Missoula Marathon Race #6

Missoula, Montana
Sunday, July 12, 2015
Time: 4:25:05
Overall Place: 484/1016

The Missoula Marathon was the sixth stop on the runedrun marathon journey.  I was looking forward to this marathon as it was going to be very different then a lot of marathons I have run.  Heidi and I were planning on meeting Wendy, our middle daughter and her husband Paul, in Missoula where both Wendy and Heidi were going to run the half marathon.  When we were finished running the event, I was looking forward in meeting my sister and her husband in Airdrie, Alberta where Wendy lives.  We had a lot to look forward to.

We began our journey on Thursday July 9 and were planning to drive to Miles City, Montana.  Our plan was to find a campground and pitch a tent rather than stay at a hotel.  You have to understand here that we are not big tenting people, but we did this for two reasons.  We actually really do enjoy tenting, under ideal conditions, and we wanted to save some money.  We arrived at a KOA at about 9:00 in the evening and found a spot to pitch our tent.  The weather was great and we had a very restful night.  It was truly a successful experience.  The next morning we got up and had our breakfast of cereal.  We packed up our tent and left for Missoula which was just another seven hours drive.  Montana is a beautiful state and we enjoyed the drive very much.

We arrived at our hotel at around 3:00 in the afternoon to some nice warm temperatures and checked in.  Our plan was to stay in a tent the first night on the way to Missoula and then in a hotel with Wendy and Paul.  They arrived a few hours later after a very scenic drive from Airdrie, Alberta.  They decided to take the more enjoyable route through BC which was a little longer.  Okay, Wendy programmed scenic route instead of shortest route into the GPS.  We had a great evening eating out for supper and then we drove to the downtown area and found a great little ice cream stand called the Big Dipper Ice cream, also known as the BDI, just like in Winnipeg.



The next morning, which was Saturday, we headed down to the race bib pickup area and expo.  It was raining all morning which was great for the local area since they had not seen rain since February.  We knew that the weather was going to be nice the next day so no big deal.  Even though the expo was outside, it was under tents.  It wasn’t a big expo, but still very nicely done.  One of my goals for the day was to meet two people that were featured at this marathon. 

Jeff Galloway

The first was Jeff Galloway who was an Olympian and a well know trainer, known for the walk run program.   I had the privilege in meeting him and he autographed a book for me.  The other personality was a runner by the name of Dick Beardsley who is from Minnesota.  Dick began running in his later teens and eventually ended up running in the Boston Marathon and placing second in a very famous battle to the finish.  Both speakers are still active runners and run in the masters categories.  They were both entertaining and highly motivational.  It is people like this that make going to these events very rewarding.  In the evening we just hung out and played Phase ten.  No time would be complete without a rousing game of Phase ten.

On Sunday morning the start of the race was at 6:00 am and the reason for the early start was to beat the heat.  The weeks before the marathon, Missoula had temps in the high 30’s and it even hit 40 degrees.  We were expecting very high temps as in previous years.   Well, the weather forecast for the race was actually quite pleasant at about 15C and by race completion would be just around 19C.  We had to leave the hotel at 4:15 so that meant getting up around 3:15 for Heidi and me.  Wendy said to get her up at 4:00.  Oh to be young again.  I need a lot more time to get up and usually do some eating and stretching to loosen up all the body parts.  I can’t just wake up and go.  We left the hotel and drove down to the bus pick up area.  The marathoners get driven away about 20 miles and we have to run back.  The half marathoners get dropped off in a totally different location so the route is not a loop and you run back from start to finish.  This is something I have never experienced before and actually was quite neat how they moved all of the runners, very organized and efficient.  I got out to the starting area and waited around for a bit before going to the start line.

What a start to the race.  Usually you get a gun, or a horn or some other sounding device.  Not this race, they used a canon.  It made everyone jump about three feet off the ground.  Once we got our feet back on the ground we were off.  I had no plans for a pace or how I wanted to run other than to run how I felt.  I started running with the 4:20 pace bunny and stayed with that pace for about 16 miles.  I actually ran a little ahead because I knew there was a rather severe hill at about 13 miles, so I just wanted to get to it before the bunny.  I felt comfortable through the first half, and came in around 2:07 at 13.1. At this point I hit the hill, where everyone was walking up and then came down the other side still feeling alright.  The weather as promised was comfortable and there was no chance of overheating.  The interesting thing about this race is that it was about 95% rural.  We ran along country roads with mountains on both sides and at times we were running along a winding river.  The course is very picturesque and a pleasure to run.  There were fields of horses on both side of the course with mountains in the backdrop.  There was trickling water in a small stream running along the road with small bridges crossing over to people’s homes.  They even had a musician playing a grand piano in an open field as we runners went by. 

 

Heidi found this to be a big highlight for her since she plays piano as well.  By the time I got to mile 16, I could feel my energy start to go and by the time I reached mile 22, I was walking about every half mile.  I still felt fine but just a little tired.  The finish is around a corner in Missoula and the approach is along a bridge.  Before the corner I took my last walk break and looked strong coming to the finish line. 

 

 

 

 

 

Just before the finish line I spotted Heidi, Wendy, and Paul and ran to where there were.  I stopped and did my traditional pose for a picture, and then I ran in for the finish.  I was very happy with my time and yes I did suffer more in this race then the last few.  I also had my emotional cry, so I must have suffered more than normal.  It’s amazing finishing though.  Once you cross that line and you can walk again and not have to think about running, the body feels much better.  I used to have a problem stepping up curbs and now they don’t seem so high.   It was another good day.

I really enjoyed this race because it was so different.  I have never run a rural marathon before and even though there are not the large crowds as an urban marathon it was still a lot of fun.  The race is well supported with fluids and medical personal are always around, so you feel really safe.  Even the climb up the hill was enjoyable.  The weather was great and the organization was outstanding. 

After the race we packed up and drove to Airdrie where we were staying with Wendy and Paul.  Wendy said, hey dad we found a shorter route and it should only take about 6.5 hours.  Well, we ended up going through Glacier National Park in northern Montana.  Okay, so it took more like 8.5 hours, but what a drive. 

 

 

The road we took in the park was called Road to the Sun.  What an experience that was as it goes up through Logan Pass which tops out at 6646 feet.  What an incredible experience that was.

 

 

In the evening we had supper with my sister Elenore and her husband Rob and their daughter Becky.  My sister and her husband live in Edmonton but their daughter lives in Airdrie.  My sister and her husband came down from Edmonton to spend some time with us.

 We had another great day enjoying the sights in Banff and each other’s company.  It was a fantastic day.  As usual I can’t wait for the next race which is Edmonton in six weeks.  We will be staying with my sister for the weekend.  The Edmonton Marathon will be number 7 out of 20.