50th Sub-3-hour Marathon State: Redemption in New Mexico

Predicting sub-3-hour state number 5-0! 

Here I am at El Patio in Albuquerque, again, and entirely by coincidence... Michael and I ate here after a failed, and quite miserable, attempt to run the 2018 Sandia Crest Marathon in under 3 hours... Melissa directed us here after landing in town. 

That inaugural 2018 event was hot, sunny, and awfully uphill for an aggressive downhill marathon. This year's event was two weeks later in hope of avoiding some of that desert heat; while about 10 degrees cooler, it was still sunny and dry, with a forecast of 82 degrees. 

My Strava notes: '16 Revel Rockies vs. '18 Sandia Crest

From El Patio, we drove to Santa Fe, the oldest US capital city. We settled into our room at the adorably southwestern Pueblo Bonito Bed & Breakfast Inn, then enjoyed a drink from the Bell Tower Bar as the clouds broke, revealing an inspiring sunset behind the Jemez Mountains. We took advantage of the cool, desert evening with a stroll around Santa Fe Plaza, discovering the historical sites that make this city unique. 

Cute Bed & Breakfast, right?

Buying jewelry from the Pueblo craftspeople that sell on the Santa Fe Plaza

The sunset view from Bell Tower Bar on the rooftop of La Fonda Hotel

Friday morning, with 24 hours to go, Bill and I hit the Acequia Trail for a shakeout run. We're feeling a bit of the 7,200ft of elevation here in Santa Fe. I've found the sweet spot is to run your race at elevation within 48 hours of landing. The beauty of these downhill marathons is that you don't really feel the difficulty of running at elevation... until the uphills. 

Miracle stairs of Loretto Chapel - learn about them HERE

On the drive back to Albuquerque, we avoided highways, routing us along the Turquoise Trail, a Scenic Byway. The quirky town of Madrid - a coal town, turned ghost town, later revived by hippies - and desert scenery into the mountains make this the preferred road to traverse. From there, we drove the Sandia Crest Scenic Byway to the start line of tomorrow's marathon.

Madrid photo park

Bill likes baseball, really

We used to be cool

We drove the course home, reliving every painful memory of where things went wrong 3 years ago: the 1-mile climbs at mile 5 (elevation 8,600ft) and mile 12 (elevation 6,900ft), the goal time slip away at mile 16, walks at miles 18, 20... and 21 through 26 where Michael met me, in an equal amount of pain, to unceremoniously cross the finish line together in 3:14:55, my worst marathon in 10 years.

Vegos for dinner, though delicious, would prove troublesome later. I overindulged in burritos, eating Melissa's other half in bed while watching murder mystery shows, in addition to my burrito. It felt so right at the time. 

Bill and Melissa were staying at a separate hotel for the evening, either to avoid my burritos or my 3:30am alarm. I was given a VIP pass that included a separate coach bus, with a toilet, that would shuttle me from my hotel to the start line. I'm going out on top!

As seen from my bus to the start - IT'S A SIGN!

I know this course well now. Aside from that mile of climb after mile 4, it's stupidly fast and quad-busting through mile 11. At that point, Melissa and Bill were waiting to leapfrog me in the car for the remainder of the race, tossing me BodyArmor sports drink - a last minute event switch from Powerade due to supply shortages (everything new on race day!) - in between the 2-mile gaps of the race aid stations. I knew from 2018 that I would feel dehydrated without it. Bill ran up the hills sprinkled throughout the course and the last 3 miles with me. 

Bill assisting me up the mile 12 climb on another lonely course

The 6:22 pace per mile through mile 16 was anticipated. From there, I could slow to a 7:30 pace per mile to bring this in at 2:58:30. That was a comfortable plan that accounted for the long climbs and hot sun of the second half. It did NOT, however, account for that extra half a burrito that sent me to the port-a-potty at mile 22, my only bathroom stop during a marathon in 75 marathons! 2 minutes lost on a number 2 at mile 22... Shit. 

This was going to be a close fight. I didn't know my overall average pace or distance since I mistakenly stopped my watch around mile 18. Then my headphones stopped working. Making matters worse, the mile markers were way off. 

I fought hard but was making plans to return. Bill was doing everything to keep me in it and as a result, I stopped taking walk breaks. Approaching the finisher chute, I could hear Melissa screaming her head off. I pushed as hard as I could, not knowing if I would make it; the clock was obscured by the glare of the sun. 

