Eagle Creek Trail Marathon
The EC Trail Marathon is listed in RW’s Trail Magazine as
the #1 urban trail marathon. How lucky
am I that I live 15 mins from this wonderful park and do most of my long runs
on their roads? I ran the HM here last
year (2:40ish finishing time) and really enjoyed it. I knew I wanted to push myself to run the
full here so I happily signed up after I finished my 3rd road
marathon in April. After all, I have all
summer to get back onto the trails and build up strength, right? LOL
Summer came and things changed. Two kids out of school, me working 3 days and
one evening a week (last year I was only working one day a week), record
breaking temps and a major drought in the Midwest all combined to send me into
a major running funk. My miles dropped,
averaging just 30 miles a week and a big part of that average was my 70 mile
All-Star week. My head wasn’t in the
game. I didn’t want to be away from my
family for my long runs as I was already missing out on time with them while
working. Most of my runs were early
mornings, between 4-6 miles. Two weeks
before the race, my DH and I ran 15 miles with a 10:00 pace so I felt that I
could do the full. There wasn’t a time
limit so I put no pressure on myself to hit any specific time goal. I really just wanted to finish and if I could
do that under 6 hours, then I would be happy.
Race morning and I was up at 5:45. I was tired, hadn’t slept well. I ate my oatmeal and packed my drop bag. Weather was good for August, humid and 74*, cloudy
but heating up to low-90’s. Decided to
use my son’s lunch box as my drop bag so it wouldn’t be confused with anyone
elses. I drove to the start/finish area
and got my packet. I knew Christy from
BF would be here and my dad (prof photographer) was going to try and get pics
of both of us. I found dad easily and
together we found Christy. The race was
scheduled to start at 7:30 and after some brief announcements and the national
anthem, we were ready to go. The full
was in two waves so I started towards the middle of the first wave. Last year, there had been a major bottleneck
when the route goes into the single track trail that lasted for the first mile
so I wanted to be ahead of any possible bottleneck. I started off strong and happy.
The course is split into ½’s. The first half is single track with a short
part on a road, very hilly, roots for steps, holding onto small trees to climb
up and get down ravines. Then you cross
the reservoir on a two lane causeway (we had a lane to ourselves) and enter the
second half of the park, which is more pedestrian friendly with wide, groomed
trails, some chunky gravel as well. Then
you double back to the start line and repeat for the full marathon.
The first part of the race, miles 1-3.5 were challenging but
fun. 10:44, 10:16, 11:52. Plenty of other runners but everyone was
moving well so no bottle neck. I carried
a handheld so I skipped the first 2 aid stations. There are many, many downed trees/logs to
climb or jump over. These slowed me down
because I trip easily so I’m careful. I
made it to the causeway, roughly 3.5 miles, happy and feeling strong. The causeway is about ¾ of a mile long and
flat so I do some passing here as well as was passed by some very fast HMers
who started 20 mins after me. Note to
anyone who runs with music – don’t have it so loud that the person in front of
you can hear all your songs, it’s really annoying. My dad gets this cool picture of me in front
of the bear sculpture.
Mile 4-7 11:46, 12:25, 12:14, 10:25 We enter the east side of the park on a single
track trail but pass another aid station and the trail opens up to the groomed,
wide trail. Dad snaps a few more
pics. There are stair wells in this area
which I walk down. The leader of the
full dashes past me with a wide look in his eyes, that guy was FLYING. About 10 mins later, another runner came past
and asked how far ahead the leader was so I told him about 5 or so
minutes. We enter a man made dam that
circles part of the reservoir which has large, gravel chunks as the
surface. I stop here at a picnic table
to get a rock out of my shoe and then continue on. I start running with another lady who was
wearing a skirt that I admired and we talked for a minute. I drop her and continue on to the aid station
at mile 7, the ½ way point of the route.
I take my Gu and eat some trail mix here.
Mile 8-11 10:36, 12:21, 11:31, 13:23. I started walking just to catch my breath
when the lady who I had talked to came up behind me and yelled “Come on, Skirt,
get moving!” so I started running and chatting with her. She’s run several Ultras and really enjoyed
running trails. We ran and talked for
the next 2 miles or so. She dropped me
after I slowly climbed up a set of stairs.
I see Christy and her friend coming at me and I give her a “Looking
good”. The trail is much busier now as
half marathoners were heading one way and I’m doubling back but it’s wide
enough that it’s not a problem. I see my
dad again and let him know that Christy is a few miles behind me so he can get
her picture as well. I get to the aid
station and run past it. Hit the causeway
and ran the length of it, passing a few people.
Mile 12-13.1 – 13:35, 12:06.
I stop at this aid station and the volunteer filled up my water bottle
as I drank some Coke and ate a Gu. I
refocused, knowing that the ½ point was just a few miles away but they would be
the most difficult of the course. It was
trickier because it was single trail and there were still ½ marathon and ¼
marathon runners/walkers coming at me.
Most of the time, they would move to the side so that helped. I did move aside for the leader who still
looked like he wasn’t even working hard.
Up and down a few serious ravines and I can hear the announcer. I come out into the field and see my DH and
kids cheering for me. I slow up and tell
DH to go to the drop table and I’d talk to him there. He met me there and filled up my water bottle
while I greeted the kids. I tell him
that I’d see him at home and head back out.
HM split time was 2:38 (5 mins faster then last year).
