I left town at 4:00PM, which was probably a mistake with all the holiday traffic. The usual drive took an hour longer than planned. So I got right into the packet pick-up at the Clarion Inn (the host hotel), grabbed dinner at the race pasta dinner (which was comped for the pacers) and our pace leader Jim came in to give us the low down on the race. We took a few pictures and I headed to my Aunt and Uncle's house, where they were good enough to give me a bed for the night.
Got to the packet pick up and ran into a couple Yeti Trail Runners, Eric and Paige!
Pocatello Pacers at the pacer meeting.
Idaho is famous for it's potatoes, so along with a back back and nice long sleeved t-shirt, we also received a bag of potatoes!
My bag of Idaho potatoes!
When I got to my Aunt May and Uncle Dennis's house, I got caught up with them and got ready for race day!
Flat Angie ready to run!
Aunt May and I
My alarm went off at 4:15AM and I was out the door to catch the 5:15AM bus to the start. After the shortest marathon but ride I have ever been on, we were off the bus and standing in a long line to use the Port-a-potty. By the time we got in and out, we had just a few minutes to get the Maniac photo and the pacer photo and get into position to pace. At 6:15AM, we were off!
Maniacs at the start!
Course Elevation
The first half of this course is fast. You lose about 2,000 feet in elevation.
The sunrise was so beautiful coming over the mountains as we started.
At mile 13 we run into Inkom where my aunt's, uncles and cousins live. At around mile 16 my sweet Aunt and Uncle came out to cheer my on!
So great to run with my good friend Galen again!
My sweet Aunt May and Uncle Dennis cheering for me! ❤
The second half of the course is tough. You are no longer in the shade of the canyon, you are now running along some railroad tracks where where sun is beating on you and the course is a lot more hilly than the first half.
I pace this at an even effort and found this to work well for this course. I picked up a few people along the way and had a great time encouraging those who were struggling to keep with me as I approached them walking. I was hitting my splits within 15 seconds on the last 6 miles, but when there was no 26 mile marker, I got nervous and sped up a little for fear of being late. I went a little too fast, but still came in at 4:59:05!
This was a good though as a man I ran with for a little while was trying to break 5:00, but when I sped up at the finish, he tried to stay with me, but finished a few seconds behind me. He came up to me after and thanked me for pushing him those last few miles he hit his goal with seconds to spare!
The best thing about pacing is helping people reach their goals. I had two more people come up to me after the race thanking me for pushing them. That is a great feeling!
Crossing the finish line 50 seconds hot!
Another great feeling was eating the post race food. This race always does a great job. Sizzler was a sponsor so there was steak kabobs, baked potatoes, rice, watermelon and other good treats!
I started eating before I took this picture, so this is my half eaten post race food!
Another one in the books!
The swag!
If you want a great race at a great price, you can't beat Pocatello! If you are even thinking about this race, register now for the best price!
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