Mount Marathon Race - Run3 Mile


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Seward, Alaska
United States
Seward Chamber of Commerce
Precipitation
Total Time = 1h 10m 21s
Overall Rank = 129/327
Age Group =
Age Group Rank = 0/
Pre-race routine:

Warning. This is long, but Mt Marathon is a race I've wanted to do since I spent a month visiting my brother in AK in 1998 between college and my first job. Hiking it with him was terrifying and hard but one of the coolest hikes/climbs I've ever done, so when he me roomed it was done as a race every 4th of July I knew I had to come back some day.

To see more about the race see:
http://www.sewardchamber.org/welcome-to-seward-alaska/signature-eve...

12 years and 3 Alaska trips later, things finally worked out. The race itself is extremely difficult to get into. It's limited to previous year finishers and lottery winners. I didn't get in via lottery but K told me she was going to bid on a slot for me as an anniversary gift. How awesome is that? At first I was reluctant, knowing that spots had gone for $2,500 in previous years. I told her that was too much but she had confidence and said we should go and see what happens. My mom, Bill, Sean, Kari, and Jeff were all there and we piled into the gym ready to start the bidding on the eve of race day.

It was pretty nerve racking but it turned out due to some combination of the weather (tons of rain) and a rule change that will make more spots available via lottery going forward, the spots were going much cheaper than years past and K won me a spot!!!

Now I had to actually do this thing! They pretty much locked all the first timers in the gym and made us watch the safety video. I've seen safety videos. Probably dozens of them. I'm sure you've seen safety videos. Believe me, this was not one of those. They proceeded to show us 20 minutes of clips of people falling down a mountain, dodging rolling boulders, and other general mayhem. I was worried my mom was going to flip out but she took it well. Even though I was the only one running it had turned into a group event and we all funneled out of the gym wondering what the hell we were thinking.
Event warmup:

The race wasn't until 3pm the following day. I thought I would get a chance to re-scout the course a bit or watch the women's race at noon, but it was rainy and we were staying a few miles out of town so the morning just kind of got away from me.

The group planned where the best viewing spots would be and timelines so most of that was settled. I had thought a lot about what to wear but had not tried it out so I decided to start suiting up. I started with two pair I thin socks. I put duct tape around the tops just about my ankles to keep rocks out of my socks. Then I put on trail running sneakers and over top of those I added knee socks that had been cut off at the bottom to be used as arm warmers. I took more duct tape and thoroughly wrapped my ankles, shoes, and the knee socks. This made it so no rocks could get in my shoes and gave a bit of ankle support for the run down the mountain. I also went with a light pair of pants so I would have some knee protection and added some duct tape there as well. I added a neon green shirt so they could find me easier and was also rocking the mohawk Kari and Jeff gave me the night before we left for the trip. In the end I looked more like something out of 'road warrior' than a run, but i was ready.

The race starts in the downtown streets and heads up ~.75mi to the base of the mountain. There is an entire festival in town so we went down to get ready and walk around. Mom, Bill, Jeff and Kari went to the base of the mountain to see the runners come through. K, Sean and I hung out and waited. Some stragglers were coming in from the women's race. One woman was bloody and sobbing. Ultimately she was fine and it was entertaining, but it didn't exactly calm my nerves. I got a final good luck from k and Sean, took a final GU and lined up at the start.
Run
  • 1h 10m 21s
  • 3.5 miles
  • 20m 06s  min/mile
Comments:

I started right up front. I didn't have aspirations of doing well overall, but I knew I could keep up with the group on the roads and wanted to hit the mountain in the front pack to avoid the mayhem. The gun went off and we started fast. I was holding around 6:00/mi pace and was not running away from the group at all. Although this was just the warmup for climbing to come it woul have been considered seriously hilly section in any other race and these guys were flying. I was impressed. We came up to the base of the mountain and the crowd was amazing. Tons of people including friends/family cheering and yelling.

