The only thing that really sucks about this race is that it's 9 loops (8 2/3 actually) but does that missing 3rd matter? Still a lot of loops and I hate loops.
Cons...
Pros...
So race start is 7:07 am which I didn't understand. Why not 7am or 7:05? Why specifically 7:07? I found out so stay tuned. The night before I rented a car: A Dodge Avenger. Scary looking car. My plan was to leave at 4:30 and get there no later than 5:30. As is, I left at 4:45-4:50 and got there a little before 5:30. Nice...
I get there and it's still dark. Very dark. A bus is ahead of me and I follow it in. I park and get out. I'm not really sure where I am or if it's the right place. I assumed that those people were all volunteers but turns out I was wrong. One of the things I learned from doing Triathlons and hitting transition areas early is to bring a flashlight. I use it well to find indoor plumbing as a facility guy turns the light on. Nice. As I leave, the bus empties out and it's all runners from the Sri Chimnoi's Marathon racing team. More and more buses pool in and I am so glad I got there early. HA! Turns out I parked in the far parking lot, the one not near the start/finish so I have a little bit of a walk to check in, and go back to car to dump shirt and stuff and back to start but on the other hand, there was a lot more indoor plumbing here than at the start so there are drawbacks and advantages.
As I am walking there are a lot of little bugs swarming around. YUCK! Hated it and was very worried about the race tho there was nothing I could do about it. Luckily, it was not a factor during the race. As the sun came out, they disappeared. As I was walking initially to the check-in, I started talking to some guy. He explained to me that Sri Chimnoy believed that 7 is a lucky or good number and that is why the race starts at 7:07. This guy is German and there is a huge German contingency here and even more of a Checoslakian (spelling) presence - I think there were about 150 of them...
Talked to a few Maniacs and got the "picture" taken. All the Sri Chimnoy people seem like they know the drill. A lot of them set up their own little aid stations along the course. I mean, we would pass it 9 times so why not...
Start walking to the Starting line. At 7:07 the race does not start but the RD speaks. Welcomes us, gives us some race info and a moment of silence for Sri Chimnoy. Whatever. Not my cup of tea but ok.
Made a tactical error. No chips and I wasn't that close to the start. I don't think it will matter anyway - still I was 15 seconds back from the clock.
Start running and learning the course. I hate loops but it is beautiful here. No doubt of that. Before I left the house, I remembered I can't count to save my life and grabbed the Garmin. So glad I did that...Phew...Nothing to stress about - just run!
A guy from FrontRunners passes me and I try talking to him. He's cool about that. We have a mutual friend: Tomer BenYair. Again! We run for a little less than 6 miles, then he drops off for a few. Later he passes me and says he's gonna do sub 9's. Go with God! He apparently used to live in the same building as Tomer and rode from Manhattan to be here so he's not pushing it. Still faster than me!
The course is beautiful and I am enjoying it. I get a text message from Dana and I actually call her. With the headphones and voice dialing it's no problem. She's shocked. Spoke to Boss man too (Gres) and later both Lee and Jeremy. Jessie has her last day of camp, Lee has a little bit of homecare and Jeremy is by himself for a few hours. It was nice talking to him as I finished the Marathon.
One of the best things about this race is that even tho it's (just short of) a 3 mile loop, they didn't cheap out. They could have done 2 aid stations. NO! They had 3 aid stations! Each aid station had water, Cytomax, Watermellon, Pretzels, Chips and M&M's. Two of them also had Coke. One of them, near the finish, also had Chia seeds and other stuff including Salted Watermellon. These guys were awesome.
The spectators were great even tho I couldn't understand all of them. Besides that, 2 older women were sitting on the side singing to us in another language, in another area 5 women were drumming on cans and using bells and singing again in another language and lastly there was a band (drums, guitar and another instrument?) singing in some language. Actually they were blasting gibberish which was a little annoying because I couldn't hear my music but the fact that they were there and their energy to us was nice. No not transcendence but if you ever ran a race and you saw a band, then you know what I mean.
All was going well and I enjoyed myself immensely except for the fact that on my last loop, at around mile 23, my knee started hurting and I had to walk a little. I was NOT happy. I don't mind the time but the knee? Still, ran a little with another Maniac who stuck with his wife who was having GI issues for most of the race. With him having to do 2 or 3 loops left he left her and so we ran a little of my last loop together. At 1 point, with my knee, I had to tell him to leave me but I kept my eye on him. With less than a mile to go and knee pain I took off, caught it him and passed him to the finish.
By the way, the course was mostly flat but there was a little elevation (more and more as you do more loops) near mile 25ish. The sun at 1 point also came out full blast and the course is shaded for some area and in the sun at other areas so you do have a mix. I used my sponge in my hat trick so I didn't really overheat. Still, it was a great course. I was so glad to pass the 25 mile marker and then the 26 and then into the finish chute with a little tiny climb onto the grass to a grass finish.
The website didn't mention a medal but it was a nice suprise to see someone wearing it around mile 20ish. Got mine and went to look for food.
WOW!!! Watermellon, cucumbers, hard boiled eggs, water, cytomax, peaches, bagels and junk food too. Jessie was very happy with the booty: 2 cheeseits and 3 variations of dipsy doodles or some such which I find disgusting but to each his own.
As I walked to the car, I saw my German friend from the start. I was done and he was still running. He cheered me on as I cheered him on. Nice.
Now the drive there took 40 minutes but on the way back it took an hour and 20 minutes. YUCK! I think if they would have left the race on thursday it would have been fine but we hit Friday traffic. Whatever.
Got home, showered and ate, then we went to pickup Jessie and from there to Alley Pond. No, I wasn't gonna run again ;) . Jeremy for graduation got a present from my in-laws a remote control plane. Perfect time as AP was empty and it worked! Scary as hell but the thing flew.
I recommend this race. CJR said he would never do this race because they drink their own "kool-aid" and did I ever google them?. No one bothered me, no one tried to convert me but everyone supported me. Nice!