#99- The Big Cottonwood Marathon!

Wow! I can't believe I have made it to #99! The Big Cottonwood Marathon is one of my favorite races. I have run it every year since it began 4 years ago and I still love it. It would have been my first choice as #100 if I didn't decide to go big and do a 100 miler for #100.

For the second year in a row, I decided to captain a Marathon Maniacs team and this year we had a great group. Fellow Maniac Brenda Ngozi Stallings put together her own team to celebrate her Birthday, so between both groups, the Maniacs and Fanatics were well represented!

I was on the fence about how fast I was going to attempt to run this. I thought I might try to best my PR, thus giving me an even faster Boston qualifying time, then after talking to a few ultra runner friends, we came to the conclusion that I should use this race as a training run. I already have my BQ for next year and with my 100 miler two weeks later, I just felt the best thing to do was not completely shred my legs. Well, that was the plan.

The weekend started Friday with a volunteer shift at the expo. Myself and other Maniacs and Fanatics gave back by volunteering at the packet pick up. It was a lot of fun as we got to see all of our friends as they came to pick up their race packets!

Maniacs and Fanatics giving back!

My good friends from New York City, Chris and Nicole Orbach came! 

Wilbert and Shatora and I having fun!

My friend Matt and I volunteering!

Following the expo, I planned a fun Maniac dinner at Romano's Macaroni Grill. Not only did we have a nice dinner, I brought back the "Project Throwaway" competition, where runners wear their best starting line throwaway clothes and the winner walks away with the coveted Project Throwaway trophy!

Our Project Throwaway Contestants

Pascal takes home the trophy!

We had a great turnout!

After dinner I went home and got ready for race day. I wanted to be at the bus by 4:30am, which meant a 3:00am wake up call. With 4 hours of sleep, I got up, got ready and made it to the bus on time.

The race gave me bib #99 to celebrate my 99th marathon!

I got to the start and met up with my friend Chris Orbach from New York and the rest of my Maniac friends. The race started at 6:45am, so we didn't have that much time to use the restroom, take a group photo, and check out gear before the gun went off.

Maniacs at the start!

Chris was looking to sub 4:00 on this course, but after a 1 1/2 year break from running marathons after the birth of his son, he was going in happy with whatever he could do. I told him to stay with me. I wasn't planning on going all out, but would also be happy with a sub 4:00.

Chris and I lined up with the 3:55 pacers and when the gun went off so did they. They took off so fast (which was understandable in the first mile of screaming downhill), but when I was 15 minutes for the first 2 miles and they were nowhere to be found, we let them go.

The 4:00 pacers caught us and I asked them if they were going too fast and they said the worst thing a pacer can say,"we are banking time". We let them go too.

Chris Orbach and I cruising down Big Cottonwood Canyon.

At about 4 miles in Chris and I had to stop for a bathroom break. I hate wasting time at the bathroom so I was not happy when after another 4 miles, we had to go again! We were still on pace but any more breaks, our sub 4:00 will be out the window.

At about mile 9 Chris had to stop again, but he told me to go on and he would try to catch me. So I took off and a mile later guess where I was? Luckily it was a quick stop, but I was starting to have flashbacks to last year where I spent way too much time in the restroom only to have a 102 degree temperature the next day!

Getting my fuel around mile 10.

Thank goodness I didn't have any more issues and I started feeling great! I did my best to watch my pace and not make the mistake I make every year. Going down the canyon too fast can shred your legs and once the course flattens out, you are spent.

Lots of runners having fun!

Just after the half, I came across the one of the 4:00 pacers. I like this guy. He paces a lot and is a good pacer. He didn't have his sign and his partner wasn't with him. I thought he may have had a problem, so I asked him if he was OK. When he said yes, I asked him if he was still on pace. He told me that he was 2 minutes ahead and was waiting for his partner to come back to him (she was way ahead of him). At mile 16, caught her and told her that her partner needed her to pull back. That was when another guy in the group said that she told him they were 4 minutes ahead! 4 MINUTES! That is huge.

One of my favorite parts of the canyon!

At about mile 18, we come out of the canyon for the most difficult part of the race. The course turns onto Wasatch Blvd. where we have a 2 mile hilly out and back. This part surprised me as I did feel as bad as I thought I would (something I attribute to not screaming down the canyon). I did feel it on the back end of that section and had to walk for a few seconds, but overall I felt OK,

I knew that if I could make it past Wasatch Blvd, I would be fine. It was there that we were about 3 miles from the finish with a nice gentle downhill to bring you in, but with shot legs, it is still really hard.

Running up Wasatch Blvd.

