved that I will return next year to defend again my ‘Senior Title’ but next year I will run smarter and maybe not run an Alpine Marathon and climb four 14ers in the week preceding the race?

But for now I have to concentrate on resting the legs and hope they can recover in time for my final speed workout in the High Country next weekend when I run the ‘Road Kill Half’ in Kremmling, CO. I have even arranged to import a ‘rabbit’ – Fast Freddy - from Dallas, TX to pace me through the race!

Stay tuned for the next race report!


Maddog

Silverton Alpine Marathon

RACE REPORT
Silverton Alpine Marathon

Race Stats:
Sat, Aug 27/05
Silverton Alpine Marathon
Silverton, CO
Marathon #247
4:53:05 - 19th OA – 1st AG – 2nd Masters
New course record (60+)


This marathon was everything it was billed to be – a very difficult and challenging high altitude marathon. It is the 4th toughest marathon in the world based on Maddog’s rating scale! Extreme/exotic marathons such as Antarctica and the Sahara Desert do not compare in difficulty/challenge with a race like this. Is it strange or just coincidental that the first three on Maddog’s ‘Most Difficult’ List are also marathons in Colorado and all are courses above 13,000 ft? Anyways time to get on with the story.

I had missed the inaugural race last year due to a severely blistered foot at Pike’s Peak the week before so I was determined to erase the ‘no show’ from my record. I made the 6- hour drive to Silverton on Fri to pick up my race package and to drive part of the course. The course follows a circular loop out of Silverton through the San Juan Mountains as it passes through four old mining towns high in the mountains. The old mines are connected by a 4X4 road that is actually in pretty good shape. I only drove the last 7 miles of the course to realize that the roads were in better shape than expected and should allow for faster times than trails. I had researched the times for last year’s race and discovered that the winning time for my age group was 5:35. I figured I should be able to break 5 hours?

So I set three - er - 4 goals:
1) Win my age group
2) Finish under 5 hours
3) Place in the top three in the Masters Group
4) Run a race at very high altitudes as a good training run for Everest

The race started at 7am on Sat at Memorial Park in Silverton (9318 ft). The weather was sunny but a cool 38 F. I was still at my car double-knotting my shoes and making other last-minute preparations when the gun went off to start the race. I spent the first few miles just catching up and passing the last half of the field of 80 runners. By mile two I had settled into an easy 10-minute pace. The course climbed gradually (about 100 ft per mile) so I was quite happy and comfortable to average a 10-minute pace for the first 8 miles. I knew that pace wouldn’t last when we started the steep climb to California Pass at 13,000 ft!

The race director had recommended that all runners carry water and warm clothes because of the high altitudes. I had decided to wear a fanny pack to carry these supplies. By the time I reached the 2nd water stop at Eureka at 8 miles in 1:19:40 the pack was really bothering me and putting a strain on my back so I removed it and left it at the water station. I was already wearing my warm clothes (rain jacket and gloves) and figured I could just wrap them around my waist if it got too hot. Water did concern me because the water stations were only located every 4 miles and it could be a very long time between stations when you are climbing? I would have to make do somehow.

It turned out to be a wise decision because I was immediately 10 pounds lighter as the course began to climb 1200 vertical ft to the next water stop at Animas Forks (11,300 ft). I managed to run all of that 4-mile section in spite of some steep grades and reached mile 12 in 2:06:11. I forced myself to drink plenty of water and took a bottle of water with me as I departed for the next water station at the top of California Pass (13,000 ft). The course got ugly/steep very quickly as it climbed 1700 vertical feet over the next 4 miles! I was determined not to walk before I crossed the Half- marathon mark. But as soon as I reached that point I changed my strategy so that when the grade/slope was greater than 30 degrees I walked – whenever it was less I tried to run as long/far as I could until the legs refused to run/move anymore. When we reached mile 14 we could look up and see the road climbing to the top of California Pass at a steady 45 to 60 degree slope! What a bummer! There was not a lot of running on the next 2-mile section but I managed to pass about six young male runners half my age as we all struggled to the top of California Pass. I reached the Pass in 3:07:40 – it took 1:01:29 to run/walk those 4 miles! I had no problem forcing myself to drink plenty of water before beginning the descent down the other side of the Pass.

