This was a very last minute decision to run this race. My right knee had been achy and the lower back had been bothering me quite a bit. I thought about running the San Francisco Marathon, but it was sold out. I had always wanted to visit the famous Hayward Field, so I signed up for the Eugene Marathon for the opportunity to run in Tracktown USA. Since this trip was rather unplanned, it was going to be a quick in and out trip with no time off from work.
I took an early United flight out of John Wayne Airport with a stop in San Francisco. The flight was on one of those small regional aircrafts, so it was actually my first time walking onto the tarmac at SNA to board a plane. After landing in the small airport in Eugene, I got a black KIA Rio from Alamo. I drove down to Downtown Eugene and parked for free at the parking structure on Oak St and E 10th Ave. At first I had thought about taking the bus to the expo, which was free for the weekend for marathon participants, but I decided to just walk it. It was pretty much just a straight shot heading east on E 13th Ave through the University of Oregon to the expo inside the Matthew Knight Arena. Along the way I stopped by the Duck Store to pick up a souvenir for my friend's wife who is a Ducks fan.
The packet pickup process was super organized. It could not have been any easier. After picking up my packet, I went into the expo area to check out the booths and pick up my race shirt. Before going through the expo I went and grabbed a seat in the bleachers to listen to Lauren Fleshman give last minute pointers and encouragements to the runners.
Lauren Fleshman
After I was done with the expo, I started walking back to my car. Along the way, I stopped by Hayward Field to check it out. It was hot, pretty crowded and such a happening place as the IAAF World Junior Championships was taking place. I then stopped by a 7-Eleven to buy some drinks and snacks.
Since I registered so late, all of the hotels in Eugene were already booked solid. It also didn't help that the IAAF World Junior Championships was taking place the day before the marathon. So I ended up booking a room at the Super 8 up in Corvallis near Oregon State University. It took a little over 30 minutes to get there from Eugene. The guy at the front desk was super creepy, but the room was pretty good for a one-nighter.
After checking into my motel room and going through my race packet and expo stuff, I walked across the street to eat an early dinner at McMenamins. It's one of my favorite places to visit whenever I'm in Oregon. The weather was nice so lots of people opted to sit outside. I grabbed a table inside where it was pretty dark. I ordered their Wilbur's Jumbo Deluxe burger with tater tots. I also had a couple of Hammerheads. The burger was pretty juicy, robust, and full of flavor. It definitely satisfied my burger craving. I also love places that serve tater tots. I always prefer them over fries. The Hammerheads went well with the burger.
Hammerhead
Wilbur's Jumbo Deluxe burger with tater tots
After getting back to my room, I went through the usual routine of laying out my race clothes, GUs, and getting the race drink ready. Then it was time to hit the hay and get some early shuteye.
Race gear
Sunday 7/27
I woke up pretty early to get ready and make the drive down to Eugene. Per the race instructions, I parked at the parking structure next to the Hult Center off of Olive St between E 6th Ave and E 7th Ave. I walked over to the Hilton to use their restroom before catching the bus to the starting area.
After talking to the usual Marathon Maniacs that I see everywhere and taking the pre-race photo, I headed over to the portapotties one last time. Then I went into corral B to wait for the race start.
Pre-race MM photo
I really have nothing against people wearing whatever the heck they want to run a marathon, but I was getting a bit tired of seeing tutus at races. The novelty of it has certainly worn off for me. So it was a nice change to race in Eugene where they take their racing a little more seriously. I mean we already look kind of silly with the shorty shorts, calf sleeves, and other runner gear. :) Anyways in the grand scheme of things, I say to each their own... whatever it takes to get people out there and running even if it's a little bit over the top!
After everybody got into their corrals, it was time for the first corral to be released. First came the singing of the national anthem. The girl that sang the Star Spangled Banner botched the lyrics. Out of the hundred plus marathons that I've run in the US, this was the first time that I've heard the singer mess up. Fortunately she was able to stay calm and got through it.
The weather forecast called for warm temperatures, so I went again with the faster miles in the beginning. I ran the first 5k at a semi-hard effort. There was a little incline at the beginning but everybody was fresh and pushed on ahead. The next 5k, I slowed it down a tad. Just as I was coming up to the 10k mark, my friend caught up to me. She's a much faster runner than I am, but I hope eventually to be able to hang with her once I'm able to put in the training. Everything felt good going through the halfway point and I coasted to the 20 mile mark. The bike trail while pretty scenic just wore me out. 20 miles still seems to be my current limit. In the more exposed area around mile 24, I started feeling dizzy and a bit nauseated. I slowed it down to a walk and eventually it subsided. It was pretty cool to take about a half a lap run on the famous Hayward Field track. Every runner needs to do that at least once in their life! I wasn't too thrilled with my time, but anything under a 4:30 is pretty good for me.
5k: 24:13
10k: 49:46
13.1: 1:51:19
20: 3:07:45
4:28:29
I was so glad that I wore my Team RWB shirt. At the finish line, Army men and women were passing out the medals. The lady that gave me my medal liked my shirt. I grabbed a post race recovery bag which was a very nice touch. The bag was a really nice bag that you can save to use at the grocery store. I then bumped into a bunch of Marathon Maniacs that had congregated at the finish area. I talked to a few, but had to leave fairly quickly since I had a plane to catch.
During the shuttle ride back to the Hilton, I sat next to and talked to an older gentleman named Ron that had run the half marathon. He was from Portland and drove down for the race. We shared with each other how our race went.
After getting back to my car, I changed out of my wet running clothes into the clean race shirt. Then I drove to a nearby gas station to fill up the tank before returning it at the airport. It would turn out that the gas station was full service. There was an attendant that would pump the gas for you. I'm guessing it's because they have people pumping and not paying. I have not seen a full service station since the 1980's. Next I drove to the airport and parked the rental car in the rental lot, noted the mileage, and headed inside the airport to drop off the keys. I ate and drank some of the food and water that was in the post race recovery bag before going through the TSA checkpoint.
During my layover in San Francisco, I ate dinner at Gordon Biersch. If I had to rate this place based on just what I ordered, I would only give it 1 star. I had the Kobe Cheeseburger cooked medium and a Märzen. That was a pretty mediocre burger. It came back well done and it tasted like it was from somebody's backyard BBQ cooked by a rookie. It was much worse than eating a Big Mac from McDonald's and about 3-4 more times expensive. At least it came with garlic fries. Even the fries came out well done. The quality of the food was just not up to par of a normal non-airport Gordon Biersch. If you decide to eat here, please don't order their "Kobe" Cheeseburger.
Kobe Cheeseburger and a Märzen
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