I did an edit to select this as a race report instead of a normal running log entry. Ran the Pikes Peak Marathon, touted as Americas Ultimate Challenge. It didn't disappoint me. I had a great experience for the 3rd year in a row. Checking the data it looks like I was the oldest Texas runner, along with one other guy from here in Austin, both of us are 60. It was a warm start with temps about 60 degrees and at the finish about 90 degrees.
After doing the first 1.6 miles through Manitou Springs (starting at 6,300 feet elevation) we started up the relentless 3 miles of the W's. As I continued to check my heart rate it was bouncing at 171 and 172. It was basically in that range for most of the 3 miles of the climb up the W's which took most of an hour. I wondered if bouncing close to my maximum HR (174) would take much of an effect on the remining ascent to the top. I think it did.
My time at the Barr Camp (10,200 feet elevation) checkpoint was the same as last year at 2hr 1min. But from Barr Camp to the top (14,110 feet elevation) I could feel the legs suffering and turning to rubber. It took me 30 minutes longer to get to the summit this year than last. Note the summit at Pikes Peak is 2,361 feet higher than the top of Mt. Timpanogos in Utah.
On the descent from the summit down to the A-frame checkpoint (11,950 feet elevation) the legs were still feeling like they were pretty much spent. Note this elevation is 564 feet higher than the top of Mt. Timpanogos in Utah. Then all of a sudden the legs came back to life. During the last 10 miles of the descent I was able to finally put a push into the race, passing lots of runners and finishing back in Manitou Springs with a sprint to the finish line.
My target that I fully expected to make was 6hr 30min. My actual finish time was 7:35:47, giving me an 11th place finish out of 29 in my age group that finished the marathon.
It was an interesting race, because the experience of exhausting myself on the ascent and then finally getting recovery on the descent was part of what made this a great race. Sometimes you have to celebrate the race within the race.
The other important emphasis for me was that I had dedicated the race to my brother-in-law, Larry Caldwell, who has just been diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer which is inoperable. While I was at the summit (14,110 ft), I took a minute and found a rock that would fit into my fanny pack so I could carry it down to the finish. We are going to frame the rock in a shadow box with some of the race pictures and give it to him. I had his name pinned to the back of my singlet and a lot of runners asked about the name. When I told them about the dedication of my race to Larry they said to tell him that they would be praying for him. A bunch of great people running this race.
I saw several runners take serious falls, one runner on his descent 10 feet in front of me slammed his back into a big rock, saved only by his fanny pack with his water bottle. Another fell 10 feet behind me on the descent, so we stopped to see if he was okay and he sent us on our way. I tripped 6 or 7 times but recovered every time, thank goodness. At the finish line it looked like a medical tent.
A great race. I plan to be back next year and hopefully the polymyalgia rheumatica issues with the muscles will be gone and I will be back in form to do a podium finish like I did 2 years ago. But regardless of the time of the finish, this is an awesome race. I talked with a woman who has a friend who has done both the Pikes Peak Marathon and done an Ironman race, and she said the Pikes Peak Marathon was harder on her than the Ironman. I have never done an Ironman so I can't give any feedback on that one. As far as the body goes, the really good news is that I walked away from the race with no injuries at all. No ankle sprains, no Achilles tendon issues, no plantar tendon issues, no I/T band issues, no hamstring issues, no quad issues, no sore back, no sore ribs, nothing at all to complain about. I'm ready to focus now on some speed work and get trained to qualify for next year's Boston. I go in to see the doctor for my annual physical this week. For the blood test I'm going to ask him to give me a good reading on iron levels and testosterone levels, as I know both of those can affect your energy levels for racing.
To put the race course in perspective to the Utah runners, in order to get the same elevation gain (of 7,815 feet) in Utah you would have to start a race at the Purple Turtle in Pleasant Grove, and run 1.6 miles toward Mt. Timpanogos, then run up to the top of Mt. Timpanogos, and then imagine a 56 story tall building on top of Timp and you would run up all 56 stories. At that point you would be half way through with your race. Then turn around and run back down. And even this would be an easier race, since the start line in Pleasant Grove is only at an elevation of 4,498 feet, which is 1,802 feet lower than the start of the race in Manitou Springs, Colorado. Anyway this helps put the Pikes Peak Marathon in a perspective any time I drive in Utah County and look up at Timp. In Utah people get all excited to do the Timp hike, where they drive up to the 8,000 foot level in American Fork Canyon to the start of the Timp trail head, and then at midnight start a hike that takes all night to get an elevation gain of around 3,700 feet. The sunrise from this vantage point is amazing. I have done that hike with family two times and it is an awesome experience, but it does pale to the effort that the Pikes Peak Marathon gives you.
Next year is only 12 months away. Lets do it.
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