Zack - 26.2 (Feb 5th)

3:16:27 (7:29) (1:31:12/1:45:15) 15th/114
Death Valley Borax Marathon. Furnace Creek, CA. Elevation -200 feet.

Splits: 6:53, 7:09, 6:52, 6:58, 6:59, 7:02, 6:57, 6:47, 7:07, 6:49, 6:49, 7:02, 7:04, 6:52, 7:05, 6:58, 7:09, 7:17, 7:18, 7:42, 8:32, 8:13, 8:39, 9:32, 9:20, 11:09 (1.2 mi).

The story is told through the above splits in my debut marathon. Solid until about 19 miles and a serious muscular breakdown after. But let's back up..

The race starting Saturday morning at 8:00AM. My friend Joe (old roommate from Charleston, SC) flew in to Las Vegas and arrived at 9PM Friday night. I had been staying with another friend in Las Vegas and had a rental car ready to drive to the heart of the desert. Picked him up and we made the nearly 3 hour drive to Death Valley. Made it in to the DRY desert campsite that would amazingly only about ~1/4 mi from the start of the marathon. Fell asleep for roughly 6 hours and woke up ready to race.

It was a small event with a half-marathon and 10km going on at the same time but only 114 in the full marathon. I ran with my buddy Joe for the first 17 miles. We were keeping about the same effort throughout, the varying splits reflect the rolling hills. One thing that was noticeably strange was the lack of sweat that was present on my body. The humidity was down at about 7% and any moisture was simply wicked away. The temperature was excellent towards the beginning at about 55F and quickly rose to roughly 70-75F by the end. We hit the half with another guy (an ultra runner) in 1:31:12. Certainly well within range and about right on target.

Everything continued to be fine until about mile 16 where the legs started to get a little more heavy. Joe and the other guy were feeling great and kept the ~7 min/mi pace throughout the rest of the race. I knew that I was going to have to grit it out for a very long time. (~8 miles of nearly isolated running on the unforgiving HWY 190 in Death Valley!)

As you can see by the splits, I did everything in my power to hang on. Despite the time that quickly went above the Boston qualifier (3:10), I was extremely happy with my ability to weather the storm and stay calm as my legs started to tighten up exceedingly and my strides were reduced to a fraction of their original length. There was a long gradual hill at mile 24 and once I crested this, I knew I could grind it out and maintain my shuffle to the finish. I was awarded a cool medal at the end and a T-shirt. I felt absolutely terrible but also very happy to have went through such an insanely tough mental and physical experience. My hip adductors, IT bands, and quads were toast. I am glad I picked the Death Valley Borax Marathon for my first. It was a pure running experience without buildings or even spectators! The course offered vast views of a salty, mountainous, and seemingly endless desert. The route wound around enough and features some hills to make it less monotonous.

Eventually Joe and I ate at the Furnace Creek Ranch, a nice Buffalo burger and pint of beer hit the spot. We meandered back to Las Vegas on a sunny insanely nice day and crashed at the MGM Grand. The next morning I could hardly walk but hit it big on the slot machines and turned $20 into $1350 with a $1000 jackpot!! An unreal end to a whirlwind of a weekend. Trip and more paid for and a humbling first 26.2 mi race. I was able to learn so much and when I give another go at this distance, I feel it will be a much better result!