This race has been on my radar for quite some time. I haven't run it sooner because it usually doesn't fit my schedule due to some other race. However this year, I finally had the weekend open. Prior to this trip, I've ever only driven up to Mammoth Lakes to go skiing. It did feel a bit weird driving up for the first time during summer. I got on the road just early enough so that I would roll into Bishop in time for lunch. Although it was a long boring drive, it was pretty cool to drive through Lone Pine as I knew some bad ass runners will soon be running through here next month during the Badwater 135 Ultramarathon. My running accomplishments pale in comparison to those incredible endurance athletes!
Once I reached Bishop, I pulled into good ol' El Pollo Loco to eat lunch and to empty the bladder. I mainly ate here because I had a free reward on their mobile app. For an entire week, I could get one free chicken taco al carbon every day. It was also a great way to save money especially with their Original Pollo Bowl meal for $5.
Original Pollo Bowl
I rolled into Mammoth Lakes at about 1 pm. I drove straight to the Rodeway Inn Wildwood Inn to see if my room was ready for check-in. There was a lot of roadside construction as I pulled in. It appeared as if they're widening the sidewalks. The guy at the desk checked me in, but told me to come back in a couple of hours as the room wasn't ready yet.
I left my car there and walked over to The Village to pick up my race packet. As I was walking up there I noticed that I was having a bit of trouble with my breathing. This sea-level dweller was definitely not used to the higher elevation (~8,000 ft)! Once I got there, there was a sign informing participants that packet pick-up was at the top of the gondola stairs.
Packet pick-up upstairs
There was a pretty long line to get inside the venue. On the door just before you go inside, there was a flyer saying that Andrew and Deena Kastor of the Mammoth Track Club will be giving a pre-race pep talk out at the main stage later tonight at 5:15 pm. I will definitely be there!
Deena Kastor
It was really tiny and crowded once inside. I picked up my bib, long sleeve race shirt, and a drawstring bag with some swag. Then they were taking down everyone's choices for the shuttle pick-up. I'm sure that would help them allocate the number of shuttles for each location. I picked the one leaving from The Village.
Race shirt
Back of race shirt
Swag
Since the race packet pick-up process didn't take all but a few minutes, I still had time to pass before going back to the motel. I walked around The Village and checked out every store and restaurant. I did come across a couple of t-shirts that I was tempted to buy, but decided not to since I already have so many t-shirts. Before leaving, I had a good sense of where I want to go for dinner later tonight.
Bears
After leaving The Village, I started heading over to the Vons located at the Minaret Village Shopping Center at the corner of Old Mammoth Rd and Meridian Blvd. Along the way, I found the elusive Big Foot aka Sasquatch! :)
Sasquatch!
Halfway through the trek over to the supermarket, I was thinking that it might have been better to take the car. It was probably a combination of the altitude and the sunny weather, but I was pretty pooped when I finally got there! I ended up buying a bag of pepperoncini kettle chips and a gallon of water.
Vons
Pepperoncini Kettle chips
Water
On the walk back, I came across a bear that appeared to be working in a rice paddy. I found it pretty amusing. I'm guessing that it was a display for the Red Lantern restaurant. Their sign said that they offered fine Chinese dining. Despite never eating there before, I remain quite skeptical of such claim. :)
A bear working in the rice paddy? :)
After picking up my room key from the front desk, I unloaded my stuff into the room. The room was pretty spacious, but everything seemed to have gone through heavy usage. I'm sure most of it was from the wear and tear during the winter season. Given the very affordable price among the motels and hotels in the area, it was more than adequate for a one-night stay. The sink however was draining really slow.
View from room
I relaxed a bit in my room watching some TV while going through the entire bag of chips. Eventually it was time for Dodger baseball! They were playing against the Rockies. I didn't get to watch too much of the game as I needed to head back over to The Village to hear Andrew and Deena Kastor give us a last minute pep-talk.
Dodgers vs. Rockies
I positioned myself near the front to take some pictures. While doing so, I was spotted by my friend. One of the helpful advice that Andrew gave was to run quietly during the big downhills. Your footsteps should not be loud or your legs will become trashed from the pounding. They also talked about running your own race and enjoying the beautiful scenery. Mammoth is indeed one of the best places to train.
Stage schedule
Main stage
Deena Kastor on the main stage
After hearing some good advice from the Kastors, we went our separate ways for dinner. I first checked out 53 Kitchen & Cocktails. I walked in and wasn't greeted by a host or anyone. I came across a waiter and asked if I was to seat myself. He told me to check-in with the hostess. I went back to the entrance and a waiter from the outside told me to keep waiting for the hostess if I wanted a table or I could sit in the bar section. Since I had yet to see a host anywhere, I decided to sit at a table in the bar area. Also some of the bar TV's had the Dodgers game on. I went through 2 innings and nobody stopped by to ask me if I wanted a drink or food. It wasn't as if they were really busy or couldn't see me.
