35/50 - Des Moines Marathon

That 50th marathon look

50 marathons! Let's reminisce a bit: this all started back in 2001 when I was dating a girl who wanted to run the Chicago Marathon one day. I signed up for the 2001 Chicago Marathon a week later, not knowing exactly what a marathon even was. Stupid me. After that race, I swore I would never do another, yet here we are, 50 marathons over the past 15 years. I also never saw that girl again.

That 1st marathon look of not knowing what the hell you're doing

Let's get nerdy with the stats: the Des Moines Marathon was my 50th marathon, 35th different state marathon, and 31st sub-3-hour marathon. My slowest was the 2010 Pikes Peak Marathon (5:46:57) and my fastest was the 2014 Memphis Marathon (2:47:23); you could put two of those Memphis races into that Pikes Peak race and still have time for lunch! Pikes Peak is a tough one and is one of my favorites. My first sub-3-hour marathon was the 2009 Boston Marathon (2:59:06) - the race that kicked off this goal of running a marathon in every state. It was a perfectly executed race for me; I'll never run it again.

My average pace for all 50 marathons? That's 3:07:33. And my average pace for the 35 best state marathons I currently have? That's 2:57:30. Interestingly, my median marathon times are the couple I did in Wisconsin: the 2014 Wisconsin Marathon (2:58:57) and the 2013 Lakefront Marathon (2:58:39). Go Wisconsin!

All I have to show for it is this collection of ribbons and metal alloys

And now Des Moines... This was my 9th marathon this year and 12th in as many months. That schedule was starting to take its toll. Knowing that and knowing how poorly I've been training (read: not cross-training at all), my plan was to just get this one under 3 hours so I wouldn't have to go back to Iowa. Oh right, my ultimate goal is to complete a sub-3-hour marathon in each state. By that measure, the Des Moines Marathon narrowly got me to 29 states (there are 6 I have to redo - VT, ME, FL, OH, SD, OR) with 19 seconds left on the clock. But we'll get to that...

Michael and I made this a quick trip. After a Saturday morning shakeout run with the Libertyville Running Club at home, we drove the 5 & 1/2 hours to Des Moines. Have you been to the Iowa 80 - World's Largest Truck Stop? Michael hadn't. It's really not much to see but they do have a Caribou Coffee so...

We got to Des Moines, went to the expo, then to my delight, Michael had researched and mapped out the best and closest breweries and eats worthy of mention in a marathon blog that's more about beer and food than running. It's like he reads these! First stop: Court Avenue Brewing Company for lunch and, well, beer. Then after checking into the hotel and a few hours of yelling at people on t.v. - we were watching Tiny House Hunters on HGTV - we were ready to eat again.

Next up on the list of places: Zombie Burger + Shake Lab. This is a place 1995 me would love! Milkshakes were set to a mid-90s punk rock soundtrack - Operation Ivy & Social Distortion right off the bat. Everything is simple and fresh (think In-N-Out Burger), zombie-themed, AND delicious. Based on how crowded this place was and the recommendation from a local friend seconding this place, I'd say it's a must when in Des Moines. Back to the hotel for some murder-mystery shows. I'm starting to realize these are not Michael's favorite but they're my guilty pleasure.

The race started at 8am Sunday and we were 4 blocks from the start. This is sleeping in when you have 3 little kids at home. As I'm walking to the start corral, I stumbled upon a familiar face from college; Megan and I were friends and orientation leaders at NIU back in 2000/2001. I met her husband and friends then off we went. In our corral, Michael and I ran into Tom, also from the LRC, then kicked this off at a reasonable pace (6:45 min / mile).

It was warm and humid with an eerie, dense fog hanging around all morning (see race photo above). It might as well have just rained; we were drenched. Despite that, Des Moines has some great sights on display along the course: the stately homes along Kingman Blvd, Gray's Lake, and the Iowa State Capitol were some of the highlights. Of course things got a bit ugly on the hilly part around the Capitol (mile 23 - 25). Whose idea was it to put that there?!

Put a little gold on your dome

We were pretty consistent through mile 21, running together (crossing the timing mats at the same time to give those tracking us back home something to speculate over) and posing for every photographer. However, I was done. We both were. I faded knowing there was a 3-hour pace group that would soon catch up and keep me on track. Michael faded a little less. Sure enough, the first pacer passed me around mile 23 and the second pacer caught me around mile 24 and took me in with a finish of 2:59:40. Just enough to check Iowa off the list.

Shout out for 2 consistent 3-hour pacers! Not many races even have pacers for that group. Honorable mention to the guy running a 6:30 min/mile then walking 20 seconds that we passed (and who passed us) 26 times! I've never seen that strategy for a sub-3-hour marathon.

This race knows how to have a good time. It is well-organized and has a most righteous afterparty. Massage tables lining the finisher chute, free food from many vendors, and a street fest with beer and entertainment made it worth the price of admission.

I only drink beers that match my outfit

There was only one thing left to do before the drive home... Coffee at Mars Coffee Bar. My son Mars would approve. Oh, and a stop at Maid-Rite to introduce Michael to the classic Iowa burger joint... Or is it a Texas sloppy joe place? 60% of the time, I'm telling the truth but I ALWAYS say it with conviction. So I was half-right Michael, it IS an Iowa thing but more sloppy joe than burger.

