The Race Not Run

Two marathons were scheduled for the same weekend in October.  And sorry I could not run both and be one runner, long I thought. 

One was the Rock ‘n’ Roll Denver Marathon.  The Rock ‘n’ Roll course, well, it would have been straighter if they’d run it around Cheesman Park 19 times.  It looks like the race director dropped a piece of cooked spaghetti on a map of Denver; like a schematic of my lower intestine.  All of those turns would confuse me. 

The Rock ‘n’ Roll is a relatively flat course and should yield a fast time.  I’ve run a personal best already this year.  Sometimes a personal best is just that.  There are a finite number of seconds faster and an infinite number of seconds slower that I could run.  I just don’t like those odds.

Still, there is something unique about running a race in an urban setting.  There are spectators along almost the entire route.  That really helps towards the end of a marathon when your spirits are flagging.  And finishing a race in the city is special.  Just ask anyone who has ever run Boston.  When you take that left turn onto Boylston and see the finish line, how sweet is that? 

The other marathon was no walk in the park.  It was the XTerra Trail Marathon in Colorado Springs.  It called to me because it sounded manlier. 

The XTerra course is two laps up and down the trails in Cheyenne Mountain State Park.  It entails over 2600 feet of climbing.  Ouch!  It meanders like my train of thought after 23 miles.  It would take me a little under four hours to complete the race.  Ouch!  I’ve been asked, ‘what do you think about when you are running for four hours?’  I say the same thing that I tell my wife when she asks me what I’m thinking about when she catches me watching the Nuggets Dancers.  “Nothing.”  Mostly, I’m just enjoying the scenery.

A few weeks ago I was running through a stand of aspen near the slopes of Beaver Creek when I was struck by the beauty of it all.  I was off the clock and off the grid.  It was getting close to mating season and I saw two male deer.  For a while it was just us three bucks romping through the woods.  I thought, ‘man, this is living!’  In a trail race, even if you are off the pace, there is still a beautiful trail to enjoy. 

In 2011 there were 26 marathons in Colorado and a few more races of 25 miles.  What a difference from 1994 when the capital city’s namesake International marathon went bankrupt.  There is no shortage of races.  You’ve got to be selective of the races you run; where you spend your money and your sweat.  Don’t be a lemming.  If the Running of the Bulls was held in Denver and there was a T-shirt and finisher’s medal, would you sign up?  OK, bad example; maybe I would.  The point is, make your races meaningful.

Also, those Rock ‘n’ Roll folks sure are proud of their race.  On a dollar per mile basis, the XTerra race is a far better value.  Though as for statistics, both are 26.2 miles long and either way, there is no easy running. 

And both marathons were held that same weekend, when the aspen leaves were gold and falling.  There I stood with one foot on the pavement and the other on the trail.  I’ll run the other marathon someday.  But since I haven’t yet, why break the streak?

I’ll be adding this to my list of regrets; after I’ve hung up my Nikes.  Two marathons were run the same weekend and I, I chose to volunteer at the mile 21 water station at the Rock ’n’ Roll Marathon.  And that’s all she wrote.