Hurt so good.

St. George Marathon 2013

Recent EntriesHomeJoin Fast Running Blog Community!PredictorHealthy RecipesBen VanBeekum's RacesFind BlogsMileage BoardTop Ten Excuses for Missing a RunTop Ten Training MistakesDiscussion ForumRace Reports Send A Private MessageWeek ViewMonth ViewYear View
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
201020112012201320142015201620172018201920202021202220232024
15% off for Fast Running Blog members at St. George Running Center!

Location:

North Ogden,UT,U.S.

Member Since:

May 23, 2010

Gender:

Male

Goal Type:

Local Elite

Running Accomplishments:

5K- 14:58, 10K- 31:05, 1/2- 1:06:47 Marathon- 2:23:29

3rd- Park City Marathon 2008

3rd and 4th Ogden Marathon 2010; 12'

5th, 3rd, and 7th- Utah Valley Marathon 2011;14'; 16'

9th, 3rd,11th, 8th, 5th, 8th St. George Marathon 2010, 11',13',14',15'16'

2nd- Deseret News Marathon 2015

1st- SandHollow Marathon- 2016 (CR***)

 

Short-Term Running Goals:

2024 POTENTIAL RACES

 

Long-Term Running Goals:

Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experiences of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, vision cleared, ambition inspired and success achieved.

                                                                          -Helen Keller

              

 

Personal:

Married to Nikki we have 4 children. Jaerdan, Korver, Grady and Lyla McKell

Head XC/Track Coach at Weber High

Graduated from Weber State with a Bachelor's of Science Degree in Athletic Therapy.

 

 

http://

Find more about Weather in Ogden, UT
Click for weather forecast

Click to donate
to Ukraine's Armed Forces
Miles:This week: 0.00 Month: 0.00 Year: 257.46
Race: St. George Marathon 2013 (26.2 Miles) 02:26:12, Place overall: 11, Place in age division: 3
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
0.0026.200.000.0026.20

So I am going to make this short and sweet! Really I didn't know what to expect with this race at all. It has been a crazy up and down with the knee and really training for this race began in June. So in short four months everything has been a world wind. Anyway....

so showed up the buses nice and early to meet Riley, Bryant and Jason. Also was pretty cool because we ended up on the same bus as Steve Hooper, Clyde, Dave and Logan. So it was a good ride up. The start of the race was windy and cold, but the wind was in our favor. So anyway the start of the race the packs separated pretty quickly. Logan, Dave and I started a small pack together and worked the first seven miles together until I had to stop for a quick bathroom break, which was way beneficial to do it early then do it later and not have the legs to finish. So anyway I got out of the restroom and made a quick dash to get the legs going and managed to catch up to Walter and Clyde for a minute. Up about thirty seconds was Dave and Logan and I pretty much just kept my eyes on them for the majority of the race. Tone honest I mimicked everything that they did to keep my going, I was cutting the road like they were, speeding up at the same time just to hope that I could catch up and run and finish with them. Well around half way mark I came through mile 13 at 1:14:05 I think. So faster by almost a minute and a half then years past, so really good sign. So for the second half for me was to hit even splits and come in around 2:28 for the race. Well the second half went pretty well, I rolled with down hill as best as I could and tried to remember what Riley and ken had taught me about relaxing the shoulders and just get the hips out in front and just roll! And that I did. Around mile 18-19 I thought I was done for my legs felt like they were on fire. So I just told. Myself to get to mile 23 as fast as you could and just play the rest off of feel. Well as I started mile 23 I saw Matt poulson and tried to get him going and pushed him along but I could tell it wasn't his day and really felt sorry for him. Because even though he ran a great time, his training showed more than that. Around 24 I start red gaining on Logan and then Dave. Crazy how one bathroom stop at mile 7 will set you back, it took me 17 miles to catch those suckers! I am glad both finished well. I saw Jason up ahead I thought I could catch him but came up about 6-8 seconds short. So officially the comeback is over, I am so grateful for my health and friends that I have been blessed with. I am so excited for everyone that ran, such a perfect day for running. 