34/50 - St. George Marathon

After all, this is Utah

I love the state of Utah. There is something different, almost otherworldly, about it that sets it apart from others: the red sandstone arch formations, colorful gorges & canyons, the Great Salk Lake, the Mormon religion... In & Out Burger. All of it fascinates me.

Our story begins after a flight into Las Vegas, lunch at In & Out Burger, and a 2-hour drive to St. George, UT the day before the race. The St. George Marathon is held on a Saturday - as are many races in Utah - for reasons I can only assume have to do with the followers of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) and their more disciplined observance of the Sabbath.

After the expo, we toured the winter home of Brigham Young - founder of Salt Lake City and 2nd president (after Joseph Smith) of LDS. Brigham Young was responsible for relocating the church from Illinois to Utah after Joseph Smith was killed by an angry Illinois mob. Just imagine, Illinois could have been the land of Mormonism! Nothing makes you feel like an outsider more than refusing a free copy of the Book of Mormon from the Elder (who claimed to have done mission work in Libertyville, IL) facilitating the tour. Instead, I asked to see the golden plates. He wasn't so accommodating after that.

Brigham Young's winter home, now a place for the LDS hard sell

St. George is not a party town on a Friday night. We opted for a good night's sleep since we had an early morning bus ride to the start. Similar to the bus debacle at the 2015 Revel Rockies Colorado marathon that Michael (who, along with Cheryl, joined me for this marathon) and I attempted, getting to the start looked to be questionable when we arrived to load the buses at 5am.

In hindsight, we should have known better given that they were incentivizing runners with some great raffle prizes if you loaded the buses between 4-4:15am. So here we are with about 6,000 of the 7,500 participants standing in unorganized chaos hoping for more buses to arrive. In the end, they did arrive and the race was delayed by only 8 minutes. We were on one of the last buses.

Michael and I started off conservatively. In true fashion however, I didn't really look at the map until the day before. This fast, downhill course also has quite a bit of long uphill. We were introduced to that at mile 7 at which point Michael turns to me and asks, "are you ok?" Shortly afterward I see that obnoxiously bright yellow/green Libertyville Running Cult shirt he is wearing fade into the distance.

I was just not feeling it. I decided early to run this smart and secure another sub-3 hour state. I have two more marathons in the next month and just ran one three weeks ago. I successfully ran nearly even splits - 1:27:30 for the first half and 1:27:36 in the second half. Michael on the other hand had the race I knew he was capable of since I first met him two years ago, 2:45:56 - a 5-minute PR! Incredible. I think he fully recovered and ate lunch by the time I finished.

Flashing The Stehling

Swimming at the hotel pool in those short hot pink shorts will turn a few heads, even more so in Utah. Afterward, we cleaned up at the hotel and staked out a spot at the finish line to see Cheryl finish. It was approaching 80 degrees and not a cloud in the sky. Cheryl, Michael, and I all had a great race. The course showcases a beautiful display of mountains and canyons, farms and small towns along a mostly downhill highway. The field of runners is FAST and largely Utah residents. These folks are fit; no surprise given the playground they have to train on.

A best-places-to-eat list of St. George doesn't run too deep so we opted for the best for a celebratory lunch at The Painted Pony before a short drive to Zion National Park to hike the splendid canyon country.

Vantage from the Emerald Pools hike in Zion National Park

Before driving back to Las Vegas Sunday morning, we walked to the LDS temple then enjoyed coffee on top of some cliffs within the Red Cliffs Desert Reserve for sweeping views of St. George. This is a great way to start or end a trip to this area and clearly a popular spot.

The Temple... Of doom?

The Libertyville Running Cult does Utah

There was one recommendation from the 2015 Las Vegas marathon I didn't make it to that we could now remedy before our flight: Frank's Tiki Room. This old school tiki room located off-strip is housed in a dark room with Polynesian-punk kitsch everywhere. Naturally, we bought mugs to commemorate this successful trip.

How can you not want one of these to take home?

Finishing with a cartwheel

33/50 - Salmon Idaho Marathon

The Salmon River and me (not pictured) naked as a bird in its icy waters

"I'm gonna win, win, win. I'm gonna win in Hawaii, I'm gonna win in Arkansas, I'm gonna win in Oklahoma, I'm gonna win in Idaho. And some of you are friends and you are going to call and you're going to say, Mr. Brunette, please, we can't take it anymore, we can't have you win like this, Mr. Brunette, you're driving us crazy, you're winning too much, please Mr. Brunette, not so much and I'm going to say I'm sorry, I'm going to keep winning because we are going to make running great again!"

Salmon, in central Idaho, isn't the easiest location to get to but it sure is worth it! We flew into Salt Lake City and drove about 5 hours to Hailey, ID, which is located steps from the Sawtooth Mountains. Hailey, along with the towns of Ketchum and Sun Valley, make up the Sun Valley region. In short, it's beautiful.

