Calico ET Full Moon Midnight Marathon Race Report

I’ve been slacking on writing up the post-marathon race reports, and one of these days I will catch up! Right now I want to tell you about Calico ET Full Moon Midnight marathon because it was one of the most insane experiences I’ve ever! (And being stuck on a plane without internet means writing!)

This was by far the most challenging marathon I’ve had the privilege of running. Jessica and I signed up for this way back in January thinking we would have ample time to train, but as usual, life happens and we kinda ended up winging it like we did for Newport. 

The logistics for this race was tight. Too close for comfort. I’ll preface this to say it’s always better just to add an additional day beforehand to give yourself rest time. There was no rest time here. I don’t remember why I booked a late morning flight (probably budget or kid care related), but thanks to delays, I ended up getting into Vegas about 3:30pm. Bib pick up happened after dropping off my bag in our room at the Silver Sevens Hotel, which was the host hotel. 

Silver Sevens: The host hotel

Word of advice if you ever run the ET Marathon, book elsewhere. I think we chose it just because it was the host hotel. But, as Jessica says, this sad, dated hotel smells like cigarette smoke and broken dreams. I’ve stayed in less-than-stellar hotel rooms, but this entire place was in badly need of a complete renovation. The carpets were stained, the elevator creaked, and the card keys barely worked half the time. The nicest area was actually the pool, which we didn’t even use.

After bib pick up, we decided to grab a bite to eat at the cafe in the same space. The cafe was located on the second floor, in a supposed non-smoking area, but I’m guessing decades of smoking allowances on the lobby level just permeated the entire building. I had my burger with a side of stale cigarette. 

After dinner, we retreated to our room to lay out gear and wait for the 8:30pm bus to the start. Jessica arrived earlier in the day, managed to get a post dinner nap in. I laid on the bed with my eyes closed hoping to conserve whatever energy I would need later on. 

Soon we heard the commotion of runners outside and made our way to join the crazy people all dressed in reflective gear. Some people wore alien related outfits. Apparently there is a costume contest. The race director (who was running around with a giant speakerphone and a lit pool noodle strapped to her back) announced to everyone to “get on the bus” and so we did. The ride to the start took two hours. I tried to nap again, but failed to get anything longer than a 15 minute snooze thanks to the bus driver’s crazy driving. 

Bus drop off: Extraterrestrial Highway

Finally the bus pulls over to the side of the road at about 11:15pm, and opens the door without any announcement. Half the people stayed on, the other half looked around and wandered off. We went outside to figure out if this was where we needed to go. 

Once outside we were greeted by a bunch of runners in headlamps, glow sticks and reflective vests. Some people had blinking lights wrapped around their legs, some people wore glow in the dark headbands and glowing backpacks. A guy with a pointy tin foil hat walked by. Two ladies with matching light up tutus lined up by the portapotties, which had glow sticks hanging on the doors. A motorcycle parked nearby had an “abducted alien” tied up in the back. It was surreal.

The "White" Mailbox

We finally located the “white mailbox” (which was actually black) and waited on line to take the prerequisite photos. After watching a couple of people in front take crappy washed out photos, I suggested they use their headlamps as a spotlight to stop the flash glares off the reflective vests. That worked, and my good deed for the day was complete. 

At 11:45pm all the 5K, 10K and half marathoners loaded back onto the bus to get to their starting lines. Our start was the lone stop sign. At 11:58pm, the race director reiterated that “the buses will wait for NO ONE! So gauge your pace and made sure you get to the finish by 8:00am!” The photographer asks us to gather around for a group pic, snaps one, and at midnight we were off!

Now, I’d love to tell you that Jessica and I ran. But the reality is that we arrived to the start undertrained. Add to it race day airplane travel, desert conditions, summer temps, and altitude difference, we took things at a baby snail’s pace. Our only goal after being denied a finish in Nashville, was to complete the course. A Goal was the 51K. B Goal was the full. We'll see where we're at once we reach Mile 20. 

The first ten miles was spent adjusting to conditions. It was a slow march straight uphill on Extraterrestrial Highway. The moonlight was super bright, so we turned off the headlamps to let our eyes adjust, and watched as the faster runners pull away until eventually they were blinking dots in front of us. There were two Marathon Maniac ladies behind us, followed by a slow rolling cop car. They caught up to us for a bit, and the four of us went a couple miles as a group, chatting about the races we did, our favorites and such. Eventually they fell back again, and Jessica and I moved ahead accompanied only by the moonlight, and an occasional car passing. (We'd turn our headlamps on to warn them, and then turned it off when they passed. There was something soothing about running in the dark.)

