Saturday May 28 2022

State 50. This challenge has come a long way. And indeed, this final race required me to travel an exceptionally long way, just to reach the start line. The start line of the Prince of Wales Island Half Marathon, Alaska. 

I flew from Charlotte to Seattle, leaving Wednesday morning around 1000.  I landed around 1330 and met my Mum who had flown in direct from Heathrow. We boarded our next plane, an Alaskan airlines flight to Ketchikan – a port town on the southern tip of the Archipelago. We landed, picked up luggage and our rental (a Jeep), and drove onto the boat that ferries people from the airport to the main line. We drove to our Air BnB, atop a very steep hill, overlooking one of the bays of Ketchikan, and settled in for our stay in the Black Bear Room.  

Arriving in Seattle, then Alaska –

I went for a five mile shake out run – it was nice to take in the town, but less nice to run back up the incredibly steep hill to the property. We walked to dinner at the Cape Fox Lodge and had some nice salmon. 

The next morning we chatted with our host a little, then checked out. We picked up some food from the A&P grocery store, then met Becca as she came in from Seattle. She had flown there via ORD the evening before. We grabbed a snack and drove to Totem Bight State Historic Park to take in some Native Alaskan heritage. Then we drove to town and looked round the Tongass Historical Center, explaining the history of the town and surrounding area. We walked down the sea front and grabbed a nice lunch at New York Cafe.  After that, we explored Creek Street together, then headed to the Inter Island Ferry Terminal, to drive aboard the 1530 to Prince of Wales Island. 

The crossing to Hollis was very smooth, with some beautiful nautical views to be taken in en route to port. Our POW Air BnB host actually worked on the ferry, so having met onboard, we waited for him to disembark and followed him west across the island to his home. He showed us around the Air BnB, which was very nice, and we unpacked. I went on a three mile run along the Cemetery Island trail, grabbed a quick shower, and headed out with Becca to TK’s at The Craig Inn for tea. 

The crossing –

Prince of Wales Island Bald Eagles –

Views and walks from the Air BnB –

The next day we explored POW some more. We drove around Craig to get a lay of the land, then over to Klawok to look at some more totems. Then we headed east.  We looked briefly at Thorne Bay, got some directions from the man in the local tackle shop, and headed out into the back country, on dirt roads. We eventually found our way to the Salt Chuck Mine Interpretive Trail – a fascinating site, full of history, natural beauty, and exemplary relics of man’s mining exploits of a bygone era. 

Klawok Totems –

Thorne Bay Salt Chuck Mine –

We then stayed on the back roads, and made our way to the tiny Native Alaskan village of Kasaan. We viewed more Totems, and went on the beautiful forest trail to the US’s only remaining Haida Whale House. We then made our way back to Craig and picked up Groceries for making tea at home, after calling in to Craig High School for race packet pickup. 

Back at the Air BnB, we BBQd some nice NY Strip steaks, corn and potatoes and headed to bed. Sleep was always a bit of a challenge in Alaska. On POW, the sun went down after 2100, and rose again at 0245!

Saturday morning, we rose early and I prepared for the race. We drove to the school for 0730 and the race started at 0800. It was a cloudy day. A lady with ALS, Andrea Peet, was also in town, completing her 50th state, as part of a charitable pursuit of raising awareness for curing this devastating disease of the nervous system. She set off for the marathon at 0750 and we all cheered her on. 

The race started, with kids everywhere, but the pack soon spread out. With one pony tailed guy racing out at a crazy pace (he ended up finishing first, running a 1.11) then me and two guys tucked in tight behind me, in a slip stream. The course was picturesque with the beautiful coastline often stretching out as far as the eye could see on one side of the road, trees, mountains and rigorous lumber work on the other side of the road. A regular stream of cars drove past us tooting horns, ringing bells and shouting support for the runners. Especially for the local hero, who was one of those tucked in behind me. 

It was an out and back course, and aid stations were regular, well stocked, very supportive and fun. The course was really undulating. Total elevation gain only ended up around 500’ but it seemed like more. It was certainly a tough slog at times, especially having had COVID seven days before, and still recovering; but I got through it and finished third overall, running a 1.28. The local hero finished a minute ahead in the end, having forged a lead after the turn, and I just didn’t have enough in the tank to track him for a race at the finish.  I felt bad about that but I gave it my all.

I collected my medal, took some photos with Mum and Becca after they’d presented me with balloons and a card, and headed back to shower at the Air BnB. 

After that, we took some photos of Bald Eagles (some were betting opposite the house), explored the cemetery itself, walked the Cemetery Island Trail together, then headed into Craig on foot. We shopped at some gift shops, grabbed a slice of pizza and some ice cream at Papa’s, explored the fishermen’s peers, drank a couple of ciders at The Hill Bar and headed home – for a snack and a read of our books (I was engrossed in Steinbeck’s ‘Cup of Gold’).

1830 rolled around and we headed back to the High School for race presentations. We had some nice brownies & ice cream, picked up the colouring-in a young student had completed for me, and sat through an arduously long presentation, raffle and prize drawing event. There were an inordinate number of prizes being drawn. I received my prize for third place overall – a beautiful wooden Halibut Fish Trophy – but we ducked out before the end, in order to make it to Papa’s before it closed. We dined in on our nice pizza and salad, then headed home to pack for tomorrow’s departure. I read a little outside, next to the gas fire pit whilst looking out over the men fishing the cove. A bald eagle flew from the roof of the house and glided back to his nest as I climbed the stairs, and bed beckoned. 

Sunday morning, we made an early start and drove the 40 minutes to the Hollis ferry terminal. I had a nice breakfast on the ferry, Mum and Becca spotted some whales out in the sea, and I read some more of my book. Various people commented on my race placement, presumably having recognised me from the race presentation the night before, and I reflected upon what a beautiful community spirit existed within the close confines of Prince of Wales Island. No splendour, no grand buildings, but a modest way of life in a beautiful place. A place with a strong Native Alaskan tradition and populous, and a lot of very nice people. I had very much enjoyed my time. 

