Deseret News Classic Marathon

I finished marathon #87 today.
The start line was over 7000 feet and most of the race was downhill, which was very helpful for me. I love downhill and don't seem to have the problems that some runners have with downhill running.

Once the course reached the city and flattened out, the 90 degree temperature became my worst nightmare. I definitely started to slow down. But it was not until mile 25 when I started feeling like the heat might win. The time limit was officially 6 hours, and even though I felt they would wait for everyone to cross the finish line, I really wanted to beat that time. I managed to make it with 4 minutes to spare! 5:56:42

I even got an extra medal for first in my age group.

King Salmon Marathon

I took the ferry to Cordova on Thursday in spectacular weather. Friday I picked up my race bib and just explored Cordova for the day.

Today I ran the marathon. I was worried that the warm weather of Thursday would make for a miserably hot run. But this morning it was only 54 with low clouds and light rain. In typical fashion very quickly the other 19 or so runners left me behind. I ended up running all the way to Cordova completely by myself. I felt really good and ran the whole way. But still crossed the finish line last. Marathon number 86 finished.

Stars and Stripes Marathon

I flew to Portland Oregon on Saturday to run the Stars and Stripes Marathon in Beaverton on Sunday. It was really fun with 8 loops quite similar to the Mainly Marathons races. I fly home tonight.

Short Short Run

I kind of messed up my run today.  First I tried to drive down the road because the weather was nasty. But I reached a flagger and what looked to be a long wait for a pilot car. So I turned around. I've been a little hesitant to run directly from the hotel, knowing that the bear is still hanging around.  So I decided to drive part way around the lake and just run the north shore.  But it turned out to be colder than I thought and after only 2 miles and a lot of mud building up on my shoes, I called it a day at only 2 miles.  But it was fun.  I saw a couple of swans and lots of birds.  I'll be home in a few days then I won't have to worry about the bear or the cold.  I'll be heading to Portland for the Stars & Stripes Marathon the day after I get home anyway.  I'm looking forward to being able to just run without fear of being eaten by a hungry bear.  Although that bear seemed to be pretty disinterested in me or anyone for that matter.

Now that I have to go to work, the weather ha cleared up and it's beautiful!

Here is a video the DOT guys took of the bear I ran into the other day.  He's very cute!

Mr Bear!

Another spectacular day here on the North Slope.  It was 66 degrees with just a very light breeze.  I had a great 5 mile run around the lake.  It was so nice out that sometimes I just stopped to admire nature. But when I got back to the hotel, just as I came between two trucks, I saw a huge grizzly bear standing right where I needed to go.

Detour time!  So I quickly ducked behind some larger containers and trucks and figured I would simply go around to the front door of the hotel.  When I passed back into the open, I found that the bear had decided to go in the same direction.  So now I faced him at 15 to 20 feet ahead, and heading in my direction.  He seemed a lot more interested in sniffing the ground than in running after me, so I just bolted across his path and ran into the front door of the hotel.  Then he sauntered on across the street over to the airport.  Later I got a call from the Flight Service Station advising that he had just been chased out of their parking lot.  So, since I work there, I decided to drive to work instead of walking like I usually do.  I brought my camera but was not blessed with another sighting of him.  He was a beauty too. I hope I do see him again, and have my camera with me, and am in a safe place!

A couple of pictures taken by DOT right outside of the Flight Service Station building.

Beautiful Day!

Finally it looks like summer up here in Deadhorse.  It was 60 degrees and not a cloud in the sky.  Still a little windy, but I was able to run around the lake with just a T-shirt and windbreaker instead of bundling up in my heavy sweatshirt.  I saw the loon that is often in the north side of the lake.  Today I called to him and he actually swam closer.  Still not close enough for a good phone photo, but at least he didn't fly away.

The road was pretty rough because of the last few days of heavy rain and snow. The grader has been by piling up rocks and mud along the side of the road where I need to run. It's a little challenging t times.  But it sure beats a boring run on the treadmill.

North Slope Fun Run

We had a 5K fun run here today over by the North Slope Borough building.  They always have them twice a day, at 6 am and 6 pm.  This is the only one I will be able to do because the rest of the runs on the schedule are in July and August, months that I don't work. Each time we complete the run we get a T-shirt.  So I ran it twice in the morning and twice in the evening and collected one T-shirt for me and 3 for my friends.  I am always so tired in the morning but was surprised that I actually had a better pace for the morning runs. It did cut into my sleep for close to two hours so maybe I was even more tired when it was time for the later one.  But it is always fun to actually run with other people, and to run in the middle of the road instead of along the edge of the road on loose gravel and big rocks.  Most of the other people are actually just enjoying a nice walk, but there were a few very fast runners who sped by me as if I was standing still.

So I got in about 11 miles today in spite of the icy cold wind, 39 degrees, and dense fog.

Morning Runs

Evening Runs