Hatcher Pass Marathon

 I got up at 4am, ate a quick breakfast, took a quick doggie walk with Bella, then drove to my friend Mark's house so Bella could spend today with him while I ran the marathon. This was the 11th time I've run this race, plus I also ran the same course 2 other times when they had the Archangel Marathon that used the same course in the opposite direction. The Hatcher Pass Marathon starts at Shirleytown Road around mile 44 of Willow Fishhook Road, climbs over 4000 feet to the top of Hatcher Pass then descends for 1.5 miles to the Hatcher Pass Lodge at the Independence Mine parking lot. It's always a tough race but today was extra special because it rained the entire time. The race started at 9am and we had until 6pm to finish. I was able to leave my car at the finish line and ride down in a truck with the race director's husband, who shuttled several of us runners who didn't have someone to return us the 26 miles back down to the start to our cars. I did agree that after the race, if I finished near the same time as my friend, Alice, I would drive her back down to her car. At first, she didn't show up at the start. But she did arrive a few minutes after the start, and they still let her run. She caught up with me in a few miles because she is considerably faster than I am. This race is really small, with only 20 runners this year. There is also a 50-mile race that runs the course in both directions and only 23 runners chose that difficult option. I settled on a very slow pace that seemed to stay between a 16 - 18-minute mile. That is slow even for me. However, this is almost a totally uphill marathon. I'm always slow going uphill. Fortunately, I wore my good Gortex raincoat, and it did a great job of keeping me both warm and dry. There were fewer aid stations than in the past. The first one was at mile 9. I was glad I had brought extra water with me. They usually have several portable toilets along the way too. But today there was only 1 at mile 17. I confess, I was quite happy to see it. Partly because it gave me a chance to sit down and be off my feet for a couple minutes. By mile 17 I was really getting tired, and I grabbed my emergency food fix, a large Tootsie Roll. It got me through the rest of the course. From mile 20 at Craigy Creek to the top of the mountain near Summit Lake, we runners have the steepest most difficult hill to climb. As usual, I wondered if there was any chance of reaching the finish in the allotted time. But somehow, also as usual, I managed to reach the top with enough time to blast my way down the last very steep hill and get to the finish by 5:40. I figured Alice and a nice young lady named Samantha who rode on the shuttle with me, would have long since reached the finish and be kicking back in the lodge. But to my shock and surprise, I caught up with them, now running together right at the Hatcher Pass Monument. I have a hard time on the steep uphills, but I can run at full speed on the downhill. I took off at my fastest pace and beat them to the finish line but only by a couple minutes. We were all pretty well soaked but so glad to be at the finish. I saw a few of the hardy 50-mile runners still come rolling in. I have such respect for them in their ability to tackle that distance. I was slow but being 79, and the only person in either race over 65, I just feel happy that I can still do it. This was marathon number 173 for me. It was a long day, but worth it. I drove Alice back down to her car, making my return to pick up Bella a 75-mile drive versus only 25 if I could have just driven straight home. But I know Alice would have helped me in the same situation. The driving logistics for this race are always one of the most complex dilemmas we face. But again, all is well that ends well. Bella and I were home in time for the 10pm news. I fell asleep watching it!

The wooden finishers medal

Beautiful Summit Lake