We docked in Ketchikan, unloaded everyone, filled the rental Jeep up with fuel, and boarded the small car ferry to make our way to the airport island. We returned the car, checked in, and flew on the 1330 to Seattle – Landing there around 1630.  We picked up luggage and the SUV Hertz rental and drove 90 minutes to the Mountain Meadows Inn, where we were staying. We dipped out for dinner at Wildberry, a Nepalese restaurant just down the road, owned by a Guinness world record holding Nepalese Sherpa – fastest scaling of Everest (achieved in 2003). Our Himalayan fare was very nice, and we headed home to rest and plan our coming days exploring Mount Rainier National Park.

SEA car rental –

Monday morning we rose early and headed into the park. We explored the Longmire Visitors Area and walked the short Trail of The Shadows. We drove on, and up, exploring some vistas en route, and ended up parking at Paradise Visitors Area. We have a good go of walking the Skyline Trail but thick snow carpeted the foothills of the cloud obscured volcanic mountain stretching up from us, and going was tough. We headed back after a good trek and drove back down the mountain. We stopped to explore the Carter Falls Glacier area and river, then grabbed a very overpriced and average lunch back at the Longmire Cabins area. We then walked the five to six mile Rampart Ridge Trail, with 1400’ elevation gain, lots of muddy snow, and some uncertainty over route…then headed back to our lodgings. 

Mt Rainier Snow –

We showered and went out for a very nice dinner at the Copper Creek Inn. We had nice local cider and Mum purchased us some beautiful ceramic coasters as a kind gift. We headed back, checked Mum in for her flight the next evening (easier said than done after an AA cancellation), and headed to bed. 

Tuesday we headed back into the park, in much better weather, for some pottering about and photos, then drove the 90 minutes or so to Seattle. We checked out the market, grabbed a famous local grilled cheese, and walked the peer, playing some fun games in one boardwalk location. We grabbed a cider and tea before driving to the airport. We saw off my Mum’s 1915 flight, before flying the 3.5 hours up to Anchorage. We stayed in an Air BnB near the airport. 

Day Three in the Park –

Wednesday morning we headed back to the airport for our flight to Kodiak Island. Our Bed & Breakfast host, Lee Robbins, met our flight at Kodiak airport, when it touched down around 0930, and we headed to check in to our hotel.  We changed, grabbed food at the local supermarket, and headed for the harbour. Lee took us out on an all-day boat tour, and we saw bald eagles, fin whales, two species of puffin, seals, sea otters, sea lions and other things.

We grabbed dinner at Henry’s and picked up food for the next morning from Safeway. Kodiak is a small place – a fishing village really – but unlike POW, it is bustling, highly transient, and has a good amount of money running through it – from tourists and big time fishermen with money to throw at drinking. The docks even have some of the boats from Deadliest Catch. When in season, they head out to Unalaska then the Bering Straights to fish for King Crab. When docked in Kodiak, they’re fishing for salmon, herring and other species. 

Wednesday we rose early and drove the little Fiat that came with our bed & breakfast ‘room with a car’ down to the sea plane docks. We met Jen and Willy, and spent an unforgettable day on a bear view around Kodiak and mostly Katmai National Park. Amazing creatures. That evening we ate at the Hana Sushi restaurant. 

Jen and Willy were a fantastic guiding pair. Jen is a former NP ranger with an immeasurable wealth of knowledge on the subject of Alaskan coastal brown bears, and Willy is one of the best sea plane pilots in the world. He features heavily in Werner Herzog’s ‘Grizzly Man’ documentary movie. He hosted Werner for the duration of his interviews and research in Alaska, flew him around Kodiak and Katmai, and of course, was actually first on the scene after Timothy Treadwell’s unfortunate demise. He had flown in to collect him from a bay near the ‘Grizzly Maze’ – Willy was Timothy’s regular pilot for his remarkable Katmai adventures.

Some more footage from our Bear View –

Thursday was our last day on Kodiak. We slept a little then I went out for a run on a local trail with some lovely views and scenery on the route –

We grabbed a cereal – corn dog breakfast in our apartment, and headed out for the day. We drove to White Sand beach via the taxidermy Kodiak bear at our local police station, then called in to Abercrombie State Park – there was a great Military History Museum there, where I bought a Hitler book. We picked up lunch from Big Al’s then went to look at the Kodiak town historic sites. We enjoyed taking in the Russian Orthodox Church, the Alutiiq Museum, the Kodiak History Museum (which is the oldest building in Alaska, and the oldest Russian building in the US), and the Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center. 

Some interesting things we learned about Kodiak and the Andalusian islands particular in relevance to the Archipelago (where POW is) – 

*The Russians saw these islands as northern Russia. They explored east through Siberia and on to the Archipelago, settling on Kodiak in the 1780s, after being fought off the islands while hunting, by native Alaskans, for 20 years.
*Kodiak was treeless. The Alutiiiq people relied on driftwood for quyak and abode construction. The Russians planted all the spruce and other trees.
*The Russians harvested what they saw as Alaska’s most precious commodity – The sea otter. It’s pelt was highly valuable as the thickest of all mammals. However, the Russians couldn’t catch the sea otter very well. So they imprisoned the natives and forced them to hunt for them.
*This is why Kodiak still has the Russian Orthodox Church – funded directly by the Russian state until the Bolshevik revolution – and many Russian place names, roots and historic significance.
*Once the sea otter was harvested to near extinction, Russia agreed to sell Alaska to the US. The US moved in to hunt other animals, fish and search for Gold.
*The US military developed a presence on Kodiak in the 1940s. Hence its funding and higher quality of life vs for instance, POW Island.
*In 1942, six months after Pearl Harbor, the Japanese bombed Dutch Harbor on Unalaska, and successfully invaded the two farthest Andalusian islands, Kiska and Attu. The Empire of the Sun held them for almost a year, until US troops took them back after a bloody battle on Attu in 1943.
*Kodiak was the best fishing in the world for king crab until unchecked overfishing and an earthquake destroyed the supply and ecosystem – sending modern day crabbing vessels to the Bering sea, laying anchor in Dutch Harbor, on Unalaska. Incidentally, an island the Kodiak Natives, the Alutiiq, used to pillage.
*The Alutiiq always made amazing clothing – jackets, parkas, waterproof kayaking gear –

*Katmai National Park, across the bay from Kodiak, recovered from a huge volcanic eruption in the early 1900s and was declared in part, a National Monument, long before the boundaries of the modern day National Park were drawn.   
*Bears eat cubs, including their own, bluff charge, and are hyper aware of their surroundings – and constantly reactive to those surroundings, even if it looks like they’re just grazing.