"That was Mike Brunette from Libertyville, IL who just completed a marathon in under 3 hours in all 50 states, let's hear it for Mike!" Did the announcer just say that? Was he sure? Melissa asked him if the clock was accurate when I heard Bill shout, "48(seconds)!!!" I jumped with elation on battered legs and scurried to find them for some big-ass hugs. 

3rd place overall

This goal began in Boston in 2009 with a 2:59:06 and finished here with a 2:59:12, 3rd place. Consistent, right? However, I can assure you it has been a wild ride with some amazing ups and downs in these 11 years: a 2:44:30 PR and that 3:14:55 low point, injuries, missed race starts, the COVID-19 year, tears of joy, and fears of this being unattainable. 

A Bear On The Run is now a bear done! 

I'm delightfully pleased to be finished with this 50 sub-3-hour marathons goal, which is fitting because I'm in the Land of Enchantment. But, what to do next?

Enjoy the moment. Celebrate. Return to Boston to bookend this goal with a victory lap at the fall 2021 race. Then, throw this stupid GPS watch into a lake!

My awesome friends staged a surprise party the night I returned home

49th Sub-3-hour Marathon State: A Successful 3rd Attempt at Vermont

One of us has 2 thumbs, had fun, AND beat the other by 2/10th of a second

The COVID year messed us all up. Sure, it was fun for a bit. Then winter came. Then it got lonely. Then I realized how much I was drinking. Coming back from that to prepare for this race began March 1st with a 26-week plan, broken into 8 weeks of base building, body weight workouts, and attempting to quit drinking. Then, 18 weeks of Pete Pfitzinger's Advanced Marathoning 70-85 miles per week training plan, body weight workouts, 75+ miles per week of cycling, and actually quitting drinking. I'm putting that out there now in case you're here for the breweries... 

We landed in Boston on Friday and no sooner found ourselves at Jack's Abbey, a brewery. Then, on to Treehouse, another brewery. The latter was a good place for the club to rendezvous (a few dozen of the Libertyville Running Club were here) and to test my commitment to sobriety - it's one of my favorites. They have cold brew coffee and seltzer now and have community guitars to play. Now THAT'S a great idea, especially since I learned to play guitar while simultaneously drinking coffee and seltzer during the pandemic. 

Coffee at Treehouse's brewery / adult outdoor play land in Charlton, MA 

They trust us with not shitty guitars, they also limit patrons to 2 beers

Five of us rented an idyllic farmhouse, built in 1810 but newly remodeled, in Shelburne Falls, MA. We awoke Saturday morning to the sound of a brook that ran through the backyard and Laurie burping. We're accustomed to one of these things by now. After a shakeout run in the High Ledges Wildlife Sanctuary, we explored the three things Shelburne Falls has for us: a dam, potholes (geological, not the Chicago variety), and the Bridge of Flowers, ending with dinner at West End, a cute restaurant overlooking the river. 

Our house

Getting high on a shakeout overlooking Shelburne Falls

Damn, look at that dam

Flowers on a bridge

The Bridge of Flowers

Like back home, this area was having a hot, humid weather streak. Fortunately, that broke on Saturday and promised to stay overcast and just below 80 degrees for the race on Sunday before getting hot again. We woke at 3:30am for blueberry pancakes we made the night before. We were on a bus at 5:15am to the port-a-potty lines (runners, amirite?) and then the start line in Marlboro, Vermont.

LRC is handsome in every state we travel to run

I've said it here before, New England runners are fast; 18 are in front of me from the start in a race field of less than 300. The course is downhill for much of the first 10 miles, in fact, the course profile is similar to the Boston Marathon with more downhill and gravel roads but without the fanfare. The only high-five I (almost) got was from a stray cat that didn't budge when I put my hand out. I think her name was Wellesley. 

Somewhere around mile 9

I had planned to run the half in 1:25:00 (made it in 1:24:30), be at mile 20 at 2:10:00 (made it in 2:09:46), then relax. After mile 18, I was alone. I finished my 9th fastest marathon (out of 74) in 9th place in 2:52:36. Yay, I won a coffee mug! Aside from my quads feeling defeated, I was thrilled to have finally conquered Vermont after the 2011 Shires of Vermont Marathon and the 2019 Vermont City Marathon thoroughly enjoyable misses.

