Get in the car, fool!

"Get in the car, fool" was my mantra for this past Sunday...Although I was signed up for the Lost Dutchman marathon, I had been injured and couldn't train for it. A 13 mile test run in January set back my stress fracture from healing. That's when I decided I would not run the marathon. Decision made. As my injury healed I started running "long" runs again, including an 18 mile run one week before the marathon. Still, in my mind, the decision had been made, as this 18 mile run was week 4 into training for the next marathon, in April.

The Lost Dutchman had a half marathon, but the course was lack-luster, just running out and back from Apache Junction. Toby pointed out that the best part of the full marathon was the first half, so why not run the first half of the marathon and drop out? My initial reaction to this idea was pretty vile, as DNF's in the running world are not highly regarded, but given some thought I realized this was a good plan. I could position the car near the half-way point the night prior, run the first half of the marathon,drop out at the car, then go check on Toby and Jamie on the course, and hopefully watch them finish too. That's when my brain went crazy. Could I drop out? Wait, with my 18 mile run could I actually finish? Did I want to try to finish on sub-par training? It didn't help that Mark Saxton was in the same boat, fitfully trying to make his mind up too.  What was worse in Mark's case was 1, his longest run (due to injury) was 12 miles, and 2, his brother was registered for the marathon too. If I thought Mark was having a hard time making up his mind, his brother Pete was worse, because at the start of the marathon I asked him if he was running the whole thing and he said, "I don't know". I am pretty sure that by race day morning Mark's mind was made up to run the whole thing. The night before the race I gathered up all the spare gels we had and seriously considered it. I worked through all the scenarios, but the final clincher was the car. It was already in place, and we would probably need the car to be at the finish. We'd get by if not, but it would make things more difficult, since we were checking out and leaving after the race. That's when my mind was made up to stick with my original plan, and in the end it turned out to be the right decision.

Ok, so race recap, here we go....The Lost Dutchman marathon in Apache Junction....an awesome marathon that should be on every marathoner's bucket list. Apache Junction is about 30 minutes east of Phoenix, and truth be told, it lacks charm. So don't expect much, except the fact that all the people associated with the race (mostly senior citizens) are extremely nice people. From the bus drivers to the volunteers camped out at the race start--all of them genuinely happy to be working the race for us.

The expo was small, which was to be expected, with only about 400 marathoners, along with a half marathon, 10K, and 8K. Runners got long sleeved tech tops, which were pretty nice.

The race is point to point, with the runners bused to the start at the base of the Superstition mountain before sunrise. As you arrive by bus there are individual little bonfires and carpet mats to situate yourself before the race start at 7:00 AM. I have to say this is probably my favorite marathon start. Very cool!

The race start was very low key. Toby commented that nobody wanted to be on the front line! So look for Toby on the race start photo when they come out. It did look like a lot of the runners were "seasoned" runners--some marathon maniacs and 50 staters in there for sure.

The race started without any fanfare, so peaceful and quiet! Really unusual!

The first 7 miles were on a dirt trail through the desert. The scenery was amazing. The sky had a pink hue to it at first, then the sun began its ascent. The air was dry to the bone and there was little to no wind. It felt really pleasant. I found running on the dirt required a little more effort, due to some traction loss, but nobody else complained about this. I am not known to be a good trail runner, so take that with a grain of salt. I just felt like on the uphills I slid a little. At any rate, I was happy to hit the asphalt. ;)

The course meandered through residential areas as it made its way to Apache Junction. The first neighborhood stretch was a steady uphill for a few miles, which surprisingly knocked the wind out of my sails. I really struggled at first, until I got into the groove, but I have to admit, the hilliness caught me off guard. Toby said it was the more of the same throughout the run, so be prepared for a hilly course throughout, not just on the Peralta trail. The neighborhood was really pretty though--still great scenery all around, with a few spectators here and there, some handing out bottled water or vaseline. Just all around nice people everywhere!

The car was actually parked along the 15th mile of the course, just as it turned onto the highway. Right before I got to the car there was an aid station with people cheering for me, which made me feel sick, as I grabbed a cup of water and walked off the course. It's really is hard to do this folks, even if it's planned beforehand, or even if you are sick or injured and it's the right thing to do. It is never easy! But...I did it...walked to the car as I took off my race bib (I am sure people were eyeballing me as a potential Rosie Ruiz). Off I drove to the 21-22 mile area to spot Toby and Jamie. I knew I was cutting it close for Toby. My cell phone alerted me of his 21 mile split as I pulled into position. I only had 5 minutes to spare! The course looked pretty desolate and not very attractive at this spot, so I seriously hoped they were enjoying themselves and not hating me for choosing this marathon!  Toby approached me and said something about "just surviving", and off he went. I got the mango Gatorade ready for Jamie and, while waiting, checked the updates I was getting on Mark. He and his brother had checked into mile 19 at a 4:33 pace! They were running the whole thing!

Jamie's image appeared in the distance, so I started jumping up and down. So cool to see your peeps on the course! She really tore into the Gatorade, said she was loving the course (whew), and having a great run. (I need to point out that after the race both of them said the last 4 miles were pretty boring). I made my way to the finish to hunt down Toby, as the phone told me he had finished with a 3:18. I found him sitting on a curb with white gauze all around his right fist like he had been in a bar fight. WTH?
He told me as he rounded the corner near the finish he whacked his hand hard on a barricade, slicing his hand open. That's when I noticed all the blood on his shorts and right shoe! Ew! What a gruesome finish line photo he'll have!

Jamie finished with a 3:53 and still had energy to spare, so we wandered over to the finish area to check out the food status. Just the usual snacks, some little breakfast burritos, but no fluids other than water, not even beer. Still, the finish area was laid out nicely enough. All in all, the organization of the race was great! There were no glitches that I can think of.

We had to miss Mark's finish because Toby had to go get stitches and we had to get ready to head out of town, but we all did meet up later to share war stories over burgers and beer. I was really impressed with Mark's run. He ran a 4:43 on no training on a difficult course. Zelda, Mark's wife, ran an impressive 10K as well!

Overall, it was a great trip. It was really nice to hang with Zelda and Mark, especially since they are from Arizona, and were able to point out a lot of interesting things about living in the desert. There's a lot of beauty to be seen here, and I'd love to go back and run the whole thing, so if you are reading this and want to run it let me know!