The course dropped about 800 vertical feet to Poughkeepsie Gulch. The slope was so steep that I lost control of my speed and momentum and as I approached the first switchback I couldn’t make the 90-degree turn! Oh shit! I was going so fast that I ran straight through the switchback. Miraculously the Running Angel was looking after me. There was about 25 ft of mountain on the other side of the switchback and fortunately it was a steep incline that allowed me to slow down and finally turn around and run back to the switchback. If there had been a cliff or drop-off on the other side of that switchback I would have ran straight off the mountain! Would have cut about 500 vertical feet and 5 minutes off the course though? That almost-fatal accident scared me enough to make me over-react. I started over-braking with my quads so severely that by the time I reached the bottom of Poughkeepsie Gulch it felt like my quads had been shredded to pieces. Fortunately the course then climbed another 400 vertical feet to the top of Hurricane Pass (12,600 ft). That climb relieved the stress on my quads and allowed them to recover.

Once we reached the top of Hurricane Pass the next/final 8 miles dropped 3,300 ft to the finish line. I passed mile 18 in 3:39:40 and at that point the road changed to a nice, smooth dirt road with a gentle slope of about 10 degrees. I decided to lift the legs - lengthen my stride and let gravity pull me down the mountain. I blew by another four young male runners on that section as I averaged a 9-minute pace. Doesn’t sound very fast but believe me after 18 miles and about 6000+ vertical feet of elevation change the legs were not feeling too springy or fast. Truth was they felt like they had been severely beaten with a 2X4? The dirt 4X4 road dumped out on to a main dirt road and another water station at mile 21 – time - 4:08:24. I had 50 minutes to run the last 5 miles? All I had to do was average a 10-minute pace?

I had driven those last 5 miles the day before and knew that the road was a gentle downhill. If I could just keep the legs moving gravity should help me maintain the required pace? I managed to hold a 10-minute pace over the next two miles and passed mile 23 in 4:28:24 but my legs were fading rapidly. When I reached the final water stop around 23.5 miles there was nothing left. But I couldn’t give up! As I pulled away from the water stop one of the young runners I had passed a few miles back caught up to me. As he passed me he shouted, “ I have no idea who you are Sir – but when I grow up I want to be just like you”! It was a nice compliment and it stirred up my competitive juices. I decided to dig deep, ignore the pain and push the pace for the final few miles. There were a number of small rolling hills over the next 1½ miles and each uphill felt like Mt Everest but I charged up each one as hard as I could knowing that the reward was a downhill on the other side. Unfortunately I could not find/see another mile marker in the last 3 miles and I had no idea what pace I was running so I just had to push the pace and hope that it was faster than 10 min/mile?

By the time I reached the point where the dirt road changed to pavement for the final mile I had passed and left my young protégé behind. That last mile of paved road dropped steeply at more than 10 degrees and my time was around 4:45. I knew sub-5hrs was in the bag if I could just keep the legs moving. So I focused every last once of energy fumes and willpower on lifting the legs – stretching my stride and letting Newton’s Law (gravity) pull me down that last hill and across the finish line in 4:53! I had done it!

My legs were so wobbly when I crossed the finish line that I could barely stagger around the park trying to suck some air/oxygen back into my lungs while trying to stop my legs from shaking. But I recovered quickly and soon made my way to the car to towel dry and change into dry clothes. I had to check out of the hotel and that meant no shower or hot bath to soak the legs before driving back to Silverthorne. I couldn’t wait for the awards ceremony so I checked with the race director to find out how I did. She was kind enough to check the results. My official finish time was 4:53:05 – I had finished 19th overall – 1st in my age group and 2nd in the Masters group! I had also established a new course record for my age group – the first one to break 5 hours!

Needless to say I was very pleased with my time and performance – I had achieved all four goals! The race director gave me my awards – race gear that is useful and practical – so that I could leave immediately. It took me 4:50 to drive 300 miles through several mountain ranges and passes to get back home in time for a neighbor’s birthday party. I don’t know which was harder – the 4:53 marathon or the 4:50 drive?

I am giving myself Sun off as a rest day because I plan to run/hike three difficult 14ers on Mon with my son Chris and then Chris and Jason and I plan to hike another 14er on Tue! These hikes will have to serve as my training runs for my next marathon next weekend. I am scheduled to defend my Senior Title at the American Discovery Trail Marathon next weekend in Colorado Springs.

Stay tuned for the next race report.


Maddog

Basalt Half Marathon

RACE REPORT
Sat, Aug 20/05
Basalt Half Marathon
Basalt, CO
1:42:03 1st AG


I had scheduled this race as a much-needed speed workout since I hadn’t raced since the Faroe Islands Marathon in mid-July. However I hadn’t counted on the week of misery/health problems/pain that preceded the race. But as you know that finally eased up a few days before the race so the sports manager and I left on Fri for the drive over to Basalt, CO.