We hung out to see all of LRC finish then off to one last brewery, Whetstone Brewery, in Brattleboro, VT, which overlooks the Connecticut River. On the drive there, we found Apex Orchards. Laurie may have hinted that she wanted to go pick peaches. We had to stop.

This stop inspired a Songs About Peaches playlist for the drive to Whetstone

The views of Howie from Whetstone's patio were as dreamy as the river

Continually reinventing myself throughout this challenge has kept me motivated to run. To learn how one's body adapts to different scenarios, age, and experience is exciting. Also, I'm happier when I'm not doing the same thing over and over again... like running a marathon OVER AND OVER AGAIN. Ok, but the surroundings are different and Vermont is pretty. So is New Mexico, which I'll see again at the end of September and hopefully for the last time, for a while anyway.

I'm getting pumped for my last state

48th Sub-3-hour Marathon State: The 3rd and Final South Dakota Redo

3rd time's a charm in charming South Dakota

2020, what a year! With all the uncertainty pertaining to racing in a pandemic, the 51st Brookings Marathon, postponed from its original date in May, successfully pulled it off. The field size of 120 marathoners and 118 half marathoners, its remote South Dakota location, and measures taken to mitigate the COVID-19 risk, were reassuring for someone like me who still hasn't been to a grocery store since March... I'm not complaining about that! 

This year of isolation has confirmed what I already knew... I like running but I would be just fine never racing again. So while I shut my run club down and didn't run with people for months, I ran more than ever, never felt obligated to adhere to a plan, and enjoyed it: the solitude and endorphins, runs spent discovering new music and new routes, a zero-mile week to a challenging 126-mile week. I haven't had a year with just one marathon since 2008, before this 50-state challenge began. 

Yeah, that ain't happening anytime soon

Shortly after the Maine Marathon last year, I became a vegan - people I now affectionately refer to as v-bags. It has been a year of experimentation and uncertainties; figuring out an entirely new regimen was fun but difficult considering how much meat and diary I previously consumed. Why did I do it? The Game Changers documentary - a collection of vegan propaganda bullshit. Regardless, I was intrigued to see if it would have an effect on my performance. 

Michael and I drove 6 hours Thursday evening to Albert Lea, MN then 4 hours to Brookings, SD Friday morning and spent Friday in our hotel room watching HGTV home makeover shows because Michael knows that if I had grabbed the remote before he did, it would have been murder mystery shows on ID Network; he doesn't like those. He sees the good in people whereas I've become skeptical.

Friday rain ceased overnight and race morning gifted us with a dense fog, no wind, and 50 degrees - fairly ideal race weather. The best gift however, was no line at the port-a-potties 15 minutes before the race... I "shit" you not!

We had temperature checks at packet pickup. We started in waves. All of us were wearing masks and spaced but once the race began, we could remove the mask. It made me wonder if there could ever be another Chicago Marathon as we know it. 

After 10 miles, my GPS went haywire. I tried to continue a consistent effort and hope for the best but watch issues combined with no one in sight until Michael passed me at mile 20, gave me doubts. But, I hit my goal of 2:12:00 at mile 20, at which point I felt confident in a sub-3-hour finish.

My GPS vs. Michael's - mine was drunk

I finished in 2:55:00, finally crossing South Dakota off the sub-3 list after misses at the 2016 Mickelson Trail Marathon and the 2017 Sioux Falls Marathon. While this was a group Libertyville Running Club trip, it didn't involve the usual before and after shenanigans. The nine of us met briefly, distanced and masked, for a post-race beer at Wooden Leg Brew Pub, then began our 10-hour drive home with a dinner stop on the patio of Forager Brewery in Rochester, MN - great food, good beer. We were in Brookings for less than 24 hours. 

Now, the results after a year of being vegan? 

I did lose about 10% of my weight and that's not for not trying - I eat A LOT. However, I disagree with the claim that you'll have more energy; often times I felt more lethargic - especially during and after running. I went to the doctor about it; I'm taking pills like an octogenarian. That helped but I still don't have the stamina I once had, maybe 85%. 

Do I feel in better health? Eh, that's debatable. I do like the change it has brought about: incorporating more whole foods and a variety of vegetables into meals at home (Purple Carrot is a house staple now), the challenge of eating out (when in meat-favored towns like Brookings, there's always Taco Bell), further understanding the relationship between nutrition and running. 

