Dennie and Ron participated in the 2-person Relay
at the Logan City Marathon in September 2019
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In the first photo below, Dennie, who ran the 1st Leg,
joins Ron crossing the Finish Line at the end of the 2nd Leg.
In the second photo, we both have our medals and are relieved that it's over!
Dennie's time = 2:43; Ron's time = 3:05; Total elapsed time = 5 hours, 48 minutes
Dennie and Ron participated in their first marathon,
the El Toro Leatherneck Marathon, in June 1980
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In the first photo below, we are somewhere on the 26 mile course.
In the second photo, after finishing, we are feeling proud of our accomplishment.
Elapsed time was 3 hours, 43 minutes
Background:
In early 2019 I read an article in Logan's Herald Journal with the headline "The First Ever Logan City Marathon." Since Logan is my hometown, I immediately thought "I've got to run that marathon." It only took a few minutes until I realized I would be 79 years old at the time of this marathon, that it had been 15 years since I had run a marathon, and further, that I was not doing any serious running these days -- running 26 miles was probably out of the question.
As I read through the article, I saw that they were including an option for a 2-person relay -- maybe 13 miles would be possible. Who could I get to join me in the relay? The obvious answer was the guy that I ran my first marathon with -- Dennie Christensen. I called him and he immediately said yes and we signed up.
Features of the Marathon:
The race organizers published a summary of the Logan City Marathon, which included some of the details written below:
"As we considered features of the world's greatest marathons, we decided to break-out of the trend of punishing downhills and create the Flattest Run in the West through one of the most beautiful valleys in the west. Imagine a low-traffic race course that takes in the beauty of Cache Valley. Run either the full marathon or split it with a partner and participate in our 2-person relay. Compete with yourself and others as you run through historic districts, past golf courses, along river trails, on wide-open country roads, through wetland areas, and all in the shadow of the beautiful Cache National Forest and Wellsville Mountian Range. Introducing the NEW Logan City Marathon; one of the flattest race courses anywhere. To be held September 21, 2019."
"The race route will start and finish on Historic Center Street in downtown Logan. We will close the entire newly remodeled city center between Main Street and 100 West. We will let you get your beauty sleep and start the racing as the dawn breaks, with a shotgun start as the sun crests the Cone of the Wellsville Mountains. Runners will proceed west on Center Street for 6 blocks before turning south towards Logan River Golf Course and the Logan River Trail system. Once under the 1000 West river tunnel , runners proceed on open country roads towards Mendon on a beautiful closed-course. Lush wetlands and streams on both sides of the course, little or no traffic, and race grade at or near zero, are sure to make this course a new favorite for all runners."
"Halfway point of the course, and mid-run support station, is at the beautiful Mendon City Park. Marathon Relay partners hand-off their markers, and both groups return back toward Logan along Mendon Road. Once back into Logan City, runners will follow the Logan River Trail through wooded sections along the Logan River Golf Course, through Willow Park and Cache Country Fair Grounds, before finishing along Historic Center Street with a clear straight approach to the finish line."
"Once at the finish line in Downtown Logan, the huge party is just beginning. All runners receive a big finisher medal, a yummy post-run brunch provided by several Center Street Restaurants, event photos, and results in big-event fashion. And at the heart of the party is the Altra Runner's Festival with awesome vendors, live music, and plenty of drinks and refreshment to reward your incredible accomplishment."
Our Actual Marathon:
Training: In our earlier running days, Dennie and I easily ran at an 8 minute per mile pace, which allowed us to carry on a conversation during our training runs. An 8 minute pace over a 26.2 mile course amounts to a 3 1/2 hour marathon. We ran our first marathon together in 1980 in 3 hours, 43 minutes. I ran most of my seven marathons at a time somewhere around an 8 minute pace. When I ran the Boston Marathon in 1993 at age 53, I had qualified in the St. George Marathon with a time of 3 hours, 30 minutes. I ran my last marathon with Tracy at age 64 in 2004; our elapsed time that day was 4 hours, 43 minutes.