After settling into The Inn at Ellsworth on Thursday, we found a brewery. Hailey, unlike Ketchum and Sun Valley, lacks that ski resort town appearance and instead feels like a small town that people have called home for most of their lives as evident by the cute elderly couple we spotted leaving the brewery in this 1955 Bel-Air on what appeared to be date night.

On their way to Make-Out Point, I'm guessing

Hailey also has one of the most impressive public skateboard parks I have ever seen

Before breakfast at the B&B, we enjoyed a hike up Buttercup Hill - a 20-30 minute steep hike to the top offering 360 degree views of the mountains, town, airport, and alfalfa fields (no potato farms spotted yet) below.

Mike "Buttercup" on top of Buttercup Hill

The drive to Salmon from Hailey passes through Ketchum and Sun Valley then traverses the Sawtooth Mountains via a steep and harrowing, at times one lane, dirt and fist-sized rock road (quite similar to the marathon's terrain, in fact) through portions of open range cattle farmland for 40 miles (who cares, not our "luxury sedan" - a Hyundai Elantra) before reaching the base of Idaho's tallest peak, Mt. Borah (elevation 12,662 feet). This drive leaving Hailey added 4 more hours to arrive in Salmon and STILL no potato farms. After checking in, we did find another brewery, then a place to have salmon... In Salmon.

Trail Creek Road through the Sawtooth Mountains

The Stagecoach Inn, located on the Salmon River, is convenient. The buses shuttled us from there to a one-room school house in Tendoy (birthplace of Sacagawea) for the race start (elevation 4,900 feet). The course is a rocky dirt road that winds along the Lemhi River around mountain sides, through cattle pastures and horse farms, and ends on the Salmon River in Salmon (elevation 3,900 feet). Though a mostly downhill course, there were two decent climbs (significant if you're from the midwest) at mile 7 and mile 15. 

This being a small race (about 150 registered marathon participants), there were 6 of us leading the pack, then Bob and me. Bob is a high school cross country coach and post-collegiate runner, two things I am not. At mile 5, he took off and I was left with that familiar feeling that 2nd place isn't all that bad... Until I passed him at mile 13. The second climb at mile 15 is an out-and-back leg where I was able to see a young kid closing my lead to about 30 seconds. I panicked. 

There is a certain motivation in knowing that there are runners ahead of you to pick off. In this case, there was a constant fear that I was that motivation for someone else. I would stop at every aid station, drink a water (and the occasional HEED - it's not that bad!) and look back to see where he was. I never saw him again but over the last 11 miles, I imagined hearing foot strikes and heavy breathing and envisioned my defeat. Holding this pace solo with no one to pick off and a race to lose was particularly difficult. Couple this fear with a dull, nagging hamstring pain from a past injury and constantly scanning the road for sizable rocks and I never felt comfortable until that last turn.

And the winner is... Actually, the guy who ran in jean shorts is winning at life.

As I made the turn and saw the finish line, I once again experienced winning without breaking tape; it's tradition now. An overall time of 2:51:49 earned me the course record for 9 years of this race's history. Great, now I'll have to defend that! All in all, it was a fantastic race and I'm glad that I'll have some lasting (hopefully) ties to it. The race directors and other participants were all extremely friendly and welcoming, and the course was beautiful. You can't ask for much more.

We mingled a bit, had some beers, then spun the idea of making it to Bozeman, MT for a marathon the next morning. Stupid idea, right? Thanks to our friend Michael who planted this idea just the day before, we contemplated every conceivable way to make this happen and still be home to get the kids before Monday morning. Ultimately, we passed because we couldn't find a flight home that would work, so instead we used that time to find a clothing optional hot spring! I've been looking for one of these in my travels for the past 20 years - not one of those man-made spots which are fed by hot springs, but real, remote, natural hot springs.    

About 45 minutes south of Salmon, off of highway U.S. 93, is an unmarked dead end road that leads to a trailhead. The 2-mile hike up to Goldbug Hot Springs that followed is a moderate hike that rises about 900 feet and ends at a grouping of about 10 hot spring pools being fed by hot and cold mountain springs. Due to its proximity to nothing, this was not a crowded site. Since these are public lands, hikers are free to set up camp along the trail and can also drop trou for a naked dip in the pools. We did, of course. After 48 marathons, this was the best post-run activity to date!

Clothing optional means SAYONARA SHORTS!

You know what's great about traveling without your kids? Everything. Thanks to grandparents (hi, Mom! You're wonderful!), we were able enjoy this hot spring on our way to The Grand America Hotel in Salt Lake City (a must-stay if you're ever in SLC) for one more relaxing night and morning before flying home. Err, before going to In-N-Out Burger then flying home (no picture from In-N-Out because we couldn't wait three seconds to start shoving food into our mouths).

Whoever said America isn't great needs a weekend by the Grand America pool

Oh quit it, the kids also enjoyed us traveling without them

32/50 - Mickelson Trail Marathon South Dakota (and a Colorado Update)

The Mickelson Trail - a few miles from the finish

This trip included the Mickelson Trail Marathon on June 5th then the Revel Rockies Marathon on June 12th, marking my 9th marathon in as many months. Having been humbled in Oregon last month by just missing my sub-3-hour goal after a long streak of sub-3-hour marathons, I was reminded again in South Dakota that I am not infallible. The key is to take these near misses in stride and remember just how cool it is to experience the country this way.

