A Bear On The Run: 41/50 - Richmond Marathon

Virginia is for Lovers... of GWAR and beautiful marathons!

It's true. The Richmond Marathon, celebrating its 40th year, is in the top 10 prettiest courses I've run. Of course, I wasn't supposed to know that until next year when I actually had this race scheduled. However, a failed alternator left me stranded in rural Jackson, OH - 70 miles from the start of the Marshall University Marathon in WV I had intended to run last weekend.

Tow Truck Driver: "I don't know if we can work on them foreign Volvos."

Realizing it was impossible for me to make it to that race, I settled into Jackson for 2 nights and made the best of it. What seemingly could have been a miserable experience, turned out to be a great little escape. I made friends with the bartender at Rowdy's Smokehouse (damn good brisket) the first night: Mike sent me away with recommendations for places to eat (this town of 6,500 people had a great coffee shop AND brewery), a beautiful state park to run in, and a feeling that this old fashioned town wasn't going to be such a bad place to be stranded after all. He even suggested driving me to the race when he got off work! Of course, registration was now closed and I was drunk but I was touched by his willingness to help.

I spent Sunday afternoon getting lost on the trails in Lake Katharine State Nature Preserve

The car was almost fixed Monday morning when I discovered a friend (one of the first runners to run with the Libertyville Running Club I founded) works just outside of Jackson - small world! Daun and I had lunch before I made the drive home (stopping at Toxic Brew Co. in Dayton, OH and 18th Street Brewery in Hammond, IN, to break up the drive, of course). Tuesday morning, my wife asked if there was a race this weekend I could do, so I looked: Richmond Marathon was in 4 days but the flight was $700. That evening, I mentioned this to my friend Ted on a run when he offered to book me a flight with his frequent flyer miles. I am surrounded by great people! Online race registration was closed but they confirmed I could register at the expo.

Late Friday afternoon, I arrived at the expo, registered, then went to the brewery you're supposed to visit when in Richmond, Hardywood Park Craft Brewery. I hung around there long enough for Enoteca Sogna to open at 5pm for pasta, because suddenly I'm doing all (ok, most of) the things marathoners are supposed to do; I'm beginning to worry about getting these final states done in under 3 hours. From my understanding, there are still only 6 people that have accomplished this.

Murals, murals everywhere!

This year has been trying: running through injuries and illness, mostly hot races, and a bold schedule. There's not much room for error if I want to finish this goal in Anchorage, AK in 2019 - 10 years from when it all started at my first sub-3-hour marathon at the 2009 Boston Marathon. The forecast for this race was unseasonably cold; I do not like racing in the cold. At the airport Friday morning, I was researching how to eat and what to do to make up for the effect the cold weather will have on my body during a marathon. More glycogen. More clothing.

I re-read my Mississippi River Marathon blog post when the start was 20 degrees and sunny, mimicking what the Richmond race would be. I bought 2 GUs at the expo (I stopped using GUs in marathons years ago). I ate pasta. I bought fruit and grains for breakfast. I went to bed at 7pm. For the first marathon out of 58, I planned to run with music. I had become the cliche marathoner this weekend. I felt determined to not let down the people that made this race possible for me.

I found a hotel lobby to stay warm in right up until the start of the race. I knew the course had rolling hills and that there was a decent climb from mile 15 - 18 as you cross a bridge over the James River and approached the downtown area again; this is why I brought the music. In fact, I didn't turn on my music until I crossed the half in about 1:24.

I was cruising despite all the extra layers of clothing and accessories. I took one GU just before mile 15 to prepare me for the climb. Doug (a runner I shared a few miles with) and I teamed up to tackle the climb and headwind, sharing the task of blocking that wind for each other. It worked, our pace didn't slow too much.

It's been a while since I ran a marathon that I was so confident so early in the race that I was going to finish under 3 hours - my 35th sub-3-hour state. At mile 10, I felt good about this one. At mile 20, I focused on keeping the miles under 7 minutes because I had a new goal: to log a 2:52 marathon. It's a bit obsessive, but I've run 2:47, 2:48, 2:49, 2:51, 2:53, 2:54, 2:55, 2:56, 2:57, 2:58, and 2:59 marathon times. I'm missing a 2:50 & 2:52 from that sequence. With a DE marathon in 3 weeks, I didn't want to push for the 2:50.

This race has it all: great spectators, friendly people, junk food stations, a pickle station, a beer station, and a beautiful course meandering the city, charming New England landscapes, and a scenic riverfront. After 40 years, they clearly know how to give runners what they want at an event. I finished in 2:52:09 with a brutally fast downhill finish. Because it was so steep, I had to just let the 1/2 mile downhill take me or I would have fallen. I was thrilled to have what felt like a great race again. I changed in my car and set out to explore Richmond by foot.

First stop: GWARbar! Yes, this GWAR-themed pub is owned by Balsac - a member of GWAR and executive chef who states on their menu, "my mother taught me the secrets of intergalactic cooking... then I ate her." Aside from serving as a museum to GWAR with costumes, concert posters, and blood-spattered walls, this dive serves up some damn good eats.

Yep, this guy, Balsac the Jaws of Death

Coincidently, my post-race walk resembled Balsac's face

From there, I walked to Triple Crossing Brewing Co. for a tasting of most of their beers. Everyone in this town has run the Richmond race I discovered while chatting up the bartender who, of course, has run this race. I rounded out the day with a visit to Champion Brewing Co. (my second encounter with the Metallica pinball machine in a week!), then dinner at Perly's - a hip little jewish diner with the slogan, "It's Yiddish for Delicious!" I'm clearly a sucker for great wordplay.