Mile 14-16 15:20, 13:03, 16:38. This part was much different. The first mile is not the same as the last
mile of the loop so I was completely on my own, no HM or FM around. Mentally, I relaxed but slowed down too much. Yes, it’s a challenging area but looking
back, I was conservative to a fault. I
knew I was only ½ way so I wanted to take it easy but without other people
around, it felt more like a training run instead of a race. Once I saw people again, my head got back
into the game. The FM leader passes me
on his way to the finish (3:30 finishing time!!) Saw Christy again as she was
heading to the ½ way point. I pass a
runner who cramped up on the service road but he was being attended too so I
keep going. This is when I notice that
my quads were starting to cramp as well but the cramping went away when I got
back onto the trail. I stopped at the
aid station for a bite-sized potato and some Heed. Saw Dad again and he said he had some good
pics and was heading home. He did pass
me on the causeway and gave me a nice honk and thumbs up. The clouds are gone now and the sun is
beating down on me, I’m so thankful to be heading back into the woods and
shade.
Mile 17-20 16:22, 14:56, 14:30, 14:46. I’m back on the groomed trails and see all
the fast FMers coming back around. We
all give each other “Good job” and “Looking goods”. I stop at the aid station for some Coke and
trail mix. There is a girl now in front
of me that I keep trying to gain on.
We’re both walking and running so I wasn’t gaining much on her. We reach the gravel dam and she stops at a
picnic table that another runner was at and just sat there. So I pass her and continue on, making a deal
with myself to run as far as I can on the flat dam. I see another runner, a guy in gray, walking
slowly a few hundred yards in front of me.
I pass him just before the aid station but I stop to use the restroom
and refuel. The aid station guy fills up
my handheld with ice water. I check my
watch and my time at 20 miles is 4:30ish.
Mile 21-23 16:58, 16:06, 17:14 I push forward, walking more than running
right now. I see more FMers coming
towards me and we’re all looking pretty tired.
The guy in gray appears again so I make a pack with myself to catch him. The stairs that I took my time going down
were now a painful effort to climb up. I’m
gaining on the Rabbit but he hears me, turns around, sees me and starts
running. That always drives me crazy
because I don’t know if he doesn’t want to be passed or doesn’t want to be
passed by a girl. I can pass him but
we’re coming to an aid station so I let up.
The aid station worker fills my bottle with ice and I refuel with
another potato and Gu. Grey guy skipped
the station. I see Christy for the
last time as she enters that station as I exit it. I get excited because I can hit my 6:00 hour
mark.
Mile 24-26 14:42,
16:04, 15:43 I hit the cause way and the
heat is insane. It’s at least 90 and
sunny. The sun is reflecting off the
water and I’m not a happy camper. But I
see 2 other runners on the road, one of them is my Grey Rabbit who’s
walking. I vow to not only pass him but
put some distance on him so I don’t have to see him again. I pass the first guy and say hi as we both
complain about the sun. Then I pass the
Grey Rabbit but don’t say a word. I run
and don’t stop until I have to climb the guardrail to enter the park
again. I get to this aid station and
joke with the girls working about passing the guy. I refuel and catch my breath but head back
out as soon as I see the Rabbit enter the station. My watch says 5:30, I can make 6:00 still,
can’t I? Ummm, no.
The hills suck. My energy is
zapped. I just want to finish. I’m completely alone. Wait, there’s some orange. It’s a guy
walking, I can pass him! Yeah, a little
emotional boost. I pass up the last aid
station and yell to them that I just want to finish. I know I’m 1 mile out. There is a sweet teenage volunteer who’s been
sitting at the trail split all day and I thank her for being there. She tells me I have one mile left. Wait, a whole mile still?! My Garmin says 25.8 and 5:52. There goes my 6:00 finish idea. I start to get down on myself but happened to
glance at my watch again and it said 26.12 and 5:58:00. I decide that I’m going to finish 26.2 in 6
hours so I painfully start “running” and continue until I see my watch turn
26.2 at 5:59:36. Minor victory.
Mile 26-26.81 15:01. The hills are the steepest here, ravines that
you have to hold onto trees to get down.
My quads are trashed, I’m really regretting not trimming my toenails as
I’ll be losing a few now and somehow I have a scratch on my thigh that has bled
down my leg. I can hear the announcer
and am just willing myself to keep moving forward. I come out to the field for the last 2/10th
and see my DH and family. The kids cheer
as I cross the finish line, arms raised.
I’m done, in so many ways.
I get my hand-made
medal and stand under the sprinkler. DH
takes off with the kids and I stay to cool down and stretch out. I’m shocked to find 3 blisters as I didn’t
notice any hot spots. I bum a beer off a
runner wearing a Mich Ultra shirt and hide in her van as a thunderstorm appears
out of nowhere. Thunder and lightning but the storm seems to be fast moving so
the race director keeps the race going.
I worry about Christy, knowing that she’s out there. I finish my beer and decide to head home.
So, there you go. It
wasn’t pretty. I wasn’t trained well
enough to handle all the up and down hills of the trail. I’ve decided to hold off on doing an Ultra as
I don’t have the time or desire right now to train properly for the one in
November that I was looking at doing. I
did have a really fun time and I’m very proud of what I did though. I would and probably will do this one again
next August. Maybe you’ll join me?
Official stats: 6:10:38,
6th out of 10 in AG, 72/122 finishers. Pace for first 13.1 was 12:05 and second half
was 14:09.
