Sunday, September 24, 2023

Kenai River Marathon

I've been tired all week from last Saturday's Equinox Marathon and have seriously considering just staying home and not bothering to do this one, even though I am registered for it. But then I decided it might just be a nice little weekend trip to Kenai, so why not? The drive here was lovely and they had a delightful spaghetti dinner last night for all the runners. My hotel was less than half a mile from the start/finish which is also the bib pickup and dinner place. So I didn't need to drive anywhere before or after the diner or the race. It was a very small race, with about 200 participants, including the half marathon, 5K, and relay races. Only 30 did the full marathon, only 9 of them were women and I of course won first place in the 70-79 female age group. But I was also the last finisher! The conditions were nearly perfect, not too hot, quite cool but not really cold. I did need to keep my windbreaker on most of the time. The course is mostly flat with just some small hills, and mostly along a paved bike trail. I found it to be a little noisy since so much of it was just along two main roads to and from Soldotna. But it was a pleasant race. I was still really tired and nearly decided to quit at about mile 18. I was worried that I would be over the time limit, even though they assured me they were not strict about it. I was a little over at the finish but they still counted my time and I got my medal. So marathon #167 is now complete. I'll sleep well tonight!



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