Big Sur International Marathon - RunMarathon


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Big Sur, California
United States
50F / 10C
Overcast
Total Time = 5h 07m 24s
Overall Rank = 2356/3084
Age Group = F 30-34
Age Group Rank = 147/187
Pre-race routine:

Managed to get to bed before 9pm. Up at 3:45 am to get dressed and get to the 4:30 bus. We stayed at the Portola in Monterey and the bus left from 2 blocks away, which was convenient. Bus ride was uneventful. Drank some coffee and ate a bagel w/ PB and a banana on the ride. Arrived at the start shortly after 5:30am. Since it is a point to point, and portions of the road are closed, 4:30 am was the last bus. Brad, Amy, Craig and I got in line for the port-o-pottie and then found some space to sit and laugh about stupid things while getting ready.
Event warmup:

No real warm up. We took off our warm clothes and dropped them at the bag drop before heading to the start. Said good bye to Brad and Craig, Amy and I found a spot near the 4:30 pace group.
Run
  • 5h 07m 24s
  • 26.2 miles
  • 11m 44s  min/mile
Comments:

Started out running with Amy with Craig shortly ahead. A and I started with the 4:30 pace group led by a Clif Pacer named Star. She was fantastic - very motivating, experienced and made the first few miles fly by. Our plan was to stick with them as long as we could, knowing it wouldn't be for the full race. Star was a very energetic pacer who talked about her experiences - 107 marathons, 2 50k's, a 50 miler and a 100 miler. Quite amazing! Her pacing was spot on!

The first few miles are in the redwoods. There weren't any spectators and it was really neat to run and just hear runners feet. The trees were absolutely beautiful and I my goal was just to enjoy the day. There were a few small hills in the first 5 miles, but nothing awful. Around mile 5 or so, we emerged from the forest and saw the views of the coast on the left and the rolling, green hills on the right. I can't even begin to describe the amazing views. The wind started picking up at this point and would continue until the end of the race.
A and I found Craig who ran with us for a little bit. We ended up playing leap frog with him for the next few miles. At mile 9.2, I started my interval watch so I'd start my first 2 minute walk segment at mile 10, the start of the climb at Hurricane Point.
The road with rolling hills, cuts in and out of the mountain, so we'd get these amazing views of where we'd run from and where we were headed.

At the bottom of mile 10 were the Japanese drummers which you could hear as we climbed the hill. Earlier on the course, there were other musicians, including a harp player. Very neat!

Hurricane Point was tough, but not awful. The wind was gusting, but I just put my head down and ran. I continued with the 8:2 intervals. Amy and I separated around this point and we lost the 4:30 pace group right before mile 10. Ran over Bixby Bridge which was awesome. Around mile 14 was the famous piano player. Since I carried a disposible camera with me, I would stop and random places to take pictures.

I continued the 8:2 for the remainder of the run. The aid stations had bananas and apples which were awesome! I ate GU every 3 miles. My problem with using the flask is that I rarely take a full GU.

Stopped at a port-o-pottie around mile 17. Could have stopped sooner, but all of the aid stations (2 miles apart) had only 1 or 2 port-o-potties and I wasn't feeling like standing in line.

The relay runners and the walkers doing the 21-miler added people to the course, but in a good way. The views were breathtaking the entire time. Around mile 21 is where the camber, the slope of the road, started. It was pretty bad and I tried to stay on the shoulder as much as I could. My knees and ankles were really hurting at this point and the slope of the road wasn't helping.

There were more crowds as we were nearing town. There was even some locals that come out every year and hand out fresh strawberries. They were AWESOME! There was also a great rasta band towards the finish.

After the hill at mile 25, there was a nice downhill to the finish. I didn't have a final kick to speed up, but maintained a steady pace. I heard Brad yelling for me from the sidelines, which was nice to see and hear.
What would you do differently?:

I am not sure I'd do anything differently. I could have trained on hills more, but I think it would have only gotten me a few minutes faster.
Overall, I was really happy with my run especially considering the hills and wind.
Post race
Warm down:

Went through the food tent which was really organized (they gave you a small box to hold all of your food). Found Amy and Brad and refuled on carrots, pineapple juice, peaches and vegetable soup. Found Crag, grabbed our bags and rode the bus back to the hotel.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Hills and wind.

Event comments:

I think this marathon has ruined every marathon course going forward. I don't think there is a more spectacular course than Big Sur. Our 4 running all finished happy and injury free which was great.
Pros: the course, lots of volunteers, very organized, coach bus to start (instead of school bus), nice long sleeved tech shirt, very different medal, food at finish line

Cons: the port-o-potties at the start were a little bit of a debachle. There were a lot of people standing around and it was hard to see where the lines started or who was in line. Volunteers directing traffic here would have helped.

The pros overwhelmingly outweighed the cons on this marathon. If you ever get the chance, do it!




Last updated: 2008-12-21 12:00 AM
Running
05:07:24 | 26.2 miles | 11m 44s  min/mile
Age Group: 147/187
Overall: 2356/3084
Performance: Good
10:20, 10:02, 9:54, 9:56, 10:06, 10:18, 10:22, 10:41, 10:54, 10:31, 13:16, 12:01, 11:23, 11:02, 11:13, 12:32, 11:29, 12:07, 13:55, 12:40, 12:29, 13:12, 14:27, 12:58, 12:50, 13:11
Course: Course was a point to point starting in the redwoods of Big Sur. First 5 miles were through the redwood forest. Miles 6 started the run along the coast on US 1. Last few miles were more inland, but still along the coast with amazing views of the Pacific.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 4
Physical exertion [1-5] 3
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