Marathon #22- The Morgan Valley Marathon

Here in Utah, July 24th is a holiday called Pioneer Day. It is a day Utah celebrates the day Mormon pioneers settled Utah. There are all kinds of activities going on that day including the Deseret Marathon and 10K. I ran the Deseret Marathon last year and was really looking forward to running it again this year, until I found out that July 24th fell on a Sunday. Here in Utah, folks don't race on Sunday. I optimistically thought they would hold the marathon and all other activities on Saturday (that's what any sane person would do), but to my dismay, they the Deseret Marathon was held on Monday and I had to work.

We are quite lucky here in Utah as we have a tremendous amount of races to choose from, so instead of taking vacation time off, I decided to run the Morgan Valley Marathon five days later on July 30th. Fellow Maniac,Galloway Runner and friend, Kim Weddington had already signed up for the race and convinced me to sign up during our time together running Ragnar's Wasatch Back this year.

Kim was so nice to invite me to stay out at her parent's cabin with her family. Her dad Gary is a member of our Galloway group as well and is just a lot of fun. I left work around 4:30pm on Friday and made the one hour drive to Morgan, where I met everyone at the cabin.

The Walton's cute little log cabin we stayed at!

From there Kim, Gary, Kim's daughter Ally and I drove to the expo, which was held at the fairgrounds where the start and finish of the race was. It was a really small little expo and by the look of it we knew this was going to be a small little race. We picked up our race bags and t-shirts and headed back to the cabin, where Kim's mom had a delicious pasta dinner waiting for us. After dinner we sat out on the balcony and talked before turning in for the night.

The view from the balcony at the cabin overlooked the race course.

Gary and Ally were running the half marathon so they got to sleep in a little longer than Kim and I did. Kim and I were up at 3:45am as our race began at 5:30am. This gave us plenty of time to eat, get dressed, and hit the restroom before heading to the starting line.

Kim and I at the start!

When we got to the start, there were not very many people there. Kim and I thought we were the only Marathon Maniacs there until the lovely Rebecca Miller Steven showed up and introduced herself to us. She told us that there were about 80 Marathoners registered. The race director gave all of us some last minute instructions and the gun went off!

Kim is a pretty fast runner so we said our goodbyes and she took off. I started talking to Rebecca and a very nice guy named Keith (who we found out was one of the sponsors). The three of us had a great time running along the beautiful Morgan countryside.

Rebecca and Keith with our new friend!

I have to say, I am always a little iffy when it comes to inaugural races. I will run them, but I make sure I am self sufficient when I do (making sure I carry my own water, fuel, etc.). This race exceeded my expectations. Not only did the aid stations have the friendliest volunteers, they were well stocked. Temps were supposed to be close to 90 degrees and they were ready with cold sponges and these really cool little neck coolers that you could tie around your neck then re-soak them at the next water stop. We all took those things home!

Another thing I loved was the little golf carts driving up and down the course cheering and checking on everyone. The attention to the little things made this race great.

The miles seemed to fly by and before we knew it we were finishing! Rebecca finished her 91st marathon, I finished my 22nd and Keith finished his first!

After the race I saw Kim and Rebecca and I sat with her to watch the awards and raffle. The overall awards were so cute!

1st Place Boot! So Utah! I love it!

Then they started the raffle. I NEVER win anything so I was shocked and surprised to hear my name called as the winner of a really nice electric toothbrush!

My Prize!

We were even more shocked when Kim and Rebecca won the next two prizes, some really cute handbags! Kim told everyone to come sit in the lucky spot where we were. After the raffle came the age group awards. Again we were shocked when Kim and Rebecca took 1st and 2nd in their age group and I took 3rd in mine! Granted this was a small race, but I was still happy to get an age group award for 1st time ever!

Rebecca, Kim and I showing off our awards and prizes!

Before leaving we went and told the race director how much we enjoyed the race and on our way out of the gate, she ran up and handed me a handbag just like Kim's! She told us "you guys need to match!" Score!!

This was a great marathon and I highly recommend it! HUGE thanks to the Waltons and their puppies for their hospitality!

My Heaven! SWEET!!



The Hobbler Half Marathon

On Saturday, July 9th, the ultra fast Miss Lindsay Baker, Teresa Baker (my partner in crime) and I once again joined the Utah Race Pacers to pace at the Hobbler Half Marathon in Mapleton, UT. I was so glad when my assignment changed from pacing the 2:30 pace group to pacing the 2:20 pace group. I am not speedy by any means, but I knew the 2:30 pace would be hard to stick to, especially on a downhill course like the Hobbler. 2:20 was going to be a challenge, but I was happy!