Once again, I failed to pay much attention to the course map when registering. Like the Bend Marathon, the course elevation would require some acclimation and the terrain is what we midwesterners love to gripe about... Hills. Though when looking for a race in South Dakota, there was no doubt that this was the one to do. Not only is it beloved by the marathon crowd, but this is the Black Hills - a natural beauty that leaves an impression that this land is unadulterated Old West. You can imagine the call of the gold rush, the gun fights, the lawless ways of its past.

The more kids I have, the more complicated my attempts to travel without them become. Before catching a flight to meet The Wife in Denver (only to drive 6 hours to Deadwood, SD the day before the race), I drove 3 kids to Cleveland by myself for about 8 hours. Peeing at rest stops with 3 kids aged 1, 2, and 3 years old attached to you should be listed as an accomplishment as great, if not greater, than running a sub-3-hour marathon.

Sometimes the drive is as exciting as the destination itself, though as noted above, sometimes it's three kids screaming while you try to make it to the next rest stop. Without kids, the drive from Denver to Deadwood is a peaceful experience through barely inhabited lands: Cattle. Horses. A bicycle graveyard. Carefree teenaged girls in an old red convertible. A middle-aged man alone blowing bubbles on the side of the road amidst a mountain backdrop. A Tejano band playing on a tractor trailer flatbed under a shade tree with a dozen people dancing. These are just a few of the surreal sights from this drive.

Pringles, WY - You'll find this and not much else

We made it to packet pick up with 30 minutes to spare. The start of the race (the next morning) is at 5,300ft. I like to think elevation doesn't affect me, but it does. Not in sickness, or dizziness, but in dehydration and in physical performance, if just slightly. Since I teeter on that 3-hour mark, this really heightened the suspense. That's the only thing I had to worry about now that I just booked the last room on Main St. in Deadwood at the Celebrity Hotel (awesome location and hotel, by the way). To the displeasure of my wife, I like to do everything last minute, and look, it worked out! This time.

The Mickelson Trail is a 109-mile rail trail that traverses the heart of the Black Hills through mountainous forests and open prairies, over bridges, through tunnels, and alongside creeks. The race starts at the last quarter of the Trail near an old roadside church right out of Little House on the Prairie and follows the Trail to its end in Deadwood. Holy crap was it cold before the sun rose! I usually don't check a bag so here I am blue-lipped and shivering on the side of a road for an hour and half before the start. The M&Ms were a nice touch though.

What's common about these small races (400 marathoners) is the ability to pick the leaders. This time, they found me - two guys that ran for and just graduated from University of Souix Falls. What we didn't realize was there was one more kid straight out of college that also ran track & cross country. We met him around mile 17 when he passed me and one of the guys then the other to win the race in 3:06:35. The elevation, the heat, the hill, and the trail whittled away at all of our hopes of a sub-3-hour finish. I finished in 3rd place with 3:10:24. Garmin details HERE.

Mickelson Trail Marathon pic - It may have gotten a bit warm

I was last in Deadwood in August 2012 for the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. It's still two months away, but Deadwood is buzzing with bikers. The city attracted some of the most nefarious outlaws of the 19th century and it boasts about this history at the Adams Museum. Maybe this is the appeal for us bikers. Or maybe it's the meandering roads. Or both. If you've seen the HBO show Deadwood, you have a pretty good idea of what transpired here some 150 years ago: Wild Bill Hickok, Calamity Jane, brothels, gambling, opium, whiskey, murder, and the gold rush.

Me at the 2012 Sturgis Motorcycle Rally trying to look like a biker and not a CPA

Deadwood was illegally settled on land that was granted to the Lakota people in the 1868 Treaty of Laramie. Well, it was granted to them before we discovered gold in them hills. Our government stole back the Black Hills with the Congressional Act of 1877. After the atrocious Battle of Little Bighorn gave way to this Act, things never got better. Reading about the white man's betrayal of the native people of the Black Hills and America will make you sick. But I digress.

So here we are shortly after the race experiencing the Deadwood history via their Passport Program that encourages you to visit many of the town's historical sites including: the mountain side burial sites of many of its famed characters at Mt. Moriah Cemetery, an abandoned gold mine, and the Adams House - the home of one of the town's founding businessmen that had been left unoccupied for 50 years (every detail of the home is impeccably original). We capped the night off with whiskey, of course, at the Franklin Hotel balcony overlooking Main St.

Grave sites of Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity Jane

The next morning, we finished up the Passport after a stop at Pump House - a great coffeehouse deli at the site of an old gas station that also houses a glass blowing studio. We left Deadwood with a wealth of historical knowledge though sadly, all I physically received for my Passport efforts was this small piece of chocolate.