Well that's it.... I will post my splits when I get a few and breakdown my first and second half splits.

Weight: 0.00
Comments
From Holt on Sat, Oct 05, 2013 at 21:02:15 from 67.2.227.78

Wow! What a comeback! Always awesome to race with you. The Circle is waiting for you to be here for real.

From Brandon on Mon, Oct 07, 2013 at 04:50:29 from 67.214.231.170

The comeback kid! Congrats Ben! It was good to see you again at the race. And a PR to boot! Way to go!

From RileyCook on Mon, Oct 07, 2013 at 08:51:40 from 174.52.234.49

2:26 with a pit stop! Get out of town! The comeback is more than complete. I couldn't be more happy for you Benny Van. You made my day.

Enjoy this, soak it up for a week and then let's get back to work and get you another PR in 2014!

Oh and thanks for not making a liar out of me!

From Jake K on Mon, Oct 07, 2013 at 12:18:17 from 67.177.11.154

Great race Ben. It really came together nicely over these last couple months! You definitely wouldn't have predicted this back in the spring... but man, you hung tough, kept the faith, and really just improved week by week. You training has really been a great example of not forcing things - just letting it build a little at a time. And to cap off the cycle with such an excellent marathon, that's just great. Way to go!

From Paul on Tue, Oct 08, 2013 at 07:58:47 from 65.114.209.66

Great job working your way back after injury! That's a sweet race, enjoy the feeling!

From Dave Olson on Tue, Oct 08, 2013 at 08:13:34 from 132.3.57.79

We will PR together next year! Great freaking race man!

From AngieB on Tue, Oct 08, 2013 at 08:35:06 from 65.130.67.21

Nice race Ben. So proud of ya working hard and coming out w a great fall marathon to end what started off being a hard yr.

From Matt Poulsen on Thu, Oct 10, 2013 at 21:54:19 from 174.52.216.185

Very impressive race, Ben! I'm not surprised a bit. Congratulations!

From Superfly on Tue, Oct 15, 2013 at 10:30:02 from 74.211.21.81

I finally got to read this. I can't believe it took you so long to catch Logan and Dave... not until mile 24? For some reason I though you had them before the half. Nonetheless great race. Way to bounce back from injury and a bathroom stop. Come go 1:07 at Snow Canyon... and live to tell about it.

From Ben VanBeekum on Tue, Oct 15, 2013 at 14:25:54 from 67.169.244.46

Clyde that is what I am hoping for. I have never ran Snow Canyon. What is the course like?

From Superfly on Tue, Oct 15, 2013 at 15:31:02 from 74.211.21.81

It starts at about mile 12 on the marathon course. So you run that for the first 3 miles or so down to the Snow Canyon turn off or roughly mile 16 or the STG marathon course. Then it drops off a cliff for about 3-4 miles. After that it's flatish and rolling with a net drop to the finish... but will fill uphill after the big drop.

From Ben VanBeekum on Tue, Oct 15, 2013 at 17:15:06 from 67.169.244.46

Clyde, thanks! I am hoping that I can hit at least 1:08. There is a group of us up north that are planning on going to Houston in January to run the USA half Championships. So Dave Olsen and I are going to try to hit a qualifying time. You guy should do the same it would be killer to have a huge group from Utah to go.

Add Your Comment.
  • Keep it family-safe. No vulgar or profane language. To discourage anonymous comments of cowardly nature, your IP address will be logged and posted next to your comment.
  • Do not respond to another person's comment out of context. If he made the original comment on another page/blog entry, go to that entry and respond there.
  • If all you want to do is contact the blogger and your comment is not connected with this entry and has no relevance to others, send a private message instead.
Only registered users with public blogs are allowed to post comments. Log in with your username and password or create an account and set up a blog.
Debt Reduction Calculator
Featured Announcements
Lone Faithfuls
(need a comment):