Needless to say I got up, walked across the street, and checked out the place called, Burgers. I will have to say that the entire waitstaff here was nice and friendly. They definitely do not have problems in that department. Their food however was a problem. As I was being seated, I noticed that the couple sitting nearby never really touched their food and was asking for their check. From what I could see, they had both ordered burgers and fries. The waitress asked if they wanted a box and they said no. I should've taken that as warning sign that the food wasn't very good. I started things off with an iced tea. After looking over the menu, I decided to order their 1/2 lb Mammoth Burger with cheddar cheese. The burger was big and it came with a mountain of fries. For some reason they thought it would be a good idea to bury a pickle spear at the bottom of said fries. That just made the pickle warm and gross when I finally found it. As for the burger, it tasted as if they had forgotten to season the patty at all! It was extremely bland. It was pretty much the exact opposite of a burger you would get at an In-n-Out which I feel is always over-salted. All I could taste was everything else besides the beef. The buns were also too flimsy and fell apart after just a few bites. The guys sitting at the table next to mine were complaining about their chili burgers. The older gentlemen stated that he had eaten here in the past and the burgers used to be better. In hindsight, I should've just gone to the Carl's Jr in town. At least it would've saved me about $20. Their burgers were not cheap, so the next time I'm in Mammoth, I will be sure to avoid this place.
Iced tea
1/2 lb Mammoth Burger with cheddar
I guess it's my upbringing, but I always feel compelled to finish everything on my plate regardless of the food being good or not. I definitely should've skipped out on eating all of the fries. My stomach was so full that it felt a bit uncomfortable during the walk back to my room. I caught the rest of the Dodger game which ended with a walk-off home run by Alex Verdugo. Don't let the kid get hot! Before calling it a night, I laid out my flat runner.
Dodgers win with Verdugo's walk off HR
Flat runner
Sunday 6/23
The shuttle to the start was scheduled to begin at 6 am, so I timed my morning routine to get there at that time. There was a bit of a chill on the walk over so I was glad that I decided to wear my arm sleeves even though I had brought a mylar blanket with me. They waited for the bus to be filled before sending us off to the start.
The shuttle dropped us off near the corner of Lake Mary Rd and Around Lake Mary Rd. It would turn out that I didn't have to bring my own mylar blanket as they were passing them out at the start line water station.
Mylar blankets
After using one of the portapotties, I headed over to the starting corrals further down the road. Along the way, there was a Ryder van off to the side of the road for gear check. A lot of the runners, myself included, were waiting in the sunlight to keep warm.
Gear check van
The start line this year had to be moved from the Horseshoe Lake trail head parking lot as all of the snow had not yet melted. We would make up the distance by starting the race with a little out and back. My legs felt okay from the start of the race, but I was having breathing issues before even reaching the 1st mile marker. Even when I slowed the pace, I felt discomfort in the lungs and my head. Eventually I had to resort to walking in order to get my breathing in check. My time goal of sub 2 hrs went right out the window. I was just trying to survive the first 3 miles before coming up to the downhill section into town.
Start line
After reaching mile 6, we took a right turn on Minaret Rd. Any slight incline would take the breath right out of my lungs. It was also starting to feel warm. Once we got up to Meridian Blvd, we made a right turn followed by another right at Lodestar Dr. From there we hop on the paved running trail that took us over to the Juniper Springs Resort. I was actually able to run through the winding trail as it was downhill and well shaded. The wooden bridge across Mammoth Creek took us to mile 9.
Crossing the bridge took us to Waterford Ave where we made a left turn onto the sidewalk of Old Mammoth Rd. We then took a left on Minaret Rd followed by a right on Meadow Ln. Then we hopped on the trail that ran parallel to Mammoth Creek Rd. The trail would cross over and veer towards Meridian Blvd at about mile 11. Here we ran through a stretch lined with a bunch of American flags. The scenery was pretty spectacular during this stretch.
After crossing underneath Meridian Blvd, we followed the trail as it ran along the 203 Highway/Main St. We then made a left turn at Sierra Park Rd followed by a right at Tavern Rd. Although the final left turn was just up ahead at Old Mammoth Rd, I found myself needing to take yet another walk break as my legs were cramping up.
The end is near!
Coming up to the finish line
Finish: 2:16:28
Click here for my Garmin data.
Man, that was a rough half marathon! The prevailing thought that I had during the majority of the race was that if I were to ever return, it would be for skiing and not running another race! :)Relive 'Mammoth Half Marathon'
After crossing the finish line and getting my medal, I got in the queue for some post race goodies. They passed out bags for us to carry the goodies. The Blue Ribbon Orange Dream bar hit the spot for me as the day had gotten quite toasty. The sun was a bit more intense at the higher elevation. Before heading back to my room, I checked my results on one of the computers.
Finish line
Finisher medal
Post race goodies
I didn't have too much time to hang out at the finish area as I had to get back to my room to shower, pack up, and check-out of my room. It didn't help that it took me about 15 minutes longer than I had anticipated to finish the race.
After getting cleaned up, packed up, and checked-out, I started heading out for the long drive home. My tank was pretty empty, but I knew that I had enough fuel to get me into Bishop where the gas would be somewhat cheaper than at Mammoth Lakes.
I rolled into the Chevron gas station in Bishop just before noon to fill up the gas tank. After that it was time to fill up the other tank, my stomach. Once again I went to El Pollo Loco. I got the usual Original Pollo Bowl meal and the free chicken taco al carbon via the mobile app.
Gas up
The rest of the drive home was pretty dreadful as there was the usual weekend traffic with the congestion especially bad on the 15 freeway. I made it home in time to join the folks for a nice sashimi dinner at our favorite sushi restaurant.
Sashimi dinner
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