I made it off Wasatch Blvd. and caught up with my friend Mark! We were both so ready to be done! Mark ran a great PR! Way to go Mark!

I knew I was in the last 1.5 miles, but with my race brain, I could not do math. I knew I was going to run a sub 4:00, but was a BQ in the cards? I was not supposed to push it, but in that moment I knew I wanted to finish strong!

It was in the last mile that I caught the 3:55 pacers. I started with them and when I looked at my watch, I knew they were either way off or my Garmin was. I asked them how far off pace they were (3:55 is my BQ). One of the pacers replied we are not that much off. I told her what my Garmin said and she said, "Yeah we are about 5 minutes ahead." Me and another girl shouted in unison "5 MINUTES!?" That was terrible pacing and they really didn't seem to care!

As a pacer myself, I know that we all have bad days. This is why there are 2 pacers per time slot. There is NO reason to be 4-5 minutes ahead. The sad thing is the 3:55 and 4:00 pace groups are the most popular. People count on the pacers to help them achieve their goals, not run them into the ground. Pacing is NOT about the free race entry, you are there to do a job! RYR Pacers generally do a fantastic job, so this was not what I would generally see with them.

At that point I took off and headed for the finish! When I saw the finish line I knew I had my BQ as well as a sub 4:00 and tried to finish strong!

Coming into the finish!

My pal Robert got this great shot of me coming into the finish!

I crossed the finish in 3:50:07! The first person I saw was my friend Meridith. She is battling breast cancer and as much as she wanted to run the full this year, she had to drop to the half. I an so proud of her and I could not of thought of a better person to give me my 1st celebratory hug at the finish!

"DITH!"

Me and the Birthday Girl, Brenda!

The Bling!

After the race, we all cleaned up and headed to the Porcupine Pub & Grill for a post race after party.

Maniacs at the After Party!

After lunch I went home and crashed as the fun was to continue into Sunday!

I met Chris, Nicole, Other Chis (I will call him Dennis), Karen, Dawn and Bob for a fun day at Snowbird Mountain Resort for Octoberfest for a hike,food and fun!!

Chris and Nicole going on the Mountain Flyer!

Getting ready to take the tram to 11,000 feet!

Hiking down to the chairlift was a hysterical experience with all that wincing in pain!

Gorgeous View!

Chris, Nicole and I on the Lift!

The Crew at Octoberfest!

Let's Polka!

Going down the Alpine Slide!

This may or may not have been consumed by me. OK it was delicious!

Chris (Dennis), Karen and I on the lift again. Karen was summoning her inner moose...

...and literally 2 minutes later we saw this big boy and his wife!

A roller-coaster on the trail? THAT'S what I'm talkin' about!

This weekend was so much fun. Thanks to all of you Maniacs and Fanatics for coming to Salt Lake! I hope you all had a fabulous time at the Big Cottonwood Marathon and Half Marathon. It is still one of my favorite races!

See you all next year!

Pacing At The Pocatello Half Marathon

When I miscalculated my marathon count, it was clear that I was going to have to drop Pocatello from my race calendar if I wanted Arkansas Traveller 100 to be my 100th marathon/ultra.

I love the Pocatello marathon and was pretty bummed to have to drop it. Then out of the blue I saw a Facebook post from the fine folks at RYR Pacers that they were in need of a pacer for the Pocatello Half Marathon.

This was great! I have never run the half in Pocatello and this was a way that I could still run and help others reach their goals, so I volunteered!

My job was to pace the 2:20 group. This is a small race so I had a few folks with me at the start, but they were strong and left me about half way in. I was scared that I would catch them later, but I never did. Yay!

The weather was perfect for this race this year. Warm, but not hot like it can be in Pocatello.

I was staying on pace, until about mile 6 when I saw a marathoner in distress. She was walking, but she said she thought needed a medic. By this point in the race, people had spread out, so there is no way I was going to leave her alone before I knew what was going on with her, so I walked with her until we reached the aid station less than 1/4 mile away.

It didn't take me long at all to get back on my pace. In fact I made up a little too much time, but settled back on pace quickly. I still didn't have anyone with me, but folks would try to keep up or speed up when I passed them.

The only issue I had with pacing was that the mile markers were set out for the marathon, but not the half marathon. For instance, the mile marker would say "Marathon 15 miles, Half Marathon 1.9". When our pace bands are written for round miles, it was hard to know if you were on pace. I did the best I could trying to stay with in a few seconds, but did get nervous that I would have to make up all those .1's at the end.

Eventually it all worked out and I came in at 2:19:47.

I am already registered for Pocatello Marathon next year as they just rolled my entry fee over for pacing.

