Marathon #49: Run4Troops Dubuque Iowa, June 2018

"Ray, people will come Ray. They'll come to Iowa for reasons they can't even fathom. They'll turn up in your driveway not knowing for sure why they're doing it"... "Field of Dreams"

Somehow I found this little gem of a marathon and decided this would be my top Iowa marathon choice, as I had never been to Iowa and got the impression that this one would truly showcase Iowa's character and beauty, as opposed to the more urban choices. To be honest I had no idea where in Iowa it was until later on, when I tried finding a nearby airport. (ha). Dubuque sits on the eastern borders of Wisconsin and Illinois, and separated by the Mississippi River. It's an absolutely gorgeous area, with lots of lush greenery alongside picturesque farmlands of soy and that famous corn. It's also extremely hilly! But no worries there, as the marathon itself doesn't actually run in Dubuque.

The marathon starts about 25 miles away in a town called Deyersville, as in the town where the movie "Field of Dreams" was made. There's a Rails-To-Trails limestone path called the Heritage Trail connecting the two towns. About 10 years ago some crazy runner decided running along this trail would make for a great marathon and they've been running it every year since. Technically, the trail head is on the Dubuque side, but Deyersville to Dubuque makes for a more favorable net downhill course.

First time I've had a course map on a trail marker!

The only recruits I could find for this one was Toby and the sister wife Jamie. Summer marathons are a hard sell, and this one is almost guaranteed to be hot. Sandwiched between two 90+ degree week-ends we "lucked out" with normal temperatures this year. Still, I was concerned because I haven't been handling the heat well, and at best I was looking at a long day anyhow, thanks to my lackluster training cycle. Still, the three of us travel well together and always have a blast so it was hard to get too worked up about that. Plus, when we got there it was overcast with light rain off and on; really pleasant compared to Dallas!

The "expo" wasn't much, as expected, since there were only about 250 marathoners and about 150 relay teams for this race. We drove out to check out the finish area at the trail head and it was gorgeous. A lot prettier than expected for sure!

The last mile of the race

We boarded the bus to Deyersville at 5:15 AM, but the sun was already rising. By 7:15, race start, the sun would be well into the sky. No rain and no clouds. Sigh...I finally ran into my x co-worker Richard in the porta potty line! It was great seeing him!

Big tank at the start

Richard in the line green shirt--Toby took this literally as I was heading in for my final meditation

Before we knew it, BOOM, a cannon blasted and we were off! To add in the 26th mile we ran out and back, circling a man playing the bagpipes and then got onto the Heritage trail and made our way east. There would be no twists or turns, so for the first time in marathon history our Garmins actually read 26.2 miles exactly! Anyhow, the three of us split immediately, as expected, and I told Jamie that I better not even see her ass at all out there! Toby and Jamie had really strong training  runs for this, so at least I wasn't worried about them.

 I ignored the race director's dismissive comments about the lack of water stops and carried my bottle, and I am SO GLAD I did! There would only be 5 official water stops, which were placed at the relay exchange zones. At street crossings there would be water as well, so no worries. Except that they varied in the craziest ways imaginable. Some would just be people handing out tiny water bottles, sometimes with the lids off sometimes not (an issue for me and my hands), sometimes paper cups, sometimes plastic cups (Noooooo!!!), and one time just a cooler sitting on the trail by itself! All of the people were so kind, but every bottle fill was a quirky challenge that was a bit unnerving.

Other things that I had concerns about prior to the race were unfounded. Running on the trail was awesome! Not rocky or muddy or too loose. It felt pretty forgiving on the body. The relay runners were nice and the lively exchange zones were fun to go through. Oh and the scenery of this trail was absolutely stunning. The trees made a canopy over the trail for much of the race, which felt about 10 degrees cooler than when out in the sun. We'd pass over streams on wooden bridges, sometimes along giant cold wet limestone walls, and sometimes out along open farms and fields or at one point a river.

I felt like I was struggling some on the first few miles until I remembered it was an incline until mile 5, and from there it would descend gradually for the rest of the way. Sure enough around mile 6 running felt a lot easier and I settled into what I thought was a manageable pace for the weather. At that point it was still in the 60's and I wasn't sweating that much, but about halfway through I started to feel the heat and slowed down some. I thought I was being smart, drinking a lot and taking my electrolytes, but before too long I was in trouble with the heat and started having to give in to walking way earlier than I thought I would. And so it went...Walk/run/walk/run/walk/walk/walk...

I can't say I was in hell exactly. It was too damn pretty. And in a sick way I was still "enjoying" being there. Nothing fascinates me more than watching myself and those around me go through the struggle. It's a mostly silent struggle in unity. A bizarre bonding or understanding. Some relay runners told the Gator guys that a guy behind me in red shorts was throwing up so they circled back to check on him. Moments later red shorts guy passed me. Badass marathoner too tough to kill.

So I finally finished with my absolute worst time ever of 4:42, which stings, I'll admit it, but I also feel like I've been handed another puzzle piece to figure out, hence I am undeterred from this crazy marathon madness! If I ever think I got it all completely figured out then perhaps I'll become bored with it and move on to a more sane hobby...like watching baseball...

My rock star companions ran  really impressive races!

Toby ran a 3:18, first in his age group and 11th overall.
Jamie ran a 3:54, third in her age group and 9th woman overall!
I didn't die and I came in 7th in my age group, so there's that.

I'd recommend this marathon with the caveat that the weather could be an issue, but if you don't have heat issues then go for it, because it can be a fast course!

Here's a link to some pictures of the day on the course:
https://run4troops.smugmug.com/2018-Run4Troops/2018-Run4Troops/

Oh and we had a blast visiting East Iowa!

LOVE these two!!