Early pack of runners led by Greg
Kurt, Kyle, and Greg at finish
A fast Irishman
A nervous start
Kurt & I early in the raceMonday, February 28th
It's 11pm here aboard the Sea Spirit. I just stepped out of the bar to post a brief update before calling it a night. Success. All 4 of us finished the marathon today well under the cut-off time. We're healthy and in good spirits. We took home 7th, 25th, 30th, and 42nd place out of 76 marathon finishers. We'll take that. My buddy Liam came in strong once again. The rest of us finished in the middle of the pack.
Anxiety is gone, exhaustion has set in. More to follow - but just wanted to let you know it's "all good" in the South Seas. Thanks for the encouragement and good wishes. We needed every bit of it today -- it was a brutal course. (descriptions to come)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
It's Wednesday, March 2nd at 6pm here in Port Lockroy Antarctica. Sorry on the delay the past 2 days. We headed south after the marathon to the Antarctic Peninsula. Internet connectivity has been extremely sketchy. Everytime I'd go to post something, the file would crash. I have a little window here to hopefully give a brief race-day overview.
MARATHON DAY
The day started with a 6:30am wake-up call over the ship's audio system. "Ladies and gentlemen, let's get ready to rumble" Pretty great. The head of the dining area has a voice that sounds like the famous boxing announcer. Each day we've received a smilar start.
We ate a quick breakfast and prepared for our 8:15am departure to St. George Island by zodiac. This will likely be the one and only marathon I'll ever run where you must be transferred to the start line by a boat. I was extremely nervous leading up to the start. Luckily, the distance to the shore was very short or I might have gotten sick pre-race. We were slightly delayed getting all of the zodiacs (100 people) to land, so the race began at 9:20am, rather than the originally scheduled 9am start.
The most difficult part of the early morning preparation was deciding how many layers to wear. The weather (no wind) was just around the freezing mark, but the winds were steady at 15-20 knots. We also had to prepare for anything - as we've been told that conditions can change almost instantaneously. I opted for a dry-wick long-sleeve shirt under a wind resistant running jacket on my upper body. I had on running tights under a wind-resistant outer layer on my lower body. I wore 2 pairs of socks, a neck gaitor, a dry-wick sock-cap and a light-weight, wind resistant pair of gloves. I brought along a pack with a back up pair of running shoes as well.
The beauty of the course we would be running was that it was 5 separate loops. We would be coming past the start-finish line after 5+ miles. Therefore, I had my pack filled with heavy duty clothing if necessary. When we arrived on shore, there wasn't much time. I had to quickly change out of my rubber boots into my trail shoes. I put on my running belt and checked my food. I'd be carrying 2 squeeze bottles of power gel. We were not allowed to bring any wrappers whatsoever on land. I had 3 - 16-oz bottles of water for the entire race. I placed these at the start line so I wouldn't be carrying any liquid. During my training during the past 2 months, I've used very limited water and food on my long runs in preparation for the lack of support in this race. The training would prove valuable. At 9:20am on Monday, February 28th, 98 runners began the 12th annual Antarctic Marathon.
Miles #1-5 (out and back to the Chinese Research Base - #1)
I'm not sure if it was due to the quick start, the location, or just my nerves -- but I began the race nearly hyperventilating. I couldn't catch my breath. Kurt and I were going to stay together for a little while - but he powered ahead of me the first 2-3 miles while I lagged behind trying to get it together. Right away, we discovered that a combination of the wind, the mud, and the hills would make this one of the most diffficult marathons I would ever run. The overall female winner (who we have made good friends with), would later say this was the toughest marathon she ever ran --- and this is her 54th marathon. By the end of the first loop, I was coming around. I had caught Kurt and we were getting into a rhythm as we passed the start/finish line.
Miles #6-10 (out and back to the Uruguayan Research Base - #1)
This section of the course was the most difficult. This was due largely to the massive mud pits we encountered. There were times we had to broad jump over puddles and streams along the route. I thought I'd lose my shoe from sticking in the wet mud a couple times. The wind was steady with high gusts. I felt good physically however. I finished the second loop just under 2 hours.