Basalt is a small resort town located about 15 miles north of Aspen at the confluence of the Roaring Fork and Frying Pan Rivers in the Roaring Fork Valley. The town was celebrating its annual Basalt River Days – a weekend festival with fishing contests, the Half Marathon, parades and free music concerts.

After checking into our hotel I drove the course to check it out. It was described as a fast, downhill course starting at the Ruedi Reservoir (elev. 7700 ft) 12 miles east of town and descending 1100 ft along the Frying Pan Road – a narrow two-lane road squeezed between the Frying Pan River on the south and the red bluffs of the Elk Range on the north. A very scenic course. After driving the course I guessed that it would take a sub 1:45 time to win my age group so that became my time goal.

Fri. evening we walked around the small, quaint town and enjoyed a free music concert while eating a pasta dinner on the patio of a nearby Italian restaurant.

Since the race was point-to point we had to be bussed to the start line at 7am. There were about 200 runners in the Half. The big surprise was that more than 60% of the runners were young, well-fit women in their 20s and early 30s? That ratio ensured some wonderful scenery along the course and ended my frustrating pattern of chasing the lead female across the finish line. At least 3 or 4 lovely young ladies thoroughly beat my sorry, old ass in this race!

The race started at 8am. The weather was perfect – sunny, temps around 48F and even a slight tailwind. I started out with the Big Dogs and chased them through the first mile (including the lead female) in 6:48! My legs felt fine but my lungs were on fire as I tried to suck in enough air/oxygen to keep the old legs churning at that pace. I knew that pace was totally suicidal at that altitude so I threw out an anchor and slowed my pace down to a more reasonable 7:50 over the next mile. I had settled into a smooth/easy sub 8-min pace by the time I passed mile 5 in 38:00 flat. However my heart rate monitor indicated that I was running at 92% Max HR – about 10 to 15 bpm faster than my normal marathon race level? I figured the higher level was mostly due to the high altitude and since the legs felt OK I decided to ignore the HR monitor and continue to push the pace.

At mile 8 a ROF (Real Old Fart) who looked to be in his 50s or my age group blew by me? At first I tried to stay with him but quickly realized he was running about a 7:35 pace and I didn’t believe I could hold that pace for another 5 miles so I decided to drop in behind him and try to keep him in sight and hope he faded by the end? I passed the 10-mile mark in 1:17:50. I knew my time goal of sub 1:45 was in the bag. But I still wanted to catch the ROF in front of me so I continued to push the pace in spite of my HR monitor telling me that my HR was now at 95% Max!

I reached the edge of town at mile 12 in 1:33:45. I knew the last mile had a few rolling hills and figured that if I charged up those final hills I might be able to catch Mr. ROF because he was starting to slow? My HR monitor started beeping wildly warning me that I was pushing the old bod at 100% Max! Screw it! I could hear it so obviously I was still alive –“Keep pushing Maddog”! I struggled across the finish line on the school track in 1:42:03!

As I staggered around the infield desperately trying to suck air/oxygen back into my lungs and body I soon realized that I pushed the old bod to its absolute limits – needlessly! Turned out that the ROF who had beat me by less than one minute was only 50 years old! I had indeed won my age group – 2nd place was 10 minutes behind me!

Oh well! I was very pleased with my time and performance. I had achieved my time goal – won my age group – and ran a very fast speed workout as a tune up for a tough marathon next weekend. I plan to run the Silverton Alpine Marathon. It starts /finishes at 9318 ft. – more than 60% of the course is above 11,500 ft and the high point is 12,930 ft. It should be a good training run for the Everest Marathon?

After the race the sports manager and II watched the ‘big’ parade for the Basalt River Days and then drove home through Aspen and over Independence Pass.

At 12,095 ft. Independence Pass is one of the highest paved passes in the country and offers some spectacular views/scenery (when it is not raining). However the drive can be kind of scary since there are no guardrails on the very narrow switchbacks!


Stay tuned for the next race report!

Maddog

Trip Report - Faroe Islands

TRIP REPORT
July 12 –19/05
Faroe Islands

Race Stats:
Sat, July 16/05
Torshavn Marathon (3rd)
Torshavn, Faroe Islands
Marathon # 246
Country # 73
European Country # 49
Time 3:38:52
16th OA – 1st AG

Photos may be viewed at www.maddog.smugmug.com.


The Faroe Islands. I had heard of them but wasn’t even sure exactly where they were until one of my ‘buddies’ in the UK informed me that they were considered a country because they have a football/soccer team that competes for the World Cup (one of our ‘loose’ criteria used to define a country in Europe). Thus I had to add the Faroe Islands to my list of European Countries.