"Only in darkness can you see the stars." - MLK

By Mile 11, the hardest part of incline began. There were alternating warm and cool breezes coming off the sides of the mountains that kept us cognizant of where we were, but the arid air was starting to hurt our eyes. At several points I felt like I had to close my eyes because the air was so dry, and that heightened the other senses. I felt a tug from my left shin due to the slight slope of the road, so I moved towards the middle. Then every time we heard an approaching car car we made our way back to the left side and turned on head lamps high until they passed safely. Sometimes the cars slowed down and veered out of our way. Some flew by when we were on the graveled embankments. Luckily it wasn’t a constant stream of cars, and the relatively straight road with hills gave us enough notice to make our way over whenever a car approached. 

"That's a strange rock up ahead... OMG! Is that... a cow?!"

The next two miles proved the most difficult, but we were rewarded by shooting stars and the Milky Way... as well as the sounds of coyotes in the distance, a snake on the road, rabbit road kill, and a couple of dead cows. In a moment of middle-of-the-night hilarity we kept approaching this “really strange looking black rock” until we shone a light on it and realized it was a bovine cadaver stiff with rigor mortis. The desert wind carried the lovely dead smell downwind and we booked it after being simultaneously freaked out and amused! It became fodder for the subsequent mile.

Half the stations were DIY refill stations

For the first half, some of the aid stations were either manned by a single person, or unsupervised with a giant jug or two filled with water and HEED. When we reached the halfway station, there were two friendly ladies there that decorated their table with balloons and had a mini spread of pretzels, ginger snaps, gels and electrolytes. We finally reached the top, and their celebratory table gave us a nice mental boost! I was super happy to have picked up the bacon jerky. The combination of salt and protein helped in the latter stages, and was a welcomed change in flavor from the Gu. The only downside was getting a bit burp-y from the jerky. But the burps provided immature entertainment on an otherwise quiet stretch of highway. (We were like two giddy kids delirious from the lack of sleep.)

The lovely ladies of Mile 13 aid station

After a porta potty stop half a mile down the road, we came across these cattle guards and some more turns, and even managed to run a bit with the hardest part behind us. To be honest, I don’t remember much of the second half before the sun came up. I was kinda in a haze from lack of sleep, dry air and darkness. And we were going through the motions, turning on our headlamps and moving to the gravel embankment every time we heard and saw headlights. My system was thrown out of wack and my stomach was letting me know I should be sleeping and not running. TMI, I made the most pit stops ever out of any race I’ve ever done. At one point I had to “moon the moon” because I drank too much water. It was funny because a porta potty appeared only a quarter mile after, and it was a lovely view against the rocks with the moon in the background. Jessica took advantage of it while I crossed the road to snap a pic for perpetuity (while she was inside).

Porta potty in the moonlight

By this point the sky was starting to lighten up, and that gave us a bit of energy. At mile 17ish the road opened up and the sprinkling of town lights appeared several miles away on the valley floor. It was like a mirage because my eyes couldn’t register what I was looking at. Eventually the tiny dots came into view and grew into houses, and the dawn light cast a muted pastel glow across the peaks. With the moon still glowing bright, and the sun about to break, we pretty much stopped before descending into town to take in the view and snap photos. It was simply too amazing not to stop, and take it all in. 

Requisite timed selfie

After spending a considerable amount of time on photos, we realized we wouldn’t make the cut off point to complete the 51K distance, and we didn’t want to try our luck, so we resolved to just finish the full. After a weather-related DNF in Nashville in 2017, and a sickness-related dropdown to the half in Birmingham in February, I was determined to cross Nevada off my list this year. 

By mile 20 the sun was up, and the last 10k proved mentally and physically challenging. You had to run past the town of Rachel (population: 54), where the finish line was, head 5k straight with nothing but fields on both sides, then then turn around and double back. That last portion was rolling hills with no shade. Did I mention the sun was fully up? 

The "large rock" at the marathon turnaround point

The last aid station was at the turnaround point. The aid station lady said to us that out turnaround point was “at that large rock over there.” She yelled to us when we reached it. Somehow Jessica had some reserves in her tank, and with 1.5 to go, she booked it, and left me in the dust. I kept looking out for the two Marathon Maniac ladies behind me, but on the return, I didn’t see them or the cop car escort. I slow chugged it enjoying my newly crowned status of being dead last, (a rather common place these days.) 