Miles #11-15 (out and back to the Chinese Research base - #2)
The greatest part of the race was how we continued to pass the other runners along the way. By this time of our trip, we know most everyone. We would give each other high 5's and words of encouragement along the way. This really helped keep the spirits high in tough times. Other than the staff positioned around the course and an occasional research person coming out of a building, we were largely on our own. These 5 miles went well. I was falling into a comfort zone. Even though I would stop and walk on some of the very steep hills - I kept moving forward.
Miles #16-20 (out and back to the Uruguayan Researh Base - #2)
This was the toughest loop. I couldn't quite smell the finish and I had to deal with the mud and steep hills once again. Even though it was hurting, I actually had a chance to look around a little. The lakes, the mountains -- what an unbelievable place. Just keep it going - you can do it.
Miles #21-26.2 (out and back to the Chinese Research Base - #3)
1 loop for my 5th marathoned continent. I was doing OK. No stomach pain, just the typical hurt that one would expect at this time of the race. I kept running and was able to make up some ground on a few of the runners. I ended up finishing at 5:09 - #25 out of 76 total marathon finishers. I was very happy with the result. Traditionally, they say to add 30 minutes to an hour to your standard marathon time for this race. The overall winner came in at 3:24. He is a 2:41 marathoner. Only 4 people finished under 4 hours.
Greg, Kurt, and I all finished very close to one another. We took several pictures at the finish line. As we were standing there at the finish, a lone penguin waddled in front of the finish line. A coule runners were coming in. The staff was yelling: "Stop - let the penguin have the right away". Wow - what a way to finish the Antarctic Marathon - time delayed by a minute for a penguin crossing ---- it doesn't get much better than that.
The rest of the day was fantastic. We even got to see a pod of orca whales (killer whales) from the ship before dinner. The drinks were flowing and the celebration was well underway. A great, great feeling to have the race behind us. We all commented how difficult the past couple of days have been when we had so much time to think about the race.
It's now time to have a little fun. Here's to a rewarding, challenging, and ever-memorable day in the Antarctic.
It's 11pm here aboard the Sea Spirit. I just stepped out of the bar to post a brief update before calling it a night. Success. All 4 of us finished the marathon today well under the cut-off time. We're healthy and in good spirits. We took home 7th, 25th, 30th, and 42nd place out of 76 marathon finishers. We'll take that. My buddy Liam came in strong once again. The rest of us finished in the middle of the pack.
Anxiety is gone, exhaustion has set in. More to follow - but just wanted to let you know it's "all good" in the South Seas. Thanks for the encouragement and good wishes. We needed every bit of it today -- it was a brutal course. (descriptions to come)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
It's Wednesday, March 2nd at 6pm here in Port Lockroy Antarctica. Sorry on the delay the past 2 days. We headed south after the marathon to the Antarctic Peninsula. Internet connectivity has been extremely sketchy. Everytime I'd go to post something, the file would crash. I have a little window here to hopefully give a brief race-day overview.
MARATHON DAY
The day started with a 6:30am wake-up call over the ship's audio system. "Ladies and gentlemen, let's get ready to rumble" Pretty great. The head of the dining area has a voice that sounds like the famous boxing announcer. Each day we've received a smilar start.
We ate a quick breakfast and prepared for our 8:15am departure to St. George Island by zodiac. This will likely be the one and only marathon I'll ever run where you must be transferred to the start line by a boat. I was extremely nervous leading up to the start. Luckily, the distance to the shore was very short or I might have gotten sick pre-race. We were slightly delayed getting all of the zodiacs (100 people) to land, so the race began at 9:20am, rather than the originally scheduled 9am start.
The most difficult part of the early morning preparation was deciding how many layers to wear. The weather (no wind) was just around the freezing mark, but the winds were steady at 15-20 knots. We also had to prepare for anything - as we've been told that conditions can change almost instantaneously. I opted for a dry-wick long-sleeve shirt under a wind resistant running jacket on my upper body. I had on running tights under a wind-resistant outer layer on my lower body. I wore 2 pairs of socks, a neck gaitor, a dry-wick sock-cap and a light-weight, wind resistant pair of gloves. I brought along a pack with a back up pair of running shoes as well.