If you want a great Idaho race, this is the one! Best swag and post race food for the money! I paid $45 for the marathon by registering early.

Fun At The Fish Lake Relay!

When I saw a post from my friend Vince Massa on Facebook Friday morning asking for a last minute runner for the Fish Lake Relay (a one day relay that runs from Fish Lake to Richfield, UT) the next morning, of course I volunteered! I have been running so many of my weekend training runs alone, I jumped at the chance to run with other people and since I didn't have to pay, it was a no brainer for me.

I got home from work about 9:00pm, got my gear together, took Zoe out and was in bed by 10:30. 3 1/2 hours later the alarm went off and I drove to Orem to meet Vince and Nate for the 2 hour drive to Fish Lake to meet the rest of our team.

The thing that is cool about this relay, is that it is only one day and each team only has 6 runners. Each runner only runs two legs and each leg is on average 4 to 6 miles. I was runner 2.

My First leg was 4.2 miles straight uphill. It was cold (about 40 degrees). Starting at 8800 feet and climbing to 9450 feet, the elevation made is very difficult to breathe. This was confusing as I run at high elevation all the time, but for some reason I felt like I was sucking air through a straw!

That first run felt like a marathon due to the elevation.

Vince for the hand off!

Nate's turn to run!

Beautiful scenery!

The boys and I

My second leg was 6 miles. I was looking forward to a leg that didn't climb a mountain, but the 90 degree heat took all the fun out of it! I was glad to be done!

Nate doing "Blue Steel"! Ha Ha!

When you do a race with Vince, this is your food supply!

Vince lured me into drinking this swill! OK, it was hot as hell and I begged for it!

I meant business behind the party van wheel!

5th Place Overall!

This was a really fun one day relay. If you like beautiful scenery, no traffic and sleeping in your own bed, this race is for you!

Thanks so much guys for having me on your team! 

Coaching or Personal Training Can Help Jump Start Your Goals!

When I decided last year that I wanted to work hard and try to qualify for Boston, I knew I would need help. I would have loved to hire a coach, but that was a little out of my budget so I had to use what I had available to me.

I work for 1-800 Contacts and our company has a great health and wellness program. We have access to a beautiful gym with personal trainers at our disposal for help at no charge. So over the winter I decided to add some strength training to my running and for the first time, I worked with a personal trainer.

My trainer Suzy was AWESOME and she kicked my butt! Not only did I see results in my strength and weight loss, I also felt a huge difference in my running. The cross training not only made me stronger, it made me faster and I accomplished my goal of qualifying for Boston.

Just before my BQ attempt in Ogden, Suzy took another job and left the company. I had my BQ and with Spring in full bloom, I just wanted to spend more time outside and less in time in the gym. Well this was probably not the best idea with my 100 mile training taking over. If I could use some extra strength for anything, it would be for running 100 miles! So with a little over a month before Arkansas Traveller 100, I am back in the gym to try and get back on track. My new trainer Joe is great! He kicked my butt (and my arms and abs)!

Meet my new trainer, Joe!

I know a lot of people that have a coach to help them reach their goals. If you can swing it financially, I highly recommend it. Like a Personal Trainer, not only are they there to create a training plan to help you reach your goals, they offer the extra push needed to reach your full potential. 

I could work out alone and be fine, but it's easy to do less when I am tired. I need someone to kick my butt when I get lazy!

Coach or Personal Trainer, sometimes a little help and commitment (on your part to work hard) can help move your running to a new level.

I Am A Streaker!

OK, before anyone gets the wrong idea, I am not talking about stripping all my clothes off running around town like Will Ferrell in "Old School". When I say streaking, I am referring to a running streak.

I had big goals for 2015, so big some people suggested that I split them into two years as the training for a Boston Qualifier and a 50 and 100 mile ultra marathon are very different. I was motivated at the time, but I was going to need and incredible amount of motivation to train (basically alone), for such lofty goals.

One day I was on the phone with Houston Wolf (a fellow Maniac and Streaker). I told him my goals, and being as crazy as I am when it comes to running, he encouraged me to start a running streak. He said it had really helped him get out the door everyday. He said for the streak to count you have to run at least one mile everyday. I wasn't sure how I could do it. Then he said, "How long does it take to run a mile?" I said, "Well, even at a slow pace it would take less than 10 minutes."  He came back with, "Come on! You can do anything for less than 10 minutes!" He was right and the streak started 8/24/14.

It wasn't always easy. I was traveling a lot and sometimes had to do my streak run in jeans and boots around airports to get it in. The day after the Big Cottonwood Marathon in mid September, I ran with a 102 degree temperature. I only ran a very slow and easy mile, but I got it in. In late October, I injured my SI joint during the Marine Corps Marathon and for the next month, my runs looked more like hobbling than running, but I got that one mile in.

