Juneau Half Marathon, Juneau Alaska, July 2022

 

Full marathon start

I really wanted to run the full marathon, in fact I've never tried harder, without succeeding, to make it to the starting line of a marathon in my life! I should have pulled the plug way back in June, when the weather was already causing me grief, but back then there was no way of knowing it was going to be one of our hottest summers ever. I had a game plan for battling the heat though! This time around I started using liquid IV instead of water and electrolyte pills, as well as Hammer Nutrition's Liquid Endurance formula. We even traveled to cooler places for some of our long runs. I did an 18 mile run in Oklahoma City, but it ended up being about 2 degrees cooler than Dallas, so that run was pretty ugly, then a 21 mile run in Lubbock, which was cooler, and finally, a planned 22-23 mile run in California. Since Juneau is hilly I ran hills, hills, and more hills. A shout out to Chad Costas for the Loving Hill sets. Those were great! 

I'm not sure what caused it, (duh, every marathoner says this), but I started having a strain in my adductor while running, which I managed with stretching and massage, but it got worse towards the end, so that's that. When I got to California I had to run! I had mapped out one of the prettiest runs along not one, but two beaches! It was 55-60 degrees with a marine layer for cloud cover. I managed to run a painful 16 miles, to cover the ground of the two beaches of course, and sealed my fate. If I had felt confident about my marathon training up until that point I think I would have been more upset about the injury, but to be honest I felt relieved. I was mentally and physically exhausted. I switched to the half marathon, hoping I'd be able to at least run that.

Ok so onward to the race! At least Toby and Jamie survived the training for the full, and Jedonna joined us for the half marathon, her first since her foot injury this spring. We went from record 100 degree heat and no rain to 55-60 degrees and intermittent rain, which was a complete shock! The one word that accurately describes Juneau is wet! 

The packet pick up was in a local store similar to an REI. It's a small race: about 50 people for the full, and about 100 for the half. The shirt is probably one of my favorites, as it's a technical shirt with the Alaska state flag design, and not cluttered with sponsor logos. Once I got that shirt I knew I'd hobble through the half no matter what. Sigh, of course I would.

On race morning the four of us drove over to the starting line to drop off Jamie and Toby. Jedonna and I would have to wait 2 hours before we started. Admittedly, although beautiful, the course did indeed appear to be quite hilly as we drove over. Jedonna said to Jamie, "It will all be over soon. It will all be over soon", as if she was going in for a colonoscopy or something! The bathrooms at the park were still locked, so we had to do a quick detour to the porta potties on the course, making for a bit of a scramble. There were no chips, so the runners had to "check in", where a guy manually wrote the numbers down in a notebook and marked the bibs. What year is this?

Can you feel the excitement?

There was no national anthem or music-just some rambling about indigenous people and then a bullhorn. Jedonna and I went back to the hotel to chill out before our race. Of course I had been ready to run since before dawn, so I was a restless mess. I made more coffee that I didn't need and tried to educate myself on Alaska by watching their local cartoon, "Molly of Denali", who, along with her culturally diverse friends and her Siberian Husky dog Suki, get themselves out of Alaskan themed adventuresome jams. 

So FINALLY, Jedonna and I make our way to the starting line to check in, listen to the indigenous people speech, and we are off! The course is laid out as an out and back for both the half and the full, with the full marathoners turning around at mile 13.1, and the half marathoners turning around at 6.55 miles. Having the full marathoners start 2 hours before us allowed us all to finish closer together, which was cool. 

Our turn!

It didn't take long for me to thank God that I didn't run the full marathon after all. The hills were no joke! We never ran flat! It was gorgeous though; a pine tree lined road with occasional water falls and little river crossings. There were a few glimpses of  downtown Juneau and the cruise ships across the water. It never rained heavily, just a constant, cooling drizzle. The temperature hovered at about 55 degrees the entire morning. And of course not a hint of sunshine. In short, it was perfect running weather! 

Of course the first person I saw from our group was Toby, running really strong, with our exchange centered around where the car was parked, then Jedonna with Jamie right behind her! I figured I had a good 6-7 miles in me, and I was right. After the turn around I had to take walk breaks here and there, and even though I knew I wasn't doing my injury any favors I couldn't help but enjoy where I was and what I was experiencing. I looked up and saw my first eagle! We later realized they were everywhere. After I finished we all headed over to the food, which I was excited about, because in the past they had grilled salmon. I had been thinking about that salmon on the run. They had a great spread of sandwiches and pasta, but no salmon! It still hurts to think about it.

Toby caught these pics of us girls finishing:

Stats: Toby ran a 3:21, and got 2nd place in the Senior category.

Jamie ran a 4:03, 1st place masters and declared the RRCA Master's State Champion (we weren't sure what that was all about, but hey).

Jedonna ran a 2:01 and placed 1st in the GrandMaster category.

I ran a 2:27, probably my worst time since I stupidly ran the DRC Half 6 days after the Marine Corps marathon, but they insisted I go ask how I placed. I encountered a guy with a lap top and a woman holding about a hundred tiny scraps of paper in her hand and said "never mind". Gee if only we had the technology...It turns out I came in 4th.

I was lamenting how I didn't get a chance to run the run part of the course that rounded the bend, giving a viewpoint of the Mendenhall glacier across the water, but Toby and Jamie said I didn't miss much, as it was somewhat foggy and most of the course was just more of the same-constantly rolling hills, with the steepest climb at the 13.1 mile turnaround. It was a beautiful course for sure, but could be considered boring at times I guess. No turns, no real change in scenery, an out and back can be mentally draining, no spectators except for a few family members, not many runners, and a bit of traffic whizzing by on the way back.

 I'd recommend this marathon primarily based on it being in Juneau, which was nothing short of a fabulous place to visit! Our remaining trip was over the top, clearly eclipsing the marathon event. Even if you don't run you must go to Juneau! Go whale watching, go out to the Tracy Arm Fjord to see the Sawyer glacier, go see the Mendenhall glacier either in town or along a hiking trail nearby! Eat the salmon. Eat the halibut fish and chips! Juneau Alaska is truly a bucket list place to visit.

Sandy beach at finish line park area