Where are they? I’ll pass on my geography lesson:
The Faroe Islands are located in the heart of the Gulf Stream in the North Atlantic at 62degrees N, northwest of Scotland and halfway between Iceland and Norway. The archipelago is composed of 18 islands stretching 70 miles long and 47 miles wide. There are 687 miles of coastline and at no time is one more than 3 miles from the ocean. The highest mountain is 2883 ft and the average height above sea level for the country is 982 ft!

The first thing you notice when you arrive is the ruggedness and desolation of the terrain – and the GREEN! Everything – everywhere - is green – everything being grass because there are no trees on the islands! The islands have the highest annual rainfall in Europe and there are thousands of waterfalls cascading down the mountains into the ocean. It is very scenic but since there are only 48,000 people in the country and half live in the area around the capital city of Torshavn it is very isolated and desolate. Two of the islands, Streymoy where Torshavn is located and Vagar where the airport is located are connected by a very long tunnel under Vestmannasund. Steymoy and Fysturoy are connected by a bridge – yes there is a bridge across the Atlantic Ocean. The other islands have to be reached by boat/ferry.

The main industry and export is fishing. Tourism is 2nd and there are usually two cruise ships in the harbour at Torshavn each day of the summer. There seems to be a lot of money and everything is very expensive (I was told that Denmark pays each man/woman/child a stipend equal to $10,000 US each year from birth to death – whether they work or not?).

Now that you are an expert on the Faroe Islands let me back up a few days before I arrived on these starkingly green islands.

Since I had to fly/route through London and Stansted airport I decided that I would stay overnight in Bishop’s Stortford to visit some friends. Stortford is a quaint little town (can’t say village because I was reminded that Stortford is now 30,000 people) where we lived for a year while Nicole was working in the UK. Some friends from my old running club kindly offered to host me for a day and take me to the club for the regular Wed night run. It was a very pleasant visit. I had time to take a nostalgic stroll down High Street during Market Day to see if the town had changed. I joined many of my old mates and new ones to run a 2.5-mile club race – the conclusion of a 4-series club race called ‘The Tour de Stort’. After the race we all enjoyed a fine meal cooked at the club and washed it down with good British ale at the Club bar. I wish we had clubs like this in the US? I even enjoyed a 30-min massage from the club masseuse that prepared my legs for the upcoming marathon.
Once again – thanks to Chris, Colin, Peter and all the club members for a very pleasant stay!

On Thu afternoon I departed Stansted for the Faroes. The airport on Vagar is 50km north and west of Torshavn and it is a very scenic drive into the capital. As I described above – lots of mountains, green grass and waterfalls. As I soon learned much of the marathon course was located along this two-lane highway. I had booked a guesthouse in Torshavn because the hotels were fancy/luxury and too expensive. It was only a 10-minute walk from the central bus terminal and when I couldn’t find it I asked a young girl in the hopes she would speak English. She kindly guided me right to the guesthouse – the people are very friendly! It was 9 pm but the Faroes enjoy 19 hours of daylight at this time of the year – gets dark about midnight and light again at 5am! Messed up by body clock as usual. I decided to find a grocery/convenience store for some basic supplies. What a shock – a 9 oz bag of chips $5, coke $2, beer $5, 1.5 L bottled water $3! I don’t know how anyone can afford to live there? Since my room had no TV or bath I felt I deserved some kind of treat to enjoy while I read a book?

The following morning I was lucky to meet a runner/friend I was looking for at breakfast. Jaap – a runner from Holland is also trying to run all the countries in Europe. We had communicated via the Net but had never met each other until this marathon. Jaap is also a ‘birder’ and he planned to stay for a week to do some ‘birding’. Since I had only one day to explore the capital and surrounding area we decided to take a ‘bird’ tour to the cliffs of Vestmanna. These cliffs are on the west coast/Atlantic side of Streymoy and are famous for their huge colonies of puffins. It is necessary to take a bus to the village of Vestmanna and then a boat out into Vestmannasund and the Atlantic Ocean. It was very scenic since the cliffs soar as high as 2800 ft straight out of the Atlantic Ocean. The boat takes you into many coves and grottos to view the various species of birds nesting in the cliffs. There were thousands and thousands of puffins! I took lots of photos and have downloaded them to my photo website for your enjoyment. It was a pleasant tour and a wise/lucky decision because that turned out to be the only nice weather I saw in my 5 days on the islands!

