Marathons/Ultras

Atlantic City Marathon

Published October 21, 2018

Late wake-up, late marathon START. That time of year: less sunlight, cooler temps. 8am guns ok & not get heat-walloped by race end. Nite sleeps just 500ft from today’s FINISH banner, plenty of time for pre-race breakfast. A new era. Oatmeal, fresh fruit – nothing crazy, but 100% not my pre-race norm.

Expecting sunshine later but strong winds gusting off the Atlantic this day. Overcast & breezy. Mighty nice ocean view though 😊 Burrito-wrapped in last weekend’s mylar throwaway (PEI), wait/waiting to run.

Good headspace. Diet on point, training miles logged. Boardwalk run.

Would collect almost all Monopoly pieces over 26 miles. Couldn’t help [but] think of Ash; she’s collected different board versions since childhood. Classic Monopoly today – would tag all properties but the railroads. Tourist shops, food trucks, casinos – but NO RAIL (no B&O, no Reading) on AC’s boardwalk.

North toward Hard Rock, combined Half & FULL Start. Wider Boardwalk passage than most asphalt routes. Notta lotta pedestrians. Sunday morning early; still sleeping off the effects of a hard casino night.

First 2 miles Board, before pushing west into Atlantic City. Would rejoin AC’s famous landmark at marker 8, last 5 miles of Halfers’ journey to Bally’s & Caesar’s – day’s FINISH ticker. FULL runners veered left of the shoot, continued our trek south – collecting the yellow properties: Ventnor, Atlantic, Marvin Gardens.

Cold, strong headwind. RAW. Regrouped at 14. Thankful for my Twin Cities glove swag, lotta use past 3 weeks. Caught appreciated windbreak on a 5-mile subdivision loop thru Ventnor City. Boardwalk last 4 miles. Legs tired but wind at my back. Walk, jog. Push, push, push. Ran mile 23. Walk/jogged 24, ran in the last mile. Course lined with tourists, amused by the action, grabbing a morning coffee/breakfast bagel.

Boy’s on a tear. Not as fast as last Sunday, but darn close – 2^nd best of 2018. Work put in, good consistent results. Another bonus to a four hour marathon? No begging for a post-run shower. 2 hours to Newark, FOOD, 4 ½ hour flight home.

Tomorrow: Monday, Monday – but today, a 4:13 finish. FAAAANNTASTIC!

2018 AmeriHealth NJ Atlantic City Marathon & Half Marathon

October 21, 2018 Results presented by AC Marathon Race Series and timed by SVE Timing Mid-Atlantic

Bib Name Division Chip Elapsed City

1237 KEENAN HAGA MARATHON 04:13:19 LOUISVILLE

: burrito-wrapped START

: FREE race pics – super classy, thanks AC Marathon 🙂

: Atlantic WAVES

: fun fact: ran all day/shirt on backward – LOL>

: boardwalk FINISH

: one of the original 13

: Hello Papa ❤️

Atlantic City Marathon

Posted in Marathons/Ultras, Northeast | Tagged beachcombing | Leave a comment

Prince Edward Island Marathon

Published October 14, 2018

Bienvenue à l’Île du Prince Édouard. Birthplace of Canada.

Saturday 2am. Crazy early start. Woke six miles short of my Week 2 stretch goal (done/finished: 76.6 miles complete), late last-minute panic packing for O’ Canada, 6am flight to Detroit. Denver-Detroit, Detroit-Toronto, Toronto-Charlottetown. First try at WestJet. No frills, on-time experience (like our Southwest). Whatta find! How did I not know there were anti-Air Canada options? YAHOO!

6:15 touchdown in PEI. 20 minute taxi-ride downtown. 7pm Expo end. Tight timing.

5 block walk to my B&B sleeps. Oceanside digs, attic all mine. Marathon Sunday morn. Alarm set, predawn bus ride (7am prompt). Don’t be late mate. Land of Anne – Green Gables Anne, Anne with an E.

Coast-to-coast course: Brackley Beach-PEI National Park to Confederation Centre-downtown Charlottetown. Cold, breezy weather. Already LOVING my chances 😊 Shadowed 3 local runners & hunkered inside a beachside shower hut. Nippy gusts o’ ocean this morning. Brrr. PEI, Canada’s vacationland. LOL> Emerged 10 minutes before Start burrito-wrapped in last weekend’s Twin Cities mylar throwaway.

