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!

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