We flew to Anchorage around 1800 Friday evening after a great day, departing Kodiak’s tiny airport while thinking of what a wonderful time we’d had there. 

We checked in to the Anchorage Marriott after taxiing into the city. We had a walk around downtown and had dinner in Tequila 61. Saturday morning I had a run along the Tony Knowles Coastal Trail. We checked out late, browsed some stores, grabbed a nice lunch in The Anchorage Cider House and looked round the Anchorage Museum of Alaska. Josh Ritter was performing there that night, so listening to his sound check was fun. Then we rented eBikes and cycled the whole Tony Knowles trail, seeing some moose along the way. We had a delicious dinner at Glacier Brewhouse and Ubered to the airport. 

We flew United back to Charlotte via Denver, leaving on the 2330 red eye. We had a little rest in the Denver lounge on our layover, and arrived home around 1600 Sunday. 

Here are the best nature photographs from Alaska, after LR post production –

50 state races done. Final overall placements (not including age group awards) –

*1st Place*
OH 10k trail
WI 10k road
SD 16 mile trail
ND 10k road
IA half road
OR half road

*2nd Place*
AL 10k trail
CT 10k trail
KY half road
MD 10k road
MT half road
PA 4 mile trail
VT half road (in Sunday race)
WY half trail

*3rd Place*
NE 10k road
CO half trail
AK half road

My spoils –

JP 50 State GSheet with info – link

Sunday November 7 2021

This 49th state was a case of third time, third island, lucky. I had the Maui Ocean Front half marathon booked…cancelled in reaction to COVID. Same with Kauai Sugar Mill Half (which was actually due to take place next weekend), but the good folks of Honolulu’s Running Room did stick to their guns, and came through to host the 808 Val Nolasco Half.  

Who is Val Nolasco, you ask?  Well, apparently Val Nolasco was a Hawaiian, who overcame heart disease and ran his first marathon in 1973. This Waikiki Diamond Head half-marathon was later named in his honour.

I took Friday off work and flew at 1100. Our flight was delayed – due to the vaccine mandate induced staff shortages and protests currently affecting many industries quite drastically. But let’s not talk about that – and hopefully it will all just go away. 

It was a nine hour flight, So I watched a lot of films. There is also a six hour time difference between Charlotte and Honolulu, so it was around 1500 when we touched down on the sunny tarmac. All passengers had to navigate the Vaccine police on our way in, but with that completed, I ordered a Lyft and headed to the Air BnB via a packet pick up stop in the Running Room store itself. I grabbed the packet, and upon arrival at the Air BnB address, eventually realised it was a small apartment within the Waikiki Grand Hotel. I settled in and picked up some provisions from the ABC next door, before wandering along the coastline, and through the park, to figure out where the start line was for Sunday morning’s race (near the tennis courts). 

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It’s worth noting that everything I did this trip – entering the state, packet pick up, hotel check in, any museum or restaurant – EVERYTHING required you to present yourself papers to show you had been injected with the government mandated science.  

Waikiki was beautifully sunny and warm but there were lots of homeless people, and plenty of the sort of people you would expect to see in tropical American beach towns. 

I grabbed a delicious Hawaiian pineapple cheese burger meal from the burger bar connected to the hotel ground floor, and ate that in my room whilst watching some serial killer documentaries on the Netflix account someone had left logged in to the TV. 

My room was comfy enough but unbelievably noisy. The AC was incredibly loud when running and went on/off all the time as the temperature fluctuated. The room was first floor, too (UK first floor), and on the corner of a busy street opposite a park full of tramps, so very susceptible to the not inconsiderable outside noise. The apartment front door was also about 15 feet from a busy bar – that stayed open until 2am…

Saturday morning, I woke up early and went out on the beach to watch the sun come up whilst walking along the shore. I found The Waikiki Wave hotel (now closed) – where I had stayed with friends when I last visited, and checked out Duke’s Alley – a famous surfboard lock up location, recently the unfathomable victim of a serial surfboard arsonist.   

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I took a Lyft (with fascinating local historian driver) to Iolani palace and took a self guided tour around this former palace of the Hawaiian Royal Family – before they were deposed by local greedy business men with the help of the US government. Classic. 

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I grabbed a light lunch (Hawaiian chicken quesadilla) eating at Lulu’s Waikiki sports bar on the corner, and picked up my beach stuff to head for some sunbathing and swimming in the sea. I did that for a few hours, reading some of my Erich Von Daniken book about ancient aliens, and enjoying the beach. Then I relaxed back in the room before prepping for the race tomorrow, and grabbing another Hawaiian burger from the hotel-connected grill – Teddy’s Bigger Burger. There was an anti government / anti Biden / anti vaccine mandate rally going on across the street, so that was nice, and another noisy night of terrible sleep ensued. 

I got up around 0415, got ready and headed to the race. It was very hot and humid, even at that hour, so I could see why the race was starting under cover of darkness. It was a tough slog, with about 400’ of climb, and my 1.32.38 time (7.07 per mile) was really about as much as I could muster. I was 29th overall and 8th in my age group, so not a great result, but it was hard. Although not logging serious miles after Chicago, I had felt good in the 7-10 days leading up to the trip, so it was all a bit disappointing, but it really wasn’t the course for me. Hot, hilly, hard and heavy. Maybe the bad sleep didn’t help either. 

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There were some very strong runners out there, the race and course itself was very well organised and marshaled – so any fears of the event being at all pokey were absolutely unfounded – and at the end, I rested on a rock near the bandstand water feature as a caught my breath, before wandering back to the hotel for a shower. I got myself organised, and left my luggage at the front desk before heading out again. 

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I explored the disintegrating WWI Memorial Lido Natatorium, the Waikiki aquarium, and grabbed a light Hawaiian beef teriyaki plate as lunch at the corner bar, Lulu’s. 

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Then I grabbed my luggage and traveled by Lyft to the Bishop Museum, where I spent a couple of hours exploring exhibits centred around Hawaiian and Polynesian Island culture and history.

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Then I got another Lyft to the airport, failed in my attempt to upgrade to first class using some bonus upgrade things I had on my AAdvantage account, but ended up with a triple seat to myself anyway. 

