Green Mountain Marathon

Hi gang, race report from Green Mountain Marathon (VT's other race) - what an awesome event. However, I had problems with cavitation. Not because I was running so fast, but because it was so windy. The back of my singlet and shoes are covered with micro fractures. My structural integrity is down to about 65%. For a more detailed explanation of cavitation, see Will Riddell. Basically it has to do with transient low pressure pockets affecting solid objects in a high velocity fluid flow regime.

Aside from that, the run was excellent. I went out in 1:26:17, with 5 mile splits of 32:51 and 1:05:41. On the way back I ran 1:32:02, with splits at 15 and 20 of 1:39:14 and 2:13:17 respectively. This was not a "hit the wall" problem - it was a hit the wind problem. The course is shaped like a letter "J" (except flipped left to right); there was a 20 mile wind out of the South. Start and finish are 385 yards apart, so each mile mark counts twice -once on the way out (1-2-3) and then again on the way back (23-24-25, etc.) Basically, miles 3-13 and 25-26.2 were really nice, and the others were something of a challenge because of the wind. For anyone who wants to check their math, my total time was 2:58:19, good for 4th place.

The marathon has a common start and course with a half - except those guys get to turn around at 6.505, and the marathoners have to keep going. After the 1/2M turn, I was in 7th place. There were 2 guys 800m up (tights guy, and tights guy's friend Georgetown shirt guy), but the rest of the field was out of sight. I caught tights and Georgetown at the 9 mile mark, where they both told me that they were first time marathoners. I said "won't the way back be fun?" a comment which they didn't seem to find ironic. At the turn, the first 4 guys were between 1 mile and 800m ahead - they all looked terrible. Since the course is out-and-back, you can get a good look at the opposition on the way by. According to Rick Cleary (RJC), I also looked terrible, so what do you know. Three of them maintained their positions or moved a bit more ahead of me (no official results yet, but winner was 2:4x-low, and he was way ahead of 2-3). I caught up to GBTC shirt guy (who was 2d at the turn)at about 19 to move into my finish position. Apparently GBTC finished early this morning, after spending quite a while at the 20 mile aid station.

The second half was about as brutal as can be expected with that wind. I managed to keep running the whole way, mostly by using a Stacey-B/Kenny-Z strategy of keeping my feet really low (static boundary layer - less wind near the ground!) and by worrying about how close RJC was at the turn (he did the half in 1:30:00). The true highlight was the final mile, back with the tailwind, which I ran in 6:21 - my fastest of the day. RJC ended up with a total time of 3:16:xx - probably about 12-15 place and probably 2d master. One of the guys between him and me looked sort of old, but we're not sure. Anyway - to blaze a 6:20 mile after slogging at 7+ for 1:20 or so was a lot of fun (plus, I looked heroic and got great cheers from the crowd).

All in all a success. You have to love a marathon that costs $25, and that you can sign up for on the morning of the event. No space blankets, no goo stops, no framed runners' photo montage - just a race on quiet roads in quasi-rural Vermont, on a could-be-fast, could-be-fair course. Their motto ought to be "run as fast as you want - it counts, and we'll time you."

-- Chris Mansfield