Sunday 1 June 2008,

Steamboat Marathon

I leave the hotel at 5:40am and head downtown to the site where busses pick up runners to be delivered to the starting line. I’m surprised to find frost on my windshield since it doesn’t seem that cold. No matter. I have gloves, old socks over the gloves, an old T-shirt, and a lined warm-up suit all layered over my running cloths.

My bus seatmate is local named Jeremy who tells me there is only one road out to Hahns Peak so the bus follows the course in reverse providing plenty of opportunity to preview. Runners World Magazine called this course “one of the 10 most scenic marathons” and one of the “top 10 destination marathons in North America.” I can certainly see why. Of the events I’ve run, I would put the course in the top three for natural beauty (along with Big Sur International in California and Mount Desert Island in Maine). It is definitely the most beautiful start I’ve encountered with patchy snow on tall peaks all around.

It’s amazing how fast temperature changes here. Before the start the sun rises up over the trees and, although still a bit chilly by Florida standards, most of us are comfortable enough with just running cloths.

It’s a beautiful day - cool and clear without wind. The only negative is elevation. Hahns Peak is at 8128 ft above sea level. I learned last week that, for a lowlander like me, this elevation may be a serious a factor. I’m hoping the fact that course is net downhill with a 1400 ft loss of altitude will partially offset this. It didn’t.

Still a bit sunburned from hiking in Boulder I thought it prudent to wear a cap. (BTW, a captioned photo-essay of hiking the Flatirons was posted by my host at http://www.cs.ucf.edu/~aswu/pix/flatirons/)

I’m gasping for air by mile 3 and looking forward to getting lower. I deteriorate and regroup through several cycles but, although it did get better, it never got good.

The last few miles are decidedly less scenic as we re-enter the town. Traffic, while still controlled, is more abundant. By now it has also gotten pretty hot.

Friends will verify that I often look pretty shabby at the end of a marathon. Today even race officials are alarmed by it. As always, there are medical personnel at the finish line asking people how they are doing but disregarding the answers in favor of making their own assessment. Today after I finish two nice young men lead me over to a medical tent and put cold towels around me. One returns with some water. They relax some when within a few minutes I credibly insist I’m okay and engage them in light-hearted conversation. It’s reassuring to know that if I ever really am in trouble someone will probably notice and take remedial action. (Aside: Once, years ago I had such a person inquire of me “Who is the president?” so he could measure my response for how disoriented I might be. I passed the test but was a little embarrassed when I realized what was happening.)

Today’s marathon was not a chip event. They use the old tear-off-tag-from-bib-number method to record finishes (How quaint). The official results indicate my time is 4:48:29 and 216^th overall. I was satisfied to finish at any speed.

Maybe I’m feeling the effects of all that hiking in Boulder this week or maybe it’s the cumulative effect of a one-per-week schedule. In any case, I need some kind of excuse since I usually finish faster but lately have been struggling. I’m hoping when I get closer to sea level things will improve.

On a positive note, let’s summarize today’s victories:

I checked off another state.

I was still running in the finish line photo.

I passed 7 other runners in the final miles while none passed me.

Today’s time is about a half hour faster than last week in Wyoming. I’ll take it.

A few hours later I’m feeling significantly recovered and will run another day.

The finisher medal is nice: Pewter-colored rectangle with a blue neck ribbon.

Professional photos are available at http://www.brightroom.com/go.asp?32469288