Marathons in Moab!

Moab Trail Marathon

November 2,  2013

Mile 14.5 or there abouts.  Steeeeep. Exposed.  Unstable ground. Hot. Humbling.
(I, Meg, passed Don Mueller on this section, about mile 15.5 and he sprayed me with his cold water!  Ahh.
Ben told us after we were all finished that he ran up a good chunk of this crazy steepness!)

Still going! Look at those views. Amazing in all directions.

Ben finished about 50 minutes before me so he saw me turn off from the finish line to do the final 5K.  This is with about 3/4 mile to go.  I wanted to scream at the race course planners for putting such a grueling and wasting obstacle course at the end of such a tough run.  The last 5K had two rapels, a couple deep sandy stretches, slick rock sections, ladders, flood drainage pipes that we had to crouch-run through, a section where we had to pull ourselves along and then up and over a rock face, wade through a river as deep as my crotch, and anything else I may have forgotten.  Ben wanted to chat and see how I was doing and I was almost mad and did NOT want to chat!

It was a hot one. Oh, that glorious sun and red rock and blue sky.
Perfect for a race day.

Part of the final 5K...just some more rocks to scramble over.

Megan with a lot of swack.  Feeling good. I can feel the finish line close ahead.

I was in the 3rd heat, so my time was not as posted.

We were so happy here.

Seth and Mandy at finish.
Seth did some biking during the race.  I saw him (and Buz and Rich) at about mile 19 along the Amasa Back trail.  I think I was like a giddy kid to see someone I knew... :)

Cheesing it at the finish!

All the runners in our group: Marty Harward (Mandy's bro), Mandy, Amberlee, Michelle, Ben and Meg

To remember:  What a memorable experience for me.  It was my first marathon, and I loved it...all of it (except for whacking my dome on the drainage pipe at the end and some of the torturous 5K obstacles)!    It seemed like everything leading up to the race (life demands, struggles, asthma/health issues, logistics of traveling and childcare, and altitude and weather changes) were really weighing me down, but I knew that I had signed up to do this race because I wanted a challenge that I chose for myself...and this was it.  I actually chose, registered, and PAID for this challenge and I was going to make it worth it.  I didn't know what to really expect, being that it was my first marathon, and I was coming from +/-300 ft. above sea level to do a race at elevation, but I tried to get a couple long runs under my belt and was really just excited about the experience.  The ride down to Moab was a blast as we (Marty, Mandy, Amberlee, Michelle for part of it) packed in Jana and Andy minivan and laughed and talked and made fun of each other.  It was good to feel young and strong and like I was someone doing something away from my kiddos (whom I adore).  On the day of the race, I had the jitters and was so cold and my guts were up to their usual games.  The race started and Ben was in the first heat.  The rest of us were in the third heat...which was a packed heat!  So many people.  (Mental note: if/when I do this race again, go in a faster heat, say heat 2.)  The trail was tricky from the get go, especially with so many people starting out together.  We all got separated pretty quick.  Michelle and I kept finding each other and after I waited for quite a while at the top of the first big (small in comparison to the BIG hills ahead) hill, and thinking everyone else was long gone, I just starting running my own race and doing my own thing...still feeling a bit anxious, wondering if I was running to fast or slow.  There were quite a number of places where we were forced to stop and wait for our turn to jump of a drop-off or side-step through a slot, which was actually a good break to chat with all the people around you, take pics, and take in the majestic views that surrounded us.  I have been to Moab a handful of times, but never really seen Moab like I was during the race.  It was an experience that communicated to every part of me.  Yep, pretty amazing.  I had only one bout of respiratory stuff (which I was dreading would be much much worse), and worked through it.  At about mile 22, as I ran along the Jackson Trail and looked down to the river below, I thought I could run another 10 miles, at least.  I was feeling fabulous!  The high continued until I had to shimmy down rocks and climb up ladders and rappel down rock and run (or not run at all, more like trudged and cursed!) through deep sand in the last 5K.  When I ran through the finish line, I was overwhelmed with the weight of uncertainty and doubt and fear that I had been carrying.  I had forgotten about it during the race, and I felt like I could throw these feelings aside no, because I had accomplished the challenge that I CHOSE for ME!  Ben was there to greet me and he was so proud of me and cried like a baby.  I was so glad he was there (and glad he was crying too).   

Stats: Meg - 17th in division, 5:35   Ben - 20th in division, 4:45