Big Sur International Marathon

I ran the Big Sur International Marathon yesterday, May 1st, 2011.  What a race it was!  It was very difficult with rolling hills, slanted roads and an out and back course but it was also one of the most surreal races in terms of scenery.  I've talked about how unbelievable the Big Sur area is before, but I got an entirely new perspective from my feet instead of being in my car.

The race started at 6:45 and I was lucky enough to get a ride with my landlord's friend.  The alternative was taking a shuttle that was leaving at 4:30; this bus was instead leaving at 5:30 and probably saved me!  There were a lot of people talking after the race about how they had to wait forever for a bus out in the cold at 4:00AM so I'm grateful to have not experienced that.

After warming up (it was a bit brisk in the AM) I headed for the starting line but unfortunately couldn't make it up to the first wave of runners in time so I stayed back in Corral B.  Our 2nd wave of runners left 3 minutes after the initial wave and we were off!  Not even a mile up the road, probably only 1/2 mile we hit the first hill.  With the crowds and the hill everyone had a very slow first mile.  The crowd eventually worked itself out, for a little while anyway.

Due to a part of the highway that fell into the ocean on Rte 1 near the Bixby Bridge this course was altered from the original course.  Instead of starting south of Bixby and ending in Carmel we had to do an out and back starting at Carmel Village/Rio Road.  After talking to a lot of runners after the race the consensus was that this one was actually harder than the original, normal route.  The normal route does have one brutal 2 mile hill (~560ft elevation) but after that it's the rolling hills we had to run; only thing is that we had to run those hills twice (fun, fun!)  The out and back caused a bit of congestion but it wasn't too big an issue.  There were several other races going on (9 mi, 10.6 and 21) so we were always running past people coming the other way.

There were a lot of bands on the side of the roads entertaining us; everything from rock to reggae to a piano player to drums.  My greatest memory was coming down one of the many hills after running through Carmel, past Point Lobos and finally seeing the ocean.  I looked at the girl next to me and both of us at the same time, mouths dropped were in awe of what we were seeing.  The ocean crashing up on the shore with the green hills (mountains in New England) jetting out into the water.  It is one sight that will never leave my mind.

I've gotta give the race credit for the amount of water/gatorade/GU that was offered along the course.  It obviously helped that it was out and back but there were aid stations everywhere.  The weather was perfect; 70 and sunny, no wind or precipitation and even got hot by the end.  I did not have any issues with my knee or achilles that had been acting up over the last few weeks but only had pain in my toes, especially as I was running on the slanted portions of the road.  I was actually running with my left foot pigeon-toed at times.

I felt pretty good through mile 20, I'd say maybe even up to 23 when I started cramping up just a bit in my hamstrings but not bad enough to stop forward progress.  I started taking longer strides to stretch them out mid-stride and that helped.  By mile 24 I was feeling great and getting excited for the finish line but then at mile 25 I hit the final hill.  It was a hill with a very good incline, especially after running for 3.5 hours and it went on for 1/2 mile.  It was the longest 1/2 mile EVER!  And once I got to the top (practically crawling) I was pretty done but cruised in and eventually sprinted for the big FINISH sign staring me in the face.  I finished with a smile, tried to raise my arms for my picture but couldn't get them too high up, with the clock reading 3:41:19 (official time.)

My attitude at the end of this one was a 180 from my first marathon.  I felt great when I finished (outside of being sore/dehydrated), I had hit the time I wanted almost exactly, and was psyched that I had just finished one of the greatest marathons in the United States.  It is said that this is one of the top 3 races in the US along with Boston and New York and even though I've never ran the others I completely agree that this race is something every runner should experience.

The rest of the day was very relaxing, especially since I wasn't at work.  I got to watch the Celtics get their butts kicked, relaxed at home and then finished off the night on Carmel Beach with some new friends I made that morning.  With a bottle of champagne and a beautiful sunset we celebrated our fine accomplishment of finishing the Big Sur International Marathon, 2011.