Utah Race Pacers at the Start of the Hobbler Half



When pacing, it's best to pace at slower pace than you race. As everyone knows, anything can happen on the race course and as a pacer, you want to have a little wiggle room to ensure you bring your folks in on time. But, if you pace too slow for your ability, you will most likely go to fast leaving your group behind or just being inconsistent in the pacing. This was something Teresa and I (and the other pacers) tried to avoid and I think we all did a great job.

At the finish!

The Hobbler Half is a very organized and well run race (not to be confused with the Hobble Creek Half, which is a nightmare). The course is beautiful and fast.

The T-shirts were nice and the finisher's medal was great! Another bottle opener. I wish I had some bottles to open. I can only find Diet Coke with twist tops!

Nice Bling!

The Go-Go Girls and Ragnar's Wasatch Back!

On June 17th and 18th, I got the opportunity to run the Wasatch Back (for the 3rd time) with an AWESOME group of ladies. Teresa Baker had asked me if I wanted to run Ragnar with her team a few months ago and I jumped at the chance. Not only because I was dying to do Ragnar again, but Teresa and I were on the same team last year and had a blast! Unfortunately, due to some personal commitments,Teresa could not run, but signed on to be one of our required volunteers.

Our team would be called the Go-Go Girls. These ladies had it all together! Everyone had matching Go-Go dresses to run in, which were a total hit! Here are a few photos of our adventure!

Our van/truck! HUGE THANKS to Kathleen for letting us use it even though she couldn't run!

Getting a little support from Tina! This was the first of three up-hill legs! Whew!

Gorgeous Scenery!

The hand off!

After a long night (but we are still ROCKING the dresses)!

WE FINISHED!



The Utah Valley Marathon

On June 11th, a few friends and I ran the Utah Valley Marathon (well some of my friends ran the Half) and we all had a great time! I was a little nervous about running the full. I had a lumpectomy on May 24th and was hoping my "Frankenboob" would be healed enough to endure 26.2 miles of bouncing! I was also concerned about my training. I had only ran 5 miles in 3 weeks. I decided to go for it, but I gave myself permission to take it really easy.

Hysterical photo of Maniacs at the Start. The Porta-Pottys were just around the corner!

This was the first time in a while I ran a marathon not wearing the Maniac colors! This was my first sponsored race (meaning 1800 Contacts paid for the race), so I wore the 1800 Contacts singlet, but still sported the Maniac arm warmers and hat (I still had to represent!)

I have always loved this race. I did the half last year and really wanted to do the full this year. There are many things I loved about this race:

1) The weather was perfect. Sunny, but not too hot.

2) The Organization- This race is so well organized. I think it is because the race director is a runner. They always try to improve to meet the needs of every runner out there. From the packet pick up to the finish line, every thing was great.

3) The Course- one of the most beautiful courses I have run. We are super lucky in Utah to have a number of races with breathtaking scenery. Utah Valley is one of them!

4) The Swag- Nice shirt, nice medal and the gear bag was a reusable back pack which I really found handy. The Utah Valley Marathon also does something special for those who qualify for Boston. If you qualify for Boston on their course, you get another really nice "Boston Qualifier" shirt.

Patrick Finney showing off his BQ shirt!

5) The Finish- The finish line was moved this year so we didn't have to run that awful hill at the end! Seeing all our friends at the finish always makes the race fun!

Big congratulations got to Sue and Lindsay for placing in their age groups and Suzi for completing her first Marathon! Way to go!

Wow! Have I Been a Slacker!

Sorry folks! I really wanted to keep my blog up this year, but with all the life changes, it's been tough! Here it is over 2 weeks since my last race and still no post! Well better late than never! In this post I will fill you in on two races I ran since the Salt Lake City Marathon.

The Provo City Half Marathon- May 7th

This race was my first race as a member of the Utah Race Pacers. I had never paced a race before. Fellow Maniac Jonathan Crampton, started the group and asked me to pace at the Thanksgiving Point Half Marathon, but due to a Galloway commitment, I couldn't get away. I told him to call me next time he needed me. The following weekend I was called into duty with my partner in crime, Teresa Baker.

Just a few of us pacers!

We decided since neither of us had ever paced a race before, that we would pace on the slow side. Teresa paced the 2:20 group and I paced the 2:30 group.

Me in my official pacing gear!