An Old West bamboozling

We spent the next few days exploring the Black Hills: A night in Hill City. A day hike at Custer State Park. Then onto Fort Collins, CO for beer: New Belgium Brewery, Odell's Brewery - both are great spots for a post-run beer or three at 11am on a Wednesday, uh, not that I would know from experience... Breckenridge had Hearthstone Restaurant, a historic-home-turned-luxe-eatery, to enjoy the phenomenal scenery. We rented a boat. I got some great mountain trail runs in. We hung out with a friend from The Wife's law school days.

Then, Denver. We met up with the Libertyville Running Club partaking in and/or seeking revenge on Revel Rockies marathon or half marathon. Our team, aptly named Revenge of the Donut Hoes (when the LRC came out here last year, our team name was The Donut Hoes), did it; we all walked away (or shall I say limped away?) with great races and a 1st place team finish. You know what else we did? Went back to Shoes & Brews and got our names back on the 800m challenge board. It's tradition. I forgot running shoes so I ran it in Chuck Taylors. I'm now reconsidering my goal of running a marathon in them.

Revenge of the Donut Hoes!

I made up for that 5 hour and 46 minute Pikes Peak Marathon I did in CO back in 2010. I now have a 2:54:56 in Colorado. Garmin details HERE. This was the first of a couple states I have to revisit to get that sub-3-hour marathon. Though I no longer have to attempt a CO marathon, it certainly won't be the last time I visit. I'd say the same for South Dakota because I could see myself living there, but first I have some unfinished work to do.

Doing the Stehling in Colorado with Michael Stehling

31/50 - Bend Marathon

Of all places to have to revisit to claim a sub-3-hour marathon in each state, there are worse places than Oregon. So what went wrong? Nothing. But we'll get to the race in a bit.

Last time I was in Oregon some 13 years ago it rained... The whole damn time. My memories include a beautiful coastline, not being allowed to pump my own gas, and hearing about this grade school in Portland that was converted into a hotel / bar / adult playground that I didn't get a chance to visit. It's time to remedy that. But first, beer.

Oregon is the beer capital of the U.S. and if you've been reading this blog you know that it's been about beer and food first and running second. Breakside Brewery in Portland was a good start before heading over to The Kennedy School to check into our "classroom." Imagine that your old grade school was converted into a destination hotel: each room is an old classroom with the original chalkboard still adorning the wall, most of the furniture and photos lining the hallways are from the mid-20th century, the cafeteria has become a brewpub, the boiler room a bar within a labyrinth of pipes, the detention room a whiskey and cigar bar, the honors classroom a smoke-free bar playing only classical music, the auditorium a movie theater, and the teachers' lounge now a beautiful outdoor heated pool.

I always liked grade school.

Tempting as it was to spend Friday afternoon and evening earning extra credit at The Honors Bar, there was much of Portland to explore. The Cascade Brewing Barrel House, the Pacific Northwest's pioneers of sour beer, was a nice patio spot with a good apricot sour beer. I hadn't been off the plane for 3 hours and I was drunk. We alternated beer stops with coffee stops because Oregon also happens to be known for its coffee scene. Oh and look, it's Powell's Books! Originally a Chicago bookstore, this location in Portland takes up an entire city block and claims to be the largest independent book store in the world. The books-I-have-to-read queue just got longer and I think I lost my wife somewhere in this building - if you find her, I'll pay for shipping to send her back home. The Chicago location was her old hang when she was attending University of Chicago, but the Portland store is on a whole new level.

I don't know why I bothered but I felt like I needed to stand in line for donuts at the original Voodoo Doughnut. I love donuts. I do. But these have always been over-the-top, even for me. I did start a running club using their maple bacon donut as our mascot so I figured I had to give it another try. Meh. Soon it was back to The Kennedy School to wash away my disappointment with more beer (and tater tots).

OK, the Raspberry Beret Prince tribute donut was pretty righteous.

The Alberta Arts District of Portland is rad. We grabbed breakfast at Pine State Biscuits before a scenic drive to Bend. Biscuits are the new donuts, mark my words. And unbeknownst to us until we returned to this area on our way out of town, my favorite brewery of this entire trip was hidden behind this storefront.

The drive to Bend can be scenic or really scenic. We chose the really scenic route that takes you along the Columbia River on the U.S.'s first scenic highway - US 30 - offering sweeping views of this majestic river and frequent stops for short hikes and waterfalls. In the town of Hood River you'll leave the river road and travel along the north and east sides of Mt. Hood for arguably one of the prettiest drives in all of Oregon. The road has several wineries, cider houses, and fruit stands making for a leisurely drive into Bend. We stopped at the first cider house we saw, Fox Tail Cider, and enjoyed a game of ladder golf with Mt. Hood looming over an apple orchard in the background.

Columbia River view from The Vista House at Crown Point.

Multnomah Falls. But don't bother hiking to the top. Trust me.

Mt. Hood from near Fox Tail Cider.

Downtown Bend is reminiscent of most ski towns: Main St., quaint shops, and outdoorsy folks. We stayed at the Lara House B&B overlooking Drake Park and Mirror Pond along the Deschutes River in downtown. Yes, this is home to Deschutes Brewery but since we already stopped in the Portland location and I knew they would be at the post-race party, we opted for a pre-race dinner at 10-Barrel Brewing. I can see why Anheuser-Busch bought them; the IPAs and food were incredible!

