Pere Marquette Endurance Trail Run (Dec 12th, 2009) - Race Report

We dropped off Bennett at Pa and Joje's house and headed out after work on Friday.  Laura and I stayed at the Lodge in Pere Marquette State Park the night before this race, so I got to sleep in until about 7:15AM. I took a shower, put on my race gear, ate a PB&J sammich and part of a banana, and then headed across the street to packet pick-up to meet up with some friends; Travis, Matt, Andy, and Brian, and their respective significant others.
The race started in waves of about 25 people, every 30 seconds.  I started in wave #4 (technically, the 5th wave because there is a wave #0) by virtue of entering my most recent 10k time. Admittedly, I made one up since I didn't have a real one to go with. It was fair, though. It gave me a shot to run with faster people, and not get bogged down folks who would start a lot slower than me.


Right out of the gate, people blasted forward and I ended up about mid-pack as we surged up the first hill, a behemoth mound of dirt, steps, roots, and rocks boasting a relentless 450ft of climb in about 1.25miles. It didn't take long before I started power walking the steepest pitches. Success! A few racers ran by me in first few minutes that I reeled in by walking shortly thereafter. Those who were laboring to even jog up these initial hills were doing themselves a huge disservice. With long strides and swinging arms, I quickly made my way to the top of the hill, no worse for the wear, and most importantly, ready to RUN.

I barrelled down every hill at top speed, sometimes with reckless abandon. I was already catching people from the waves ahead of me less than 2 miles in, and doing most of this damage on the descents.  All the while, it took a solid mental effort not to get caught up in my own competitiveness as people ran by me up the hills.  Just before the peak of each big climb, I'd start running again and pass a few more people who couldn't gather their legs under them after trashing them on the climb. Not a single person passed me permanently.

Eventually, the race was really strung out at the front, and at times 50-100yds separated people. Every time it felt like I had picked off the last person I was going to be able to catch, I'd close in on, and pass, one more.

I knew I was having a pretty good race when I didn't see Laura and the rest of the crew at the road-crossing about 6mi in because she wasn't expecting me there yet. At best, I'd hoped to finish in around 1:05. Until the last 1.25 miles, I hadn't really taken the time to do any math. But after a quick estimation, it dawned on me that I could break that elusive 1hr barrier if I really let it rip. I gathered myself for one final push and ran like hell trying to catch the next guy in front of me. I gave chase with everything I had left, but didn't gain much ground. The guys at the front of this race had some really quick legs, but I had no idea how close to the front I was.

I ran full tilt through the finish line to the cheers of my wife and friends. 59:56.  Totally spent! That was awesome.  I typically have a pretty good idea of what I'm capable of on race day, but I got a nice surprise at Pere Marquette.  It would not have surprised me to finish 10th in my Age Group, so I was thrilled get 4th place in the M25-29 division, 14th place Overall... and crack the elusive 1hr barrier.

Afterwards, I enjoyed grabbing some snacks from the cookie table (sweet double-stuffed mint Oreo goodness!), and some adult beverages as we waited for the results to roll in.  On our way back home, we stopped at the Grafton Winery with our friends to get lunch and swap stories.  As an added bonus, if we returned our race bibs (with the timing chips in them) at the winery, they would give us a free pour of wine or beer.  Deal!

I was so excited about the race, I wanted to run again the next day.  I felt like I'd been hit by a truck, but went out to the Chubb Trail and slogged out a painful 12 miles or so.  I managed to have a good time, but I won't do that again!  Well... not right after a race.