Calgary Marathon -Boston Deja Vu!!

[Ken B]

There were two main similarities with the two events. Both have tough courses and both had good temperatures at the start but very sunny and hot conditions at the end. One difference was Boston has the hills in the last half and Calgary in the first half.
Prerace:
We were up early and had a good drive down to Stampede Park and were able to park right beside the start corrals. We checked out the stadium and finish area and then relaxed in the car. At 6:30 I was able to get in a 15 minute jog/walk to warm up.
The Race:
Goal A: 4:15
Goal B: 4:25 ( BQ Time )
The race started on time and we were off. The first 10K was gently rolling terrain with us crossing the Bow River twice and running through the downtown area. At 10K the route took us uphill. The 5K to 10K segment was pretty much all uphill and the 10K to 15K segment, although with a few short declines was also overall uphill. Then we headed downhill and had a quite long and steep decline. I actually had a slower average pace in this segment. I was getting hot and my quads didn't like the braking. Last part of the race was fairly flat with a few gentle inclines and declines. I followed my usual race strategy of using my camel back for hydration and taking a CarBoom energy gel every 10K or so. However, after taking my third gel at 32K, I threw it back up about a km later. This caused to switch from a 10 and 1 run/walk pattern to a 4 and 1 run/walk pattern for the remainder of the race. I encountered Habs at about the 34K mark and we chatted a bit. I was caught by the 4:15 pace bunny a short time later and stuck close to him before my 4 and 1 pattern caused me to fall back. I did feel better near the finish and am quite satisfied with my time. The belt buckle is huge and resembles one given to wrestling champions.
I met Mrs. Tortoise near the results area. The marathon results were delayed and finally they were posted. I was listed with 4:18:40 gun time and 2nd in my age group. However, I couldn't collect my trophy as a number of runners hadn't crossed one of the mats. I found out later that a number of us weren't originally credited with a time on the 20K mat. The times were put in later though and the official results confirmed my placement. I collected my trophy from the Eau Claire RR on Tuesday.
Official Stats: Gun Time: 4:18:30 Chip Time: 4:17:40 Garmin Measured Distance: 42.5 km
685/1611 Overall
491/938 Men
2/5 70+
This is an interesting race and except for the 20K mat problem and starting time for the 5K well organized.

Post Race: After waiting around for over an hour we drove to the party hosted by Turd. We enjoyed the company of Turd, Ian, Spirit, Habs, and Hammie along with various friends and family members and had food and drinks. It was a lovely afternoon.
Garmin Statistics ( In 5 km segments )
Segment Time Average Heart Rate

#1 27:59 143 gently rolling terrain
#2 28:20 145 also gently rolling
#3 28:47 149 mostly uphill
#4 29:05 147 some short declines but also overall uphill
#5 30:37 145 steep downhill to start and overall downhill
#6 31:33 144 mostly flat - starting to get hot
#7 33:32 146 mainly flat - lost some time while throwing up
#8 31:30 152 mainly flat - I was feeling better by now
#9 15:30 155 slightly uphill segment and one nasty uphill going through an underpass

Overall this was an excellent experience topped off by meeting a number of maniacs and seeing Spirit again.

[Spirit Unleashed]

I thought I went uphill alot!
Nice to see you.
Nice report.

[Dstew]

Great race and I saw the trophy so that is the cherry on top.

[HCcD]

Congratulations, on another marathon, Ken ... and awesome AG placement, as well ...

Surprised, however, that you did not opt for the 50K Ultra??

[Dstew]

I thought I went uphill alot!
Nice to see you.
Nice report.

I did not run the course, but one year there is even a longer hill with more elevation change. My buddy who did run it said the up was not so bad, it was the down and at the bottom his quads started to seize up and he still had several kilometers of flat to run. He could not do stairs for days.

It is also funny what you get use to. At one time I lived a half a block off the course at the 16 K mark or just about at the end of all of the "climbs". I would make sure that I ran the proceeding hills at least once every two weeks if not every week when I could. The first couple of times I thought that hill could blow up my race but do them about 20 times and they seemed so much more manageable. Having said that, at the 16 K mark there is a traffic circle and then a small "hill" as the road crosses a major road [Crowchild Trail] and I was spectator before heading off to do the 5 K race when I heard a 4:15 marathoner about my size proclaim, "pourquoi, WHY more hills" so your thoughts were shared by others.

[La]

You continue to amaze and inspire, Ken! Well done! Congrats on the AG award, too.

[Hammie]

Congratulations on another excellent race and the AG placement! It was great to meet you and Mrs. B at the expo and at Turd's.

[grimskot]

Congratulations! As usual, I am blown away by your race results. Thanks for the report

[Robinandamelia]

Way to get it done Ken. You never cease to amaze me. Congrats on the AG placement as well. Your overall placement is fantastic too. Nice that you and so many maniacs got to meet up as well.

[5km]

You continue to amaze and inspire, Ken! Well done! Congrats on the AG award, too.

Like she said!

[purdy65]

Yep!

I wanna be like Ken when I grow up!

Congrats Ken!

[Avis]

Congrats on the AG trophy and the BQ! You're getting to sound so matter-of-fact about these things.

[Habs4ever]

Way to go Ken. You are always and inspiration. I was just talking about you to my dad at lunch today. My dad is just a few years older than you, so I used you as an example of a person never being too old to be a runner.
Congratulations on the AG placement.
Wonderful to finally meet you and B.

[Jwolf]

You continue to amaze and inspire, Ken! Well done! Congrats on the AG award, too.

Like she said!

me three!

[bunsontherun]

Great job and really nice race report Ken. Congratulations on your Age Group win. You are truly an inspiration for all. Sure hope I can be doing that in my 70's.
Sorry I wasn't able to get to the meet and greet at Mike's afterwards to say hello.

[Tisha]

Congrats on your AG placement! I enjoyed your course breakdown.