Race morning - it was unseasonably cool but that made for fine running weather. The field had about 300 marathoners and 1,100 half marathoners. There's always a ringer or two in these small marathons. Here we had Max King, a local who's made a name for himself in the ultra running world. Max has the Ice Age Trail 50-mile race course record, the only ultra I've done, besting my time by almost 2 hours... And I thought I did well there.

The course volunteers routed us the wrong way after 2 miles (luckily Max got us back on track). I began to realize the altitude and hills might make a sub-3-hour race difficult. Or maybe it's because I didn't have a coffee this morning. Or maybe it's because The Wife tagged along for this one. Or because she made me hike to the top of Multnomah Falls the day before. After reaching the highest point on the course at mile 15, I thought I could make up for it on the downhill but there just wasn't enough of it and I took a pretty nice fall on a trail section. Ouch! I managed 4th place in 3:02:52. I'll let you review the Garmin data here. In any case, the mixture of trail and road course made for a beautiful tour of Bend and I'm glad I did the race.

Crux Fermentation Project (or brewery in unscientific beer-nerd speak) made for a great way to reclaim those 3,000+ calories I left on the course. They had a few great beers, though not as many sours as we were expecting, and a really solid grilled cheese. Then more coffee, then more beer... A couple of locals (at a coffee shop) recommended Spork for dinner. This will go down as one of the better meals we've had in a long time (The Wife says Top 5 ever). These globally-inspired (Latin America, Africa, Asia) dishes once peddled from an Airstream trailer are worthy of your attention and deserving of the numerous accolades they've amassed. Plus, we got three entrees for $34. I couldn't eat or drink another thing. Ok, maybe some Marionberry ice cream. Goodnight.

We drove to Sisters, OR on Monday morning for coffee after our morning coffee on our way to another brewery (before getting coffee). You starting to see a pattern here? At Sisters Coffee Company, I was mistaken for Ben Ryan, the Fiji Rugby team's head coach. I get it; all of us redhead coaches look alike. We drove to Mt. Hood for another short hike; the hike to Mirror Lake was worth the 3-mile wet and snowy trek through the dense Douglas fir forest.

Me? Or Ben Ryan?

The Wife walks the plank at Mirror Lake.

With a red-eye flight we had time for more food and beer in Portland. We ventured back to the Alberta Arts District for great Indian food at Bollywood Theater then stumbled on that hidden brewery I mentioned earlier. Great Notion Brewery is a small brewpub but the 4 beers they had on tap were spectacular! Juice Box - a cloudy DIPA that looked like a mimosa - was the stand out; this tasted like a hoppy peach and mango juice box. Root Beard is their take on a root beer flavored beer that's actually done right (I usually dislike this style because they taste like cough syrup). Then we had one more stop we had to make: Salt & Straw for ice cream. Their strange combinations of flavors may not sound all that appealing, but I assure you that the Pear & Bleu Cheese flavor is divine.

I'll be back for you Oregon, you beer-loving, trucker-hat-wearing, coffee-drinking son-of-a-bitch!

Me? Or Ben Ryan?

30/50 - A2A Race for Mercy Marathon

Sometimes, I just Get Lucky.

Oklahoma. In grad school, I spent about 3 months road tripping the United States making it to every contiguous state EXCEPT Oklahoma (for no reason other than that there had to be one state I avoided). I succeeded in that mission but with this 50-state marathon goal, it was just a matter of time before I would have to set foot here.

I was really looking forward to this trip... Until I wasn't. After running the Mississippi River Marathon last month into a brutal headwind - and reading the reviews for this race noting how I should expect the same - I was dreading it. I had originally planned to run the Oklahoma City Marathon, where my friend Jaron (from the Libertyville Running Club) had recently moved. 

When I travel alone, I prefer to not book anything and just be spontaneous. This is where the Get Lucky part comes into play. My Friday flight to Dallas got cancelled so I took the meal, hotel, and $500 flight voucher (bonus!) to be on the Saturday morning flight WITH a business class upgrade. This meant I didn't have time to drive down to Austin for SXSW but since I still hadn't booked a Friday night hotel, I didn't lose anything. While in the airport Friday, I discovered that Howie and Anne (more friends from the LRC) were in Dallas. I met up with them and spent Saturday afternoon dumbfounded at how it's not just Chicago that spends all week wearing green, drinking Miller Lite on the streets, and acting like drunken juniors in college for St. Patrick's Day. 

Truckyard's St. Patrick's Day - not very Texas

Truck Yard - an outdoor adult playground with beer, food trucks, live music, an old Airstream trailer fashioned into a bar, nostalgic junk strewn about, and a tree house(!) - would probably have been a really cool spot had it not been for the obnoxious celebration taking place. From there, we found the coolest area of Dallas. Deep Ellum District is the Austin enclave. We enjoyed some patio beers on a beautifully sunny afternoon with decidedly less St. Patrick's Day revelers at Deep Ellum Brewing Co.

