Tecumseh Trail Marathon - RunMarathon

Ran the first mile in 9:20 or so (waaayy too fast) and the hit the 2-mile mark at 21, so we slowed down nicely. Hit the next few miles right at an 11:00 pace. Chatted a bit with other runners on the outbound parts while we were jammed up. Had the first returning runner pass me at 1:53, so the next 25 minutes was a lot of dodging oncoming runners on narrow, slick, trails. The first hour after the turn was me being the oncoming runner and then we didn't see anyone else on the way out. Passed my Friend, Carey about 6 minutes after I turned around, and another local, Beth, about 8 minutes later. Passed the last two locals about 25 minutes after the turn-around, so that was the nice part of the out-n-back. Ran steady as much as possible and walked the hills wherever I wasn't holding anyone up. About mile 16, my hips started to hurt, but I vowed to run where I should run and only walk the uphills. I've strugged in other long races walking too much in the last parts because I've mentally checked out. Managed to hold true to my vow. Passed more people on the return, a lot of them at the aid stations where they stopped while I grabbed a drink and handful of food and moved on. A few roared past me 5 minutes later, but for the most part, I picked people off in the second half.

Definitely happy with the "outdoor buffet" typical of ultras. Tried to drink a half-cup of gatorade at each stop and grab a handful of food as well. Fig newtons, Oreo's, chocolate-chip, pretzels, (the pretzel nubs filled with peanut butter didn't go down well...), freetos. Skipped the M&M's, bagels, bananas, GU's, and everything else.

Nothing much. This is the second-fastest marathon I've ever run, and with these conditions, 4:49 is an awesome time even for a slightly shorter course. Would I have run another 1.4 miles in 11(ish) minutes? Maybe...I knew with a 2:18 turn around, sub-5 was pretty much in the bag.

Got some food, waited for Carey to finish (5:02) and then walked back to get out of my wet clothes. Came back and watched for other finishers. Got in the car and got stiff on the ride to Indy.


I can't complain about today's race. I wanted to keep running even late into the race, and I did so.


Good race. I doff my hat for the race director finding volunteers willing to come out in the middle of winter and stand at an intersection or man an aid station. No complaints about the change of plans given the weather. I'm much happier it snowed the entire day rather than warmed up to 35F and started raining.

This is the quote on the top of the race bib:

"This is a humbling course. You think you're well trained...but this course is the ultimate test. 'Challenging course' is pure modesty."

And then finally, the last 8 people listed in the results got "VE" (Valiant Effort). Nice touch.