We landed in Charlotte around 0700 and I headed home for a shower so I could get straight to work, after probably the best night’s sleep of the three.

Sunday October 10 2021

Last year’s Chicago Marathon was cancelled, this year it was on. And bloody hard. 

I flew out with my friend Ryan on Saturday morning, getting into O’Hare around 1300. We took the blue line train to the city and checked in to the hotel – a Travel Lodge – which was not high-end, but was very near the race!

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We headed to the Expo, grabbing lunch at Chipotle en route, walking and using the green line. The Exhibition Center was miles away, a nightmare to get to, and had no signs externally or internally – ridiculous. When we eventually got in where we needed to be, we had to join the longest snaking queue I had even stood in, and meander along for an hour or so. Then we showed our vaccine cards like Europeans aboard a Nazi train, and were allowed in, to join another queue to pick up our race packet, and another to pick up our T-Shirt etc. Then I had to check in with GLASA, the charity I was running for, and still had time for a look around the expo before they started to close it down around 1730 or so. My GLASA fundraising page – https://fundraisers.hakuapp.com/joey-prestidge

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I booked us a Lyft, and we went straight to dinner at Pizano’s Pizza and Pasta. We got in right away to eat at the bat. I had some Gnochi, then we grabbed a Kilwin’s desert on the way back to the hotel. 

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I got ready for Sunday morning’s early race day start, and hit the hay. 

I woke up early and got ready, then headed to the Hilton for our GLASA charity breakfast and team photo – before making my way to the Corals. I waited there for a while, and sussed out some other runners who, like me, had ended up in a coral that was not befitting their ability. 

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Our coral of the 45000 runners set off at 0800, and after an almost immediate break to take a quick leak behind the well used support pillar of a bridge, I continued to overtake people until about…mile 20.  

Up until around mile 10, I followed a girl in mint who was pushing for 3 hours, so that was all good. She eventually pushed on, but I was running well, and felt really good.  I had moved to an eight gel strategy – one every 5K, last two caffeinated – but I think I needed more fluid. I didn’t need to relieve myself at all after that first time, a stark difference to the NM race…  The race conditions were 76 degrees and deceptively humid, even though there seemed to be cloud cover keeping off the worst of the sun’s rays.  Anyway, the crowd support was huge, but all this transpired to leave my headphones out of battery at 19, and my legs out of battery at 20. 

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I think my hip abductors were tired after the incredibly flat course, and my resultantly stiffened form, and my dehydration, led to terrible cramps – left hamstring, right hamstring, both quads, then my calves. It was a nightmare. 

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I did my best to stretch them out, keep going, and get to the finish line, but it was really frustrating, and extremely painful. I managed to end with a ‘sprint’ finish against some Asian guy who’d previously got annoyed at me for pulling up with my debilitating cramps – in his way – so that showed him to be more respectful as an elder. Sayonara.

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It was annoying and a bummer, to feel that I had more in the tank but my body couldn’t deliver. My lungs and heart could have kept up that same pace, but my leg muscles would not let me. What a shame. 

I felt pretty much fine after the race, just a little achey, chafed under the arms, with a sore left toe. But although I had a slight headache (again, maybe dehydration?), I really felt I could have pushed much harder for a great time, if I’d just had access to some other legs for the last six miles. Maybe two marathons in 14 days with 45 miles in between was just too much. 

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Anyway, I finished the race, headed back to the hotel to wash up and pack, then we headed for a burger at Epic Burger. With Uber and Lyft barred from the City Loop area until 1700, we walked to the station to get the blue line back to O’Hare, and met a fascinating guy called Leo, from Austin, who represented elite runners as an agent and also worked for Hoka. 

I didn’t get on to Ryan’s 1610 flight using standby, so waited for my original 1835 flight by myself, meeting an interesting F3 guy from Greenwood, SC in the process, Wooter. 

I landed in CLT around 2130 and headed home to sleep.

I have now completed races in the 48 contiguous states, with just Hawaii and Alaska to fall.

Saturday September 25 2021

I had originally been scheduled to run the half marathon Balloon Chase during the Albuquerque International Hot Air Balloon festival, but that was cancelled as part of the popular response to COVID. It was rearranged for this year but on the weekend before the Chicago marathon, it didn’t seem the best timing. 

That said, with one more long run scheduled in my training for Chicago, it seemed like a good idea for me to increase my sign up from the half to the full for this weekend’s Sandia Crest Marathon point to point event. Two weeks before the Chicago marathon…

The race is predominantly downhill and I wanted to run 20-22 miles anyway, so what’s another 5 miles between friends…? 

With school FH, we had a big win against Covenant Day Thursday night, and with Friday afternoon practice cancelled in advance, I was flying out Friday morning, back Saturday afternoon!

It was always a short trip for me, with work back in Charlotte on Sunday, but my travel plans were disrupted even further by the cancellation/rescheduling of my 1150 Charlotte – Fort Worth leg, meaning I would likely get into Albuquerque around midnight. Not ideal with a 6am marathon start the next day. ‘Working from home’ on Friday morning, I hot-footed it to the airport in a Lyft as soon as I could pack, and spoke to a nice lady at the AA customer service desk, to try to figure out a work-around. She put me on standby for an 1104 flight out to Phoenix, leaving in 30 mins. I got to the gate in time with TSA Pre Check, and got a seat due to my Sapphire OneWorld status.  I connected in PHX and got a seat from standby for the 1426 flight to ABQ.

On my flight, realising tomorrow morning’s race started at a little over 10000 feet, I read a guide to running at altitude which stated the following –

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Oh dear…

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Anyway, I picked up the rental (first time I’d driven a sporty Chrysler…)

And I drove to packet pickup, which wasn’t in the sports store as promised, so I had to then head to the start/finish area for that…then I headed to my Holiday Inn, which was very nice. I grabbed a take our dinner to eat at the hotel, then prepped for the race and got an early night. 

My 4am wake up rolled around after a nigh-on non existent amount of sleep, and I got ready for the race. 

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Around 0445, I drove to the VIP bus pickup (at the start/finish), left my race bag in the car, and just brought my event drop bag with me (numbered with my #140 bib number), containing breakfast, clothing, drinks etc. 

The race is a point to point course, predominantly downhill.  

