Marathoning

Overlander Sports Marathon

Published August 18, 2019

8am marathon, 3pm flight. Today this back-of-pack finisher [would be] running against the clock. Only ONE Air Canada flight daily, Yellowknife to Vancouver. Work day Monday. Tight timing. Yikes!

Short walk to Somba Ke Civic Plaza. Sleeves, jacket & running shorts – fall season attire. Drip, drop rain. Better than summer HEAT. Tent-greeted by the folks @ Overlander Sports. Perfect running weather 🙂

Clover-leaf course; 2 separate out-n-backs, twice. I’d stay close first loop & alert. Signage but – if there’s a turn to miss, I generally do. After the Halfers finish, it’s often you & you alone for long spans of distance.

50 of us grouped & ready. Last minute RD announcements. Into the rain.

First loop, near repeat of yesterday’s Yellowknife self-tour. City Hall, Parliament Bldg, Northern Heritage Centre, Old Town. Missed my first turn there. Local runner gave a shout. Turnabout & tagged along first Half remainder. Igloo Building Supply, Frame Lake, Airbnb, Somba Ke return. 7 miles.

Shorter clover along the highway. Not as scenic, less tree cover & sideways rain – but great conversation with my Old Town lead. Not a myth, Canadians ARE super friendly. And Yellowknife? My new #2 – just behind Newfoundland. Hard to beat the Newfy accent & unique menu (cod tongue & scrunchions).

Loop 2 complete. Guide runner gone. Ear buds readied. Focus. Repeat.

Tune stream struggled much of the course (close 250 miles outside the Arctic Circle) so old-schooled a saved playlist from the past. My first Canadian territory. Dropped pace & enjoyed the ride. #luckyinlife

Mile 20 (Garmin buzz). Last loop, more of…the highway shuffle. More rain too – but my last lap & I’m Colorado home. Another Yellowknife runner kept company 3 miles. Trail angel. Paced up, appreciated the conversation. I HEART Canadians ❤️

Somba Ke finish, FIRST AMERICAN — ok, only American. LOL>

HOT post-race food, quick pic & territory gone. 7th medal in the Great White North.

Next month: Saskatchewan 🇨🇦

Yellowknife Overlander Sports Marathon

Keenan Haga, Racer: 56

1:06:57.5 0:56:50.2 1:21:25.9 1:10:25.7 4:35:39.4

: sole American

: Great White North

: my first TERRITORY

: next up: Saskatchewan 🇨🇦

: marathon travel season

Overlander Sports Marathon

Posted in Canada, Marathons/Ultras | Leave a comment

Route 66 Challenge – FINISH

Published August 12, 2019

There’s no qualifying time
No pace you have to attain
No distance you must reach
The minute you start running
You’re a real runner
Let no one tell you differently ~ 𝔸𝕝𝕚𝕤𝕥𝕒𝕚𝕣 𝕁𝕠𝕟𝕖𝕤

2280 miles – length of the mother road: Chicago, IL to Los Angeles, CA

40 marathons (including 6 ultras)

24 states, 8 countries & FIVE continents

50 State FINISH (2nd time)

Challenge taken, miles logged, goal complete.

Couple months past my Memorial Day target – but no frown. Purpose met. Held me accountable the past 14 months. Check, done. AWESOME motivator!

Next 14 months? nothing VIRTUAL ‘bout this guy’s future

7 continent finish – November 2019 (Osaka, Japan)
North Pole ultra-marathon – July 2020 (Somerset Island, Nunavut)

AND… something HUGE in January (only 5 months away)

*TEASER* involves consecutive-day marathoning & globe-trotting travel 🌏🏃‍♂️❤️

: 2280 miles ✔️

: checkered FINISH

: final postcard journey

: every LOUISVILLE street

: 2nd USA Award

Marathon Calendar:

09/08/2019 Queen City Marathon (Regina SASKATCHEWAN)
09/14/2019 Breckenridge Road Marathon (Breckenridge, Colorado)
09/15/2019 Cheyenne Marathon (Cheyenne, Wyoming)
09/22/2019 Rock ‘n Roll Montreal (Montreal QUEBEC)
09/29/2019 Wachau Marathon (Krems AUSTRIA)
10/05/2019 Long View Marathon (Fort Collins, Colorado)
10/13/2019 Spokane Marathon (Spokane, Washington)
10/19/2019 Kansas City Marathon (Kansas City, Missouri)
11/02/2019 REVEL Mt Lemmon Marathon (Tucson, Arizona)
11/09/2019 Tunnel Hill 50-miler (Vienna, Illinois)
12/01/2019 Osaka Marathon (Osaka JAPAN)
12/15/2019 Dallas Marathon (Dallas, Texas)
12/28/2019 The Huff 50K (Albion, Indiana)

King Salmon Marathon

Published July 13, 2019

Alaska. Anchorage, Juneau…Cordova? By far the smallest/most remote of my three Alaskan treks – but also, the most scenic. Small fishing community on Prince William Sound. Just over 2000 residents, accessible only by boat or by plane. Day’s marathon route, the Copper River Highway, ends as the mountains get high. Cut off from the lower 48; British Columbia borders east.

Early Saturday wakes, but well after Arctic sunrise. Skies overcast; temps comfortable. Run gods continue to smile. 5 July marathons, 5 unseasonably cool days. Mile walk to Cordova’s Community Medical Center, 45-minute school bus ride to our Start. Orange cone, line drawn on an empty dirt road. Pre-race check-in, last minute announcements. Been wetter & warmer this summer – no BEARS in town, more forest feeding vs dumpster diving. [2018, one crossed the marathon course.]

13 miles of dirt, 13 miles of pavement. Race Director assured no getting lost. Literally ONE road across the peninsula, terminates in Cordova. Inlet ocean both ends. True point-to-point race.

Group photo. Popped on tunes, but only one earbud – not gonna be bear FOOD.

[They say as long as you’re faster than the guy behind you. Reality: I’m a back-of-the-pack runner. Not super comforting. Stand tall. Yell? Biggest thing I’d see all day were MOSQUITOS.]

Scenic postcard Alaska. Massive snow-capped mountains. Meadows full of summer – and swampy. Glacier melt flooding creek beds with silt & grey-coloured water. Not super eye-stunning but it’s part of the process. Cooking the planet. Arctic channels expected year-round by decade end.

Legs tight, left hamstring taped, hadn’t run in 6 days. Sunday’s Quadzilla finish outside Portland.

Went out fast. Pushed first 12 miles, coasted most of the second Half. Hamstrings tight, both legs. Body, feet banged up. Too much running too short of time. 13 marathons past 3 months, FIVE different time zones. Today, my last long run ‘til late August.

Dropped pace, talked to Halfers met on the back-end. Continued my July streak of berry feasting. Wild raspberries!

Lake Eyak last 3 miles. Sun HIGH overhead. Exposed road & warm. BUGS, ‘tis the Alaska season: Gnat swarms & MOSQUITOS. Inside my mouth/ears, ’round the eyes, welting backs of my legs/arms. If nothing less, kept ya moving. Run or be eaten alive. Yikes!

FLAT FINISH & a new Alaska PR. Shower, Salmon JAM & FOOD. Happy, laid-back HOMETOWN VIBE 😊

Canadian Arctic next summer. So long big wild beautiful Alaska, see ya 2021. Fairbanks?