NOTE: The course has changed for 2001. It will now be go to the top of the ski area so it promises to be harder and prettier.

Vail Halfathon 7/22/00
Well now that I've gone and committed myself to all these runs in the next few months, I figured I better keep the momentum going or I will suffer big time. This sounded like an easy event since it was shorter (13.1 miles) and had far less elevation gain (only 1580 feet) than my last race. Plus it went into country I'd never visited before.

My basic principle behind all this is, "if it ain't fun, it ain't worth doing." I mention this because I seem to be a minority -- a lot of people doing these events are clearly way too serious. There are the hardcores out to win, which is fine if that's your thing. But then there are quite a few mid-packers who look and sound terrible; they just don't seem to be enjoying themselves. The folks at the back of the pack have the most admirable attitudes; go your own speed, enjoy the scenery, smile.

This race starts in downtown Vail and attracted nearly 300 runners, about half of whom were locals. The first 2-1/2 miles were on pavement (boo, hiss) and relatively flat. But not long after crossing I-70,the pavement changes to 2-wd dirt road, the scenery improves, the long climb begins...and the runners start fading. I was surprised by the number of people gasping for breath this early on in the run (but the altitude is about 9000 ft. and some were from out of state).

I just concentrated on a nice, steady pace so I'd have plenty of reserve for the end. Since this was only my third race ever, and each has been a different distance, I'm still trying to figure out this pacing stuff (not that I looked at my watch till the end). Within the first couple of miles, I knew I had a problem -- my right Achilles was sore and would bother me the rest of the way. I'd only run in the shoes a couple of times before (a draw back of being a gear tester) but I can't say for sure if that was the issue.

The course was well-marked and had water stations (but no energy drinks) in appropriate places with great volunteers. As the road headed up the canyon, there were lots of wildflowers and occasional nice views of the creek below or distant peaks. It was hot in the sun (I was soon shirtless) but the shade felt great.

After about mile 5, the road drops for a significant distance till past a giant switchback. Then another long, gradual climb begins. My big surprise came when I discovered it was mostly downhill or flat for the last few miles to the lake! While the overall gain is still significant, the amount of descending was an unexpected pleasure.

I passed a lot of people in the first third of the run. Several of these were the very annoying "Gallowalkers" who sprint for a while and suddenly stop at a big hill or mile marker and walk. These people seem to enjoy going anaerobic and then being forced to recover, time after time - it's amazing a mainstream mag (Runner's World) can promote such a terrible style. It would take 2 or 3 rounds of passing, then being passed and passing again before I could shake these wind-sucking runners.

In the middle third, I faded a bit and pretty much kept pace or made slight gains on a few people. During the last third, I recovered enough to kick it up a notch and start passing a bunch more people. (I don't think I was passed permanently after about the second mile.)

When I reached the 12-mile marker, I realized I was doing fine and could start pushing for the last mile. It took longer than I thought but I finished strong with a time of 1:51:24. Not too bad since I was 65th out of 280 runners (the best time was 1:24). In my age group, I was 14th out of 33 men (best was 1:30).

The post-race party/awards was okay but lacked beer! Runners are too damn serious. Once I stopped running and cooled off, I started noticing that Achilles again. It's still a bit swollen and point tender; looks like no running for a while. But there is a little bike race up Mt. Evans on Saturday so maybe.... Next big run is the Pike's Ascent in a few weeks.