Pacific/Desert

Buckeye Marathon

Published December 9, 2017

Completed my ‘Run’ miles 6 days ago, doesn’t mean I stop marathoning, right?

Cheap Southwest flight purchased many many months ago. Chose Buckeye as my December race – well before I was aware of last Sunday’s big C event in Washington state. 2 hour direct flight, landed Friday 10:30pm. Rental pickup, hour drive to my bargain hotel in Surprise (Arizona). Quick sleeps, 40 minute drive to Sun City Festival (exclusive retirement community, technically part of Buckeye 20+ miles away). Bib pickup 7am, toured the pickleball courts (Googled ‘what is pickleball?’), last minute porta-potty, 8am marathon Start. Small race, stats mostly Half participants.

Hadn’t packed so little time into an out-of-state marathon since 2015’s Wisconsin Marathon. (That event, arrived after midnight in Chicago O’Hare, crossed the Wisconsin border then car-camped ‘til race morning in Kenosha. Glam life. LOL>)

Cool desert start. Wore layers, knew it’d heat up by Finish. Unfortunately been sick all week – hadn’t run since last Sunday’s marathon. Everything already paid sooo….I’d take it slow, pace myself, not gonna PR, goal to Finish.

Three miles of suburbia, back-n-forth neighborhood roads lined with palms. Left on Sun Valley Parkway, nothing but highway – straight, next 21 miles. No getting lost today.

Mile 4: coughed up chucks of past week’s strep infection. Disgusting but better having it on the outside 🙂

Steady consistent first Half, just over 2 hours. Heat kicked UP, dropped to a walk by marker 17. Congested, more panting than breathing. Didn’t eat much all week either. Let the heat get to me, mental lapse – rapid temp change from Colorado December.

Enjoyed support from a local run group. Every 2-3 miles they’d be roadside cheering. Two of their members, Barb & Cathie caught me at mile 19. It was Cathie’s first marathon. Hung with these ladies race remainder. Super upbeat/chatty individuals. Made running alongside an empty highway much more interesting. Indebted, ladies. Many thanks.

‘Run to the Runway’ on today’s race shirts. Marathon ended at a municipal airport [runway] in Buckeye. Private airfield. Would finish surrounded by a field of parachutists. Dumb luck, but pretty cool.

Hour-half return to Phoenix’s Sky Harbor International. Just your average 20-hour December day in the Arizona desert ☼

Buckeye Marathon – Race to the Runway

Buckeye, AZ

K R Haga

Bib # 124

Chip Time

05:00:42

Half

02:07:38

: Pickleball anyone?

: the American Southwest

: Shared 7 miles of Arizona desert. Indebted, many thanks.

: 21 miles of empty highway

: 2 marathons in 6 days

Posted in Marathons/Ultras, Pacific/Desert | Leave a comment

the big C Marathon

Published December 3, 2017

Stumbled across this Sunday’s run on the Maniacs calendar. Local charity run in Washington state. Limited to 50 participants, no set entry fee. Suggested $25 donation, pay as much as you please – all funds raised, 100% to the cause.

Hooked after reading the site’s About page. That’s how I chose the big C Marathon.

story behind the big C marathon

I wasn’t going to make this personal but I decided to be honest – it is personal. On July 25, 2016 I was diagnosed with breast cancer. My immediate thought was that I didn’t want to “do” this. I felt like I had been signed up for a race that I didn’t want to run. Not only that, it was a race with no set distance (was it a 5k or a 100-miler), I didn’t know how hilly it was, what the elevation was, nor what the weather might be. The thing about a cancer diagnosis is you don’t know what you’re up against until piece by piece the specifics of your disease are revealed to you. I soon found myself relying on my marathon experiences to deal with my new situation. I decided that whatever my path would be, I would have to pace myself and run aid station to aid station. I had done this many times in the past to break down what seemed like an unusually long, tough race into small, manageable pieces. Since my diagnosis, I have of course met many other people who have experienced, are experiencing, or love someone who has or is experiencing the big C, and I have found that it unifies people – just like running does. I have also spent many middle-of-the-night hours searching websites for answers of how to deal with having, and recovering from this. I kept finding the same thing – exercise helps. It helps in dealing with the side effects of treatment. It helps to smooth out the emotional affects of the disease. And it helps in feeling strong and more in control.

