Race Report: St George Marathon (October)
Through out my running career, folks have been telling me St George Marathon is the race to do if you're going for a PR.
"It's all downhill!" "I heard Bob knocked like 8 minutes off his PR" "So many people go there for their PR, the race is on lottery to get in!"
So, when we got in on the lottery, I immediately jumped on a Hal Higgins "intermediate" training schedule. I was trekking along with my schedule... all the while day dreaming about the moment I crossed the finish line with a sub-four time. I knew my PR was out of the question because I did that back in 2002, but I could at least redeem myself with a decent time.
Well... you all know Georgia became my unexpected hiatus... but there was also this new fear. Something I didn't want to put in writing. Suddenly some of my Running Friends started cautioning me about the course. All this thought of an easy marathon - it's a facade!
"Oh, be careful, the downhill really chews up your quads!" "Yeah, it's NOT all downhill." "Between the altitude and the uphills, St George is actually really hard. No one ever tells you that!"
WTF!
By the time I actually arrived in St George, I had absolutely NO IDEA what kind of pace I'd pull off! I was toggling back and forth in my head with paces because of all the different variables. It's all downhill = a 9 min/mile. There's an altitude change = closer to a 10:30 min/mile pace. People come here for PRs = now were at a sub 9 pace. Insufficient training = hanging-on-for-dear-life type of pace. And so, you see my issue.
On the day, I lined up... I finally committed. To a 9 min/pace.
St George is a wonderfully organized race! Even the smallest details were thought of! I mean, I can't go on further without naming a few "perks". A little out of sequence but here you go.
Perks of the Race:
At the first mile we knew. Our Cliff Shot Pacer wasn't doing a 9:10 pace (= 4 Hour Marathon)... He was pulling us closer to an 8:40. I started to panic. By Mile 2 I peeled off. Anyone doing Marathon will tell you, even an increase of 10-20 seconds on your pace will kill you if you're not prepared. And from what I understand our Pacer ended up holding sub nines the whole race... perhaps this is how St George promises PRs??
Solo now, I just plugged away at the miles. Soon enough I hit Mile 8. Mile 8 has just one of the hills no one tells you about. It's a mile long, steady climb. And right about halfway up my legs were feeling it! Worried, I started to think I was in over my head... I mean, this was just the beginning and I hadn't expected to feel sluggish already! Just when I considered walking to get my heartrate back down, you hit the crest and enjoy a long ride downhill. This gives you a pretty good idea of the race course overall.
In my head, I expected the wheels to fall off around Mile 20. Lucky for me, I really didn't start to crumble til Mile 22-23... by Mile 24 (just over 2 miles from the finish) I crashed. By crash I mean, more walking than running. And I cursed the stupid voice that told me that was ok!
You know what's the worst feeling in the world? That argument you have with that little voice inside you saying, "Walk!" Where you try to convince yourself that despite the pain and fatigue, you need to pick things up and keep going. You know what's the second worst feeling in the world? In all your pain and frustration, hearing someone who's trying to cheer you on say, "You're almost there!"
Advice to Spectators:
NEVER say "You're almost there!" As runners, we know exactly how much further we have to go. We are not idiots. When you yell, "You're almost there!" it's usually 2-3 miles out from where I need to be to finish. If I told a 5k racer "You're almost there!" at the start... they'd shoot me. In a Marathon... despite the fact I've already completed a significant amount of distance... I still have several miles (not feet, yards, meters) to go. So, when you see us roll our eyes or ignore you, it's because we hate your attempt to "cheer us up" (Well, we pretty much hate everything at that point) by telling us lies. Yes, we are crazy for signing up voluntarily for such events, but we are not stupid!
Alright... Things that suck about this race:
"It's all downhill!" "I heard Bob knocked like 8 minutes off his PR" "So many people go there for their PR, the race is on lottery to get in!"
So, when we got in on the lottery, I immediately jumped on a Hal Higgins "intermediate" training schedule. I was trekking along with my schedule... all the while day dreaming about the moment I crossed the finish line with a sub-four time. I knew my PR was out of the question because I did that back in 2002, but I could at least redeem myself with a decent time.
Well... you all know Georgia became my unexpected hiatus... but there was also this new fear. Something I didn't want to put in writing. Suddenly some of my Running Friends started cautioning me about the course. All this thought of an easy marathon - it's a facade!
"Oh, be careful, the downhill really chews up your quads!" "Yeah, it's NOT all downhill." "Between the altitude and the uphills, St George is actually really hard. No one ever tells you that!"
WTF!