When I reached the turn to the finish, one of the race supervisors called out to me, “You have 30 seconds before cutoff!” Somewhere I heard Jessica yell my name. There was clapping and cheering from some of the finishers (no doubt they were relieved that they didn't have to wait any longer!) My legs responded by giving everything to cross that finish line. I need this time to count and Usain Bolted to the finish with mere seconds to spare. After I crossed, I doubled over, overwhelmed by exhaustion, and waited for my stomach to settle. When I straightened up, a fellow runner came by and patted me on the back. The official time keeper placed a medal around my neck, and a cop offered to take a photo of me at the finish. It was quite the dramatic finish! 

Nevada: check!

I must admit, it is those moments as a runner that I live for, where you feel you have nothing left to give but somehow manage dig deep and offer up something you didn’t realize you have. Those moments teach you a lot about yourself, how life throws curveballs and you do your best to adjust... or something inspirational like that! 

Anyway, this was by far my slowest marathon ever, but at this point, does it even matter? I'm okay I got to cross a state off! State #16 in the books!

Leading Ladies Marathon Race Report

(This one has been sitting in draft for a year, and I'm finally finishing it!) 

Since Honolulu I’ve knocked out a few more states: AR, TX, CT, LA, OH, MI... and now SD for a total of 15 states, 18 overall, and TN as a course diverted DNF, which, I promise to write about one day... but back to SD!

I signed up with the best intentions of getting a better training cycle out of it, but somehow life happened as it did for many of the other ones. I figured I had enough of decent weather months prior to the race in August, and would take advantage of it. Typed out my training schedule and everything, and was making progress in ticking the days off... then life happened.

We had scheduled a gut bathroom renovation that would take weeks in July, and after I temporarily relocated to my sister’s house upstate, the proverbial wheels fell off. I brought running gear and shoes up there for naught. Had it been just myself I probably would have been able to get a few long runs in to reacquaint the legs. But having the kid there with no other adult until nightfall, there wasn’t really a way for me to do so, especially on unfamiliar and unlit roads with no shoulders. Tack on the logistical nightmare of several large projects that suddenly fell onto my lap in early August, my mind didn’t even think about actually running until I got on the plane.

So, I basically went into Leading Ladies relying on muscle memory with the singular goal of just finishing. (SD was a rather expensive trip compared to previous races I did, and I’d rather not have to repeat a state considering I already have to re-run TN. I don’t normally tack on an extra day, but the way the flights were scheduled it was easier just to arrive on Friday and leave on Monday.)

Chapel in the Hills

Flew to Chicago and met up with Julie where we puddle jumped to Rapid City, SD and met the rest of the ladies. Had a nice lunch, caught up, and did some local sightseeing before driving to Spearfish where the Airbnb was located. We pretty much visited the major attractions, a random Norwegian Church that was an exact replica of the one in Norway, Sturgis, Deadwood, where Wild Bill met his fate in a saloon. (More interesting to me was the fact that the city used to be home to one of the largest Chinese populations in the country, a tidbit I happened upon while Google Map surfing.)

Chillin' at a bar in Deadwood with some of my favorite runner ladies

I've run several races with these ladies already!

After picking up our bib from the mini expo at the Hyatt, we headed over to Walmart to do some food shopping, then headed to the Airbnb where we relaxed ordered pizza and beer, and chilled and caught up.

Our airbnb hostess left us wine!

Saturday morning was devoted to Keystone, Rushmore, and Crazy Horse where we ziplined and visited monuments. Dinner was at a local steak house, and then back early to prep and sleep since it we had to wake up at ass o’clock. (That’s 3:15am in case you wanted to know.)

Only crazy people go zip lining the day before a race

The Lady Bugs invade Mt. Rushmore

Who doesn't want to own their very own rock from Crazy Horse Mountain?!

When we woke up Sunday morning a light drizzle, and Karen being the most prepared had ponchos for all of us. We made it down to the finish at 4am, and got picked up by cheese buses that brought us to the start. By the time we arrived, the drizzle became steady rain, and from the forecast, it was going to be wet the entire time.

Everyone else ran the half. We did the full.

Now, I ran some small races before, but this was by far the smallest. There were a total of 88 ladies for the full, and 201 for the half. It was quite amusing to have the organizers announce that anyone who wants to check their gear can just toss it in the back of the red pick up, and they’ll drive it down to the finish.