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The drive up the mountain took about 45 minutes, during which time I ate and hydrated. It was cold at the top of the mountain (10000 feet elevation) but the O2 actually felt normal for breathing – very different to my CO race, which, although at a lower altitude (around 9000 feet) required quite obviously increased effort to do anything, including breathing, with so little oxygen available. 

Anyway, at check in, as pictured before, we had been given gloves and a silver foil rescue blanket. I used that for a little while, as I wasn’t wearing a t-shirt, and did absolutely no warm up or stretching at all. This was my first real marathon, so I thought I didn’t really want to any more running than I already had to do.  I’d probably just warm up as I went along, surely…

A lot of runners had their gloves on and multiple layers of clothing, and plenty had hydration packs, too. Maybe they don’t trust the aid stations!  There was also one bare foot runner. Who, I’m pretty sure finished ahead of me. What a mentalist. 

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Anyway, away we went. I went out a little hot (6.50 pace) but with no race plan whatsoever, my overall pace ended up being 7.11, so it wasn’t too crazy a start really. The course had some good downhill, but with lots of twists and turns, the severe camber gave me a bad blister on the side of my right heel. So much so, that I sought the flatter concrete drainage channel to the side of the tarmac road, and that felt great comparatively!  Even the uphill parts of the course started to appeal because of the different pressure they put on my right foot.  The aid stations were many, and great. I took on water plus an energy drink at every one, and five of my Maurten gels. Standard at mile 4, 8 and 13.5, caffeinated at 18 and 22.5. 

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I really focused on staying hydrated, which seemed to work, but I did have relieve myself three different times during the race!

Anyway, I basically felt fine during and after the race. My time was 3.08.X, and I placed 9th overall.  I didn’t hit a wall, so I think the hydration went well and honestly, it certainly seems like I could have pushed harder, if I knew what I was doing. 

I really didn’t stretch my lungs or push my heart rate at any time during the race, not like on effort-filled half marathons, and certainly not like the determination required to run a good 5K or 10K, but a marathon is just a long way, and a long time, to do anything quite frankly. So my legs felt a little heavy at the end, but I still managed a half decent sprint finish. 

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After the race, I took a couple of quick pics, grabbed a water, spoke to no one, and headed back to the hotel. I showered and packed up and made my way to the airport, managing to go standby again and get home by 2100. 

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We had spent time in Albuquerque before, and with a busy Sunday ahead, coaching and training, I was pretty excited to get home for a bit more rest. 

I think that’s my biggest take away from this particular trip. Stand By air travel (particularly with airline status so your name prioritises to the top of the stand by passenger list). It’s opened a whole new world of travel possibilities to me!

Chicago is in two weeks. Probably a much busier course, in every way, which I’m not sure suits my personality. Anyway, onwards.

Saturday September 12 2021

I ran the Lake Placid Half Marathon to mark off state number 46. The event had been rescheduled once or twice but finally took place this weekend. I flew into Albany, leaving home early Saturday morning.  I picked up the Hertz, and grabbed lunch with Andy (+ wife and daughter) in Albany, at the Toro Cantina. I drove on 2.5 hours north up to the small vacation town of Lake Placid, and checked in to my Best Western hotel, after quickly attending packet pick up. I had to go through the histrionics of showing my vaccination card, but there were free Martin Gel 100s on offer at the bib table so that was something!

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The rear of the hotel property was literally next to the start line. I explored the town a little, checked out the course on maps, grabbed a quick dinner from Subway, and relaxed at the hotel, watching some professional Axe Throwing on ESPN… 

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The race was 0800 Sunday, so I awoke about an hour before, ate the snacks I had packed from home, and got ready in the room. I wandered over to the start line around 0745 and did a quick warm up and stretch whilst listening to the English race announcer blather on inanely.

The race began. The course was hilly, and the conditions were a little muggy, but at least the rain had held off. I used my usual gel strategy and took on water to drink and throw on my shoulders and almost all the aid stations. It was an extremely well supported race, with lots of crowds at various points along the course, people cheering you on and ringing their cowbells. It was perhaps this, and a poor night’s sleep, that contributed to my over exertion experienced by the half way point. I’m sure the hills didn’t help either, but I don’t normally run in races with many supporters, so a desire to honour their cheering was a relatively new experience. It made me think about how this should affect me in the upcoming Chicago marathon!

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The race was a fairly segregated affair. The course was pretty much an out and back (with a finish about a quarter mile further around the Mirror Lake shoreline to the race start). The turn around was at mile 8. However, the lead pack split out on their own after a quarter mile or so, and I then ran by myself for the entirety of the rest of the race, apart from being passed by one guy around mile six. So there was not much racing to be done. However, I had my Stereophonics playlist for company, and as the course had the turn around point, running past everyone else coming the other way is always a good motivator to keep going. There was one big hill between miles 11-12, but I managed to finish strong at the end, and sewed up a 6th place finish overall, and first in my age group. 1.31 (6.58 pace). I felt tired, slow and heavy, but that seems to be the case more often than not, especially when there are hills in the mix. 

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I recovered for a little at the finish then headed back to my hotel to shower, pack and get on the road. I ate the rest of my subway in the car as I drove back to Albany, and made it in time to watch the hockey match – U Albany vs Columbia. The visitors clung on to win out 3-2. Andy gave me a tour of their facilities, we called into the team supporters tailgate, and I made my way back to the airport to fly home. 

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Anyway, next up before Chicago – a full marathon (point to point downhill) in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Two weeks until that little getaway.

Saturday August 7 2021

My race in Oregon was the Catherine Creek Classic – a point to point half marathon, the majority of which is downhill. It was a really beautiful course and located not too far from the Boise (ID) home of some friends. I had been registered for the Portland Revel half, but that had been cancelled twice so far. Partly because Revel have been overzealous in their cancellation policy recently, and partly, I imagine, because Portland is currently probably the worst place in the US. Legalised hardcore drugs and anti police sentiment leading to dirty lawless mess. Who’d‘ve thought it.  

I flew into Boise via Thursday night in a fantastic motel in Reno, meeting friends at the Boise airport Friday evening, and bedding down at their place before an early start Saturday morning. 

