In search of old age PRs

Ragnar Northwest Passage Relay

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Location:

Salt Lake City,UT,USA

Member Since:

Sep 25, 2007

Gender:

Male

Goal Type:

Marathon Finish

Running Accomplishments:

All running accomplishments are Post Teenage Years:

17:06 5K--Murray 2014

16:58 5K (aided)--Running of the Leopards 2010

34:41--10K Deseret News 2018 (aided)

1:16--(aided) Hobble Creek Half 2009

2:43--St. George Marathon 2012

Short-Term Running Goals:

Sub 2:50 Ogden Marathon

Sub 17:00 at Draper 5K

Long-Term Running Goals:

Sub 2:40 Marathon

 

Personal:

Married to Elizabeth (she got me running in 2003). We have three boys, Lucas (12) , Sam (8) and Ollie (5).

Many years ago, I read that the AVERAGE male is capable of a 2:40 marathon.  I decided to test that theory.  I began running in 2003 with Top of Utah as my first marathon (4:24).  I need 3 more minutes.

"Life is short...running makes it seem longer."--Baron Hansen

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Miles:This week: 0.00 Month: 0.00 Year: 0.00
Total Distance
30.00
Total Distance
10.00

Run in PQ canyon.

Comments(2)
Race: Ragnar Northwest Passage Relay (17.7 Miles) 01:54:01, Place overall: 2, Place in age division: 1
Total Distance
20.00

 

Wow, so I wrote a really detailed race account, but it freaking disappeared when I clicked submit...arrgghh!  I will try again, but shorter version:

I ran the relay with the following guys.  I encourage you to read their blogs for more details:

Cody Draper (http://cody.fastrunningblog.com)
David Nelson (http://nelson.fastrunningblog.com)
Dale Marchard (http://dale.fastrunningblog.com)
Craig Green (http://craig.fastrunningblog.com)
Andy Browning (http://andyb.fastrunningblog.com)
Matt Rowley (http://mattrow.fastrunningblog.com)
Aaron Shakow (http://aaron.fastrunningblog.com)
Tim Sturm (needs to join the blog)

I met up with Andy and Craig at the SEATAC airport late Friday morning.  We rented the van, bought way too much food and drove up to the first major exchange.  We would be picking up our fourth van member at Leg 12 (David) when he arrived after work.  The relay is generally a 12 person race, but we were going with 9.  Van 2 (my van) only had four members, so we would all run an additional leg (total of 4) then two lucky souls would run a 5th leg.  The first exchange went smoothly, but Dale informed us an off-roading incident (see his blog), but we remained on track.  Van 1 was actually several minutes ahead of schedule and put the pressure on us to keep it up.

My first leg (#9) was a rural road run next to Lake Samish.  The area was heavily wooded, so my Garmin had tracking issues.  The course began with a nice downhill before flattening out with small rollers.  On Wednesday night, I dropped a recycling bin on my large left toe.  It had major bruising and a nasty blister under the toe.  My wife recommended I go and get it "drilled" but I didn't have the courage.  I decided to "ignore it." I was worried about the race, but there was no way a toe injury was going to stop me from running the relay.   I did not put on shoes until minutes before my leg began.  I wrapped and taped it hoping my nail would stay on and off I went.  The first 1.5 miles was painful, but the toe went numb and my gait felt better.  I ran the 5.9 miles in 35:11 at a 5:58 pace.  

My next leg was a combo (#21 & #22).  The course was a trail along the water in Anacortes, then turning uphill into town before traveling down Hwy 20 toward Alexander Beach.  I received the exchange about 1:45 AM and felt pretty good.  The toe went numb again before the first major climb at mile 2.  The climb dropped off after another 1.5 miles before beginning a more gradual climb down the major highway.  These two legs are where I ran into the most runners/teams.  I passed about 20-25 runners on this stretch.  I ran the 7.0 miles in 46:03 at a 6:36 pace. 

My last leg was #33.  It was a small downhill followed by two major climbs.  The run was on Smugglers Cove Road next to Admiralty Inlet.  I will be happy if I never see this road again!  My body began to shut-down on this run.  I went into marathon survival mode.  There were 7 teams in front of us at this point, so I still had some visible motivation.  Once again, the toe went numb after mile 2.  I was able to run down three more teams during this leg.  I ran the 4.9 miles in 32:43 at a 6:45 pace.    

Our team finished in 20:31:02.  Almost 30 minutes ahead of schedule.  We hung around to see if we would be the overall winners.  There was a 6-man ultra team that started 1.5 hours after us.  This gave them the advantage of knowing our finish time.  They stepped up their pace and beat us by 6 minutes.

We had a great team that ran with a lot of heart.  Everyone was a positive and strong runner.  I would love to run another race with these guys, but only if we have 12 people!  Props to the Ragnar staff and volunteers.  This was an incredible course.  I strongly encourage everyone to run this race for the scenery alone!


Comments(7)
Total Distance
30.00
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