I drove down to Moab Utah for the 33rd Annual Canyonlands Half Marathon with friend and fellow Runner’s Edge of the Rockies member Holly in March 2008 (actually she drove; I co-piloted). The drive down was lots of fun, as Holly and I talked about friends, family, running, race strategy, and more. We got into town at about 7 pm, then went straight to the Expo to pick up our packets, shirts, and timing chips. Then it was off to the prerace pasta dinner. Even though it was late—about a quarter to 8, and the dinner was scheduled to end at 8:30—there was still plenty of food which we proceeded to put away heartily. Have to fuel up for tomorrow’s run!
At the Expo we connected with Monica and Anna, who had graciously agreed to put me up for the night (and Holly, as it transpired). At the hotel, we talked and joked for a while, then it was time for bed. We set our alarms for 6 am, planning to leave our hotel and head for the finish line/ bus pickup at 7. I had a slight case of night- before-a-race jitters, but these are very similar to opening-night jitters which I flatter myself I’ve gotten pretty good at tuning out. That, coupled with the fact that I’d been sitting in a car for five hours straight, led to a fairly solid night’s sleep.
The next morning was overcast but not chilly—at least in town. We walked down to the bus staging area and connected with most of the rest of the Runner’s Edge contingent—Rose, Wendy, Laura, Michelle, and Al. Then it was time to take the bus to the starting area. Since this is an invitation-only race, we couldn’t even get on the bus without showing them our race bibs. The drive up through the canyon was great fun. The canyon itself is beautiful —layers of multicolored rock and sandstone, 50 million years of history. The Colorado River ran beside us. It was tough for me to imagine, looking at that relaxed, lazy river, that millions of years ago it had been a raging engine of destruction, carving the canyon through which we were driving.
Unfortunately, the sky was not clearing up, and when we reached the bus drop off point it was much chillier than it had been in town. Worse, the race didn’t start for another 2 hours! I huddled with Laura, Rose, Wendy, and Michelle, talking and killing time waiting for 10:00 to arrive. At about 9:30 we made our way towards the starting line—which was a solid quarter mile uphill from where we’d been dropped off! Well, at least we got a bit of a warmup before the race!
Once at the start, we made our way through the pack to find our pace groups. I’d determined early on that I was going to hold myself to an 11 minute per mile pace for the first 6 miles of the race, which meant that I started pretty far back in the group (as a matter of fact, there was no 11-minute pace sign, so I just put myself about two- thirds of the way back with the 10-minute-milers). A few last minute stretches, a review of my race strategy (11 minute miles for the first 6, 10 minute miles for the next 6, and pick it up for the last 1.1), and I was ready for the race to start. The crowd was excited—I could feel the energy from the runners around me, 4800 strong.
The race started on time. Since I was so far towards the back of the pack, it took me about five minutes to make it to the actual starting line. Once there I was off. I had to remind myself to hold back and keep to my 11 minute pace, which was tricky as a)it was a steep downhill grade, dropping almost 100 feet in the first mile, and b)a lot of other runners were passing me. But I stuck to my plan as I ran through the Chinle Formation of the canyon, keeping myself between 10:30 and 11:00 per mile for the first six miles, and drinking Gatorade or water at each aid station. As I ran through the canyon, I noticed that not only did I have course mile markers telling me how far I’d come, but also highway mile markers telling me how far I had to go to get out of the canyon!
As I reached the 6.5 mile mark (now upping my pace to between 9:30 and 10:00 per mile) I started the first steep climbing section. Of course that’s relative: for the next mile the course lifted less than 50 feet! I concentrated on hill strategies I’d learned from my Runner’s Edge training (thanks, David!), and on the beauty of the canyon surrounding me. This was the Kayenta Formation, wetter and greener than the area I’d just run through.
After that brief climb, the course dipped again as I approached the 8 mile mark holding a steady 9:30 pace. This was faster than I’d planned for but with 5 miles to I was feeling pretty strong and wasn’t too worried about opening up a little. More than that, I’d been consistently passing runners for the last 2 miles—including many I recognized as runners who had shot past me at the start! Just after the 8 mile mark (0.1 miles, to be exact) was the start of the 5 mile run. Now, in addition to the half marathon course mile markers and the highway mile markers, was another set of signs telling me how far I had to go.
The first half of mile 9 was another sharp but short uphill, followed by a steep descent for the next three quarters of a mile, taking us to the lowest point on the course—just under 4000 feet! Running through Navajo Sandstone and back through the Kayenta and Chinle Formation, I climbed out of the canyon and turned onto the highway. This was interesting. We were restricted to the shoulder of Highway 191, which was still open to traffic, although coned off and restricted to one slow driving lane. This meant that I had to deal with trying to pass runners in front of me on a narrow shoulder and avoiding being creamed by semis and other vehicles.
Thankfully, at mile 12, the course turned off Highway 191 and onto 500 West. I increased my pace to sub-9 minute miles for this last mile, and turned onto 400 North. There, in the distance, I could see the finish line, and spectators cheering on either side of the street. As I ran down that last four-tenths of a mile, I increased my pace to a strong finishing kick. As I ran past the crowds, people cheered for me: “Go, Superman!” I saw Holly, who had finished long before me, as I drew close to the end. Close to the finish line I heard one small voice, who had evidently heard the cheers further down the line, say “Look! It IS Superman!”
After the race I connected with Laura, Wendy, Rose, Michelle, Holly, and Monica and her friend Anna. Comparing notes, we determined that nearly everybody had set a new PR on this course (and it was Anna’s first half marathon ever)! We were all pretty excited about that. After a round of congratulations, we went back to our respective hotels to shower and rest. Holly, Monica, Anna and I went out for some food and drinks (because a PR like that deserves a beer), then drove up to Arches National Park for some sightseeing before Holly and I hit the road back to Denver.
Oh, I almost forgot. I PR’d at the Georgetown Half Marathon in 2007 with 2 hours, 17 minutes, and 56 seconds. For Canyonlands, I planned to break 2:15:00, and developed my strategy accordingly. My official chip time: 2:12:30, a new PR!
Click here to see my pictures from the trip.
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