| April 2003 Newsletter |
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Napa Valley Marathon State#32 and DC Completed
The Napa Valley Marathon in Napa, California came at a wonderful time of the year. My husband and I left on Thursday, February 27 and it was 0 degrees. When we arrived at the Oakland Airport it was a very welcome 60 degrees with the sun shinning and the sun continued to shine for the duration of our visit.
As we drove into Napa Valley all you could see were acres and acres of vineyards. It was so picturesque and more beautiful than I had ever dreamed.
With the time change we were very early to bed. The next morning I was up bright and early and went out for a run through Napa and was able to view the beautiful sunrise over the valley and the vineyards. It was just breathtaking. Our day continued with a drive over the Silverado Winery Trail which is the marathon course. Of course we had to stop into a winery and test taste the wines. We also made a stop at California's Old Faithful which is a geyser that goes off every 8 minutes with 350 degree water shooting 60 foot into the air. This was followed by a visit to the nearby Petrified Forest. Our most unusual stop of the day was at Jelly Belly Jelly Bean Factory where we were treated to a tour and delicious jelly beans. They are one of the sponsors of the race. That evening I picked up my packet and once again talked with the wonderful Joe Henderson who writes for Runner's World and could have more wine at another wine tasting session. The following day we drove to Highway 1 and up the coast to see the beautiful Pacific Ocean. The evening was spent at one of the best prerace pasta dinners I have ever been to. Once again we could have all the wine we wanted at the dinner. Joe Henderson was the inspirational speaker at the dinner along with Dick Beardsley who is the Napa course record holder and the 4th fastest American marathoner of all time who also pumped us up for the marathon the next day.
Sunday morning came and it was marathon time. My husband was able to take me to the start and see me off. The temperature was in the 30's to start and 60's to finish and a perfect day to run with the sun shinning all the way. The only problem that runners faced was the strong headwind after the 13th mile. The course is just beautiful with rolling hills along side of the vineyards. The Napa residents do not have front yards with grass but front yards with grape vines. The first 13 miles was closed to all traffic so the spectators were very limited. My husband was able to see me twice when he drove up to the course on some cross roads.
My goal in all marathons is to finish. My second goal this time was to finish ahead of the world age group record holder Helen Klein who is 80 and usually finishes her marathons in 4:30. I was able to meet my first goal and also my second goal and did finish ahead of the 80 year old world record holder Helen Klein with a time of 4:32:14. Helen finished just a few steps behind me. The finishers medals were beautiful with runners etched into the medals with vineyards in the background. At the end of course we could have more wine to take away any pain that you might have from running the marathon.
We caught the red eye flight back to Syracuse and it was still 0 degrees when we arrived. It was a wonderful winter get away and a wonderful marathon that I would strongly recommend to everyone.
The next state is Missouri to do the Spirit of St. Louis.
Happy Running,
Ruthie
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