LOCATION: Bend, Oregon
The Haulin Aspen course is not an easy one. It's a trail marathon, so your pace and times are going to be slower, and in the middle of the course there is a huge climb. That said, this was also my second marathon in two days, so I was not expecting a fast race. Normally on a trail marathon, I would shoot for a sub 4 hour marathon, but this time I was shooting for a 4:22 (which is a 10 minutes pace).
They moved the start line of the race to a middle school, not far from the finish. In prior years the start and finish were at the same spot, which had basically no parking. The new start had tons of parking, and runners were bused back to the start after the race. It worked out really well.
Since I ran a marathon in Seattle the day before I had a lot of driving to get to Bend. I left Seattle and stopped off at my apartment for about an hour, before heading to Bend. It was dark and late when I arrived in Bend, and I was quite tired. I found the school and found other runners, who were sleeping in there cars as well. So I slept in my car and woke up early to get my race stuff. I was able to catch up with other fellow Oregon Maniacs.
When the race started it was a bit chilly, but sunny and ended up being quite warm. When I started, I felt pretty good, I was cruising along the dirt trails. In the first five miles, I was running between 8:30-9:00 miles. After that I slowed a bit to about a 9:30-10:00 pace. I felt pretty good and was enjoying the course. At about mile 10 is when the up hill climb begins, when the race started we were about 3,400 feet above sea level, but at mile ten it's about 4,000 feet, and over the next three miles to the half way point it climbs to about 5,500 feet. This stretch of three miles is very hard and I ended up walking parts of it. The views are amazing, and you just need to enjoy it and keep going.
At the half way point I was feeling pretty good, and my time was about 2:12, which was about on pace for my 4:22, but I knew the second half was going to be faster. I made the turn and headed downhill, It was smooth sailing, and the single track trails for the next seven miles or so, were awesome! At about mile 22 I slowed due to the rocking sections. I kept pushing and finished strong in the last three miles. I ended up running a 4:05:49, which was much faster than I had thought, and even gave me a negative split (2:12 first half, 1:54 second half).
After the race, I hung out for a while and chatted with other Maniacs. I had the awesome food afterward then headed back home. Overall it was an awesome weekend. This was my 90th marathon!
The Haulin Aspen course is not an easy one. It's a trail marathon, so your pace and times are going to be slower, and in the middle of the course there is a huge climb. That said, this was also my second marathon in two days, so I was not expecting a fast race. Normally on a trail marathon, I would shoot for a sub 4 hour marathon, but this time I was shooting for a 4:22 (which is a 10 minutes pace).
They moved the start line of the race to a middle school, not far from the finish. In prior years the start and finish were at the same spot, which had basically no parking. The new start had tons of parking, and runners were bused back to the start after the race. It worked out really well.
Since I ran a marathon in Seattle the day before I had a lot of driving to get to Bend. I left Seattle and stopped off at my apartment for about an hour, before heading to Bend. It was dark and late when I arrived in Bend, and I was quite tired. I found the school and found other runners, who were sleeping in there cars as well. So I slept in my car and woke up early to get my race stuff. I was able to catch up with other fellow Oregon Maniacs.
When the race started it was a bit chilly, but sunny and ended up being quite warm. When I started, I felt pretty good, I was cruising along the dirt trails. In the first five miles, I was running between 8:30-9:00 miles. After that I slowed a bit to about a 9:30-10:00 pace. I felt pretty good and was enjoying the course. At about mile 10 is when the up hill climb begins, when the race started we were about 3,400 feet above sea level, but at mile ten it's about 4,000 feet, and over the next three miles to the half way point it climbs to about 5,500 feet. This stretch of three miles is very hard and I ended up walking parts of it. The views are amazing, and you just need to enjoy it and keep going.
At the half way point I was feeling pretty good, and my time was about 2:12, which was about on pace for my 4:22, but I knew the second half was going to be faster. I made the turn and headed downhill, It was smooth sailing, and the single track trails for the next seven miles or so, were awesome! At about mile 22 I slowed due to the rocking sections. I kept pushing and finished strong in the last three miles. I ended up running a 4:05:49, which was much faster than I had thought, and even gave me a negative split (2:12 first half, 1:54 second half).
After the race, I hung out for a while and chatted with other Maniacs. I had the awesome food afterward then headed back home. Overall it was an awesome weekend. This was my 90th marathon!
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