Training for the Logan Run - Dennie: I have been walking on a regular basis (typically 3 miles, 4-6 days per week) since quitting running due to knee problems several years ago. In preparation for the upcoming Logan marathon, I started adding running to my walks in July and worked my way up to 6 miles. In August, I woke up one day with a very sore back and could hardly stand up, let alone walk or run. I had a similar injury (I think a pinched nerve) many years before and remembered that it took several weeks to resolve itself. I was in Logan at the time, and booked a session with massage therapist which seemed to help, but I took about three weeks off from any kind of training. By early September, I was back to walking with brief stretches of running and the back problems had gone away. I had walked/ran 13 miles while in Oregon as part of a family challenge with similar training (walking), and my time was approximately 3 hours, so I figured I could come close to duplicating that time in my half of the Logan Marathon. I was able to run (and later in the course shuffle) approximately 70% of the course, and speed walk an estimated 30% - mostly during the last 5 miles. I was very pleased with my time and overall physical condition upon completing the course. After completing my half, I drove directly to Crystal Hot Springs for an hour soak which felt great. I then returned to the start/finish line to cheer for Ron, and join him at the Finish Line. Hopefully, this will be good training for the St. George Marathon which I will run with my brother Larry on October 5th (his 30th consecutive)!
Training for the Logan Run - Ron: The last serious running I did was a Road Relay Run with our running team, The Foothill Flashers, in 2006. I was still able to run an 8 to 9 minute per mile pace at that time for the shorter distances (10 miles or so) we usually ran in the relays. After that time I began running less frequently than before, and mostly on dirt trails to save my knees and hips. I ran in a few formal trail runs after that time, but my daily training became fewer miles running, alternating with gym time and walking. I ran a local Monrovia 7-mile "Fountain to the Falls Run" each year between 2011 and 2018. The first six years I always had an elapsed time of under 12 minutes per mile, despite half of the course being uphill. However, since 2016 I felt a definite weakness in my legs, which I believe is due to more than the change in my age, and my elapsed time for those runs went to a pace of over 14 minutes per mile. I'm hoping the leg weakness will prove to be the result of a new medicine I began at that time, which I could possibly change. Since I would be 79 at the time of the Logan Marathon, and I had been experiencing the leg weakness, I knew my pace per mile pace would be slow. As the time for the marathon approached, I began doing more work on my legs in the gym, and trying to run a few more miles each week. The additional training didn't seem to strengthen my old legs like it had in years past, and eventually it became clear that I would be doing a lot of walking during the marathon. It also became clear that the running would be more aptly described as shuffling. I finally concluded that 3 1/2 hours for my half of the Run would be the most likely result and that became my target (a little embarrassing to admit to any of my old running partners). As it turned out, I finished in just 5 minutes over three hours, and I was satisfied with that result and happy I had made the decision for this one more formal road run.
Marathon Day: When we signed up to run the 2-person Relay in the marathon, we agreed that Dennie would take the 1st Leg, which was 13.1 miles from Logan Main Street to Mendon. Dennie passed the baton to me at the Transition Area at the Mendon Elementary School and I ran the 13.1 mile 2nd Leg back to Logan. It had rained all day on the day prior to the marathon, but the weather on race day was perfect - cool at the start, and never hot during the day. The photo below is Dennie starting the run at 7:05 am in a cool 46 degrees.
The course out to Mendon went through some lovely farming areas with the Wellsville mountains on the West. The second photo is Dennie having a visit and a banana at one of the Aid Stations.
Unfortunately, we didn't get any photos at the Transition Area in Mendon, but the photos below show Logan's idea for the baton. It's a silky cloth tube that was to be passed from the first runner to the second runner in the Transition Area. It could be carried, worn, or whatever worked. In the second row are two examples of how some runners wore the baton. I'm not sure how Dennie carried it, but when he gave it to me I just stuffed it in the waist band of my running shorts.
I alternated running and walking all the way from Mendon to Logan. I had a Running Application on my iPhone, so in addition to listening to music, I was able to check the miles I had covered (more importantly, the miles that were left), all during the route back to Logan. During the first half of the way I was running at approximately 12 1/2 minutes per mile. I clearly slowed down in the second half, with much walking, and finished the 13 miles at an average pace of 14 minutes per mile. I talked with several of the other runners periodically during the run. Early in the course a young man named Joseph pulled up next to me and began asking open questions. At first it was fun to have someone to talk with, but I began having difficulty with my breathing while running and answering his questions. I finally suggested (politely) that he move on so I could breath. In the beginning of my Leg I was running at a pace that resulted in my catching three young women that were running the full marathon (they had passed the Transition Area before I began running). I was about 100 yards behind them and initially thought I could probably pass them. It was not to be! At about that time I was running out of gas, and as the miles passed, there was no way I could gain more ground. I even tried to make sure I was running whenever they spent some time walking, but they were walking as fast as I was running!! Nevertheless, it was good for me to have an objective to concentrate on during those last miles. They beat me to the finish line and I found this photo of them among the online marathon photos.
As in most organized races, in addition to the satisfaction of completing the course, we received a T-shirt and a medal for our efforts. In case you are wondering, the emblem on the medal is supposed to me a moose.