Hanging with LRC friends - Anne and Howie Kaske

The marathon is located 100 miles north of Dallas in Ardmore, OK. It's a small town in an area that is predominantly horse and cattle ranches. I arrived Saturday night and read my book until I fell asleep. The book - an account of one's battle with cancer - was written by my neighbor who recently died of Melanoma cancer at 33 years old (leaving behind a wife and 3 young children). It had me realizing again this weekend just how lucky I am. I now really missed my kids. 

The race is a point-to-point race that begins at the Turner Falls Overlook (a beautiful vantage point of the waterfalls down into a gorge) in the Arbuckles Mountains. I know, mountains in Oklahoma?! The bus arrived at the start with just a few minutes to hand off my drop bag and go. 

Turner Falls

The race is small with 120 marathoners, 350 half marathoners, and 500 20-milers and 5k participants together at various points along the course. That being said, the leaders of the marathon took off with me in 3rd place and alone by mile 2. I went into this race thinking I had a chance to win but this was discouraging. I was wearing my lucky pink shorts from the Hawaii marathon I won last year (coincidentally taking place later this morning) and the gloves I got from the Arkansas marathon I won this past December. Sounds like a ritual, right? Actually, I didn't realize I wore those gloves until I was 2 miles into the race and thought, "great, now I'm going to sully the good luck these two winning items have brought me!"

It sounds insignificant next to a battle with cancer, but after reading that book about how much my neighbor persevered, I just told myself not to give up on this race. The course was a medley of both the Boston and NYC marathons - some good downhill in the beginning, rolling hills in the middle, then a hilly last 6 miles like Central Park is to the NYC marathon. I just let the front runners go in hopes that they would fade later. 

Around mile 2 I heard a couple yell, "go Mike!" so I smiled and waved at the support. I then realized my name is not on my bib. Holy shit, that's Jaron and Agnus! Jaron is the old LRC transplant I mentioned earlier. They live in Oklahoma City, about 2 hours north of this race. They left their house at 5:30am to surprise me and cheer me on! I got chills thinking about how cool it was to have friends go out of their way to come see me and just what the LRC has done for me and others. I saw them throughout the course and each time I got a boost to keep chipping away at the leaders. 

That headwind I was so worried about was nonexistent this year. It was sunny and 40 degrees. There are two out-and-back jaunts off the point-to-point course where I could gauge just how far ahead the leaders were - 3 minutes, then 2 minutes at mile 9. This jaunt took us through a private ranch which offered a beautiful glimpse into ranching life in Oklahoma; certainly a highlight of the course. The last out-and-back is at mile 20. I was able to see the competition again and noted that the 2nd place guy just passed the 1st place guy. By mile 23, I was in 2nd place and after noticing that 1st place was starting to fade, I made a push to catch him at mile 24. He didn't put up a fight; the race was mine. Those pink shorts are 2 for 2! 

This felt like another Hawaii Marathon moment in which I had little hope of winning for most of the race until the very end. I can't put that feeling of elation into words; it's incredible! In addition to winning the race, I actually felt like I ran a good race. I finished in 2:49:12 (Garmin details here), my 3rd fastest marathon out of 44 total. I had to smile at, and indulge in, the table of cinnamon rolls at the finish. I hunted down cinnamon rolls after the Arkansas marathon win 3 months ago. I reunited with Jaron and Agnus over lunch after discovering how difficult it is to go out on a Sunday given that everything is closed. Also, you sure aren't getting alcohol. 

In another Get Lucky occurrence this weekend, my drive back to Dallas had 3 major accidents that shut down the interstate in the opposite direction. Just when I thought that was odd, I noticed flashing lights for a 4th ahead in my lanes just beyond where navigation told me to exit. Whew! I went back to Dallas' Deep Ellum district to celebrate with beers at Brain Dead Brewing with hopes of getting into the incredibly crowded Pecan Lodge (an acclaimed BBQ/beer joint across the street) only to find that it closes early on Sundays. Instead, I stumbled into a great resale shop called Lula B's that houses a fascinating inventory of everything vintage Texas. 

Lula B's - Oh the Texas kitsch in this place

With some time to spare before my evening flight, I made it to the 6th Floor Museum. If you're at all fascinated with presidential history, this is an absolute must! The museum is located in what was the Texas School Book Depository from which Lee Harvey Oswald assassinated John F. Kennedy. Standing in the very location the shots were fired and looking down on the street to where the motorcade would have been some 50 years ago was absolutely chilling. This also happens to be my favorite era in American history and the audio tour of that time period is very interesting. 

Note the open window, from which Oswald shot, circled in pink

All-in-all, this was a great weekend and a really well done small race that gives you that local feel I really search for on this 50-state marathon quest. I made it into their local paper. You can read that here. Next up, Bend, OR at the end of April! I'm really looking forward to this one, getting back to Portland, and meeting up with some more LRC folks that are out there. 

Winning gloves, winning shorts, winning mustache

29/50 - Mississippi River Marathon

Clarksdale, MS and my weekend disposition 

Here I am driving alone through the Mississippi Delta, home of the blues, and I can't help from feeling blue myself. Maybe it's the weather - sunny, but unseasonably cold this weekend. Maybe it's the bleak, dilapidated surroundings, for the Delta never returned to its cotton-rich prosperity after the 1950s. Maybe it's the book I was reading on the flight - Wally Lamb's I Know This Much Is True - a complicated story of human nature, relationships, and mental health. I had a stressful and depressing week and this was only magnifying those feelings. As we runners know, your mental fitness plays as much a part of your success in a marathon as your physical fitness. At the moment, that sub-3-hour finish in Mississippi wasn't looking good.

