Race Report - 2015 Rocket City Marathon

This face says it all and sums up how this race went for me.

This race was meant to be a training race, while at the same time helping some fellow runners accomplish some personal goals, personal records or maybe even a Boston Qualifier. Unfortunately, the weather did not play along.

Race Report - 2014 Rocket City Marathon

Lots of anticipation 2 minutes before the race start.

This race probably would've worked out as I had originally planned, had I not decided to take care of a bucket list item three weeks before RCM. I had just completed my big 2014 goal race, the Pinhoti 100 Miler, on the first weekend of November and was still feeling giddy when the opportunity presented itself to run the JFK 50 Miler, the oldest and largest ultramarathon in the US, just 3 weeks after Pinhoti and 3 weeks prior to RCM. Adding a 50 mile race sandwiched between a 100 miler and a marathon PR attempt is probably not a good idea, but I decided that I could not turn down the chance to run JFK, even if that meant not being properly rested and prepared to PR at RCM. There were a few experienced runners who said as much before I toed the starting line at RCM. Regardless, come race day, I would still try everything I could to achieve that elusive sub 3 hour marathon time. I had fallen just 150 seconds short 9 weeks earlier, when I ran another local marathon as a training race, so I felt that I might still be able to get it done on less than perfectly rested legs. I had stuck to easy running for the 2 weeks leading into the race, hoping that it would help my legs to recover and regain some of their "spring" in time for the marathon. However, I wouldn't know if that was the case until I actually ran the race.

Race Report - 2013 Rocket City Marathon

I really had no intention of actually running this race to finish it. I had no place at the starting line to begin with. The only reason I even toed the line?...I had registered months ago in hopes of my recovery and rehab going better than expected by the time December rolled around. All in all, rehab had gone quite well, but I continued (and continue) to have episodes of "worry". Worried that I'd reinjure my ankle without any notice or even a warning of anything being wrong, worried that I'd develop another blood clot and on and on. There was really no rhyme or reason to it, I just started to feel like this sometimes and as a result, I would back off my training. I would increase my mileage, never really pushing my pace just to be safe, but then I'd back off again on barely run at all.

So when marathon week arrived and my running had actually gone pretty well for a couple of weeks with increased mileage at a "safe" pace, I figured I'd just head downtown to see how far my feet would take me. I was hopeful that I could maybe complete 20 miles before the wheels would come off either due to pain or exhaustion. I hadn't run more than 15 miles at a time in the last 12 months and that only once, but I had been running and logging at least some miles. I figured finishing was out of the question, but maybe 20 miles would be realistic.

In order to accomplish my goal, I decided to be extremely conservative with my pace to increase my chances of completing 20 miles, but not too conservative because my wife and I had tickets for the Nutcracker that afternoon, so I really needed to be done in 5 hours to allow myself to limp home and take a shower before heading to the concert hall. 5 hours was the goal no matter what distance I would cover. Missing the Nutcracker with my wife really wasn't an option:-) I was very happy to read on FB the evening before the race that there was 4:55 pace group (thanks Suzanne and Carrie), so I figured I'd try to stay with them as long as possible (read: until the wheels came off).

As luck would have it, the skies also cleared somewhat just in time for the race start. After mingling with some familiar folks at the Holiday Inn (for the last time before it gets torn down), I headed outside and to the start line. The temps were perfect and the rain had mostly stopped. I was going to have a great 20 mile training run. With my cell phone in hand (to call my wife for pickup along the course), I started my fourth Rocket City Marathon.

For the first time, I was able to talk while running anything shorter than an ultra marathon. I usually push so hard from the start that I never really have the extra energy required to carry on conversations during the race. I always felt bad, because peeps must have thought I was just rude. Nope, I was just busy breathing:-) It was great to actually be able to carry on conversations while I was out there, presumably for 5 hours or less, hopefully reaching my goal of 20 miles. The conversations continued and the miles slowly clicked away.

I continued to check my splits every mile but other than that, I just kept going, enjoying a nice long run. An hour went by, then two, and I continued to feel great. No pain anywhere. I was starting to feel confident that 20 miles was very possible today. I kept a steady 11 minute pace and wasn't great. I wanted to pick it up, but I kept reminding myself that it's all about making it to 20 miles today, just like the days when I first started running and it was all about just completing the distance for me, never about pace.

The miles continued to pass and as I approached mile 20, I was still on track to actually finish the full distance in 5 hours. Not only that, I was still feeling great, even ready to pick up my pace. I also started to pass some people, which really has never happened to me before in a marathon. Why? Because I ALWAYS blow up. Not today. I decided to take it one mile at a time until I started to hurt or slow down. Neither happened and when I made the final turn to the finish and saw David Bier's confused look, it finally sunk in that I was actually going to finish my fourth Rocket City Marathon. I was just as confused as him and I have never had a bigger smile on my face when crossing the finish line than today. Yes, it was my slowest marathon ever, but I managed to finish it, just a year after my "little health scare" and just 10 months after reconstructive ankle surgery.

I'm looking forward to whatever is next!

Race Report - 2011 Rocket City Marathon

Cool race swag for finishers!

