I have been looking forward to doing a different spring marathon
this year than in years past. I have run the Ogden Marathon two years
in a row and countless races on the course and felt it was time for a
change. I enjoy visiting my Dad and Step-Mom who live in Denver so I found a race near them that looked fun. The Colorado Marathon.
The race begins up a canyon (Poudre River Canyon) and ends in downtown
Ft. Collins (a pretty cool city that reminds me a lot of Logan). My
last marathon was St. George 2008 and so needless to say, I was worried
about weather for today's race. Turns out that I didn't need to worry
as it stopped the downpour a full 3 hours before the race began.
Whew! Conditions were ideal with a near 40 degree start and a mid 50
degree finish. Very light wind, I would call it a breeze. So now that
the stage is set, the marathon can begin (only 15 mins late). We
began and I quickly joined the lead pack as they meandered down the
canyon. 4 guys in the front row with myself and one other drafting
behind. The pace was perfect for the first mile (6 min), but very soon became
a bit too brisk for me. I finally let them go at the 4 mile mark as
they were pulling me along too fast. I do have to say though that I
sure do love the first 6 miles of a marathon. You feel great, all
tapered and fresh, the race day magic is flowing, then WHAM, you idiot,
you entered a marathon. What were you thinking? The misery then
overwhelms you. I made my way down the scenic Poudre Canyon
(Very similar to Blacksmith fork in grade only much prettier (and
greener)) all by my lonesome as I settled into my pace. There was
still a lead pace of 3 but the rest of us were spread out by over a min
before long. The canyon goes for 17 miles then abruptly the course becomes
hilly. There were two major hills that were not monsters, but tough.
After those, the course is mostly flat, but still slowly dropping as it
follows the meandering river. Anyway, back to the race. I
exited the canyon in 6th place and went to work to catch "green shirt"
ahead of me. He seemed to be coming back to me slowly. The only
problem was that my body was doing the same. I was losing it quickly
(as I had fully anticipated). I had strategically asked my wife and
father to greet me on the course at mile 19 as I knew I would be
struggling. They gave me my Gu and water that I was ready for and I
was off without breaking stride. That carried me about a mile before
the wheels really started to come off. By that point in the course, I
was passing the Half Marathoners in droves. The race had the brillant
idea of starting the half marathoners an hour and 15 mins after we
started so that everyone would finish at about the same time. The
problem with that is now the course is packed with halfers and there is
little room for the marathoners. To make matters worse, they made the
course along a riverside trail that just didn't have enough room to
pass. I collided with several runners as they "attempted" to move out
of the way. I was getting sick of yelling "on your left" and "make
way". That was my biggest complaint about the course. It messed with
my tangents horribly and I lost a lot of rhythm and momentum
frequently. The upside was that many of them were pretty good
cheerleaders for the marathoners and entertained me with comments as I
went by. Most were very complimentary quite opposite what I was
feeling at the time. I spent the last 10K in suffer mode totally
bonked and attempted to salvage what I could out of the second half of
the race. I did finally catch and pass green shirt at mile 24 but was
passed by 3 other runners along the way. I guess I should have gone
slower the first half so I would have suffered less, but I chose my own
fate. In all, I was hoping for a 2:40 finish time, but knew
that 2:45 was much more realistic. 2:46 is a tad slow, but considering
my lack of training, and abundance of injuries and other setbacks, I
will take it. I enjoyed the race and am glad I ran it. I would
recommend it for many people. It is aided, but still tough due to
altitude, crowd control, lots of rollers over the last 10K, and the two
tough hills. Still a PR course for many people. My foot injury didn't affect me too much, although it irritated me during the race and hurts pretty good now. I count that success. Mile splits/ HR: - 6:03 170
- 5:55 172
- 5:48 174
- 5:51 175
- 5:58 174
- 6:02 172
- 6:08 171
- 6:04 170
- 6:06 168
- 6:13 167
- 6:09 167
- 6:05 168
- 6:13 169
- 6:12 168
- 6:20 169
- 6:20 170
- 6:27 170
- 6:14 171
- 6:46 172
- 6:18 170
- 6:34 170
- 6:51 170
- 6:54 171
- 7:07 168
- 7:07 168
- 7:11 170
26.2 1:22 173 First Half: 1:19:15 (6:03) Second Half: 1:27:04 (6:39) Total 2:46:19 (6:20) 170 ave HR 8th Overall / 997 Finishers | 