Running from Yeti Marathon

The short:

I never thought I'd run a small, hilly marathon called Running from Yeti, but it took place 20 minutes from my house and I was planning to run 26-28 miles on February 25, so it happened! I planned to run no faster than 7:45 pace for most of the race, probably dipping down to 7:30 towards the end, but I ended up quicker, mostly thanks to running with my fast friend Colin who was also running it for 50k training - but I stayed controlled enough that I felt great running 14.4 miles about 20 hours later. I ran 3:09:34 for overall female, and it's really fun to win a marathon, even if it is tiny!

Official results are here.

My Strava activity is here.

Finish smile + holy quad

The long:

There's a bright side to almost everything, and the end of my sub-3 streak meant that I could return to running training marathons without worrying about my times. I used to do this often, but hadn't since 2015 (which was also the last time I won a marathon!). Last year I saw advertisements for the Running from Yeti Marathon in Springfield happening on a day I was doing 26 miles for 50k training. I considered running it for training, but didn't want a non-sub-3 official time. This year my sub-3 streak had already perished, and the timing was the same, with it being 4 weeks before Prairie Spirit, so I was in.

The start

My friend Colin also ran it for 50k training. He is significantly faster than me, but we were planning to run easy together. I told him I wasn't going any faster than 7:45 pace, but it was probably partially my fault that we got out at 7:30. It felt like 8:30! Adrenaline, you know? Pretty quickly after the start, we were in 4th and 5th overall people, 1st female for me.

The race also had a half marathon, a 10k, and a 5k, and with all of the distances together there were 600 people running onto a bike path. The start was on a road, but less than 100 m in it narrowed down. They started the marathon first, then the half a minute later, then the 10k and 5k. I'm not sure how all of that went since we were out of it, but a couple miles into the race my friend Sierra who was racing the half passed us. I expected she was running 6:45ish pace. We were also passed by some men in the half and a couple 10k and 5k people, I think. Then we were running the opposite direction of mobs of runners.

The races went north and back first, then south and back for however far each distance needed. The half and full ran the same 13 mile course to start, then the full did the same course again. Almost all of the course was on a paved running/bike path, and with the out and backs and doing the course twice, there were nearly always people around (a good thing except when I peed by a tree), though Colin was the only one ever running the same pace as me. I've run the trail before and I knew it was extremely hilly, on the south end particularly. I knew what I was in for, but it's still the hilliest marathon I've ever run with 1283 ft of gain, even more than Heart of America. There are a handful of reasons I wouldn't race this marathon, but the elevation is a big one!

Oof

As we came back by the start after the first loop of the course, I had the normal thought of, "I have to do that again?? Should have done the half...". Mostly I wasn't looking forward to the worst of the hills again. But, I also felt like I was on a training run (I have very much dreaded those hills on training runs on that trail too!). We passed a man around mile 16, moving Colin into 3rd overall male, and the turn arounds showed me I was very secure in my position of 1st female.

I felt great on the flats and rolling hills, even though I could feel us getting into a moderate pace zone for me. I knew if I slowed down I'd be running solo, and to me 7:30 alone feels about the same at 7:15 with someone else. There were 6 brutal hills each lap, and on my second lap I counted them down..."just 3 more...only 2 more...last one!" Colin gapped me pretty good on the longest hill around mile 20, and as he pulled away I started wondering if I was slowing down, but I was staying steady - he just dropped to 6:45ish to finish. 

First mile smile

I had a huge runner's high going, and not as much fatigue as a normal marathon, so I thoroughly enjoyed those final solo miles and kept thinking, "I'm winning a marathon!" This was obviously not a large or prestigious event, but it still felt really good. When I could see the finish line in the distance, a spectator said, "Great time, first woman - you're at 3:04 now!" I figured I was about 5 minutes out, so then started thinking "Wow, I could break 3:10!", which was not expected; I'd been telling everyone I was going to run in the 3:20s, and I'd only looked at a few of my splits during the race.

As I neared the finish line, I could hear the announcer saying the first female marathoner was coming, and the volunteers at the final couple of turns encouraged me on. I ran through the finish with a huge smile on my face as I was announced as the female overall winner.

Clock shot

My Garmin measured the course as a little short (25.6 miles), and now I can't find anywhere that it was certified, although I swear I saw it written somewhere pre-race. My pace per my watch was 7:24, so still quicker than the 7:45 I'd planned and a good long long run pace for me right now. My heart rate averaged 148, and I've been able to average 158 for my 50ks, so that gave me a little confidence-boost for my upcoming 50k (also the fact that I ran this with no taper during a 94 mile week, and definitely felt like I could have maintained pace for 5 more miles). Even though we may not have run quite a marathon, I think with the elevation it's kind of a wash on times (I saw another runner's GAP on Strava at -9 seconds/mile). Don't use this one for a BQ though, lol!

After I finished, I needed to go get my gloves that I'd dropped on the first lap, about 0.3 from the finish. I asked Colin if he wanted to jog to get them with me, then jog to our cars, and we did. I kind of felt like we were showing off by running more a moment after finishing a marathon, but I wanted to get to 28 miles for the day. After I picked up my gloves, we ducked away from the finish area to complete the cool down. I got in 28.2 miles for the day, then 14.4 miles the next morning.

My friend Sierra won overall female in the half marathon, during her Boston training cycle. Boston hills are going to feel like nothing for her after this!

Sierra and I with the Yeti pre-race

A tiny marathon for fun and training might have been what I needed right now. I felt far better than in last week's Run with the Wind, despite this course being even hillier. I'm thankful for a really fun and strong-feeling effort, and for a 42.6 mile weekend!

It was windy at packet pick-up