We drove the two hours from their new home to the tiny town of Union, Oregon, departing at 5am and gaining an hour en route. We are a little on the way and got to the race registration at 0630 local time, located at the finish line, next to the high school football field. All three of us were running the half, so we picked up our race bibs and boarded the school bus. It wound its way up Medical Spring Highway, (or Route 203), as it climbed the mountain to the start line.   

The race started around 0745, the course had a net loss of 1100′ and the first two miles were steep, and fast. I’d looked at the field on the bus and a little as we arrived at the start – There were fewer than 100 runners, and I figured I’d be in with a shot of starting in the lead group, and sticking to my normal Maarten gel strategy. 

Two guys pushed hard at the start and were ahead of me until the first aid station – a longer haired Texan in glasses and green singlet, and a local guy in blue who was apparently a former competitive cyclist. Their first two miles were sub 5.40, but I kept them in sight with miles around 6.05. As we went through the first aid station, and the descent became less steep, I started to draw them in, and for the next three miles we exchanged the lead several times.

Mile four took us through Catherine Creek State Park, where the Ponderosa pine trees tower over the creeks and streams that make this park a popular spot for fishing and camping.

Around mile 6-7, with me in the lead, local Blue and I dropped Texan greeny and began to stretch out a lead, chatting a little as we ran past the beautiful (Catherine Creek) waterway and mountain greenery that surrounded us on our winding descent. 

We reveled in the natural beauty of the Wallowa and Elkhorn mountains all around, encountering wide-open farm fields on one side of the road, while mountains and forests rise up on the other.

At mile 8-9, I pushed on ahead, the searing sun and flattened terrain making the remainder of the race a grind of individual mental conflict. I had my second gel, continued to take water at the aid stations and throw plenty on me as I try to stay cool, and around mile 11 I started to catch up some of the 5K runners. They were also running a point to point course but must have started much later. 

The course was long, nearly 14 miles, but I pushed on down the Highway, ground out our left turn along Main Street, and took the final right turn to the school, the only road where it was gravel not paved, which had made my Vaporflys the pick for today’s race shoe. 

I crossed the line in first place overall in 1.29.32, but as the course was so long, my 6.30 pace really equated to a 1.25 true half time. 

I collapsed in the shade and tried to recover and hydrate as I waited for Abby and Ryan to come in. 

We made our way back to Boise, stopping for snacks in a nearby town, then picking up lunch in the Boise local Co-Op to eat at home. 

We watched the Olympic marathon on TV and later went out for a nice dinner to celebrate their recent engagement. We watched some short films when we got back, then retired for the night. 

The next morning we went for a 4 mile recovery run on the green belt and grabbed a nice breakfast, before chilling out and heading for the airport. I flew back Delta via MSP, getting back home in Charlotte after midnight. 

It’s been a busy, tiring but successful three weeks. 45 states down now and a month until New York. I should really start training for the Chicago marathon, coming up soon in October…

*UPDATE – Feb 13 2022, my Winner’s T Shirt arrived!

Saturday July 31 2021

I’d had a Revel race in Denver cancelled so ended up transferring my Vacation Races registration to their Rocky Mountain Half Marathon. Originally I’d been signed up for their Mount Rushmore race, but that fell, and I replaced it with another SD event.  

I flew from Charlotte to Denver Friday morning, meeting Becca at Denver airport, as she’d had to take an early morning flight.  We picked up the rental and drove to the race expo in Estes Park, about an hour and a half away. I picked up my race packet and we went for a nice lunch in The Mountain Inn. We checked in to the Air BnB, in an old house, and we explored the town a little, grabbing dinner in a local Italian restaurant, Mama Rose’s. 

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Saturday morning was an early start. We left the Air BnB at 5am to drive to the expo location for parking. Still dark and cool, we walked from parking down to the race meeting point, with everyone else. There were 1300 people racing so a big event. I considered hanging with the 1.40 pace group – it seemed a little slow but with it being a looped course in the Rocky Mountains National Park, naturally the course was not going to be fast or easy… Anyway, then they announced that the elite group looking to place over all should start to make their way across to the start line (a short walk under the road to the lakeside). I looked at some of the characters heading over and my ego took the better of my – I headed over and started at the back of their group. 

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The race started at 6am, sunrise was 0559, so we were just out of the dark, and the overcast conditions made the first mile a nice intro. We were also up at over 7500’ elevation, so the air was thin. Coupling that with over 800’ of total elevation gain over the 13 miles made for a tough course. Luckily the majority of the climbing was within miles 1-5, but even so, remember the wrestler HHH?  This was hilly, humid & hard. 

The lead pack split pretty early so the race was kind of lonely. Just a few changes of placements over the 13 road miles. Mile 6 bestowed a simply awesome view of The Rockies, and overall, this picturesque course was well worth the sustained effort required to get it done. The event was very well organised, lots of (frustratingly cupless) aid stations and a good after race awards event. 

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I ended up 10th out of the 1300 or so, and first in my age group, with a 1.32 – 10 minutes slower than last week in Washington (!) but what a different course.

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The Lake we finished at –

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I showered at the Air BnB, grabbed a McDo, and we made our way to the National Park Entrance. It is a truly beautiful place, and although the weather was not good, we made great use of our time. We saw moose and elk, we walked round Bear Lake, drove Trail Ridge Road – the highest road in the whole NP system at 12500’, drove the very windy Old Fall River Road and checked out Chasm Falls.

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We had an early dinner at The Rock Inn, and rested back at the Air BnB, before an early Sunday morning run amongst the elk then returning to Charlotte. 

Colorado was state 44, Oregon booked for next week.

Saturday July 24 2021

With the organisers of Bloomsbury in Spokane WA, refusing to host the race, several times, eventually I gave up and looked at other options. I read about the Jack and Jill event and it sounded good – very highly regarded, downhill point to point and fast (half or full). I signed up for the half, and the weekend rolled around, very successfully!

We flew direct from Charlotte to Seattle on Thursday after work, picked up the rental and stayed at the Marriott in the Bellevue district of Seattle, grabbing dinner at a nice Japanese restaurant right next to the hotel, just as it was closing up for the night. The next morning we grabbed brunch in Chace’s Pancake Corral, a nice local cafe, and made the drive to North Bend. I picked up my race packet from the Nike store and we explored the local area – the Snoqualmie Valley. This is where the critically acclaimed TV series Twin Peaks was filmed, but we used our time to explore the local waterfall and historic subterranean power station, then the local logging and railroad exhibit. 

