My DH and I decided to go to Eugene last year after a kind of cr@ppy marathon year for me in 2012 (a DNF in Vancouver, a less-than-great Calgary Marathon do-over, and the NYC marathon debacle in November). Nice place, nice weather, and we could go on our own while the kids had a great weekend with their grandparents? Easy decision!
First, I’ll say if you’re looking to travel to a marathon, seriously consider going to Eugene. This is an incredibly well organized, well run race. The city is small, funky, fun... and they love running! They seem to think of every single detail. Package pickup was smooth and fast, and they let you try on and change shirts at the expo. Our hotel (one of the official race hotels) was very nice and low key, and had a great hot tub that we took advantage of after the race. On race day, the shuttles were fast and frequent both before and after the race. The course is planned out to minimize congestion, so that the first 10 miles or so is on roads when the half and full are together, then split once we got onto the narrower river path. I was right in the middle of the pack, and never felt crowded. On the pathway, all cracks in the concrete had been sprayed white so runners wouldn’t trip – over 16 miles of pathway! And finally, all the water stations and gel stations were well planned and staffed, with someone on a bullhorn shouting where to go for water or Gatorade. At the gel stations, massive flags were out to mark which flavours were available at which tables to minimize congestion. Oh, and race volunteers handing out bananas in gorilla costumes was pretty cool too.
Saturday we got up and went to watch the 5k. The race sponsor is a local pancake mix company, so they get a local speedster to run the 5k... in a pancake costume! If you beat Flap Jack to the finish, you win a year’s supply of pancake mix (4x10lb bags plus a phone number for more when you run out). This year, Flap Jack turned in a blistering 17:05 5k time, and only 4 runners beat him. He might have broken 17 minutes, but he stopped to high five all the spectators along the track before the finish! Some Flap Jack photos:
On Sunday we were up at 5:00, had breakfast and got dressed, then down to the parking lot for the shuttle bus. A 10 minute bus ride got us down to the U of O and the start line. Lined up for the portapotties, then found our corrals. Kissed my DH goodbye and lined up between the 3:45 and 4:00 pacers. Anthem, moment of silence… and then we were off!
The first 8 miles are a loop of some neighbourhoods that brings you back to Hayward Field. Nothing stunning about the scenery here, but lots of people out cheering (my favourite sign of the day – “The end is FAR!”) along the course. Highlights along this section: the ukulele band at the Montessori school; the guy inexplicably wearing a toga and waving a huge inflatable dinosaur; the older man playing accordion on his driveway; and the water/banana station with the gorillas at mile 8. Supposedly there are 2 hills in this section, but I only remember 1! One longish hill at mile 8, but not too bad. It’s also right through the middle of lots of student housing, so lots of people out on balconies and in yards making noise to get you up the hill. A few more miles took us past Hayward Field and out to the river pathways where we split off from the half marathon. I was feeling good at this point; I felt like I was keeping my pace steady and relatively easy, which was my goal.
At the halfway point. I was still feeling good. I was starting to feel like things were getting a little bit harder, which was par for the course. Thankfully, the course was also getting much more scenic, winding along the north side of the Willamette river. I ran past my hotel at mile 18 (not tempted to stop!), knowing that the turn around back towards the finish line was at mile 20. Here, we passed the firefighters' bagpipe band, then the "unofficial" donut station. The "unofficial" beer station was at mile 23, with beer being handed out by men dressed up like fairies in tutus. I'm fairly certain I wasn't hallucinating
I wasn't that overheated.Two things started to slow me down after the 20 mile mark; one, it was getting HOT. 23C and 50% humidity. It had been overcast all morning, but now the sun was coming out and I could really feel it. Two, I finally had to stop at a portapotty. After 17 miles of needing to but not wanting to stop, I gave in! I knew I’d need to drink a lot in the last 6 miles because I was getting very thirsty, so there was no avoiding a stop. I had a hard time getting going again – my legs were feeling a little rubbery and picking up the pace again felt awkward. I did admire the shirt of one woman in front of me at this point - it said across the back "ask your doctor if getting off your @ss and going for a run is right for you"
.I knew my pace had slowed down after mile 21, and I took longer walk breaks through the water stations. I was drinking 2 cups at a time and dumping another one on my head, but still feeling hot and thirsty. Between miles 22 and 25, I took 3 extra walk breaks outside of the water stations, but all of them short ones. Just before mile 25, I decided to suck it up and just keep going for the remainder of the race. My legs felt like jello, and I could feel my hamstrings starting to suggest that they might be cramping up in the near future if the rest of me kept this foolishness up. It was too late in the race for the complaint department to be open, so I just kept going. Turned off the river path onto the road and ran through all the corrals where we had started hours ago – so close! Straight ahead, then made a right turn under the gate that says “Hayward Field” to get into the stadium and onto the track. 200m around the track and done! I gave in to the cramping and just lay on the ground until they passed, then shuffled back to the buses and my hotel.
I didn’t wear a watch or garmin for this race – I’m trying to learn how to pace myself better by relying on effort. I had a good idea of how fast I was going and when I started to slow down. As I was running through the last 800m or so, I estimated that I’d be slower than 3:55 but faster than 4:00, and my 3:57:14 put me pretty much right in the middle of those! I’m very happy with how I paced this one – I was very steady until miles 20-21. Even then, it was mostly the temperature that was getting to me, and not that horrible exhausted feeling that leaves you despairing of ever getting to the finish line. The fact that it’s Wednesday and I'm still gingerly going up and down stairs tells me that I gave it the best effort I could, and I’m happy with that. I think I enjoyed this one more than my previous 2 marathons, which mattered a lot to me. My DH also had a great day - he took 6 1/2 min off his half marathon PB and also had a great time. We've both patched things up with Running
. We might be double dating again for a while!My splits:
5k 27:30 8:52 min/mile
10k 54:08 8:43 min/mile
Half 1:54:27 8:45 min/mile
20 miles 2:55:39 8:47 min/mile
Finish 3:57:14 9:03 min/mile
Good job!