So, this marathon is to remind all of us to set goals, to break scary things down into smaller, more easily-digestible pieces, to keep moving forward, to hold our loved ones in our hearts, and to do something that might be terrifying with dignity – and maybe even a smile.

We welcome ALL paces and would be thrilled if you decided to do this as a tribute to a loved one – knowing that we have your back, and will encourage, cheer, and not leave until you have crossed that finish line…

WOW, right?

Kicked up my daily mileage 2^nd half of November. How fitting would it be to finish this year’s 2,017 miles at an event giving back to cancer? Ya’ll know I’m goal-determined, hell or high water I’d finish my GOAL miles December 3^rdin Puyallup, Washington.

typical Seattle day

Southwest flight to Sea-Tac Saturday afternoon. Early dinner, early sleeps in Sumner.

Fun story. Short of time, been scheduling haircuts in marathon locations. Fort Worth TX, Mankato MN, Dublin Ireland – I’m a guy, it’s just hair. Googled Sport Clips. 2 in Puyallup, what are the chances? Arrived at “Sports Cut”. Shady part of town. One chair barbershop, older Asian lady with buzz clippers. Only hair, right? (& only $10) LOL>

Early Sunday a.m. alarm. Rain all day yesterday, cool & overcast today. Morning drive: Cockrell Cider Farms, day’s marathon Start & Finish. Many thanks for their generosity. They took NO cash, charged our event nada – 100% charity.

Bib pick-up, $100 donation. Hope others matched my gift ❤

8am Start. RD Cat Schwartz read a note from one of last year’s participants. Sadly he passed away Saturday morning (literally yesterday). Remember why we’re doing this & remember to smile (her words of encouragement).

Sported a hydration vest today – no cup event. Less than 4 miles of town/suburbia roads. Picked up Foothills Trail, a scenic bike path parallel Hwy 162. Unlike Colorado bike paths, this trail was well-treed (lotta overhanging greenery). Zagged thru tree nurseries & berry farms, trekked alongside the Puyallup (& later Carbon) River. Urban-ran ‘cross [the town of] Orting, before rejoining Foothills Trail mile-half from the turnaround.

Mentally significant/symbolic turning the Half. Chalked on pavement: ‘big C’ & an arrow. Simple marker but something much bigger rattling in MY head. Less than a year ago I was undergoing chemo. Today, once around ‘the big C’ (circled the pavement) & kept running – I moved on, as I now have with life. HUGE scary part of my past [cancer] but time to let go & move on. Done.

Slowed significantly 2^nd Half. Skies drizzled, air felt heavy. No gas in the tank – common complaint all Fall. Counted only 3 ahead of me first Half. At least twice that number passed on the 13-mile return. Ho, hum. But not really ‘bout the run today, huh?

Finished 4:45, 4:46-ish I think. Marathon #104, 2nd in Washington. (No official results yet, will post later).

After party? Warmed inside ‘the Roost’, Cockrell Farms’ Tasting Room. FIRST RATE cider, AWESOME post-race chili.

Next weekend, the Buckeye Marathon – scored a cheap (sub $100) flight to Phoenix. Happy day 🙂

2017 big C Marathon

Name Bib# Finish Time

Kyle Saxe                    33 3:35:44

Wendy Hawthorn     24 3:41:27

Shawna Punzalan      19 3:44:54

Chris Owens               32 3:45:39

Jean-Gael Reboul      18 3:58:43

Dan Bucci                   38 4:06:12

Scott Sebelsky            37 4:06:12

Rikki Bogue                4   4:10:02

Tom Owen                  17 4:26:18

Andy Fritz                   6   4:30:13

Nancy Patel                28 4:45:11

Keenan Haga 10 4:46:35

Several of you have asked that we create a Paypal account so you and/or your friends and relatives can donate. Well, it is done – the account is: thebigcmarathon@gmail.com And as always, 100% of profits goes to Fred Hutch Cancer Research. Thanks! Cat.

