Why we run and State #20

6/3/2012 Casper Marathon was marathon State #20 in my journey of running the 50 States.  

It was a great running weekend.  I flew into Denver and met up with Mike L, aka Yoda.  Mike and I then made the trek in his Jeep up to Casper.  For those unfamiliar, Mike is a former co-worker who moved to Denver two years ago.  While we worked together, Mike become somewhat of a running coach/partner for me as well as a good friend.  As a 3:30 Ironman marathon runner, Yoda as I call him, is in a different league from my pedestrian pace.  He taught me a lot about running, and we became good friends who talked everything from work to family life during our daily lunch runs.  The trip gave us a chance to catch up.  Other than the air conditioning cutting in/out of the Jeep, the road trip was awesome.

Going into this race, I knew I was well under prepared.  Since the ultra in April, I have not been mentally focused on running.  And given that I had set out to run only one PR race a year (earlier 2012 in El Paso), I did not train hard and did not expect a fast finish.  And the result showed.  4:31 is one of the slowest races I've run in recent years.

The marathon itself was a well organized and small (250 runner) race.

The "expo," well there really was not one, it was just for the packet pick up at the host hotel (Ramada Inn) in a function room.  There were a few t-shirts and other items for sale but it served primarily for bib pick-up and to answer any questions about the race, shuttle, etc.  The organizers were very friendly and answered our questions.

Casper Marathon was the first time I joined a race organized pre-race pasta dinner.  It was actually pretty good!  I avoided the cream sauce just to be safe :).  The dinner was probably 70% 50 State Marathon Club members!  I had a great time at dinner chatting with fellow MM and 50 Staters.  As we walked back after dinner, Mike said to me "I never knew there were that many crazy people out there."  That actually meant a lot coming from a guy who trains insane hours for the Ironman.  So thanks Yoda!  I take that as a compliment!

At race morning, there is A shuttle that runs from the Ramada up to the start of the race at the Casper Event Center.  The distance between the hotel and the center is a bit over 1 mile up a good hill.  It is walkable but we decided to wait for the shuttle.  One issue is that there is only one small bus running about every 15 minutes (which started at 4:30 AM).  The race actually started a few minutes late b/c they were not able to shuttle everyone up in time.  One big plus is that the event center allowed runners to stay warm inside and offered coffee and water.  it also provided real restroom which were clean and much preferred to porta-potties.

While the course was not breathe taking, it was very pleasant and on a beautiful town/course.  Front half of the course were on open roads surrounded by open fields where antelopes can be spotted.  Mid part of the course were largely on the paved trails along the river.  Final part of the race involved some more trail and a circle around the golf course.  caution of multiple (a lot) rolling hills throughout the course.  Much of the mid-late part of the course involved loops and turns which won't do well as a PR course.  Traffic was very well controlled with minimal road crossing (since most of the course was on the riverside trail).  Half marathon and marathon races were well spaced apart that I never even noticed the 1/2 marathoners.

I give major points to the finish line for pronouncing my name correctly;)  The finish area is well organized with lot and lots of food and drinks.  Watermelon was the best part for me!  Overall, Casper was one of the finer small races I've run and is recommended.  While I did not run a great time I had a good time.

The experience of this run gave me the inspiration and opportunity to ponder why people like us love to run and run as much as we do.  I think this question has been asked many times to almost every Marathon Maniac and 50 Stater  that we tend to give some generic answer or answer with something witty instead of really examining the answer at the core of what we do.  Perhaps it is just difficult to verbalize the answer in a clear and concise way.  Or perhaps the answer is more emotional than logical and is not meant to be shared.  Obviously everyone has a different story and draws on their own life experience for inspiration and motivation.  But, in my opinion, I think there is a clear common thread amongst all endurance runners.  

Running for people like us is our way to take control of our otherwise chaotic lives.  We define running as we see appropriate and running in turn defines us.  Running for us is both a physical and spiritual experience.  With each breathe, each stride, and each ache and pain, we feel our vulnerability as well vitality.  And with each triumph and defeat, we sail in waves of our emotional sea. I feel more alive during a marathon than I do 50% of everyday life.  What I see is that sometimes the love we have for running is cult like.  And although when we lace up our Nike (Asics in my case) NOT to meet the aliens in the space ship, we do so to get closer to our own divine entity.  We do so to feel alive.

One race, one mile, and one step at a time,

Jeff