The start was uneventful, and I did try to run. But let me just say that having not trained, and not used to 6,000ft above sea level, I gave up on doing that real quick! Within the first mile, the pack pretty much disappeared as I hobbled along by myself. And that was pretty much what it was like the entire time. I was mostly alone, shuffling in the downpour. At first I had my arms out, but the rain just soaked my arm sleeves and the dampness was making my arms cold. I tried stuffing my arms under the poncho, but doing that caused the poncho to stick restricting my arms a bit. I forgot my cap so I tried to keep the poncho hood on. Eventually I just said F it, it is what it is, and just focused on making my way downhill. 

There's something to be said for running alone in the rain and just reveling in the moment. Somewhere during the early miles I got overwhelmed by the beauty of the trees, the rain, the mist and creeks that I started crying tears of joy. It was just. So. Beautiful. Unfortunately, the rain made it really hard to take many photos. I managed a handful before having to shove it back before it got completely damaged. (There's now a faint circle that shows up on all my photos.)

Eventually, I made my way to the halfway point where a sad tent, empty chair and timing mat waited. It was probably off, but I went and ran over it anyway just in case. Every once in a while, I'd look ahead and back. No one was in front, and I ran knowing the route was a closed one so I wouldn't get off course. Behind me was a single runner, and I can tell she was trying to gain so I slowed my roll, and let her catch up. To be honest, I could use the company as well after hanging out in a portapotty completely soaked and trying to warm up, wondering how I was going to finish after running almost the entire course alone, so far. (At once point I tried to pick up what looked like a tarp because the water was soaking my bones.) 

Somewhere around mile 16 she caught up, introduced ourselves and we began a friendly chat, willing ourselves forward taking turns leading. We talked about our previous races, our goals, and our running. Diana ran with a huge limp, and mentioned she wanted to apply to be an Achilles runner. I told her about my 50 state goal. 

Oh dear!

The skies cleared up around mile 22, and we stopped to watch a family of deer hanging out. Slowly but surely we managed to get to the bottom, and wound our way around through the park area looking for the finish. When we got there, the rest of the girls were waiting, already having gone home and showered, and returned to cheer us on. Seeing the end was near, Diana asked if we could hold hands to the finish, and I said absolutely. There's something magical that happens during the end of a journey of a shared running experience that's hard to put into words. After we crossed, we hugged each other and took a pic together. The fabulous race director gave us medals and sunflowers and congratulated us on our finish. The girls were nice enough to offer her a ride back to her hotel since it was on the way to the store anyway. I thought about walking the mile or so back to the airbnb, but I was just too pooped. 

Running to the finish!

South Dakota: check!

Post-race festivities included beer, food (of course), and a trip to the Mt. Moriah Cemetery where the only remaining evidence of a once-bustling Chinatown remained. Oh, and we ended up mailing a Crazy Horse rock because we just didn't want to have to check in luggage. Finally, it was time to go. We all packed up and headed back to the airport. 7 ladies from 7 states, coming together for a girls' weekend. It was a much needed respite. Oh, and I got to knock South Dakota off the list! 

Honolulu Marathon 2015 Race Report

In many ways, the Philly full became my last long run for Honolulu. With the holiday projects time schedule condensed due to the trip, I knew it was going to be the case. So going into my last race of the year, I didn't have much expectations other than to finish. Plus, I was a bit burned out from everything, and I was just looking forward to getting away and visiting my friends who left the fast paced life of NYC for the slower island time. I realized that I had let my fitness slip, and in all honesty, it was okay because my main focus was to enjoy my first vacation in about 6 years. The Honolulu marathon just happened to be part of the itinerary.

Aloha!

The first two days were spent wandering the island and catching up with friends. When we landed, Shiho picked us up from the airport, and we were welcomed with fresh leis. We were ushered to her apartment where she and Ronnie had set up a delicious backyard BBQ. (The backyard was more like a Japanese garden complete with pond, temple-like structures and wandering wildlife!) The twelve hour flight made us hungry, so we really appreciated the home cooked dinner of burgers and Hawaiian punch. I was also very happy to see Daniel, whom I have not seen since forever. (By the end of the night, I was delirious because I was up for a total of 24+ hours with only a 2 hour nap during the second leg of the flight.) After dinner, we all took a joy ride to drop Daniel off at his military hotel.

With Daniel, Chris, Ronnie, Shiho and lil' Levie.
Daniel has actually run 5 marathons himself!