On Fri evening Jaap and Grieto (a friend of Jaap’s from Holland who was running the Half) and I walked to the Sports Hall to pick up our race packets. A pasta dinner was included in our entry fee and although I don’t usually attend these I did eat the ‘free’ dinner since pasta would have cost more than $20 in a restaurant! We also spoke to many of the local runners to get some last-minute details about the race. There were very few foreign runners in the race. There was one other American – a young man from Los Angeles running his first marathon (also a birder). We were the first Yanks to run the race? After dinner it was time to go to bed (in broad daylight) even though the race didn’t start until 2pm on Sat.

I hate afternoon marathons – it is difficult to prepare for them and they waste the whole day. On Sat morning I rose early for breakfast and bad news – the weather was really miserable. It was cold, foggy, windy and rainy. The wind didn’t feel too bad in the town where the buildings provided protection but I figured the 20/30 mph winds would be brutal outside the town and along the Coasts! I also couldn’t decide what to wear for the race?

As I walked around and explored Torshavn I figured that I might have to wear running tights and a long sleeve T-shirt? However by race time the rain had become a light drizzle and it was a bit warmer so I decided to run with only shorts and a T-shirt. I hoped it wouldn’t be too cold along the ocean?

There were about 300 runners lined up in the town center for the start of three races at 2 pm – Marathon, Half and a 5.8 Km Fun Run. The first 5.8 Km was a loop around – and up and down the town streets. Since Torshavn is built on the side of a mountain there aren’t any flat streets in the town! I started with Jaap and the other American. We finished the first loop at a sub 8-min pace in spite of the hills and I warned the young Yank that we were going out too fast. He ignored me and continued on while I slowed my pace. At 8 Km we left the town and headed north along the coast and directly into a North wind.

On our bus ride to Vestmanna on Fri Jaap and I realized that the marathon course followed the highway to the airport and it was ugly. The route had several rolling hills and two BAHs (Bad Ass Hills) that climbed from sea level to about 800 ft in elevation. I had studied the race results for the first two years of the race and figured I would have to run under 3:45 to compete in my age group. The winner had run in the 3:30s! After driving the course I didn’t believe I could beat that time and thought a sub 4-hr finish would be good on this course and in this weather?

I was running along with and mostly behind a female whom I figured was leading the Half but when we reached the turn-around point for the Half at 16 Km she kept going? She must be running the marathon? I decided to pass her. Good idea but much harder to implement. At 20 Km we had climbed and descended both BAHs and approached the first tunnel to the airport. However the route turned right before the tunnel and skirted the end of Kaldbaksfjordur Sund. There was a 4 Km flat section along the Sound to the hamlet of Kaldbak. We had also turned away from the wind so the 20/30mph gusts were at our back for the first time. Most of the runners literally flew along this 4 Km section. I passed the lead female at the Half-marathon mark – time 1:48:07. I was pleasantly surprised! I felt good. I knew I couldn’t run the same time in the 2nd Half but I was confident that I could break 3:45 – my original target?

As I approached Kaldback at 24 Km the lead runners were returning. I figured I was in 22nd place overall (about 60 runners in the marathon) and there was one ROF (Real Old Fart) who had to be in my age group - about ½ Km in front of me. Unfortunately when we made the turn at 24Km we turned back into the wind. It was tough and everyone struggled. I pushed as hard as I could to close the distance between my competitor and me. At 28 Km the lead female passed me again (while I was making a brief pit stop) and I decided I would have to catch her back? We turned back on to the main highway at that point with the wind behind us again but facing the first of the BAHs on the return loop. I made a strategic race decision - I was going to charge up every damn hill to the finish line and relax on the downhills. I started my push. At 30 Km I passed the young Yank who was struggling. At 32Km I passed the other ROF and continued to push up the BAH in the hopes that I could bury him? And I closed to within 100 m of the lead female. However when I crested the BAH and glanced over my shoulder my competitor was right on my ass and charging! Oh Shit! This is going to be an ugly/painful pissing match all the way to the finish line.

I tried to relax and let gravity help me on the backside of that BAH but ‘Mr. Wouldn’t Give UP’ stayed right on my butt and even closed the lead some. And so it continued for the next/last 10Km! I would charge up the hills increasing my lead but he would charge down the hills to reduce the lead. As I approached the last BAH at 38Km I decided I needed to bury this guy once and for all so I gave everything I had to charge up that last BAH! Maddog’s ‘Suicidal High Altitude Training Camp’ had prepared me well for this race. The Faroe hills were easy compared to the 13ers/14ers I had been training on and the really big difference was that there was lots of oxygen to keep the legs churning all the way up the hills! When I crested the hill at 39Km and looked back I had increased the lead to about 300m. But the last 3 Km were slightly downhill so I couldn’t back off. At 40Km I glanced over my shoulder again only to discover that ‘Mr. Wouldn’t Give Up’ had closed the lead again.