So here I am one year after starting my streak and what has streaking done for me? Well, a lot. It made getting out that door a habit. Even when I didn't want to get up early or run late after work, the streak kept me going. This led to better training for my goals. I wanted to run a 50 miler this year, CHECK! I wanted to get fast enough to qualify for Boston (something that I NEVER thought I would do), CHECK! I wanted to run every day for at least one year and be included in the United States Running Streak Association's list of streakers- CHECK!

I still have 2 goals on my list (running a 100 miler and completing my 100th marathon/ultra), which I hope to achieve on Oct 3rd-4th at the Arkansas Traveller 100. None of this would be possible if I had not started my streak.

Thanks to everyone that has encouraged (or put up with) me during this past year. I promise there will fewer selfies now! Thanks Houston for inspiring me to get on this crazy streak. I will always be grateful to you for that.

Runners Cheat? Say It Ain't So!

If you are like me, then you too have this blind trust that all runners are really good people. Whether it be by the obligatory wave as you pass each other on the road or trail or the offer of an extra gel when you forget yours during a race, I have always thought of runners as friendly, honest and trustworthy. Basically morally above all other people.

I remember doing the Mississippi Blues Marathon in 2013, when a man I had met on the plane told me he was also a Marathon Maniac and he offered me a ride to the expo. I would never get into a car with a strange man I had never met before, but I immediately got into the car with him without a fear in the world. Why? Because he was a runner. I just thank goodness he was only a Marathon Maniac and not just a maniac!

I did the the same thing when I went to dinner. A Marathon Maniac invited me to dinner and off I went on a 45 minute trek in a car through Jackson with someone I had only met once, but he was a runner, so he was a good guy right? Turns out both guys are now good friends, but in any other instance, I would be more safe.    

In my mind runners worked hard, were committed to doing their best and followed the race rules regardless of convenience, but over the last year or two it seems I have been a little naive. I have had the rude awakening that runners are people too! Yes folks, I know it's hard to believe, but there are liars, cheaters and unscrupulous runners out there! Just don't tell me there is no Santa, my heart couldn't take it!

Wikipedia sited quite a few unscrupulous runners:

• Rosie Ruiz was the first female finisher of the 1980 Boston Marathon, but her result was immediately questionable. In the wake of suspicion about Ruiz, her results in the 1979 New York City Marathon were invalidated and then her Boston result was stripped.

Rosie Ruiz

• During the 2005 Marine Corps Marathon in Washington DC, a group of about eight Canadian runners called Jean's Marines cut four miles from the marathon in order to avoid a time cut-off on the course. The team was barred from running the 2006 edition of the marathon.
  
  
• Roberto Madrazo, a Mexican presidential candidate in 2006, had his results invalidated in the 2007 Berlin Marathon. According to his timing chip, Madrazo skipped two checkpoints on the course and covered one nine-mile segment in 21 minutes (faster than world-record speed for such a distance).
  

• Kip Litton, a dentist in Davison, Michigan, has been linked to suspicious results in many races; his alleged cheating is the subject of a 2012 New Yorker feature article, Marathon Man: A Michigan dentist’s improbable transformation. Litton has been disqualified from races including the 2009 City of Trees Marathon, 2010 Deadwood Mickelson Trail Marathon, the 2010 Missoula Marathon and the 2010 Delaware Marathon.
  

• At least 30 of the top 100 finishers in the 2010 Xiamen International Marathon either rode public transport during the race or hired other runners to carry their electronic timing chips. Competitive finishes in the marathon earned runners points toward entries into China's highly competitive universities.
  

• After finishing 3rd in the 2011 Kielder Marathon, Rob Sloan eventually admitted to cutting the course by taking a bus between the start and finish.

Rob Sloan

• Kevin Goodman, a prominent Cleveland businessman, claimed to have helped victims of the Boston Marathon bombings after having run the 2013 Boston Marathon, but marathon officials stated they had no record of Goodman starting or finishing that race. Goodman’s results in the 2012 and 2013 Towpath Marathon were retroactively invalidated.

• Jason Scotland-Williams made news among the London media who questioned his result in the 2014 London Marathon. Scotland-Williams’s results show that he ran the first half of the marathon in 2:07:05 and the second half in 1:01:42, world-class pace for the last 13.1 miles. News sources report that he may have jumped a barrier or skipped nine miles of the course. He denied any wrongdoing.

