Soweto Marathon - 2012
I was at the start line 40 min before the start and I still missed the gun.
While you ponder how that is possible, let me tell you that even though I could see the start line, I was in my car at the time. A huge parking problem and traffic jam had me in the car until 6:05am (with a 6:00 gun). But let me take you back two days where I made a long trip to Soweto to pick up the packets. Some people had their number texted to them. I did not, so into a different line I went. And although all we had to do was approach one of the 7 people with a computer, give our surname, receive a number instantly and take it to the packet pickup across the room. One hour later I stood at the computer watching a lady fumble with the keys and mouse to get me my number. Eight minutes per person for this simple task. Simply amazing.
Back to my car on race morning. The gun has sounded and yet my jogging now is extra miles as I weave through the parked cars and down the road, against the flow of runners (not that there are many since I am so late) and to the start line to tag it and turn. I wear a chip but there is no chip time, only gun. Thankfully (or not as it would turn out), coming through the line right then were the top two runners from my club, Lindsey and Kirsten (two guys with girl’s names as they are referred to, but fast none the less). I join with them but stop at 1K to poop since I didn’t have a pre-race ritual (in fact, I put on sunscreen and Vaseline in the car in traffic). But I caught up at 3K when Lindsey abandoned the race with an injured Achilles.
Kirsten and I ran the rest of the way together, but far faster than I wanted to go. He pulled me to a 3:11 (though the official clock will read closer to 3:22 since I was late). Soweto is a hilly and diverse race but this was poorly organized and I was not happy with it.
Leading up to Soweto and in the 5 weeks that followed, I was blasted repeatedly with a stomach virus that I couldn’t shake. Rounds of antibiotics did little to keep me from feeling weak, dehydrated, and out of the bathroom. To make it worse, I committed to weekend runs with these fast guys. On the Saturday following Soweto, I pounded the pavement with Lindsey and Kirsten and Cambell, over the Tough One course with some extensions. Kirsten overslept so when he met up with us, he punished himself by pushing the pace. Too bad for the rest of us that the course is one of the hardest 20 mile circuits in road running. With a total of about 23 miles for the day, I was pleased with the pace (about 7:30 over the monster hills just 6 days after my first marathon of the season). My stomach was crap and I was weak from the effects.
One week later I awoke at 5am and spent the better part of an hour in the bathroom with liquid expulsion. I stumbled to the corner to meet Lindsey for yet another tour of the Tough One course, my 3rd 22+ mile effort in as many weeks. I struggled from the beginning feeling empty and dehydrated. My legs, having no fuel (I hadn’t eaten solids in 2 days) quickly went to crap and then stone as they started to lock up. With about 5 miles to go, and at the peak of long climbs, I sent Lindsey on to finish solo. It was a death march for me and took me days to get over the depletion of running so hard and long on an empty tank.
Since I had the qualifier, I put in for the Hardrock 100. It is a prestigious race, great mountains, elite, and a better timing for me. 68,000 feet of elevation change. However, the number of people entered in the lottery is double the population of the town the race is held in. My chances of being selected were somewhere between 1.9% and 4.4%.
As you can probably guess the result of that lottery, I have registered for Burning River 100 in Akron, Ohio. Looking back, I did not finish this race in August of 2008. The epic failure at this race was one of the inspiring events in launching An Incondite Adventure. So, with all things lining up, I am going back this year to redeem myself from the low point in my ultra running. Stay tuned for an update on this stomach issue and the coming marathon season.