The beauty of the course we would be running was that it was 5 separate loops. We would be coming past the start-finish line after 5+ miles. Therefore, I had my pack filled with heavy duty clothing if necessary. When we arrived on shore, there wasn't much time. I had to quickly change out of my rubber boots into my trail shoes. I put on my running belt and checked my food. I'd be carrying 2 squeeze bottles of power gel. We were not allowed to bring any wrappers whatsoever on land. I had 3 - 16-oz bottles of water for the entire race. I placed these at the start line so I wouldn't be carrying any liquid. During my training during the past 2 months, I've used very limited water and food on my long runs in preparation for the lack of support in this race. The training would prove valuable. At 9:20am on Monday, February 28th, 98 runners began the 12th annual Antarctic Marathon.
Miles #1-5 (out and back to the Chinese Research Base - #1)
I'm not sure if it was due to the quick start, the location, or just my nerves -- but I began the race nearly hyperventilating. I couldn't catch my breath. Kurt and I were going to stay together for a little while - but he powered ahead of me the first 2-3 miles while I lagged behind trying to get it together. Right away, we discovered that a combination of the wind, the mud, and the hills would make this one of the most diffficult marathons I would ever run. The overall female winner (who we have made good friends with), would later say this was the toughest marathon she ever ran --- and this is her 54th marathon. By the end of the first loop, I was coming around. I had caught Kurt and we were getting into a rhythm as we passed the start/finish line.
Miles #6-10 (out and back to the Uruguayan Research Base - #1)
This section of the course was the most difficult. This was due largely to the massive mud pits we encountered. There were times we had to broad jump over puddles and streams along the route. I thought I'd lose my shoe from sticking in the wet mud a couple times. The wind was steady with high gusts. I felt good physically however. I finished the second loop just under 2 hours.
Miles #11-15 (out and back to the Chinese Research base - #2)
The greatest part of the race was how we continued to pass the other runners along the way. By this time of our trip, we know most everyone. We would give each other high 5's and words of encouragement along the way. This really helped keep the spirits high in tough times. Other than the staff positioned around the course and an occasional research person coming out of a building, we were largely on our own. These 5 miles went well. I was falling into a comfort zone. Even though I would stop and walk on some of the very steep hills - I kept moving forward.
Miles #16-20 (out and back to the Uruguayan Researh Base - #2)
This was the toughest loop. I couldn't quite smell the finish and I had to deal with the mud and steep hills once again. Even though it was hurting, I actually had a chance to look around a little. The lakes, the mountains -- what an unbelievable place. Just keep it going - you can do it.
Miles #21-26.2 (out and back to the Chinese Research Base - #3)
1 loop for my 5th marathoned continent. I was doing OK. No stomach pain, just the typical hurt that one would expect at this time of the race. I kept running and was able to make up some ground on a few of the runners. I ended up finishing at 5:09 - #25 out of 76 total marathon finishers. I was very happy with the result. Traditionally, they say to add 30 minutes to an hour to your standard marathon time for this race. The overall winner came in at 3:24. He is a 2:41 marathoner. Only 4 people finished under 4 hours.
Greg, Kurt, and I all finished very close to one another. We took several pictures at the finish line. As we were standing there at the finish, a lone penguin waddled in front of the finish line. A coule runners were coming in. The staff was yelling: "Stop - let the penguin have the right away". Wow - what a way to finish the Antarctic Marathon - time delayed by a minute for a penguin crossing ---- it doesn't get much better than that.
The rest of the day was fantastic. We even got to see a pod of orca whales (killer whales) from the ship before dinner. The drinks were flowing and the celebration was well underway. A great, great feeling to have the race behind us. We all commented how difficult the past couple of days have been when we had so much time to think about the race.
It's now time to have a little fun. Here's to a rewarding, challenging, and ever-memorable day in the Antarctic.
Great job guys! Congratulations and job well done!
ReplyDeleteCongratulations! Can't wait to hear all about it after you get some rest. Easy sailing on the way home!
ReplyDeleteAwesome results! :)
ReplyDeleteWho would have thunk it? A couple of brothers from Bloomsdale, MO conquering the Antartic? Woooooowwwwwwww!!!!! Congrats! Whatever gene you got, I'm missing mine!
ReplyDelete