Damn – I was hoping he would give up so we could both relax and cruise to the finish line. This SOB just wouldn’t quit! But there was no way I was going to lose a race this close to the finish line. I decided to suck it up – dig deep – ignore all pain – and drop the pace to sub 8s for the last 2Km. I drew on every last once of willpower to focus on that goal and keep my legs moving as fast as I could. At 41 Km I stole a glance back over my shoulder. The lead had increased to 300 m again. I knew I had him! There was no way he could make up that distance and pass me in the final 1 Km unless I stopped! But the SOB still wouldn’t give up?

However the sweet smell of success/victory was enough to get the old bod to produce one final shot of adrenaline – even some endorphins - and I ‘floated’ through the final 1Km in a ‘zone’ – no pain – just a wonderful feeling as I crossed the finish line in 3:38:52! I waited at the finish line to congratulate my opponent on a fine race. He finished 1 minute behind me. I wasn’t sure whether I should thank him for pushing me or give him shit for hurting me? But I remembered one of Maddog’s famous sayings “Pain is only temporary - memories are forever”! And the pain had already vanished so I thanked him for pushing me. However he was not a happy camper – he was upset because he had won our age group the first/past two years of the race and had lost his Senior Title – to an American no less! (Holy Crap! - he was the guy I didn’t think I could beat on paper?).
He soon cooled off and paid me a compliment by telling me that he couldn’t believe how strong I was on the uphills – I had killed him on those uphills! I explained that the Faroe hills were relatively easy compared with the 14ers I trained on in Colorado.

After a quick shower back at my luxurious guesthouse I returned to the finish area for my usual finish line photo and to collect a gold medal for winning the Senior Division (50+).
Obviously I was quite pleased with both my time and performance. The only disappointment was that I had not caught the winning female – she beat me by one minute. I have got to find a way to change this frustrating trend – this is the 3rd straight race where I have chased the winning female only to be beaten by one minute?

There was an official post-race party and dinner being held on Sat evening but it was very expensive so my two Dutch friends and I decided to eat at a local restaurant. I ordered ‘breast of Puffin’ but unfortunately it was not available that day. After dinner and a few well-deserved Faroese beers my friends returned to the guesthouse but I decided to go to a popular local hangout/bar to meet some locals. I joined a group of young Faroese lads and over many Faroese beers (at $10/pint) learned much about the Faroese history and culture that you won’t find in the ‘Lonely Planet’ or other guidebooks! For example the Faroese language has its roots in the Old Norse language from the Viking Age. After the Reformation, Danish became the official language and the Faroese language almost became extinct. It was revived in the 19th century by a famous local scholar and poet.
How did he do it because there were no written records of the language or vocabulary?
The answer was the renowned Faroese dance for which it is necessary to learn and remember a long story. The dance is a continuation of the medieval ring dance that was forbidden in many parts of Europe. Since there is no instrumental accompaniment to the dance only the voices and feet are heard. The scholar collected many of these stories that had been handed down for many generations and from these ballads was able to recreate and reinvent the Faroese language. It is now the official language of the country – and you won’t learn that interesting story in any guidebook! I love learning about the local people and culture even if it can be hazardous to my health (and head) the following morning!

On Sun morning I did make it to the bus station and airport in time for my 12:30 pm flight. But on the drive to the airport the weather was not looking good? The fog was so bad/thick that we could barely see the road? It was worse at the airport! No planes were landing or taking off because they couldn’t see the islands let alone the airport! To make a very long and frustrating story short I sat at the airport for over 18 hours on Sun and
Mon before my flight finally departed at 5pm on Mon. I arrived in Stansted at 9 pm and at my friends place on the south side of London at 11 pm. We ate dinner at midnight and then I had to leave at 7:30 am to take the tube to LHR.

I was very disappointed that uncontrollable circumstances (the weather) had caused me to miss a BBQ and party with my UK mates on Sun night and a pub-crawl through London on Mon night. I had planned those two days in London because I wanted to spend some time with my UK mates because I don’t expect to be back to London for a few years? My European quest is almost finished. I have two more countries left – Bosnia and Bulgaria and I plan to run both on the same trip in Oct.

However I will have to schedule 2 or 3 marathons between now and then to keep in shape – NO – to improve my marathon shape.
So stay tuned for the next race report!