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View from the plane –

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We also visited two local wineries – one small and next to a roundabout (Patterson Cellars), and one large and beautiful, modeled on a French chateau (Chateau Ste. Michelle Winerie). After that we drove to our next hotel, The Edgewick Inn; checked in and grabbed dinner at the local burger bar, Hammer Lane Burgers & BBQ. 

Snoqualmie Valley –

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I bedded down early for the night, and although it wasn’t a great sleep in a very creaky bed, didn’t feel bad when I woke the next morning. 

I hadn’t been training particularly well, or hard, but I still felt relaxed and comfortable (if not confident) going into the race. It was a 5am start for breakfast in the room that I’d brought with me, and getting my race day gear ready. We drove ten minutes to the half marathon drop off / parking spot, and hiked the mile up the steep trail. 

It ended up being the perfect warm up. I had read about the packed dirt and gravel surface en route, and had opted for a pair of Zoom Fly 1s and my normal Maurten drink and mixed dual gel strategy. I didn’t think trail shoes would be necessary, and I had no time in mind. Both these points ended up being good planning. 

I put myself in wave one, and the gun went off at 0630.  A couple of hot shots pushed ahead immediately, I took over a few, then hung at the rear of the lead group, a pack that eventually spread itself out. I just ran to feel and because of the slight decline, the first mile felt good at 6.20 pace, and I held that pace for the rest of the run. No stops, gel at miles 4.75 & 9.15 (normal then caffeinated), and I took on some water at all but the first two aide stations, whether I felt like I wanted it or not. One guy came from the back to overtake a few of us and headed off around mile 3. He must have slowed later because I overtook him with half a mile to run. I also gradually reeled in at least two runners ahead of me, a guy in navy and the Arizona road runner. 

The start –

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The soft trail surface didn’t seem to have any adverse effect, which was interesting, and great! I finished in 1 hour 22 mins – a new PR and an average mile pace of 6.16. Amazing to think that even now when I hardly focus on running at all, rarely run more than 30 miles per week, and hate almost all of those, that on race day, I was still able to run that time. For a long time, breaking 20 mins in the 5k just seemed so out of reach, and I had now run a half marathon time that equated to four and half consecutive 19.28 5Ks. I’m also not particularly light right now and have been trying to lift every other day.  At the end of the race I even felt fine. I honestly felt I could probably have pushed harder, and that it would have been a great day to do the full marathon.  It was a wonderful course – beautiful, fast and lots of shade. 

The middle –

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Course Scenery –

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Race end –

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Anyway, not sure what to conclude from all of this – maybe warm up? By walking up a hill with your wife?  But anyway, a good day’s running.

Race data –

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I was third overall and first in my age group, so after the race awards collection, we drove back to the hotel for a quick shower and change, then headed into Seattle proper. We parked at the hotel, left our bags with concierge, and walked into town. We grabbed a nice ginger beer from Rachel’s Ginger Beer and ate a large Iranian lunch from the Farvahar Persian Cafe next door. We explored the local markets at Pike Place, the sea front and a local Army/Navy store. We then visited Seattle’s iconic landmark, The Space Needle, and explored an exhibition from a local glass blowing artist, Chihuly.

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 We made our way back to the hotel to relax and catch up on some of the Tokyo Olympic news, before walking out to dinner later. We ate at Tilikum Place Cafe, and it was very nice. 

The next morning, I did a six mile recovery run as I explored the river front of Lake Union loop and the old light rail, grabbed breakfast at the hotel, then we headed to the airport via a quick stop at the Jimi Hendrix statue. 

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A great trip overall. Rockies CO next weekend, a race that will be much more difficult. Then proceeding that, Oregon via Boise.

Saturday May 30 2021

I had booked the Wyoming Half Marathon in 2020, but it was cancelled then rescheduled as a response to the country’s corona virus reaction. Becca had been unable to make the reschedule date so I deferred until 2021 and here we are, it finally rolled around. 

In theory, I was already in my training plan for the Chicago marathon (October 2021). In reality, I took a little break from running after 2020 miles in 2020, and had been struggling to get back into it as before. I’d altered my training to running a maximum of every other day, and with a new job requiring earlier starts, my time available to slog out mid distance runs had quickly disappeared. I like the challenge brought on by running in the Carolina summer, but I developed shin splints in May – so this, along side my usual neck issues, had thrown another spanner in the works. So, not great prep for this race, but having been following a recent plan of run one day, small garage weights session the next, I felt as ready as I could for what was likely to prove a pretty tough race.  Starting at 9000’, run all on rock/dirt/gravel trail, with 1200’ of gain almost all in the second half of the course… it was going to be a fun one. 

Becca’s parents had come to visit the week prior, and the three of them had spent time visiting the Outer Banks, before joining on this getaway out west. We flew United into Denver early Saturday morning, picking up a rental car there, and heading two hours North to Cheyenne, Wyoming’s capital, for race packet pick up at Foot of The Rockies, and a big lunch at this diner –

From there we headed west to Laramie – the closest habitation to Sunday morning’s race location – and checked in with Sue, our Air BnB host.

I had started reading about the effects of elevation on running, especially because just sitting down, I was noticing that my breathing was slightly laboured! – https://www.letsrun.com/forum/flat_read.php?thread=408985 – Apparently anything above 7500′ is pretty serious altitude, and really hinders physical activity!

I found this info interesting, too – about highest altitudes by state – https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._states_and_territories_by_elevation#Elevation_table

We went out for drinks at the Front Street Tavern that afternoon/evening, then Pizza at The Crow Bar & Grill. Laramie is a sleepy western town, eclectically mixing traditional modern frontiersmen of the west, with “alternative” student types from Wyo U.  The former driving trucks, wearing work clothes, and being tough, traditional, local men of purpose and tradition. The latter wearing masks on their unnecessary trip to the bar, to show their superior understanding of science.

We bedded down for the night in our little apartment and Sunday morning soon rolled around. 

It was 46 degrees and cloudy, but not raining. The race started at 0700 so we left Laramie at 0615, to head the Abraham Lincoln Monument at the entrance to the Medicine Bow National Forest. I’d managed to lose the soft flex flask I’d bought at packet pick up to mitigate the cupless aid stations but not to worry. 