If I had to sum up today's events in one sentence, I would say: "The last 6 miles were just plain ugly!" But this wouldn't be my race report, if I said it all in one sentence;-) Due to the ankle injury I suffered about three weeks ago at the Dizzy Fifties 50K (tear/strain of right peroneal tendon), I had already taken the goal of attempting a BQ off the table before I even toed the starting line on Saturday morning. As the race went on, my secondary and tertiary goal had to be tossed out as well.

My better half was kind enough to roll out of bed at 7AM to take my butt to the starting line at the Holiday Inn in downtown Huntsville. Luckily, we only live 2 minutes away. I arrived at the hotel with plenty of time to spare, so I went into the lobby as usual, mingling with the other 1300 or so runners. I saw a couple of familiar faces, some first timers and some veterans getting ready to race. I double-checked the shoe strings on my Brooks Defyance 3's and my ankle brace to make sure nothing was rubbing. I had opted to use my cushioned road runners rather than my minimalist Brooks Green Silence to give myself some extra cushion for my battered ankle. I had also picked up an old long sleeve t-shirt and a pair of cheap gloves at the marathon expo the night before, so I could toss them during the race once I warmed up. I actually remembered to bring a yard trash bag to use as a heat blanket at the starting line and that worked like a charm.

As I walked towards the starting line ten minutes before eight, I started looking for the 3:25 pacer. After letting go of the BQ goal of a sub 3:15 marathon, 3:25 was my "A" goal. I spotted him very quickly along with a follow coworker of mine, who was attempting this race as his second marathon in preparation for the Kona Ironman next year. I also had a brief chat with Christian Griffith, who had his own handicap to deal with for this race, coming back from quite a serious ankle injury. As it turned out, he did hit his target. Congratulations, buddy, well done!

When the start of the thirty-fifth Rocket City Marathon was signaled with an old fashioned riffle, I embarked on my third running of this event in the last 4 years. I decided to stick with the pacing group as long as I could, or, in other words, as long as my ankle would let me, hopefully all the way to the finish. I was feeling pretty good, breathing well and chatting with fellow racers in the early miles. After 3 miles, I had warmed up enough to drop the long sleeve t-shirt. Pacers were instructed to take fluids at every water station, so I decided to follow this regimen by taking just a few sips at every aid station. Our pacer kept it pretty steady all the way and I never felt like I was struggling except for a couple of slight course inclines were I did have to push to keep up the pace.

The miles ticked by and I felt good. I took my first gel at mile 12 and continued to run loose without any muscle or joint pains. I reached the half way mark at 13.1 miles right on pace. If I could maintain this pace until mile 22, I felt I would definitely PR, e.g. run under 3:36. Everything continued to go great, until around mile 15. This is the part of the course where runners turned back towards downtown Huntsville. Unfortunately, the weather served runners a very strong headwind all the way to the finish and that was an unexpected obstacle on tired legs. I continued to stick with the pacing group for another 4 miles when my ankle started to flare up. I also started to realize why my legs started to burn.

I had run a 50 miler in early October with a lengthy recovery period. Afterwards, I decided to focus on shorter distances and speed work mostly on roads. I wanted to get faster. My last big races were all long ultras and I felt I had slowed significantly over the last 6 months. It was time to get faster again, especially if I wanted to try to qualify for the Boston Marathon. Unfortunately, I realized that I had not spent enough time on long runs. Somehow, there was always some reason why I could not make it, so when I rolled my ankle at Dizzy Fifties just a month before the Rocket City Marathon, I had only done two long runs since the Firetrails 50 Miler in October...bummer. My speed work had paid off, but now 19 miles into the marathon I was paying the price for having neglected my long runs. Lesson learned.


Around this time, I spotted Jason Shattuck along the course. He stood on a street corner a couple of yards from his house cheering on the runners. While I never like to show weakness in front of my fellow running buddies, he wasn't running this one anyway, so I didn't get the motivation I had hoped to get from spotting him on the course;-) I slowly dropped off my target pace and I started to forget about my "A" goal and focus on my "B" goal, a finishing time under 3:36 to achieve a new PR. I kept slowing down and before I knew it the 3:30 pacing group passed me.


Just as I wanted to give in and walk, I spotted Jon Elmore about 100 yards ahead of me. I didn't expect to catch him...ever...in any race, so I knew he had some type of problem. I had to push to catch him and when I did, he told me that he was struggling with cramps. Luckily, I had a couple of SCaps to share. Now we just needed water. When we arrived at an aid station just past Airport Rd, they were giving their last bottle of water to the runner ahead of us. Really, I couldn't make this up. So Jon was still cramping, not able to get any water to wash down the salt pills. We finally got fluids at the next aid station, but by this time, the 3:40 pacing group had passed us as well. Ugh! Well, I actually blurted out something else under my breath. So long, PR, it was nice thinking about achieving you:-(


Thankfully, Jon pulled me right out of my funk. "Well, we are definitely gonna finish and we will finish under 3:45." He was right about that. When I spotted the final turn and the clock indicating the final quarter mile, I pulled out a final push. As always, I crossed the finish line completely exhausted and extremely elated with my better half Anya waiting on the other side of the finish line. 

Are my eyes closed? Weird!