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Yutzy, Yoder or Miller — it’s all Amish to me

Published September 25, 2015

Planned my Ohio marathon in Amish country – yes, on purpose – like stepping back in time. Remember Kelly McGillis & Harrison Ford in “Witness”? I do. Intrigued – had no previous exposure to the Amish.

Flew red-eye to Cincinnati, hour nap (across airport seats) ‘til stores opened, rental car pick-up, then another 2 hours sleep in nearby Brown County [rest area]. 9am, splash of cold water – awake, ready to get my Amish on.

Early autumn in southern Ohio: leaves starting to yellow, corn already harvested. Crossed a covered bridge, entered Adams County – sighted my first Amish road sign 🙂

BUGGY!

Kept my distance in the car, not wanting to frighten the horse. Clip, clop, clip, clop, clip, clop – down the paved road.

In only its 3^rd year, tomorrow’s race would draw more than 1,000 runners – 300+ would run the full 26.2. Followed the race director to bib pick-up after my GPS left me 4 miles rural at a local farm. No frills race expo with big frills swag.

Left my car at the wood ‘Expo’ building raised by the Amish; took a short walk to Millers Bulk Foods, followed by a trip to the Bakery. Turkey sandwich on homemade pretzel bread – soft & salty, garnished with local tomatoes, onions & lettuce…food LOVE!

Filled the afternoon driving tomorrow’s race route – my first 2-loop marathon – one long grind, 2 big hills…one the Amish call “Hell Hill”. Course not as hilly as West Virginia but bigger elevation gain (higher grade hills).

fave moments:

horse envy – both carriage & plow horses: well-groomed, beautiful animals
steaming blackberry pie pulled from a wood oven at Millers Bakery
Amish bicycles/scooters – big front wheel, smaller back wheel, no pedals (pedals considered a technology, forbidden by the Amish); kids were crazy fast, flying down hills, racing home after school
buggy parking at the evening’s Amish auction

Unique culture – living much as they have since the 1800’s, an agrarian society with strong religious leanings & no electricity.

Ate with the community at a school fund raiser – smoked chicken, potato salad, homemade ice cream & pie (whole lotta pies). Stayed for the Amish auction – not that I needed a horse halter, but digged the life experience 🙂 Pretty amazing day.

No hotels in Amish land. Stayed 45 minutes away in Maysville, Kentucky (just over the mighty Ohio river).

Early to bed, early to rise – tomorrow I run with the Amish!

: Good Morning Appalachia!

: early Autumn: leaves turning, corn harvested

: steaming blackberry pie at Millers Bakery

: turkey on homemade pretzel bread – soft & salty, garnished with local tomatoes, onions & lettuce…food LOVE!

: Ridge Way Lumber

: buggy (overflow) parking

: community dinner fund raiser (supporting Wheat Ridge Amish School)

: whole lotta pie

: Amish auction – not that I needed a horse halter, but digged the experience

my first Amish buggy

Amish auction (gas-generator lights provided for us non-Amish)

Posted in Heartland | Tagged horses, road-signs | Leave a comment

Morgantown Marathon

Published September 20, 2015

Lotta strategic planning to complete 50 state marathons in 2 years. A handful of states (RI DE NM & WV in particular) only offer one or 2 races annually. 2 times lucky – signed up for new ‘inaugural’ runs: Angel Fire NM in July & this weekend, Morgantown WV.

Running 11 consecutive weekends – have also become strategic with flights & travel costs. In-n-out of Pittsburgh – Southwest incoming, United outgoing. Met up with fellow Maniac, Stacy & shared car rental, then hotel with another Maniac, Joe from Ohio.

Lotta new friendships in my Quest – LOVE it!

East Coast time change. Jetted south to Morgantown, stopping at my first Harley dealership just over the WV border (minutes before their 5pm close). While I’m mountaineering off-season; Stacy’s a biker – and has collected Harley poker chips as far away as Alaska.

Met up with Mike, a Maniac from Austin, at bib pick-up. Now we were 3 – driving downtown, sharing a brick-oven pizza at Mountain State Brewing & a scenic walk along Morgantown’s Monongahela River before bunking up for the night – another early a.m. marathon.

5am alarm, school bussed to WVU Coliseum, group Maniac pic, National Anthem – tag, we’re off.

Cool morning temps, sunshine, little to no wind – pretty much perfect…and for whatever reason, everything was just clicking today. Slept well, ate well, enjoyed sharing time with other marathoners – head was in the right place.