It was misty at 9000’ where we started, and the course proved long at about 13.5 miles. There were about 100 runners, but some were doing the 50k or the full. The half was an out and back, with over 1100’ of climb, most of which came in the last 4 miles. The high elevation made breathing tough and pace slow, especially going uphill, where it felt like my lungs and heart were about to explode. 

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I’d worn a pair of Zoom Fly 3s, and that was probably about right for the surface. It was all trail, some soft dirt/gravel (which was particularly troublesome as the light rain started about half way through the race), a few rockier sections, and plenty of washboard style ruts running across the trail.  There were also plenty of pretty extreme cattle grids to traverse!  All in all, not crazy, but not straightforward either. 

The course through the forest was, however, beautiful. With mist in the higher parts, snow in some of the shaded parts, lots of flowing streams beside the track, lovely outcrops of trees and rocks elevated around. 

I set out with a group of three to four other guys, all in bobble hats, long sleeves, the works, but the field stretched as it wore us down. I finished second overall, with the winner clearly a very strong runner who started fast, looked strong at the turn, and wasn’t in sight when I crossed the line!

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All in all, a tough one but that’s 42 down now.  It’s another six weeks until the WA however, but then a few come thick and fast.

After the race, we headed back to the apartment. I warmed up, showered and packed, then we headed out on the six hour drive to Jackson Hole. Via a stop at the truly fascinating, Wyoming Territorial Prison (State Historic Site) in Laramie.

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We arrived at Spring Creek Ranch, just outside Jackson, and had a quick turn around, before heading out on foot for dinner at The Amangani hotel, just down the road. We had a very nice tea – including Wagyu beef – and got to bed early. We were staying in two apartments – one upstairs, one down, adjoined as a house. 

TETONS

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View of The Tetons –

I ran early the next morning – such a beautiful setting – a warm up 1 mile, then a downhill 5K, from the top of the resort road, all the way down to the main road. I broke 18 minutes with this, running a 17.57, a new PR. Even downhill, I felt it was pretty good going considering the altitude, sore legs from the big race yesterday, shin splints, no Vapor Flys, and even an annoying stone in my shoe – which gave me a bad heel blister. I did a quick gym session before a nice breakfast, and all heading out to the Teton National Park. 

Tetons 5K PR –

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This also started me thinking about times, and running, and led me to read more about how weight can affect such times –

We visited various parts of the park, saw a wolf, elk, deer, bison, a grazing female moose and some fantastic beaver activity, before heading back to the ranch for bed.

Moose –

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Bear –

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Beaver in the trees by the waterfall –

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Beaver on a rock –

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Tetons Flora and Fauna –

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Tuesday, we checked out of the resort, visited some shops and bars in Jackson centre, had a quick look at Jackson Hole ski resort, and made our way to Yellowstone National Park via a few more scenic stops in the Tetons.

Jackson Million Dollar Cowboy Bar –

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We ate and stayed in the Lake Yellowstone Lodge that night and rose early the next morning to see some more of the park. 

YELLOWSTONE

The sulfur cauldron and mud volcanoes –

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The Lodge –

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Bison in the dust –

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We continued our scenic wildlife explorations the next day, and stayed at the Roosevelt Inn in Gardiner the next two nights, eating at the Iron Horse Grill and Wonderland Cafe. I also got in a morning six mile run, out and back along the Old Yellowstone Trail, checking out the Roosevelt Entrance Gateway and the Gardiner historic cemetery in the process. 

Pools –

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Old Faithful –

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Grand Prysmatic Spring –

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Bull Moose –

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Bison in water near wolves –

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Various other pics from the park –

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Artists’ Point –

Having seen more of Yellowstone and what it has on offer, we headed on our way – visiting Cooke, then going on a terrifying hike through real grizzly bear country – Tom Minor Basin in the Gellatin National Forest.

We grabbed BBQ for lunch in Emigrant and drove on to Livingston, where we stayed at the Murray hotel and head a great dinner in the French style Second Street Bistro next door. I also got in evening then morning runs along the bike path following the railway line. The town held a classic car show the next morning, and we headed on our way to Bozeman airport via the University of Montana Museum of the Rockies.

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We flew down to Denver on United and stayed at the Sheraton that night before dining locally in Union Station then exploring downtown Sunday morning. I got a run in down the river and we ate at Linger. Denver seems a strange city – quite Mad Max, with people washing in the river. The city’s character comes from its people, but it’s a little bit ‘inmates taking over the asylum’ for my tastes. 

We flew back to Charlotte Sunday afternoon, landing late. Just under seven weeks until the next race, all the way over in Washington state.

Saturday April 3 2021

The long Easter weekend presented a great chance to get away for a race. This time it worked out as a trip with friends from work. Four of us flew into Phoenix on Good Friday, picked up the car & grabbed some Mexican for lunch, before checking in to our Air BnB in Peoria, just north of Phoenix.  We ordered in some pizza whilst we watched the classic westerns channel, and got an early start the next morning for the Hippity Hop Half Marathon race. 

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We drove to the park for around 0645, did a quick warm up and got going at 0700. It was already hot, and there was very little shade to be found anywhere. This made the for a tough race, especially at the pace T & M wanted to run at, in order to break 1 hour 30 for their first time. We ran together for the first six miles but I started to stretch ahead a little at that point, trying to stay strong to grind out a finish. I ended up keeping a good pace, and came in at 1 hour 30 exactly, 10th overall, 3rd in my age group.  I wore a new pair of VaporFly Next %s and used two Maurten gels, this time using a caffeine one for my second.  I also made good use of every aid station, taking on small amounts of water and pouring the rest of the bottles on me to try and keep my core temperature down. 

Before and after the race –

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The boys coming in to the finish line –

We met a guy called Kevin from Indiana at the start line, and the same guy who had won my half at Hoover Dam, won this race, too. Again, in 1.17! This is my race data –

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We left the race and headed back to the Air BnB to clean up and get on the road. We grabbed a Freddy’s for lunch on the way to the Grand Canyon, then headed to Las Vegas, where we stayed at the Venetian for two nights. We had fun, drank some nice cocktails, enjoyed the pool, and had two excellent dinners in the hotel – an Asian the first night and steak the second. Then on Monday we dropped the rental off and flew home to Charlotte.

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