It’s a skull and (achy, cross at me) bones day! Today marked my 50th race with Mainly Marathons, meaning I earned a commemorative calavera skull. But more on that in a moment.
The 14-loop course at Chadron State Park was quintessential Mainly Marathons. It had pretty much every conceivable terrain in is layout — packed dirt/gravel, asphalt, wet grass, dirt, mud, a bridge over water, a bit of pock marked scorched earth. It was a misty, later drizzily day, making some of the grassy/dirt sections turn slippery and muddy. But that’s what we come for, right? A bit of out-of-the-way adventure?
When I finished my 14 loops, my Garmin had me at just over 25 miles. I don’t know if I missed a turn in the early pre-dawn loops, if the course was short, or if my GPS was wonky. But when I mentioned it to Jesse as I came in to ring the bell around the 3:52 mark, I decided I didn’t want to be short no matter what — so I told him I was going to do a little more to make sure I hadn’t cut any corners. It took me about 20 minutes to do one final lap, a lap that was either necessary to make up for a mistake or a bonus mileage. Even as I returned to the table, I was still a little short (26.11 miles) which makes me think it may have been screwy GPS-ness in the Nebraska National Forest. My iPhone says I did close to 30 miles at the same point; even adjusting for walking out of the hotel to the car and to the start line from the parking lot, I feel like it’s safe to assume I did at least 26.2 miles.
After ringing that bell for the fifth time this series, Jesse and Daniel and George presented me with my 50 races MainLyner skull. Despite taking them away from the timing table, I was able to snag a photo with them. Had Clint Burleson, the founder and former owner of Mainly Marathons, finished one of his loops then I would’ve had him jump into the photo too. But as it stands, it was a nice moment to share with the guys running the show… so that we might run the loops.
I thought about what 50 races means… and about how much money I’ve spent to run with these folks. Registration fees, airfare, hotels, rental cars, meals, the works. But it’s my habit… and it’s gotta be cheaper than a meth or coke addiction, right? I mean, it’s barely a drop in the Diet Coke habit costs I run so, really, what the hell, right?
Anyhoo, number 51 is tomorrow in Sterling, CO, which means only 49 more after that and I get a giant skeleton!
