Skagit Flats Report

As with most things, it seemed trivial this week to bother to report my marathon results from Skagit Flats, Washington, 8 September 2001. But life must get back to normal, including my flying west to east a couple of days from now. Thus, here you go, even though I didn't do quite as well as I wanted, specifically because I started out waaaaaaay too fast (mile 1, 6:53) and tired correspondingly soon. For anyone wanting to try for a PR or qualify for Boston and is willing to run smarter than I did, this race is a great opportunity, since as its name -- Skagit Flats -- implies it's, well, flat. The only "hill" is a single freeway overpass right at the start, after which it winds gently and horizontally through farmland with the fresh scent and lovely views of Puget Sound, Cascades, and Coastal Range always available. A very small and friendly affair, there were only ~100 marathoners and twice that many undertaking the half-marathon distance. The water station volunteers were enthusiastic although somewhat sparsely placed along the course, appearing only at three-mile intervals and with little cups. A highlight of the race was the announcer at the finish line who not only welcomed each of us upon the final approach, but also enthusiastically related interesting personal facts about any runner who provided such details on the (paper-only) entry form, such as how many hundreds of marathons they might have run. Personally, I was awestruck by some of the statistics, such as 189 marathons completed(!), and enjoyed relaxing and stretching and listening in the comfortably warm sun on the grass of the high school infield for quite some time. Anyone who wishes to venture west next September should be able to find telephone contact information on the RunnersWorld.com website (marathon calendar section), although the race has no online presence of its own.

-- Nancy Kleinrock

Prev Article

Front Page

Next Article