Maddog

Mountain Madness Half Marathon

Race Report
Mountain Madness Half Marathon
Steamboat Springs, CO
Sun, Jul 10/05
1:46:46 – 10th OA – 2nd AG

This Half was the final race in Maddog’s ‘Suicidal High Altitude Training Camp’. It happily coincided with ‘Rainbow Weekend’ in Steamboat Springs. Steamboat Springs is a lovely ski resort town located 90 minutes north of Summit County/High Country. Rainbow Weekend is a big festival weekend in Steamboat with hot-air balloon races, a pro rodeo, an arts and craft show and many free music concerts. And of course the Mountain Madness Half for those ‘crazies’ who can’t relax and enjoy all the above?

We arrived in Steamboat early Sat afternoon so we could stroll around the crafts show and enjoy some of the music concerts. Then we strolled along the lovely main street that has kept its flavor of an old western mining town to window shop and make a reservation for our pasta dinner.

I woke early on Sun morning so that I could go to the ‘Meadows’ before the race to watch the launch of the hot-air balloons. Quite a spectacular sight to watch about 75 balloons being launched at the same time!

Unfortunately I had to leave before all the balloons were launched but could see them rising and racing from the start of the Half Marathon.


The race was small with only 300 runners in the Half and 10K. The weather was sunny and warm – mid 50s at the 8am start. The race starts just off downtown Steamboat at the base of Howelsen Hill – elevation 7,000 ft. The 1st three miles are a gentle uphill and then there is a BAH that climbs relentlessly for 1 ½ miles. I ran this Half 3 years ago and remembered the BAH but must have forgotten all the hills between miles 6 and 10? Three years ago I missed the turn at 3 miles to go up the BAH and ran an extra ½ mile so I made sure that didn’t happen this year! The 1st place female passed me going up the BAH and I decided I would try to stay with her?

Around 6 miles the course looped back on itself and I was able to count the lead runners. I was in 10th place overall and there was one runner who looked like an ‘old fart’ in 7th place OA but I figured he was only in his late 40s or early 50s so I didn’t worry about him. The next/first competitor in my age group was at least 5 minutes behind me at that point and I knew he couldn’t catch me. So for motivation I decided that I would catch the lead female in the last 6 miles? I closed within 100 yards a few times but much to her credit each time she would pick up the pace and increase the lead again. We kept pushing each other and she dragged me to the finish line in 1:46:46.

At first I was very pleased with my time and performance. My time was two minutes faster than I ran 3 years ago (but I ran ½ mile farther in that race) and I finished 10th OA vs. 12th OA in 2002. BUT I soon discovered that the old fart who finished 7th OA was indeed in my age group. The youngest looking ‘old fart’ I have seen? But he beat me fair and square. Even If I had guessed he was in my age group I couldn’t have caught him. I gave everything I had to catch the lead female and she beat me by 1 minute and he was 2 minutes ahead of her!

So I was disappointed with my finish position but not my time and performance. And it had indeed been a good, hard training run/speed workout to conclude Maddog’s program.
After 6 weeks of hard training in the mountains I believe I am now in decent ‘marathon shape’ and should be able to run/race a respectable time in the Faroe Islands next weekend?

Stay tuned for the next race report.

Leadville Trail Marathon

RACE REPORT

Sat, July 2/05
Leadville Trail Marathon
Leadville, CO
5:41:58 2AG

This marathon was another essential element of Maddog’s ‘Suicidal High Altitude Training Camp’ – a long, tough trail run at very high altitudes to prepare me for the Mt Everest Marathon in Nov. I ran this race two years ago and had not trained properly at high altitude and it cost me dearly and painfully with severe altitude sickness above 12,500 ft. I was determined not to make that mistake again so I ran two ‘practice’ runs on Mosquito Pass – the highest/toughest section of the course in the 10 days prior to the race.

Thus I had a wee bit more confidence when I lined up with 300 runners on Sat morning for the 8am start. The weather was great – sunny and 50F. Since the forecast called for temps in the low 70s I decided not to carry warm clothes and survival gear with me. There were water/aid stations every 3 to 4 miles on the course but it can take more than one hour to run 3 miles on mountain trails so it is absolutely necessary to carry water because of the dry, thin mountain air. So I wore a small waist pack that could carry one water bottle and 8 packs of carbo gel vs. a backpack that would weigh more and be more cumbersome.