Am I now one of those vegan prosthelytizers? Hell no, that's what turned me off to these v-bags 20 years ago. And now, I don't want to talk about it anymore. See you in New Mexico!

47th Sub-3-hour Marathon State: The Maine Redo

My Maine Objective: Get this done and eat lobster rolls!

The Maine Marathon in Portland, ME was a great race in 2014 when I attempted it as the 2nd day of a double weekend marathon (2:56 in NH on Sat and 3:03 in ME on Sun) and the only state redo to date in which I returned to the same race. I really wanted that double sub-3 weekend in 2014 but that's a tough feat! I'm over it... call it my only DNF.

It's been 3 weeks since successfully redoing Wyoming. Over the years, I've found a 3-4 week recovery time to be ideal even if the thought of this race in the hours after WY didn't seem like a good idea... and as such, wasn't booked. This is marathon number 6 for the year, on the downslope of a bell curve with 2016 & 2017 being the peak at 9 a piece. It is nice to approach the finish with a lighter schedule.

Also, we're here for the beer. Some of the Libertyville Running Club was tagging along this weekend. Ted and I arrived in Portland Friday afternoon and did some damage at Oxbow Brewing. They moved to downtown Portland from their old location in a garage by Allagash Brewing; their success is not surprising, it's good beer. Good thing we had Saturday to recover!

This is Ted carb-loading at Oxbow Brewing

Of course, after a shakeout run the next morning along the Eastern Promenade to The Holy Donut, one of my favorite donut shops in the country, we found ourselves at Mash Tun, a craft beer bar, where Charles and Andrew joined us. We kept it fairly low-key the day before the race with the expo, pasta takeout back at the Airbnb, then bed.

Shaking down the steam engine

The Holy Donut

A good night sleep is important!

There are two things about east coast running that I've come to love: they start their races later and they've got a lot of fast runners. There are many sub-3 runners at this marathon of about 750 finishers and my plan was to run with Ted to a 2:58, what would be his first sub-3-hour marathon.

We started at 7:45am with the 1:30 half marathon pacer since there is no 3:00 marathon pacer and ran the first 3 miles at 6:43/mile each. Consistent! It's a pretty out-and-back course with some rolling hills, the hardest being miles 9-11 then their return at miles 16-18. I was losing Ted at the halfway point and as much as I wanted to stick with him, I knew I'd be cutting it close. I lost my watches at this point. No need to panic, right?

For the past year, I've had a Fitbit Ionic. I really like its interface and app more than Garmin but Garmin reigns supreme for GPS watches. Hence the two watches in this pic, neither of which were working for most of this race. My 6-year old Garmin Forerunner 620 died at mile 8 and the Fitbit didn't get a signal from about that point on. Here I am, running naked again!

I did some mental math every mile marker to make sure I would be under 3 hours. The headwind on the return added to the difficulty. At mile 24, I was comfortable knowing that 7:30/miles would bring me into a 2:58:18 finish, 22nd overall and 1st place in the 40-44 age group. Who's smiling about that, me?

Mile 26, sub-3-hour state marathon #47

Once the fellas finished, it was time to celebrate. After showers, we drove up to Maine Beer Company for one of my favorite anti-NEIPA breweries; clean and simple beers, I love it! After that, we stopped into Allagash Brewing Company for some free flights, maybe because we were all wearing the marathon shirt? They had a food truck serving lobster rolls which almost mirrored the all-you-can-eat lobster brunch I hit up after the 2014 marathon at Harraseeket Inn near Maine Beer Company.

Maine Beer Company decisions...

Matching shirts, northeast fall foliage

After a brief stop at Bissell Brothers Brewing, we parked the car at our Airbnb then continued into the night with Liquid Riot Bottling Co. and Tomaso's Canteen, the dive bar across the street from our place... we probably didn't need that stop.

LRC Bros. at Bissell Bros.

3 more sub-3-hour state marathons to go! When I think back to my 3rd sub-3-hour state in 2010 at the Napa Valley Marathon, I never could have imagined I would be here. I'm grateful I've got friends that have tagged along for many of these races making the experience unique and more memorable.

Oh right, the lobster rolls were first-rate! I had 4 this weekend. See ya in 2020 to wrap up this 50 sub-3-hour state marathon goal!

46th Sub-3-hour Marathon State: The Wyoming Redo

Cowboy up!

