6:30am Start – up early, 5:30 shuttle last transport from my hotel. One block from the Outdoor Memorial. National Anthem, followed by 168 seconds of silence – respect for the lives lost in 1995.
Chilly start – gusty wind & light rain. Running in shorts again…gotta check the weather app before I leave home. LOL> 25,000 runners, corral start. Lotta local crowd support, much appreciated.
Started tenth-mile behind the 4:15 pace group. Hung close thru mile 2. Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark (home to OKC’s Triple-A Dodgers). Past two [Phillips 66] oil derricks, 500 feet outside the Oklahoma State Capitol. Caught the 4 hour pacers at mile 5. Halfers peeled off before 8.
Gorilla Hill, Nichols Hills, Rose Hill, Heritage Hills – not a flat course 🙂
2:01 first Half. Couple minutes slower than last Saturday…on a more technical course – I’ll take it. Struggled the two miles ‘round Lake Hefner. High gusty winds. Head lowered, pushed thru the day’s weather obstacle. Misty rain blew sideways. 4 hour pace group matched me, moved past me.
Tree cover at mile 16, more at 18. Downhill stretch [thru mile 20] before a quad-burning 4 mile climb…topping out in OKC’s scenic Heritage Hills. Mighty late in the day for 4 miles of UP.
Run/walk combination last 2 miles. Mental dip/endorphin drop but not a bad performance – maintained posture, felt good in my shoes. Hilly run…third straight weekend marathoning – finished just over 4:15, an Oklahoma PR. 2nd fastest of 2017, 16th best of my 88. 128 consecutive run days – feelin’ STRONG!
2017 Results – OKC Marathon
Haga, K R LOUISVILLE CO 4:17:20
6 hours to burn before my Colorado flight home. Fried pickles at Toby Keith’s (while in Oklahoma, gotta/hafta), feet up/giant Coke & a movie….then, 2 stops of interest: Oklahoma’s Land Run Monument & a brief pull-over at the State Capitol.
More than 50,000 Americans lined up at noon on April 22nd 1889 for our country’s last great Land Run. Towns were formed, homesteads staked. Ironically, monuments outside the state’s Capitol Dome celebrate Oklahoma’s Native American population (from whom the land was taken). Cowboys, Indians & Oil. American history is kinda messed up, huh?
Far North next weekend, adventuring with my Canadian bestie Sarah. Marathoning of course but ALSO…Niagara Falls!
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- marathon #88; an Oklahoma PR
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- Oklahoma Land Run of 1889
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- “one of the world’s largest bronze sculptures featuring 45 heroic figures of land run participants, frozen in motion as they race to claim new homesteads”
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- OK’s Field of Flags
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- Cowboys, Indians & Oil
Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon
Why We #RUNtoREMEMBER
Twenty two years ago on April 19, 1995, the unthinkable happened. 168 innocent people were killed by a truck bomb detonated by a fellow American. In the first hours after the Oklahoma City bombing, Oklahomans began to immediately respond by helping and creating small makeshift memorials around the perimeter of the bombsite – mounds of flowers, stuffed animals, personal notes, cards and prayers. Each person remembered and honored those killed in their own way. In 11 days, you and around 25,000 other runners will do the same. You run to keep their memory alive and by doing so, help to ensure people around the world know the impact of violence.
We hope at 9:02am today you will pause for 168 seconds of silence with us. During this time of reflection, honor those who were killed, those who survived, and those changed forever, and feel gratitude for being able to carry their legacy with you on April 30th.
The Gates of Time
Direct flight from Denver but arrived an hour late in Oklahoma City. Who knew it would be snowing two days before the start of May? Spring in Colorado – LOVE it! High wind & rain greeted in OKC. Trees down, traffic lights out (all weekend long) but…NO tornadoes, I call it a win 🙂
Marathon bib pickup, home to NBA’s Thunder. Walked 4 long blocks to the Oklahoma City Memorial Museum. This is the reason I chose tomorrow’s run – proceeds fund the Memorial…and we remember. We remember the victims of America’s first domestic terrorist attack. 168 lives.
The Museum was as moving as it was upsetting. Multimedia news feeds, recorded audio (blast occurred during a local ‘water rights’ court case), relics & interviews. I felt as if I were reliving the events of the day. Well done…just not my thing.
[despite the rain] found the Outdoor Memorial a better fit/more my style.
— Reflecting Pool
— Survivor Tree
— The Gates of Time
— Field of Empty Chairs
At each of these outdoor memorials, I reflected. Reflected on what I had seen in the Museum: on the lines of people giving blood, on the crowd of locals assisting firefighters digging thru rubble. One of the most moving experiences of my life. Proud American moment.
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- 2 days ’til May
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- marathon bib pickup & home to NBA’s Thunder
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- multimedia news feeds of America’s first terrorist attack
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- Reflecting Pool
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- Field of Empty Chairs
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- Pioneer Monument
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- rain & downed trees, but no tornadoes — I call it a win 🙂
REDEMPTION WEEK.
Gotta say – last week’s marathon result really really stung. Been putting in the time, working hard. Heat or no heat – never expected to throw a 5 hour marathon result again. Aside from the mental struggle of a sub-par performance, took ‘til Wednesday to bounce back physically. Nauseous, early week pace all over the place in my training runs.
8.7 miles Wednesday, 12.2 miles Thursday. Back on track. Unlike last week, took a taper day [on] Friday. Easy 2 mile jog, marathoning Saturday morning in Brighton – 2nd weekend my run commute would be under 30 minutes. Nice 🙂
FUN FACT: to keep costs down, Director reused old race bibs. Tomorrow I’d be running a Ladies 9K event from 2014. LOL>
Early wake-up, early Start. Cold morning. 35 degrees, woke to rain. Swapped rain for sleet as Brighton temps dipped just under freezing. Small race, 20 laps ‘round a flat 1.3 mile course. 20 laps, ugh. Packed a run bag with all my fave food & drinks. Tucked under a picnic area awning – would have 20 opportunities to grab a snack.
6am Start. Went out fast, hung a quarter-mile behind the lead pack. Followed the flags, made my way once around the course. Multiple mud crossings, developed a rhythm. Lap 4: gloppy cold rain, mix of wet snow & rain. Increased speed, held an 8:20/min pace, started picking off runners. Slowed — ran an easy 9:30/min mile — every third interval.
1:56 Half marathon. Not a personal best…but the fastest I’d run post-cancer. Mentally knew: pacing too quick – it’s a marathon, not a 10K. Would keep running STRONG 3 more laps, then reassess. Not targeting a new PR ‘til September…but what if. What if today everything came together for my first sub-4 since 2015. Logged a slow loop, but surprisingly followed with two sub-9/min miles.
Rain stopped at lap 17 (22 miles). Fizzling, running empty/outta gas, 9:40 lap. Refueled, sucked down 2 packets of soft food. A minute+ under sub-4, quickly eating thru my time bank. 2 laps remaining. Lap 19, run clock read 3:51. Legs like lead, breathing labored. Pushing hard, forward thru mud, sloppy conditions – no longer avoiding the muddiest stretches. Everything I have this day, no holding back.
Finish time – unfortunately, just missed – 4:01:34. No sub-4, not today…but almost there.
Fastest run of 2017. Strike that – fastest run since March 2015 & a new Colorado PR. 3rd place Male, 4th overall.
2017 Runs With Scissors – April 22, 2017
Male Marathon Results
Place Name Age Time
- Nicholas Ferron 34 03:00:18
- David Jepsen 41 03:22:44
- K R Haga 50 04:01:34
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- cold wet day: rain, sleet & snow
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- 3rd place Male
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- new Colorado PR