• Tabatha Hamilton was disqualified after finishing as the first female of the 2014 Chickamauga Battlefield Marathon; race officials determined it was impossible for her to have run the last half of the marathon in 49 minutes without cutting the course. According to the Chattanooga Times Free Press, Hamilton said "that she completed the full marathon and the disqualification was a mistake."

• Kendall Schler finished first among women at the 2015 St. Louis Marathon but officials determined she had not completed the entire course and Schler was disqualified. She was also retroactively disqualified from the 2014 St. Louis Marathon.

Kendall Schler

Most of these folks were caught (or accused of) cutting the course, but there is one way of cheating that is becoming more prevalent and here in Utah, it seems like people just turn a blind eye to it.

Most of us remember the stories from the 2014 Boston Marathon when many runners forged bibs to get into the race. It caused quite the uproar on social media, but what I am talking about is running a race with a bib that doesn't belong to you.

Runners forged bibs to run in the 2014 Boston Marathon!

People do it for many reasons. A friend gets hurt and can't run the race, why let the bib go to waste? Want to qualify for Boston or NYC but are not fast enough? Ask a fast friend to do it!

This practice may seem harmless to some, but make no mistake, if you run under another person's bib you're cheating. I have seen age group awards won and prizes taken by people NOT running with their own bib and in most cases they are in a different age group and/or gender!

As runners and racers, we should always respect the rules of the race we are running. When we sign up we all sign waivers and agreements saying we understand the rules and will follow them. That means if the race has a no transfer/no refund policy, we have to use our judgment on whether we are willing to risk losing money when we sign up. Yes, it sucks, but if you are not willing to take the risk, it's best to sit it out. Running is free, racing is not. I have lost quite a few clams on races I could not or decided not to run. 

Some runners may have different goals than getting an award. I know a girl that just wanted to make the top 10 in her age group. How would she or others feel if she was edged out by a man running under a woman's bib he bought off a Facebook page? In order to keep the sport fair, we ALL must follow the rules, not just the elites or faster runners, not just when the rules benefit us, we should always play fair. I won't even get into the safety issues involved, it's just good sportsmanship to follow the rules of the race.

The good news is, a lot of races are starting to offer more liberal transfer policies so those who register early and find out later that they can't run, are able to legally transfer their bib to another person.

Here in Utah, there is a Facebook page in Utah called Utah Bib Exchange that allows people to post bibs they want or want to get rid of. The owner of the page indicates that the page should be used for legal transfers only, but I don't think it's enforced by what I have seen on the page. In fact, I saw a post yesterday asking for a 1/2 marathon bib in return for a 1:30 PR and people were actually supporting this behavior until someone called him out.

Saw this on Utah Bib Exchange yesterday. I wish I could say I was shocked.

This is the kind of stuff that gives runners a bad name. Come on people! Let's play fair and live up to my fantasy that runners are the greatest and coolest people in the world!

We all want to run all the races and races are expensive, but you risk not only cheating others (by skewing results), you end up cheating yourself by posting a time you didn't earn.

Ultra Adventures Is The Coolest!

So, if you read my race report on the Full mOOn 50k, you may remember the awful time I had with my Ultimate Direction SJ vest. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE that vest, but I have the 1st edition which does not have the adjustable sides. I dropped some weight (and women tend to drop it up top before anywhere else), so my vest does not fit right anymore. With both bottles filled, it weighed a ton and it bounced all over, leaving some really bad chaffing. I knew I could not wear this vest for Arkansas Traveller 100, so the search was on.

With aid stations at AT100 from 4-6 miles apart, I knew I would be OK with one bottle, but holding a hand held for 100 miles will not work. I got tired holding my little flashlight for 20 miles at Full mOOn!

I have also grown to loathe anything around my waist, so I really did not want to wear a belt either. I don't like bladders because I can't see how much water is in them until I am out of water! Thea also are a pain to refill. If only there was a one bottle pack or vest out there! Oh wait! There is!

In my online search for what I thought was impossible, I came across the Orange Mud HydraQuiver. This was exactly what I was looking for, but at $85, I wanted some feedback from those that had used it.

The feedback was good for the double and single barrel options.

Then the nicest thing happened. I got a message from the good folks at Ultra Adventures, a race company here in Utah that puts on the most beautiful and rugged ultras around (see my Capitol Reef race report). Orange Mud happens to be a sponsor and they offered to send me a HydraQuiver.

I loved Ultra Adventures before, but I really love them now. It warms my heart how the ultra running community looks out for one another! THANK YOU ULTRA ADVENTURES and ORANGE MUD! I can't wait to rock this at AT100!!!

Check out the AMAZING Ultra Adventures races here: http://www.grandcircletrails.com/

Check out this and other Orange Mud products here: http://www.orangemud.com/