Big Sur International Marathon - RunMarathon

Temps at the start we perfect. Kept on my arm warmers, gloves, and knit hat for the first 5 miles. Even at the start, I wasn't sure what pace I wanted to try for so I figured I would just wing it with what felt good. The start was great. Lined up in the "under 3:45" corral and had plenty of room to run. The first 5 miles is all rolling with a net loss in elevation. Clicked those off at 7:35 pace. As we turned onto the 2 mile straight away at mile 5, I ditched the extra clothes as the sun was out and the wind wasn't too bad. That didn't last long. Somewhere around mile 7, the fog rolled in and we hit a 20mph headwind. That hurt. Pace unknowingly slowed but was able to work a little harder and get back on track. There were points I thought I was going to get blown into the ocean! Up ahead was Hurricane Point. 2 miles, 550ft of elevation. The first mile of the "hill" was the steepist and my pace slowed to 8:10/m. The second mile was a little quicker at 7:50. By the top I was most definetly tired but not wiped out. Got some time back on the 1 mile down hill (plus we were sheltered from the wind a bit). The fog was starting to lift so we had some great views again. Hit Bixby Bridge (half way point) and felt pretty good and the watch was still showing a 7:39/m avg pace. At that point, I figured "screw it", lets try for a PR. The wind disappeared agaain until right around mile 17. Then is was a full 20mph headwind again. Ugh. At this point, my quads were on fire but overall I felt good. Never done a hilly marathon before so this was a new experience. Wind was relentless through about mile 21 until the Highlands protected us a bit. Through 22 I was still on pace for a PR but I was getting twinges in my calves and knew cramps weren't too far away. Loaded up with lots of oranges and gatorade after that. The Carmel Highlands were extemelly painful with the constant up and down and the tilt of the road. The strawberries and mile 23 were heavenly. Finally saw the last hill at mile 25 and Garmin was still showing me on pace for a PR. Homefree! Ummm no...at mile 25.5 as full blown calf cramp made me buckle and came very close to hitting the deck. I could see the finish but the cramp was brutal! I cursed and swore (quite loudly) the last half mile to the finish (they take your pic at about 3 different spots in the last half mile...those were brutal). I never trust my Garmin but looking at the race clock I knew a had a PR in the bag! That finally brought a smile to my face! PR on Big Sur? Oh yeah! Post race, I concluded that was the hardest thing I have ever done.

Quickly found my friends and got a quick massage, grabbed a bit to eat and chugged a beer. Had to return our friends rental car to the airport so we quickly took the shuttle back to Carmel. Soon after we got back, my wife was just finishing up her race (which she had an absolute ball running...she took almost 70 pictures while running). We then drove back up to Hurricane point to relive the race and then did some sightseeing in Point Lobos. Finished the evening wine tasting in Carmel! Perfect ending to a great day!


Nothing really other than the course. The 20mph headwind was tough and a little demoralizing at times (it wasn't the entire race, just certain miles). The hills were tough but that was expected. I was 10lbs lighter than for my Fall marathon. Trained faster and harder than any other marathon. On a flat and fast course, I think I could have flirted with a BQ time.


Overall, this was an excellent race. Well run. Beautiful course. Great volunteers. I had very few if any complaints. For folks considering this, do yourself a favor and spend the money to stay in Carmel. It is an absolutely awesome little town (Monterey is just another town...blah). This race is really all it is cracked up to be.