There are three ways to start the climb. The first is 'the cliffs'. Nearly vertical rock wall that is the most direct but the most dangerous. That's the route I took with Sean years ago and vowed never to go that way again. The second is 'the roots'. It's also nearly vertical but it's a dirt wall covered in trees and roots that you can climb like a jungle gym. The last and newest way is a set of switchbacks past those. I had never been on the switchbacks but with all the rain I was concerned with the roots. I am a decent trail runner and fairly poor climber so I thought the 3rd choice would be safest and even if not the fastest, wouldn't cost me much time. That turned out to be a mistake though. I hit the mountain in the top 30 and no one else went to the switchbacks. It was still extremely steep and the rain turned them into long slick muddy sliding boards. It was hands and knees, leaping from branch to branch pulling myself up. I finally popped out where the trails met back up and merged into the pack on the next section.

The next part is a long climb through tree cover on braided dirt trail. There are indentations from all the hikers creating a set of makeshift stairs. You just settle in and start making your way up. Making passes are difficult so it was better to set a solid pace an use this section to get your heart rate back below 99%. Once you clear the tree line, you pass the kids race turn around stake, and start the final section on the exposed rock.

This section is made up of loose rock that is still considerably steep. You can finally stand if needed, but are still using your hands quite a bit. The entire mountain section is around 2,800ft of climbing in a mile so it averages around 50%. Just brutal. This is also the section where there is a concern for runaway rocks from people above. Luckily there were very few except for one golf ball sized chunk that came rocketing down on us. People yell "rock!" and the guy in front of me snagged it out of mid air like a ninja and placed it down softly without breaking stride. It was insane.

I made a few passes on this section an began to push it but it seems to go on forever. There are consecutive ridges that give you the impression you are not that far, to only realize when you crest it there is another and another. The view is astounding if you actually turn to take it in sample. You can also hear the announcer and music clear as if you were down the block. Very surreal. It finally ends though and you climb up over the final ridge. The climbing is over!

You round a rock and a water stop and start the way right back down. It took me 50min to make it 1.75mi to the turn. Now I was time to fly. The way down is adjacent to the climb anf actually crosses over in the middle like a figure 8. The first section is a steep snow field and reason enough to make it through the suffering on the way up. You slide on your ass in uncontrollably until digging your feet in at the end before launching back onto the rocks. If that didn't bring a smile to your face and make you wonder WTF you were doing up on this mountain, you were not alive.

After the snow you jump/run/skid/slide down a gravelly skree slope most of the way back. It's fun and terrifying and painful all at the same time. It's also the reason I couldn't walk right for SIX days after the race. Several people came by me on this section so I probably lost any spots I gained on the way up. I ducked back onto the switchbacks, and although still muddy and messy, they were easier and faster since I could slide down instead of up. I popped out to the crowd at the base and pushed it down the streets as fast as I could manage. The crowds at the finish were amazing and it felt so good to get across that line. 50 minutes up, 20 minutes down.

What would you do differently?:

I am estimating I lost at least 50 and as many as 100 spots by taking the switchbacks. I hit the mountain in the top 30, passed as many as passed me, and finished 129.
I don't totally regret it though. It was the safe play for my first time and I was alive (and barely bleeding) at the finish so I think I made the right call.

Two people were not so lucky. One was taken to the hospital in a coma I believe and another man was never found. They last saw him just below the top, but he never made it down. They searched for days and never found a trace. Awful story.
Post race
Warm down:

Met up with all my friends and family and then went to pick up my tshirt. I ended up riding a mountain bike back to camp to shake out my legs. Felt good.
Followed that up with another amazing 4 days of camping hiking, drinking, boating, and general Alaska adventure!!!


What limited your ability to perform faster:

Experience climbing.

Event comments:

Lifetime experience. (I won't say "once in a" since I qualified for next year's entry!)




Last updated: 2012-07-11 12:00 AM
Running
01:10:21 | 03.5 miles | 20m 06s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/
Overall: 129/327
Performance: Average
From garmin: 1:08:06 3.49mi. Marathon lap1 18:28 (1 mi) lap2 31:18(.73 mi)  lap3 13:38 (1 mi) lap4 4:43 (.76 mi) (6:10 pace)
Course: .75 uphill on roads then 1 mile up a mountain and back.
Keeping cool Average Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Below average
Mental exertion [1-5] 4
Physical exertion [1-5] 4
Good race? Yes
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Good
Race evaluation [1-5] 5