The next day, the only "must do" on my list was bib pick up. So Shiho, Ronnie, Chris and I went to the expo, but not before we were able to get a dozen fresh, hot malasadas for breakfast! The expo was super fun! Probably one of the most enjoyable ones because the exhibitors were really enthusiastic. (I swear it's like a Japanese thing, but it made sense because it was sponsored by JAL.) We all took photos with the mascots, and received free prints. There were place to write signs, and the three non-runners wrote funny messages to me and the booth vendors took photos.

Marathon Expo time!

We each received a print of this pic. Kinda cool to share in the excitement!

After all that, we headed to the mall where Chris and I were to do a little last minute search of clothing to wear for our scheduled photo shoot. (I booked a shoot for the day since we were also celebrating our 5 year wedding anniversary.) Shiho drove us to our shoot, and waited for us, something which we were really thankful for, and then we met up with Daniel and caught the Friday night fireworks at the beach. Afterwards we had dinner, and called it a night.

Photo by Daniel.

The day before the marathon, we went on an early morning hike at the Makapu'u Summit. It was a very short two mile hike, and we caught a beautiful sunrise since it was out on the east side of the island. (Actually, all the sunrises and sunsets were indescribably beautiful.) The views were just incredible! After the hike, we headed back to the apartment and enjoyed a few laps in the pool. Shiho, knowing I was thinking of spam musubi, actually made us a spam musubi lunch poolside. (If you ever go to Oahu, there are several things that you must eat, and this is one of them! And of course, malasadas! And shaved ice... and loco moco... and kailua pig... omg just eat all the things! Seriously!)

Views on the Trail to Makapu'u Summit

During lunch, I finally connected with my airbnb host, who gave me the access code to the condo we would be staying in during the next few days. By that time, it was already late afternoon, so we decided on dinner. Daniel made a valiant effort to find us an Italian joint to help me with carbo loading, but alas, everyone had the same idea, (we're talking 3 hour wait!) so we ended up in Chinatown, which was a delicious, and more time-sensible alternative. Right before dinner, we drove up to the Punchbowl Cemetery, which had some more amazing views of the island.

After dinner, Shiho drove us to our condo, and we hugged and parted ways for the weekend. I immediately unpacked and spread out my gear, set up breakfast, and set my three alarms for a 3am wake up call. Bedtime was 10am, but with all the excitement I really didn't get a good night's sleep. (I mean, come on, I'm in Honolulu!)

The alarm came fast, I got up, downed a couple of King's Hawaiian rolls with some amazing coconut peanut butter that Shiho gave me. (So sad they confiscated my stash at the airport! Apparently peanut butter counts as cream!...) Downed a cup of coffee on the balcony where I could see tiny specks of runners heading towards the Zoo where the shuttles were. At 3:20, I grabbed a banana, and headed out the door. Once I walked out the elevator, I just headed east and followed the steady stream of runners. Found the shortest possible line and queued up for the ten minute bus ride to the start. I could have walked it, but the fact that I already hiked and swam the day before, adding an additional two miles may have been pushing it.

When I arrived to the start, I started looking for FB folks who said they were running. Some of the 50 staters members said they were going to meet up in a certain area, so I waited for them figuring I could introduce myself to folks I sorta talked to during the past several months. But long story short, the meet up was awkward as hell. The person that set up the meet up neglected to mention that the folks he was referring to were Marathon Maniacs even though he posted in the 50 states group, and since I wasn't a member, I just slowly moved along as they all gathered for a group pic. (I tried to strike up a convo with someone else since the main guy who set up the meet up pretty much just blew me off.) After shaking that weird encounter off, I found my way to the porta potties. When I got on line, I saw that they separated the men and women stalls. At first I thought that would suck, but there were 3x as many stalls for women than there were for men. I'm telling you it was a game changer!

Not even a five minute wait! Other marathons should take note!

Finally, it was go time. Someone sang the national anthem, then I guess it was the Japanese anthem. Did I mention there were a LOT of Japanese people who flew in to run this thing? And I'm talking ALL ages. Kids, seniors with walking canes and wheel chairs, you name it they were there! Then at 5am the horns blasted, and the fireworks started, and off we went! Let me tell you, running under fireworks gets your heart racing!