By the time I actually arrived in St George, I had absolutely NO IDEA what kind of pace I'd pull off! I was toggling back and forth in my head with paces because of all the different variables. It's all downhill = a 9 min/mile. There's an altitude change = closer to a 10:30 min/mile pace. People come here for PRs = now were at a sub 9 pace. Insufficient training = hanging-on-for-dear-life type of pace. And so, you see my issue.
On the day, I lined up... I finally committed. To a 9 min/pace.
St George is a wonderfully organized race! Even the smallest details were thought of! I mean, I can't go on further without naming a few "perks". A little out of sequence but here you go.
Perks of the Race:
- Introduction to your Cliff Shot Pacer at the Expo
- Raffles held (one of the many great prizes - $250) for folks who took the early morning bus shuttle to race start
- Space blankets and race gloves handed once you got off the bus
- Coffee, Hot Chocolate, Water and Gatorade handed out at race start
- Bon Fires (lit from back of coral in the morning - preventing a crowded start line with everyone hovering near the front)
- Easy to find Mile Markers
- Mostly downhills
- Popsicles, Ice Cream Sandwiches, Ice Cream Cones at the (85 degree) finish line
- Hand towels at the finish line
- McDonald's Trailer handing out Coca Cola
At the first mile we knew. Our Cliff Shot Pacer wasn't doing a 9:10 pace (= 4 Hour Marathon)... He was pulling us closer to an 8:40. I started to panic. By Mile 2 I peeled off. Anyone doing Marathon will tell you, even an increase of 10-20 seconds on your pace will kill you if you're not prepared. And from what I understand our Pacer ended up holding sub nines the whole race... perhaps this is how St George promises PRs??
Solo now, I just plugged away at the miles. Soon enough I hit Mile 8. Mile 8 has just one of the hills no one tells you about. It's a mile long, steady climb. And right about halfway up my legs were feeling it! Worried, I started to think I was in over my head... I mean, this was just the beginning and I hadn't expected to feel sluggish already! Just when I considered walking to get my heartrate back down, you hit the crest and enjoy a long ride downhill. This gives you a pretty good idea of the race course overall.
In my head, I expected the wheels to fall off around Mile 20. Lucky for me, I really didn't start to crumble til Mile 22-23... by Mile 24 (just over 2 miles from the finish) I crashed. By crash I mean, more walking than running. And I cursed the stupid voice that told me that was ok!
You know what's the worst feeling in the world? That argument you have with that little voice inside you saying, "Walk!" Where you try to convince yourself that despite the pain and fatigue, you need to pick things up and keep going. You know what's the second worst feeling in the world? In all your pain and frustration, hearing someone who's trying to cheer you on say, "You're almost there!"
Advice to Spectators:
NEVER say "You're almost there!" As runners, we know exactly how much further we have to go. We are not idiots. When you yell, "You're almost there!" it's usually 2-3 miles out from where I need to be to finish. If I told a 5k racer "You're almost there!" at the start... they'd shoot me. In a Marathon... despite the fact I've already completed a significant amount of distance... I still have several miles (not feet, yards, meters) to go. So, when you see us roll our eyes or ignore you, it's because we hate your attempt to "cheer us up" (Well, we pretty much hate everything at that point) by telling us lies. Yes, we are crazy for signing up voluntarily for such events, but we are not stupid!
Anyway, running into the finishing shoot, I felt a huge sense of relief (and some nausea)! It was done! I waddled through the sprinklers, grabbed my cool rock medal, unwrapped a Popsicle and sat down to soak it all in.
It wasn't my best performance. But then again, I neglected to give it my best in training. Happy it was done, I waited for The Ladies so we could recount our war stories.
Will I do this race again?? Probably not. It was scenic (red cliffs) and very well organized. If I had trained properly, I might have gotten close to my PR. But at the end of the day I can cross this race off my Bucket List and move on to others... like maybe New York. My advice to those considering this race: 1) you should train 2) train on downhill but do not completely neglect any hill work.
Alright... Things that suck about this race:
- Word of mouth on this race isn't accurate - this race is NOT all downhill & is actual harder than you think
- The website and communications from the race organization could use some improvements: email communications were more tailored to locals regarding clinics leading up to the race & race results were hard to find on the website
- Well... I knew what I was getting into with the race being in Utah, but no beer garden :(
- Apparently there is an altitude change... I was not affected, but some folks have been
- Lottery to get in
- T-Shirts kind of sucked and were sized extremely small
- Only 3 Port-a-Potties per mile on the course
- Water only every other mile
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