: Cockrell Cider Farms, day’s marathon Start & Finish

: 8-mile mark

: 2,017 miles in 2017!

: ‘nother Apple watch fail. Frustrating. Garmin in 2018?

: meanwhile, friend Sarah completed HER 2017 running goal & just in time — she’s 9 months pregnant. Yikes!

Posted in Marathons/Ultras, Pacific/Desert | Tagged #givingback | 1 Comment

Portland Marathon

Published October 8, 2017

“Keep Portland Weird” is a popular slogan that appears on bumper stickers, signs, and public buildings throughout Portland, Oregon and its surrounding metro area. The slogan has been called the unofficial motto of Portland.

My kind of town – the ‘city’ version of Boulder.

Flannel fashion, inventive chefs, hippie homeless. ‘Live & Let Live’ friendly (the American West standard, ZERO tolerance for discrimination). Environmentally minded: NO plastic bags (outlawed/entire county); NO new highways – voted to manage growth thru expanded/improved public transportation. $5 rail ticket, my ride to the Airport.

One of City’s downtown landmarks – Powell’s City of Books. Page turning? 9am-11pm, 7 days a week.

Covering an entire city block, Powell’s City of Books is more than a great bookstore: It’s a microcosm of Portland, packed with smart and eclectic offerings, passionate people and, naturally, its own coffee shop. And, just like Portland, it’s open 365 days a year!

It’s the largest independent chain of bookstores in the world, and when you visit the aptly named flagship shop, Powell’s City of Books, you’ll need a map to find your way around (the store provides one). Powell’s enormity is a measure of how much Portlanders love books. Cruise the aisles, grab some coffee and enjoy the lost art of thumbing through bound paper stamped with words.

Portland FOOD. Post-hike gorged at Ned Ludd’s Friday nite. Met & talked with its Food Network chef (Jason French, a former Boulderite). Three courses, dinner entrée: whole roasted trout. WOW! Head & a backbone, only remnants on my plate. Brunched Saturday, another Portland staple. Hipster beignets – not necessarily Creole, but served on a bed of chocolate.

Sunday, RUN day. [Remember when EVERY day was a run day – HA! #2017runfail]

LOVE LOVED staying at the Hilton, the Portland Marathon’s host hotel. Bib pickup literally downstairs, booked early & secured the runner’s room rate, walked 2 blocks to this morning’s Start. Couldn’t be more convenient.

Big City race, my first in eons. Full/Half combined start – sooooo many runners, not in Okoboji today 🙂 Heard today’s 7am Start waiting patiently in Corral C, 12 minutes back. Two 11-minute miles, before the field thinned/run became manageable.

Cool morning temp, overcast sky – GREAT running weather. If only I had remembered ‘portion control’ during my big FAT foodie holiday (I gots no ‘off’ switch); two days of ‘Rose City’ gluttony. Appreciated the porta-potties at mile 8. ‘Nuf said.

Mostly flat course, gradual incline miles 5-9. Crossed St. Johns Bridge at mile 10. Portland’s tallest bridge (built in 1931) spans the Willamette River (crossed back at mile 18). Beautiful panorama, slightly foggy. Reminiscent of San Francisco 2 years ago.

Drizzle just past the Bridge, but never a steady rain. Again, couldn’t have asked for better conditions.

Incline blip at mile 22. da Truth: walked it, nothing left in the tank. excuse Time [’cause ya’ll know I got ’em]: Body’s tired. Running so often (21^stmarathon of 2017), find myself lacking late in the year. Frustrating, but it is what it is.

Mile marker 25. PUSH, PUSH, PUSH. Late burst of reserve, FINAL STRETCH of downtown city street. Marathon SUCCESS! Surprise, surprise – this day, medal AND a rose. Super classy. BIG thanks, City of Roses🌹 Great memory.

Paid the extra $25 for a 1pm check-out. It’s the Hilton, choose your battles (but as host hotel, could’ve been a bit more generous).

Sit-down lunch, sit-down movie (The Mountain Between Us), window-napped on my Southwest flight home.

On the runway in Denver – SNOW – first of the season, LOVE LOVE my Colorado life! ❤