Hung with the 3:40 pace group thru mile 14 – actually stayed ahead of these pacers up the largest of today’s hills, mile 7 & 8.

holy Mountain Mama – more hills today than any previous race (not the elevation of Oregon’s Crater Lake but a whole lotta hills). Small hills, short extreme climbs, mile-long grinders, rolling hills – every mile, every turn, a new hill.

Last year I chose runs on flat courses – this year I eat hills for breakfast 🙂

4 hour pacers caught me at mile 24. Suppose sub-4 would have been insane after throwing 4 ½s all summer.

Mile Marker 25. Passed by a walker. Assume I must have been running in place or side-to-side….either way, was not moving fast the mile UP to WVU Coliseum. 15 minutes UGLY – but finished #38 with a smile, just over 4 hours. FAAANNNTASTIC!

K R HAGA LOUISVILLE CO 4:14:38.76 9:43/M

Not a lotta tourist time this weekend – but whatta positive experience. Enjoyed the camaraderie of my marathoner community – sharing laughs & a stinky flight home (airport sink bath & a change of clothes was the best we could do this trip). LOL>

Next weekend: Adams County, Ohio – running with the Amish.

: ‘Wild n Wonderful’ West Virginia – expecting a hilly run tomorrow

: poker-chip envy: my first Harley dealership

: scenic walk along Morgantown’s Monongahela River

: carbo-loading: brick-oven pizza at Mountain State Brewing, YUM!

: Marathon Maniacs

: holy Mountain Mama, WV kicked butt!

: See that guy behind us? He’s 22E. He gets to sit between two marathoners who just had an airport bathroom baby wipe shower!

Posted in Marathons/Ultras, Northeast | Tagged rivers-lakes | Leave a comment

Sioux Falls Marathon

Published September 13, 2015

Woke tired, body stiff – pre-marathon activities didn’t serve me well this morn. Train hobo Friday night; drove 4 hours thru 3 Midwest states to see Little House. Would I do it again? Heck yeah – it’s the journey I’ll remember, not missed sleep 🙂

Early 6:30am marathon start made it easier to coordinate a post-marathon shower. No begging the hotel for a late check-out this go-around. PLUS ya’ll know, I’m not a fan of running in summer heat. Thanks Sioux Falls!

Arrived early at Howard Wood Field. Struggled to locate the Start (parked on wrong side of the Arena).

Minute to go, ran across a field, hopped a fence & bang – we were off.

Started slow, real slow. ‘though I stayed active all August, hadn’t run 26.2 in 5 weeks – not since marathoning at Crater Lake (Oregon). 4:15 pace group passed at mile 2. Sloooooow start, real slow.

Lotta loops & turns – course reminded [me] of Casper. Entered Falls Park at mile 5 – again, lotta loops & curves (notta fan) but mighty scenic. (Finally) picked up pace & hit stride after looping Downtown. Sioux Falls has an extensive trail system – course stayed on paved path. Nevertheless, appreciated Sioux Falls’ extended Greenway, off and on from mile 8 to mile 21. Well done.

Tagged a runner early at mile 8, caught him on a hill, then stayed close. Mile after mile we jockeyed for lead. Goal: stay close the first half, then to mile 15, then thru 18 miles. Never caught the 4:15 pacers, but wasn’t passed by the 4:30 group either. I could live with that.

‘Tag’ finished mile 19 a tenth-mile ahead, never saw him at 20.

Slogged the last 6 – sluggish 10-minute/miles but didn’t walk. Miles 21 thru 25 were a mix of sun & breeze – not a lotta trees along Kiwanis Avenue. Quads tight, legs heavy – wouldn’t sub-4 or PR today, but mentally a-ok.

Lapped the final point^2 around Howard Wood Field. Nothing like a stadium finish – FAAANNNTASTIC!

1002 HAGA, K R 04:35:06.8 LOUISVILLE CO Marathon

Showered, post-marathon lasagna in Sioux City [Iowa] – then caught a movie (‘A Walk in the Woods’), before travelling another hour-half to Council Bluffs for BBQ & casino hopping. Not a gambler – but I’m a HUGE fan of BBQ 🙂

Denver 7:15am Monday (overnight train), then bus returned to Boulder. Got a nod from a homeless guy also unshaven, long hair, toting a backpack. Would need to pull off ‘restroom sink magic’ to be work-presentable in 10 minutes. All part of the journey, folks. LOL>

Next week – Morgantown, West Virginia.