We drove to Provo met the other Pacers and headed to the start. The gun went off and so did we! The race weather was great! Teresa and I both did really well bringing our runners in within minutes of our projected pace time. It was a blast!

Teresa and I at the Finish!

The Ogden Marathon- May 21st

I almost didn't run this race. As usual the Ogden Marathon sells out super fast. Then one day I opened my copy of Runner's World (the marathon issue) and saw that the Ogden Marathon was voted one of the best marathons to run. I thought this was strange that they would feature a race that had already sold out. Then I looked at the fine print and saw that they were opening up a few spots for Runner's World readers. Me and a few other Utah Maniacs jumped at the chance and registered. The next day all the Runner's World spots were gone.

Maniac Divas at the Start!

The Ogden course is one of the prettiest courses I have run. The weather was perfect. I started off a little slow but felt good the whole race.

The Ogden course is one of the prettiest around.

The downhill sections on the second half of the course took it's toll on my knees, but sucked it up and finished strong! When I approached the finish line I saw Bart Yasso from Runner's World calling out names as we finished. I ran over a got a high-five from him as I crossed the line!

Getting a High-Five from Bart Yasso!

The funny thing is I volunteered at the race last year when Bart Yasso ran the race and I put his finisher's medal around his neck. It was kind of cool to have him greeting me this time.

Maniacs post race

What a fun day!



Salt Lake City Marathon. Where This Maniac's Story All Began!

2 years ago I toed the line at my very first marathon at the Salt Lake City Marathon. I was pretty nervous because my longest run had only been 18 miles due to some pesky IT band issues and I was terrified of 1. not being able to finish or 2. not finishing in under 6 hours. My sister (having run 12 marathons herself) flew out from Atlanta to support me as David had to fly to his sister's wedding the same day.

The race was tough. The IT band pain reared it's ugly head about 10 miles in, but I kept moving forward and finished 30 minutes before the cutoff and I was thrilled. Who knew that 2 years later I would be a Marathon Maniac, running the same race, but this year it would be my 20th marathon!

I almost didn't run this race as I have already run it twice and I am not a huge fan of it for a few reasons. The course is not that scenic (for Utah) and it is a pretty expensive race, but I must admit I really liked it this year. Here is what made the race for me this year:

1) Meeting all Maniacs at the start. I love meeting new Maniacs!

Maniacs at the start



2) The weather could not have been better. It was a little rainy before the start, but it cleared up just in time leaving it overcast and the perfect temperature for running.

Me at the start

3) There seemed to be a lot more crowd support than in year's past. People in the neighborhoods really stepped it up this year!

Celebrate 8.8! This block was amazing! This family had cotton candy and soft serve ice cream for runners!

Even the little ones came out to support us! OMH! CUTE!!

I don't even drink, but I can't forget "Temptation Station". A staple at mile 21, this house serves water on one side and beer and shots on the other! Too funny!

Our Galloway runners got some love too!

4) I ran a Personal Best! I took 47 minutes off my first marathon time here 2 years ago!

100 yards from the finish!

5) The bling was really good this year. I have never been a fan of the SLC bling, but this year they stepped it up. The medals were really nice. The 26.2 medals were huge!

I love nice bling!

While who knows if I will do this race again, I am glad I made the decision to run this year. I had a ton of fun!

It's My Blog, So I'll Rant if I want To!

Now, if you are reading this you probably share my love for running, and running races in particular. The excitement, the energy, the camaraderie with our fellow runners and getting that bling placed around your neck at the finish makes the pain/expense worth it.

While there always little things that irk me during a race, like walkers walking 4 across or people wearing ear buds during a race then turning their music up so loud that they can't hear, but my new pet peeve tops the list:

RACE DIRECTORS!! ENOUGH WITH THE UNADVERTISED FEES!!!

While I understand that Active.com makes the registration convenient and easy, they charge a fee of almost 10%!

Here is what the Salt Lake City Marathon (and tons of other races) advertises on their website:

Fees
Marathon: $75 through Oct. 31; $80 through Dec. 31; $90 through Feb. 28; $95 through close of registration

But when you register through Active.com, the price goes to $97.75!

Now, there is the option of mailing in your entry. Here is what I found on their mail in form:

That brings the total to $95.00!

I realize this may seem petty to some, but when you do a lot of races, these little fees add up. Race Directors, in the name of all things sacred, if your race will cost me $97.75 or $95.00, advertise it as such! Why say your race cost $90.00 to enter, when it does not! 

Whew! I feel better now that I've gotten that off my chest!