I'm baaaack! To the Black Hills and to running and writing after finishing a marathon in every state this summer at the Anchorage Mayor's Marathon. I plan to revisit 5 states that were not under 3 hours... make that 4 states now after cleaning up my 2017 Casper Marathon. Though after forgetting my favorite pants and belt at a hotel this weekend, I would have returned had my travel buddies not agreed to go out of our way to get them. I love those pants and the Black Hills!

1st stop: Bear's Lodge, a.k.a., Devils Tower, in those pants

That belt buckle tho!

The Sundance to Spearfish Marathon - a USATF-certified WY or SD marathon was set up by a founder of the 50sub4 Marathon Club to circumvent Wyoming's elevation and scarce race options for his own goal and others within that club.

The problem is that it's STILL 26.2 miles, my 71st marathon, and I'm not getting any younger... also, the threat of roaming cattle which I dismissed thinking it couldn't be as terrifying on foot as that time I was chased by a herd while on a motorcycle down a gravel road during the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in 2012.

From the 2012 archives: right before the cattle attack

The race begins high atop a fire mountain lookout near Sundance, WY at 6,600ft and spends 12 miles on a gravel road through remote pastures near the film site of Dances with Wolves

 - glad my race didn't take as long as that film - before turning onto the Spearfish Canyon Highway, a National Scenic Byway, for the remaining miles into Spearfish, SD. It's a beautiful course!

Our traditional pic of pics - Bridal Veil Falls along Spearfish Canyon Hwy

Downhill races at elevation are certainly more tolerable than the alternative but your quads will take a beating. This race was eerily similar to the Sandia Crest Marathon (New Mexico) downhill race Michael and I attempted on the same weekend last year: 90F sunny forecast, downhill race, the winner from that was also here. So much for one of us winning, or so we thought. My failure at that race was creeping into my psyche.

I'm here in good company with the New Jersey Marathon travel trio: Me, Michael, and Laurie. It's windy and cold, waiting for the 6:45am start. Port-a-potties can't be delivered up this road. We were huddled in a line for the one fire lookout bathroom structure in place. As the sun rose, giving light to an unobstructed 360-degree view, you realize why Cement Ridge Fire Lookout is located here and the important role it plays in forest fire remediation.

Cement Ridge Fire Lookout at sunrise, race morning

Could have used some of that fire; we were cold at the start

After a bit of rough terrain downhill, there's a half-mile climb at mile 2.5. Michael and I are together with about 6 people ahead of us. I started pulling ahead and found myself in 1st place at mile 12. From there on, it was a lonely trek down the Spearfish Canyon Highway, mostly shaded but getting warm in the sun. Then my watch died approaching mile 19. The thought of winning - 3 years to the weekend since my last marathon win - was exciting. However, the fear of not knowing my time while straddling a sub-3-hour finish was nerve-racking.

The start, with the fire lookout in the background

View along the 1st half of the course

I usually walk every aid station but this time, I was stopping so that I can put my trash in the garbage cans which were not set up beyond the tables. As I'm standing at mile 24, I look back to see Michael reappearing! We are going to win this race, something I had hoped for back when we registered.

He meets me at mile 24.5 and we run together until mile 25. "Michael, go get the win, there's no one ahead of us!" I exclaim. He says, "no, we're finishing together"... and then took off for the win. It was glorious!

After stealing the covers from me in bed, Michael "steals" the winning quilt

There were 56 finishers and 5 went sub-3, all within a minute of each other! At nearly 10%, that's the highest percent sub-3-finishers I've ever seen (I look for 2%). I came in 2nd place with 2:57:26 and Laurie bested her Vermont race back in May with a 3:45. With 48/71 marathons under 3 hours, my percentage sits at 68%.

Nailed it! With new race director, Mike Albin

A hike to Cathedral Spires in Custer State Park the next morning

The Black Hills are one of my favorite and most visited locations in the U.S. The discovery of gold in the Black Hills in 1874 and the story of Deadwood, the last lawless town in America, is fascinating. America has a troubled past and this location is the center of one of its tragedies. We stole this land and, to this day, have not done right by its native people (see the Treaty of Fort Laramie and this resulting 1980 Supreme Court decision).

Prominent figures from each side of this struggle are displayed at Mt. Rushmore and 16 miles down the road at the Crazy Horse Monument. One is funded by our government, the other is not.

In before Trump commissions his mug be added to Mt. Rushmore

Laurie taking a pic of Michael taking a pic of Crazy Horse Monument