The first several miles were in town. It felt really warm and muggy, and I did my best to move along. Starting temps were at 72º. It went through Ala Moana (shopping district), and the Downtown Honolulu area, and there was this stretch that had a lot of Christmas decorations. Then the route made a U turn and we headed back east, along the main stretch towards Waikiki. I was half hoping to see Chris there, but heck it was crazy early. I don't even think he tracked me this time around. Finally around mile 6 we were back at the zoo and headed towards Diamond Head where the first major uphill came near the volcano crater. For some reason, I started to develop a blister as well, and decided against checking it out until later on if it got too bad. Anyway, the steady rise was met with a lot of slow runners. With the course taking up only one side of the highway, there was really no point in trying to run since everyone around me just walked. I looked at the people next to me and I was literally walking as fast as they were trying to run uphill. So, I took in the pre-dawn beauty of the crater, the beautiful clear sky with twinkling planets afar, and the gorgeous coastline and rocky shore. (I'm telling you, I had several moments where I saw so much beauty I wanted to cry.) Earlier before the uphill, I stopped for vaseline when I started to feel the blister, but since I decided not to check it out, smeared it on my leg in hopes of using it later. Bad idea. The entire thing melted and left a greasy river of vaseline juice down my leg. Then I guess because of how slippery everything was, I ended up dropping my phone. Some runner dude came up beside me and asked me if I had dropped it. I didn't even notice! Totally owed him everything because my phone was like, my only connection to anything! (Thank you, fellow runner dude!)

Daybreak around miles 8ish and 10ish.

Around mile 10, the route opens up again to a lot of the suburban parts of the area. Lots of beautiful homes on steep mountains. I saw my first glimpse of the eastern sunrise, and even on the road, it was just breathtaking. Stopped several times to snap some sunrise photos. After another couple of miles, I realize that it was getting warm. Like, really warm. At this point, I knew it was just a matter of time before things get crazy. I hadn't run in this type of weather since August. I also didn't put on sunscreen, figuring I would be done before noon. That decision would come back to burn me. Literally.

Unintended mantra on the left that was repeated in my head:
East Halemaumau, where the f*cks the turnaround?

Inland waterway

Around mile 15 the sun was fairly high in the sky, and it started getting HOT. By the time I reached the inland waterway (where I stopped and waited for the photo station person for a beautiful inland waterway photo), I knew I was in trouble. I was getting that familiar feeling of not wanting anything in my stomach, and started getting a cup of gatorade to drink at every stop, as well as one cup of water to throw down my back and neck. I felt myself overheat, and I did what I could to stop it. The water sponges were not enough. I thought there would be more water sprinklers, but apparently there were only people who lived along the route who would turn on their hoses for relief. The stretch from mile 18-24 really provided almost no relief whatsoever as it was mainly highway. There were a few areas where people had open bags of ice. I grabbed a few and stuffed it down my shirt. (At this point there was no shame in my game.) I recall passing a lot of folks sitting on the side walking as close to the walls as possible to cover themselves from the sun. Some lady must have fainted and face planted, and may have knocked some of her teeth out. She was being helped by some volunteers off the course, but not before leaving a bloody, gutted mess to run around. There were a few people in tents lying down on stretchers downed by the heat. I felt my left shoulder and ear burning, but couldn't do much but just continue. And as much as I wanted to run this portion of the course, my self-preservation mode kicked in. I felt my head and neck overheat, so I just walked as fast as I could, and slowed at the aid stations to cool down. I knew it was tough when I saw people running 3-4 hour paces were stopping and walking.

Around mile 15-16ish? Garmin wasn't fully charged so it died early.

Literally a hot mess at around 18.

I fought thoughts of running straight into the ocean.

21-22? But seriously, the views!

Finally, the familiar surroundings of Diamond Head came back into view. I sped up as much as my blister would allow and painfully wound my way back down the side of the crater, and half walked half shuffled my way to the finish. There was a water cool down station set up after the finish, and I cooled down and got my medal. Then hobbled over to get my malasada and finisher's shirt. Once I found a cool spot under a tree, I took my socks off and found a gigantic bloody blister under my left arch. (Lovely, I know. But I was actually kinda proud it didn't burst!) Texted Chris and told him to bring some towels and come collect me. After we met up, we headed directly over to this little beach nearby called Kaimana Beach where I took a ten minute dip in the ocean to cool down. That was probably the best post race soak ever!

An actual race pic that I don't hate.

Will run for donuts! (Malasadas, in this case!)

Beats an ice bath any day!

All in all, it was a pretty but tough course. It was my third slowest marathon on record, the first time in years that I clocked over the six hour mark. But that doesn't even matter because it's not like I was here to prove anything. I reached my goal of completing my 8th full, 6th state, and did it while enjoying the view. I mean, what a way to see the island! Can't beat that!