Marquette Marathon Race #8

Marquette, Michigan
Saturday September 5, 2015
Time: 4:27:06
Overall Place: 197/311

 

 

 

 

 

 

Let me start out by saying that no two marathons are ever the same, so it is hard to go into a marathon and expect the same experience.  This marathon was so different in so many ways which made the experience of running this marathon so amazing.  I will go into more detail later on.

We began the weekend on Thursday morning.  I went in to work for 5:00 so that I could work a “full day” before driving to Marquette.  Heidi picked me up this time because she works till noon and I got off just a little after that.  Our plan was to drive to Duluth and then the rest of the way to Marquette on Friday.  Just a quick not for those that don’t know where Marquette is.  It is about 1005 kilometers southeast of Winnipeg on the southern shores of Lake Superior.  It is also known as the Upper Peninsula being almost completely separated from the rest of Michigan.  It takes longer to get to Marquette because there are no major highways that go there, so the drive is slow but incredibly picturesque.  There are also a lot of little lakes along the way in Minnesota and Wisconsin so there are a lot of fishing lodges. 

We arrived in Duluth, actually we crossed into Wisconsin which then becomes Superior, and found a campground where we could pitch a tent.  We set the tent up by the headlights of our car and had it up in no time.  Why are we tenting?  As most of you know we are paying for these trips out of our own pocket so that all the money raised goes directly to Siloam Mission, so we like to save money by not having to take a hotel all of the time.  We also enjoy tenting if the conditions are ideal so it is a win win situation for us.

 

 

We had a good sleep and got up the next morning to a lot of fog in the area which made everything quite wet.  No problem, pack it up and dry out at the hotel.  We had another 4 hours to Marquette so we were able to take our time and stop along the way to take some pictures.  It’s amazing how much gas is saved by doing 55 MPH.

 

We arrived in Marquette early Friday afternoon and went to our hotel and checked in.  We then drove to the race kit pickup location so that we could get a little bit of a sense of what this city was all about.  Nothing is flat in this city which is not always encouraging when you have to run a marathon over these hills, but it does add certain attractiveness to a city.  We also took this opportunity to look for a place to eat.  I like to get my pre-race meal sometime in the later afternoon, so we found a Chinese buffet.  Yes that is a little unusual, but they do have some very good carb dishes as well.  The little restaurant we found had the best Chinese food I have ever had in my life. We couldn’t stop raving about it. 

Heidi and I went down to Lake Superior and enjoyed the beach area and the scenery.  We took some pictures and were happy we had our tripod with us so I could be in the pictures as well.  It was so peaceful and relaxed.  The water was cold but it did not stop the many people who came to have fun at the beach.

At 6:00 we came back to the Lakeview Arena to get our bibs and shirt and see the expo.  Okay, not much of an Expo but it is a really small race so you can’t expect all of the hype of a big race.  The funny thing was that the bibs for the half marathon were not ready so we had to come back about 45 minutes later so they could put the timing chips onto the bibs, no problem.  After this we headed back to the hotel which was about 10 minutes away so we could get ready for the race the next day and head to bed.

What we knew of this race was that it was considered a downhill marathon.  They drive you out to a town called Ishpeming for the full marathon and Negaunee for the half, and we have to run back to Marquette for the finish.  The main part of the course is along a trail from these two little communities which is partially crushed stone and blacktop and is covered with overhanging trees, from mile one till about mile 16.  From there it is along Lake Superior.

Just a little about the town and the course.  Marquette is an Iron Ore mining town, but it does not process the ore.  The ore is loaded onto ships and sent elsewhere to be processed.  Marquette is a mining town with a large port for shipping.  Marquette is also known for its university, Northern Michigan which has about 10,000 students.  This is what makes up the city. 

My plan for this race was to go at a comfortable pace through the downhill sections and see where I could end up back on the flats.  I knew that Heidi was starting 1 1/2 hours after us so that if I timed it right I could beat her to the finish line.  Yes, Heidi and I have this little competitive streak in us and she was determined not to let this happen.  I needed to come in around a 4:20 for the marathon if she would be consistent with her time. 

One thing I really like about these events is that I can meet a lot of different people.  On the bus I sat with a guy from Ohio.  He told me very quietly that he was attending Ohio State and he couldn’t say it too loud because we were in Michigan country and he was afraid they would run him out of town.  Yes, the Americans take their loyalty for their universities very seriously.  Anyways he was hoping to do the marathon in 3:05 and qualify for Boston.  I also met another Marathon Maniac from Minnesota who was running his 56^th marathon.  Very interesting people with very interesting stories.  I met many other people along the run with different experiences, but all have a common bond, and that is a passion for running.  Yes there are more people in this world that love running.

 

 

Well we woke up in the morning and the weather was at about 20 degrees Celsius and 95% humidity.  That is a nice warm start to the day.  The race started off at first light under a covering of fog.  As I mentioned we ran down a trail for the first 16 miles until we reached the city.  We had a lot of overhanging trees which kept the temperature bearable.  I had good speed going down the last of the downhill sections which lasted for about 6 miles.  During this stretch I was also passed by the half marathon leaders and I marveled at their grace and speed at which they passed me by.  I thought I was going at a good pace until they passed me. 

 

When we reached the city we headed toward the lake. I could just feel the temperature going up to a point where it was no longer comfortable and we started to run in the open sunlight.  The pace slowed back to where I could manage, and not get too over heated.  It was nice that they had a lot of aid stations and I took a lot of fluids in, even though some of the water tasted like it came right out of Lake Superior.  When you are thirsty you drink anything.  We wound our way over to the back half of the course along the lake to Presque Isle Park which was about three miles around.  This was nasty because there was a big climb up about three hundred feet and then down a steep decline.  I was really starting to tire and especially going up I did some walking, like everyone else.  On the back side of this park coming down the hill, at mile 22, I got a nasty cramp in my hamstring.  I was on pace at this point to set a personal best but the cramp stopped me dead in my tracks and I had to walk all the way down.  I finally worked it out and was able to run again but I had lost a lot of time.  I made it to the finishing straight which was about a half mile and I got to see this nice two hundred foot incline right to the finish line.  This is not what you want to see when you finish a race.  This is the hardest finish I have ever encountered and again there was more walking.  The good news is that Heidi was able to finish about five minutes before me. 

 

As usual I finished right around the time I always do with a 4:27.  I really wanted to get the 4:25 again, but that’s okay.  I really enjoyed this race because it was so different than anything I have ever done before and no matter how much you plan to run, you just have to adapt to what the race throws at you. 

The guy that I met on the bus was trying to qualify for Boston had a tough go and I saw him walking the last few miles so he probably did not even come close.  He, like a lot of other runners succumbed to the heat.  It was a great day and we both received our medals and collected the post-race food.  It was a about a mile walk back to the car which is nice to walk a bit after the race.  We headed back to the hotel, cleaned up and headed to Minneapolis for the night before coming home to Winnipeg.  It was a great weekend of experiencing new things, meeting new people and having a great race.  I can’t wait for the next race which is next weekend in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, only a week away.  I better do some resting this week.

 

One last bit of information to pass along.  As of today, September 7 we have raised a total of $8,093.81.  Thank you to all who have supported me in my journey to run these marathons for Siloam Mission.