After flying into Memphis and driving 2.5 hours to Greenville, MS, I arrived Friday evening in time for the packet pickup. This area is a hotbed for hot tamales and as it turns out, has a fascinating history with tamales that dates back to the Civil War, or even 100-years earlier to the U.S.-Mexican War. These tamales are smaller, grittier, and boiled (rather than steamed) or sometimes deep fried, in contrast with their Latin counterparts. Naturally, I did as the locals would and grabbed a hot tamale pie from Hot Tamale Heaven for dinner as a pre-race meal and settled into the hotel for a few hours of the Investigation Discovery channel - the only thing I miss about not having cable. Oh, and I found a Shipley Donuts down the street, so...

Delicious

The race is on the small side: 250 marathoners and about 700 half marathoners. It's point-to-point so I was on a bus at 6am for an 8am start. This style of race is a stark reminder of just how far 26.2 miles is! The weekend's cold front was at its worst this morning (mid-20Fs with a high of 39F for the day) and the winds were looking to pose a problem. This course started in Arkansas, crossed the Mississippi River, and finished in Mississippi - an all eastward bearing into a 14-20 mph headwind. Great. At least there were bonfires at the start and the sunrise was stunning.

The first 3 miles consisted of 5 of us tightly packed together in front. We all knew we had to work together to shield ourselves from that wind. The eventual winner surged, one fell off and three of us agreed to work together until the bridge at mile 13. At this point, only Rob - a Greenville resident who has run this race every year since its inception 4 years ago - and myself were left. Without a verbal agreement, he and I alternated every 1/2 mile (almost exactly!) blocking that wind for each other. This teamwork continued through mile 20 where the course turns into a neighborhood and the winds were no longer as bad. I can't tell you how thankful I was for that agreement. It kept my mind on the task at hand rather than wandering into the previously mentioned dark space I was in.

At this point I knew I could slow the pace and coast into a sub-3-hour finish, there was no point keeping up with Rob. I thanked him and we parted ways. Though there were aid stations every mile, crowd support was sparse until now. This race is really well-managed and the townsfolk are supportive. Marathoners merged with half marathoners around this point and together we traversed an area of Greenville I can only imagine was once the home to wealthy cotton plantation owners for it was the only sign of prosperity I saw this entire weekend.

Mile 15 - down the bridge over the Mississippi River

2:56:07, 3rd place overall, and my 24th sub-3-hour finish state. Oh, and what was waiting for me at the finish line? Hot tamales and Shipley Donuts! My stay in Greenville had come full-circle. Though this was technically my 29th state, I mentioned in previous posts that I've amended my goal to complete each state in under 3 hours and I will need to redo 5 states to make that happen. It's shaping up to be a big year; this has been my 5th marathon in as many months and that monthly plan continues for much of 2016.

Without much to do in Greenville, I made the pilgrimage back to Memphis for the remainder of the weekend, but not without stopping in Clarksdale, MS where the famed Devil's Crossroads is located. It is said this is where bluesman Robert Johnson sold his soul to the devil for success and later died at the age of 27. The town is a shell of its former self but still is home to the first blues museum and the occasional juke joint.

Juke Joint in Clarksdale, MS

I was in Memphis a year ago for the marathon and hit the usual spots. This time, I went for what I missed during past visits: Gus' Fried Chicken, the Sun Studio tour, Central BBQ, Arcade Restaurant (the oldest diner in Memphis), and the Crystal Shrine Grotto. I've always had a fascination with religious art though as far I can remember, I've been an atheist. The Crystal Grotto is a crystal cave designed by an artist in the 1930s depicting religious artwork. That someone has such a devotion to a belief that they spend their entire lives, their talents, creating something so amazingly beautiful is pretty incredible.

A panoramic photo of inside the Crystal Shrine Grotto

Of course, I do love searching out the breweries on these trips. I spent Saturday evening drinking at High Cotton Brewing Co. - one of few breweries in Memphis and certainly worth the visit. As I'm making my way through their line up, a group of men and women in red dresses stumbles in causing a jovial commotion. The Hash House Harriers - a drinking club with a running problem. My kind of people.

High Cotton Brewing Co. gets right to the point

After I founded the Libertyville Running Club on the principles of having fun, drinking, eating, and occasionally running, I discovered this concept started in the 1930s with The Hash House Harriers. Now approximately 1,800 hashes (chapters) worldwide, this social running club thrives. I spent hours with these folks, getting versed on the history, the practices, and organizational-style. And the more I spoke with them, the more I realized how cultish the organization is: newbie hazings involving displays of nudity, pledging in with a ritual involving members standing around the pledge and asking questions of their sexual history to determine their Hash Name, etc... I was left with the realization that the LRC is exactly what I wanted it to be: fun, social, and not at all like a fraternity.