huskydon
Cool Runner |
 posted Jun-02-2007 11:52 PM
   
Short version: Had a great time running with my three brothers as a relay team in the Green River Marathon (WA). We finished in 3:41:18, fairly close to our predicted best case time of 3:38:33. Long Version: The Green River Marathon ( http://www.greenrivermarathon.com ) is a low key event, originally conceived a number of years ago as a fun run among friends. There are no bibs or entry fee. You can order a shirt, though. (This year was the first time there was a port a potty at the start). Since its inception in 1997, it has grown steadily. This year there were 77 registered to run the course as solo runners, 14 relay teams and seven who were running half marathons. B2 (brother #2) has been running this event as part of a relay team for a number of years now. Last year we thought about having the "four boys" run the race as a team. This was easier said than done, as the race is near Seattle and three of us were other parts of the country. But it was a great idea, and we moved forward on it. All of us run, to varying extents and were in reasonable shape. One of the issues we faced was deciding who was to run each leg of the marathon (ten in all). Being analytical types, we spent hours of time considering and analyzing. Each brother generated a forecast of how fast they could run one, two, three, four, five, etc miles. B3 then wrote a Visual Basic program to examine every possibile combination of runners and legs and computed the total elapsed time for each case. I think he did some pruning of the allowable sets to reduce the computation time. A priori, we limited ourselves to solutions where each brother ran a single contiguous segament. We thought it would be easier logistically and weren't sure how fast someone would run if they had to run a second segment also. There was nine candidate solutions which gave solutions in the 3:38 - 3:39 range and we discussed each of the solutions, narrowed it to three solutions, and then selected one of the three. We felt that each of the nine solutions would yield the same total time, and ended up basing our final solution on some intangibles. The proposed solution had B3 running the first two legs (5.1 mi) , B1 running the next two (5.1 mi), B2 running the next three (9.0 mi), and I would run the last three (7.2 mi). The day before the race, we drove the course (as much as we could) and identified the troublesome areas. The race follows much of the Green River trail, and then cuts across the city, through an industrial area (South Park) and then finishes up on the bike path near Alki Point. The course is not marked and with the smallish number of runners, so it can be easy to get lost. For this reason, we gave those difficult areas to B2, who had run the race before. B3, who had never run here before, got the first leg, where it would harder to get lost. The weather was warm and my brothers professed not to be warm weather runners, so I got the last leg. It turned out that getting lost was not really a problem, that there was enough runners to follow for each of us. The brothers are roughly the same speed, but with varying stamina. At first we thought that the optimum solution would be the one where each of us have the same average speed, but it turned out to not be the case. We arrived at the start to find out that some of the runners had already started (one hour earlier than us). These included tetsujin, who I had hoped to meet. Hopefully I would get to see him on the course? We pick up our blue technical shirts (from Brooks!), sold at cost for $12. With a bit of fanfare, we started exactly at 8:30. (Did I mention we went to the Brooks outlet store the day before? So cool!) We drove to the point for the first handoff, and decided that B3, running the first leg, could use some help. So, B1, moved down the course to shave off a tenth of a mile. That would be the only race day adjustment we made. It was hotter than we had expected, and so tried to keep our expectations lower and exercise caution in going out too fast. B1 finished nicely, and B2 got started on his 9.0 mile segment. Running a relay is new for me, and I noticed quite a different dynamic during the morning. Team members would finish, and we would see how they are doing, and possibly make adjustments. We also noticed it was hard to see where we were compared to other competitors. I'm not sure if it was easier to run earlier (and be able to relax afterwards) or to run later (with benefit of knowing the conditions better from the other runners). B2 came in, did well, and it was my turn. I quickly noticed, starting afresh at 19.0 miles, filled with Mountain Dew and fig newtons, and running with two days rest, that I had much fresher legs than the other runners. I almost felt bad passing them, as most of them had been laboring for over 2 1/2 hours already. But you gotta do what you gotta do. I was quite re-assured to see some runners ahead of me. Certainly, I couldn't get lost! But I am following someone, and the route didn't seem right to me and I looked back, and the guy behind me is motioning us to veer left. Cost us a hundred feet or so, but it is part of the charm of the race. I am running well, pushing the pace nicely. The course is mostly very flat, but with a few modest inclines. There are no mile markers of course, so I had planned to run by feel, and I have no clue, until the very end, how I am doing. I reach the bike path and there is a beautiful view of Seattle from across Puget Sound. I hardly look at it, as the bike path has quite a few bicyclists, strollers, runners, and others out enjoying a beautiful PNW day. It was sunny, witn a mild breeze, about 70 degrees. It is not unlike running on the Strand in SoCal. I continue to push, and am dropping people with no problem. The only problem I have is that I don't know where the finish line is. I think it is at one spot, I slow, look around, see no one, and am puzzled. In my mentally depleted condition, of course, I forget the name of the restaurant (Spuds) that also acts as the finish line. I probably lose fifteen seconds slowing down at the end. Finally, I see my brothers frantically waving at me about 100 yards down the road. There is no finish line or banner (remember, low key event). But I finally finish, and feel pretty decent (well, compared to other races, at least). Here are our mileage, actual and predicted paces.
B3 5.0 8:36/mi 8:32/mi
B1 5.2 8:22/mi 8:11/mi
B2 9.0 8:18/mi 8:11/mi
me 7.2 8:21/mi 8:17/mi
Total 26.4 8:23/mi 8:17/mi
According to our four watches, the brothers finished in 3:41:18, somewhat more than our best case prediction of 3:38:33. So we are all pretty happy with our performances and our predictions also. Isn't it funny how we are all about the same speed? Makes you think that speed is dictated a lot by genetics. We had to leave, and while we were driving back, we saw Tetsujin at M23! B2 mentioned that he had passed him during his run. Oh, well! I will have to officially greet and meet Jon some other time. All in all, we had a great time. It is true, the organizers of this event really have a love for the sport. There are many friendly volunteers, some doing double duty at two stations. All the supplies and Gatorade are donated. You know how some races have that community feel to them? This one has more of a family feel to it. A lot of the people seem to know each other and run in the event every year. Runners stop and chat with the people manning the water/ gatorade stations. Definitely, this is a fun race and I would heartily recommend it. Huskydon
IP: Logged |