The race started on the east side of Leadville at 10,200 ft. and climbed up a paved and dirt road for 1½ miles to a rocky 4X4 road that climbed steeply to the 12,000 ft level of Ball Mtn. I reached the 1st aid station at mile 4 in 54:41. At that point the course made a 3-mile circular loop around – and up and down - Ball Mtn on a single-track trail to return to the same aid station at 7 miles. I remembered from the race two years ago that there were NO flat sections to this course! The next 2.6 miles of the course descended 1000+ vertical ft on an old mining road to the bottom of Mosquito Pass. Because the road was in good shape I was able to haul ass and reached the next aid station in 23:03. That aid station was farther from the bottom of Mosquito Pass than I remembered? I had parked about ½ mile closer to the Pass for my practice runs. I quickly realized that the ‘practice’ runs were not a very good imitation of the real world! There is a BIG difference between getting out of a car and making a practice run up Mosquito Pass on fresh legs vs. arriving at the bottom of the Pass after running 9.6 miles and 5000+ vertical ft of elevation change in 1:58:48!

My legs were already beat up and tired and my lungs were burning from the altitude and thin mountain air! It seemed that I had to walk most of the 2200+ vertical ft of the ascent up Mosquito Pass? Around 12,800 ft three gray hairs/old farts passed me on their descent. It looked like at least one of them had to be in my age group and the last guy had at least a 10-minute lead on me! I pushed the pace as hard as I could to make up some time. That effort resulted in some minor stomach cramps (altitude sickness) for a few minutes. I finally reached the summit of Mosquito Pass (13,185 ft) and the Half marathon mark in 3:02:29. Surprisingly that was about the same time/pace I had run on my practice runs?
It was very windy and COLD at the top of the Pass and some runners stopped to put on a jacket and warm clothes. I didn’t have any but it was not nearly as cold as last Wed during my 2nd trial run so I just refilled my water bottle and headed back down the mountain. I briefly contemplated hauling ass on the descent down Mosquito Pass to try to catch the old farts but I figured that I couldn’t catch them unless they crashed and slowed significantly during the 2nd Half. So I wisely decided to stay with my game plan to run the descents cautiously and safely to avoid any risk of a fall and injury. I managed to run the descent in 36:13 – an average 10-min pace so I was quite satisfied considering that the downhill runners were forced to use the bad/dangerous side of the trail because the uphill runners were hogging the good/safe side!

Since the course retraced the same loop back to the start/finish line it was now necessary to climb the old mining road back to the 12,000 ft level of Ball Mtn. Since the road was in good shape and not too steep I was able to run most of the ascent and reached the aid station at mile 19 in 4:15:15. I figured that I needed to run the 3-mile loop (in reverse) around Ball Mtn in 45 minutes to arrive back at the aid station in 5:00 if I wanted to reach the finish line under 6 hrs? Let me tell you – that was the longest/toughest/most painful 3-mile loop I have ever run! It just kept going up and down - up and down - and on and on? I couldn’t remember it being that tough/bad on the first loop? As I struggled to walk up the steep and treacherous single-track trail at mile 22 - ‘one step at a time’- I tried to console myself with the knowledge that “I have only run one other marathon –anywhere in the world – that is tougher than this one – Pike’s Peak”!

I finally reached the top of that friggin hill and the aid station at mile 22 in 5:04! It had taken 49 minutes to run/walk 3 miles! Now I was concerned. I had 56 minutes to reach the finish line – I had to do better than a 16- min pace! Fortunately the last 4 miles were mostly downhill but the first 2 1/2 miles were very steep, rocky and treacherous! Again I contemplated abandoning my ‘safety first’ strategy but decided I would rather miss my time goal by a few minutes than risk a fall and injury. But I did push the pace as fast as I could with safety as the priority and I was rewarded with a pleasant surprise when I reached the dirt/paved road on the edge of town in 5:30. Damn – if I could haul ass on the last 1½ miles I could break 5:45!

Since the roads had nice smooth surfaces –no tree roots and rocks – and were downhill I dug deep and took advantage of gravity to haul ass and cross the finish line in 5:41:58! That time was 14 minutes faster than I ran 2 years ago when I was a youngster in my 50s! Does this result prove that old proverb “You don’t get older – you just get better”?
Surprisingly that time was also good enough for 2nd place in my age group. I only missed 1st place by 4 minutes so obviously the winner did fade/slow in the 2nd Half – but not enough! My strategy/decision to run the descents safely probably cost me 1st place but I didn’t care. I was very pleased with both my time and performance. I had achieved my objective – to run a long, tough trail run at very high altitudes and most importantly to finish healthy and injury-free (if I don’t count the toenail I lost during the race).

Thankfully there is only one more week left in Maddog’s training program and he has decided to conclude it with another speed workout – the ‘Mountain Madness Half Marathon’ in Steamboat Springs next weekend. I ran this race 3 years ago and won my age group in spite of missing a turn in the mountains and running an extra ½ mile. I would like to repeat that performance (minus the extra ½ mile) to conclude the program!

Stay tuned for the next race report!