Canadian Anthem, 8am Start & SUNSHINE. Shed layers early, soaked in the coastline. Breezy cold & BEAUTIFUL. Brightly-coloured out buildings. Photo-stopped @ Covehead Lighthouse. WOW!

Sand dunes & shoreline gave way to rolling farmland. Push, push, push. Stanhope, Tracadie, Corran Ban, Millcove. All Sunday quiet. Started to slow after 12 miles. Then TRAIL. 12.5 kilometers (over 7 miles) of TRAIL. Crushed gravel & autumn COLOR, leaf-turn still happening on Prince Edward. BIG grin.

Warned one big climb late in the race. Large incline/near mile 21, but NOT Newfoundland HILLY. Head down, arms pumping, aggressively pushed to the top. 9:26/min pace. Fastest mile of 2^nd Half.

Last mile/mile-half did not disappoint, city scenic. Historic buildings, parks, statues.

Never saw a pace bunny (Canada-popular), never checked my watch. B-I-G run today. Fastest of 2018, new Canadian PR. FINALLY! Tens & tens of training miles, FINALLY! FINISH SUCCESS 🍁

15th Annual Prince Edward Island Marathon – Results
Sunday, October 14, 2018 Location: Charlottetown

1056 K R Haga Louisville CO US M 04:10:52

: birthplace of Canada

: hasty Expo arrival

: Covehead Harbour Lighthouse

: Confederation TRAIL

: new Canadian PR 🍁

: city-scenic FINISH

: Week 2 stretch goal

Posted in Canada, Marathons/Ultras | Tagged lighthouses | Leave a comment

Twin Cities Marathon

Published October 7, 2018

Overcast & cool, low morning temps. FANTASTIC marathon morn! Late sleep-in too. Downtown Minneapolis Start super close to my Westin overnight digs.

8am Start, Corral 2. No longer hung up on starting in an early corral. If I could break 5 hours again, that’d be a victory. Diet on point. Training miles met. Morning acid blocker taken, pain pill safely stored for marathon 2^nd Half. 4:45 goal today. Never been a runner who’s super time consumed. Ultimately wanna bring my finish under 4 hours again.

Point-to-point course, Minneapolis to St Paul. Started 7 minutes after the Elites.

Minnesota’s known as the Land of 10,000 Lakes. Majority were represented today. First 13 miles, LAKE scenic. Lake of the Isles, Lake Harriet, Lake Nokomis, Lake Hiawatha. 1:58 Half, first sub-2 since Spring. Porta-potty, refueled. Nothing extra ‘til mile 15. Skies stayed overcast, wind blew cold. Thankful for gloves – GREAT conditions.

So what makes the Twin Cities Marathon so popular? CROWD SUPPORT. Not just Aid Station volunteers, city residents line this course. Mile 1 thru mile 26. Absolutely serious. Spectators even on the abandoned miles, like mile 17 – past the Half, well before the Finish. NEVER do you see folks miles 15 thru 21. 40’s/overcast/slight wind – near PERFECT when you’re running, but standing/cheering on participants, WOW! Bundled in coats, had to be cold. Top 10 marathon of my life. AMAZING crowds.

130 marathons, all unique, no repeats. Warm ❤️ for Minnesota. Same kinda crowds at Grandma’s Marathon in Duluth, my first ever sub-4 (June 2014). Think I’ve found a 2nd run home. Easy airport travel, cool Spring/Autumn weather. Tag.

Quarter-mile walk at 18, another quarter-mile break at marker 23. Crossed the mighty Mississippi at mile 19. Breezy, cold & BEAUTIFUL. Marathon’s only actual incline (mile 21), killed it. Saw the approach early. Head down, arms pumping, pushed thru the top. 9:36/min pace. Best pace of 2^nd Half. I run HILLS at home 😊

Big fade at 23, then an unexpected second wind. What? 10/min pace last two marathon miles. Not earth-shattering for most – but 24 miles into a marathon, HUGE success.

STRONG FINISH at Minnesota’s State Capitol dome. 4-hour pacer started a Corral ahead, 4:30 runners never caught me. He’s baaaaack. Minnesota x2 SUCCESS! Diet, meds or result from tens & tens of pre-dawn training miles. Good to feel good again! ALL IN. CHANGING NOTHING rest of October.

Theatre at the Guthrie. Front row seat, benefit of travelling solo. Work day Monday…but tonite, Frankenstein – he’s ALIVE!