2025 Haunted Marathon

The Background

After a DNF at Canal Corridor 100, I wanted to race again and find some redemption. So I signed up for the Haunted Marathon in Temple, Texas the next weekend.  This company US Road Running had been putting on a lot of small, no-frills races with short loops in Temple and other places and had now expanded to marathon distance there.  Temple is slightly farther than I like to drive for such a race, but not too bad. 

I had been ultra training, so I had little time to switch to road marathon training.  After recovering, I ran 5-mile runs at 9ish-minute pace on Thursday and Friday, with the race Saturday.  My legs had been strong in the last 2 races, so I thought there was a chance I could run the whole thing.

The Race

The course was a 1.67 mile out and 1.67 mile back on a sidewalk at a park, with 8 loops total for the marathon. The race had no electrolyte drinks.

I started out with a couple of 9-minute miles, then held steady at 10-minute miles.  My right calf and shoulder were hurting, signs I later figured out meant I was cramping from lack of electrolytes. By 11 miles, I was dead.  I switched to hiking 14-minute miles, with bits of running thrown in.

I felt bad and wanted to quit. The loop went right past the parking lot with my car, so that was a temptation. But I said, "I have never DNFed a road marathon, and I am not starting now."

There were 4 runners in the marathon. One guy was running at a 4-hour pace, so he had me beat.  There was a guy in a white shirt who had been behind me when I was running, then passed me when I was hiking. I worried that I would be the only one left for an hour or so, and the workers/volunteers would be waiting for me.  That was ridiculous, as I paid my entry fee and the cutoff was six hours. Still, I knew I would be cutting it close and hiked hard.  I calculated at 15-minute pace I would make it with 20 minutes to spare. 

A good thing about the course was you could see where the other runners were a lot of the time. At some point with under 10 miles to go, I saw the guy in the white shirt walking over a mile ahead of me. This gave me extra motivation to push, as maybe I could catch him. 

At this point, it was hot.  I finished all the gels I had brought, and was drinking as many cups of water I could and eating fruit snacks the race provided.

As I approached the end of the 6th loop, the guy in the white shirt passed me headed out the other way.  I calculated he was about 12 minutes ahead of me at this point. As we reached the turn around, I had cut that distance considerably. 

At the end of the 7th loop, I could see him up ahead, and he stopped for a bit and stretched at the finish line, which allowed me to catch up further. We passed by each other on the sidewalk toward the finish line.

I got some water and a fruit snack.  A worker/volunteer thought I had finished due to a glitch in the timing, and a took a few seconds to explain to her that I still needed to go out on another loop.  

The runner with the white shirt was now further ahead but in sight.  I slowly cut the distance between us until at the final turnaround it was a few yards.  On the way back, I ran for a short burst to get ahead of him, then hiked hard to keep him behind me.  I finished in 5:40, with the other runner a minute and a half behind me. 

I finished 2nd place out of 4 finishers.

After finishing, I lied down for a minute in the shade next to the restrooms.  My left leg cramped up, and I was not sure I could stand.  Finally, I could stand up, prepared to take an ultrarunner's shower by pouring jugs of water on myself.  I poured about half a jug, but felt like I was about to faint.  I staggered to my car, and threw myself on the car seat still sweaty. I cranked up the air and tried to sip a coke.  Then, I thought I would be better off drinking water, and I honked my horn until I got the attention of a worker/volunteer, who got another guy to bring me water. Before he could bring it, I threw up out my car door on the parking lot. After drinking the water and then the coke, I was in better shape and went back to wash myself off and get changed.

Reflections

This race showed me how sometimes a race does not go well, but you can work for a good effort. I paced poorly and crashed.  But I still worked very hard to finish.  

Also, this year at Great Springs Trail Race - Austin, I trudged to a finish without competing as hard as I should have.  That too was a small race, and I would have won an award if I had worked hard to beat a guy who was in front of me.  This time, I raced against the guy in front of me and earned 2nd place overall.  I had told myself that if I was 3rd place out of 3 finishers, I would not care that much about the award, but if I worked hard to beat someone I would. 

Objectively, a 5:40 road marathon is not a great performance for me at this time.  But the effort I put in to earn the 2nd place made it a great race for me.

Obviously, I should had brought my own Gatorade.

I am heading into road marathon season, so I need to work on my pacing in training and races.

Thanks to the God, Terri, friends and family, and the workers and volunteers for the support!