Big Sur Marathon Race Report

Well it's a week after the race, but better late than never. The morning started off very early as we had to catch a bus to the start. The buses left downtown Monterey between 4:00 - 4:15 AM, and we didn't want to be late. The long school bus ride took about an hour, and we were stuck sitting in front of these two girls that just wouldn't shut up. I was half tempted to tell them to quit down, but I didn't. I let them enjoy their marathon moment.

Once we arrived at the marathon starting line village it was time to find a place to sit, relax, and eat. I forced down about 400-500 calories before the start and figured I'd be good for the next couple of hours. I had a seeded number so it was very nice being able to warm up and do some strider's rather than being penned up in the mass of people. The start began with the National Anthem, a gentleman playing bagpipes, and the release of about 20 white doves. The gun went off, and I shot off like a cannon.

The first 10K of the marathon flew by. A good majority of the first part of the marathon was downhill, and I decided to take advantage of the terrain. Two of my first three miles were sub six, and I knew I was running on pure excitement and adrenaline, and it was time to back off and settle into a nice calm pace. I came through the first 10K mark sub 38:00, and was well on my way to a good race.

Around the five mile mark you pop out of the woods and can see the ocean in the distance on Highway 1. I tried to take in the scenery but knew I had to stay focused and on track. I maintained a steady pace trying to keep the flatter miles around 6:30 pace, the downhill miles sub 6:00, and the uphill miles sub 7:00. I used this philosophy up until mile 10. As soon as you hit the mile 10 marker you begin your climb to Hurricane Point. This is where I knew I would do my damage on the rest of my competition. I threw down the hammer and pushed it hard up this 2 1/2 mile hill. In 2 1/2 miles you climb over 500 vertical feet and people were dropping off like flies. I must of passed at least 9 or 10 people up the hill! Feeling good as I crested the top, the next two miles were downhill. Running sub six miles again I was able to make up the time I lost on the hill. As I came through the halfway point I glanced at my watch and it read 1:25:59. I quickly did the math, doubled the number, and knew I already had 8 minutes in the bank to go sub 3:00, and had a good feeling about this one! Feeling strong, I continued to run sub 6:30 miles on the flats / downhills all the way up to mile 19. The next five miles started to hurt, but I was still running 6:50 miles, and still under my goal pace. The last couple of miles creped a little over 7 minute pace, but I was running the race of my life. There were two guys that passed me at the 1 mile to go mark and I wasn't going to have any of that. With 400 yards to go I gave it everything I had and sprinted as hard as I could. The two guys that had passed me earlier had no response. The clock read 1:55:59, 18th place overall, 3rd in my age group, and even better, I PRed by 9 minutes and six seconds (21 seconds faster per mile).

posted by Chad Holderbaum @ 6:14 PM Comments: 1