I was pretty worried about this race because it has been so hot around here lately. I got kind of light headed the other day just out hiking because of the heat. But I got up at 3 am, dropped Bella off with my friend, Mark and drove to Anchorage in time to park by the finish and catch the first shuttle to the start line. It was kind of chilly in the morning so I wrapped myself up in a plastic rain poncho to protect from the wind. The first half of the race wasn't too bad because we were sheltered by forest and still had some breeze. But by the time I reached the halfway point the temperature was in the low 80's and that breeze was mostly gone. I was still maintaining close to my original pace but ended up power walking more than running, especially any time it was uphill. I was getting really tired. I kept playing leapfrog with two couples and another older man. I think they all crossed the finish line shortly before I did. But I was happy that I made it with 15 minutes to spare, to avoid missing the 7:30 time limit. My official time is 7:15:03. I took about 30 minutes longer than last year but it was about 30 degrees cooler last year. I got a gold medal for first in my age class of female 75+, which was no surprise because of course I was the only woman over 75 out there running. This was marathon number 169 for me.
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| Mileage according to my GPS Cute goose family on Westchester Lagoon as I ran by |
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| Finish medal and smaller gold age group medal |
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| Group photo of the Marathon Maniacs and 50 State Marathon Club. I'm on the left in the bright pink shirt. #213 |
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