Race
Report:
Lithia Loop
Trail Marathon 2013: A Hill for a Climber.
Dave and I
drove to Ashland on Friday and went right to Rogue Valley Runners and picked up
our packets. The store was very nice and friendly. We asked about the course and what shoes to
wear and whether we should expect snow or not.
Even though the weather was sunny and 68 degrees on Friday we were
expecting a severe weather warning for Saturday and were wondering what to wear
and how to prepare. We took a minute and looked around and then headed into
Lithia Park where the race starts and finishes.
We also wanted to scout the course.
We were both very curious to see the terrain and wrap our brains around
the ten mile uphill climb we were about to embark upon. Lithia Park is a beautiful park and since I
had attended college in Ashland it made me realize that I hadn’t spent enough
time there during those years.
 |
| Dave Harkin, Paula Harkin, Larry Walsh in Lithia Park waiting for race start. |
As we
approached the signature purple starting line arch it began to rain, the
pavement was wet and runners were preparing for the start of the race. This race is really small and there is not
much fanfare. The clock counted down to
start time and off we went. I had no
idea how long I would be running uphill and I am so happy I didn’t. The paved
road of Lithia Park soon turned into a soft surface road that turned and
twisted up and up and up for miles and miles.
I took it one mile at a time and had to convince myself to continue on
without stopping. My pace was steady but slow as I tried to manage my heart
rate. Turn after turn after turn of uphill we climbed to 5,000 ft. At mile 7 we turned off to a single-track
trail that also went uphill where we punched out at mile 8 into a clearing. This was the aid station I had been waiting
for where cowbells and cheers met each runner.
I was so happy to make it to this aid station. Sadly, I wore substandard gloves that were
soaking wet and my fingers were freezing.
There was a gal working at the aid station that offered her leather
gloves to me. She worked at the running
store and told me I could use them if I would drop them back off after the
race. I put them on and never took them
off!! They barely fit into the handle of
my waterbottle but they were dry and warm and I will never forget her kind
gesture. All in all we climbed for 13
miles not 10 miles and it took me 2:30 minutes to get to the halfway point of
the marathon. It was the climb of a lifetime.
 |
| Rounding the final corner in Lithia Park. Almost finished! |
From this
point forward I decided I would run from aid station to aid station not
allowing the total marathon distance to enter my mind. The aid stations were between 3.5 and 4 miles
apart. I wanted to stop and walk between
aid stations but I pushed through and was always happy to see the smiling faces
waiting at the aid station ahead. The
aid stations were stocked with all kinds of food and drink and electrolyte
replacements. I filled my bottle at every aid station except the first and made
myself continue to drink through each phase.
 |
| Pioneer Hall, Lithia Park, post race. |
Along the
course I traded places with a gal that had just finished an Ironman and was not
happy with her performance. I followed a man that I imagined to be one of my
training partners at home. I passed a
few people along the way however the road and trail were very thin with
participants at this point and after mile 10 or so I found myself running solo
for most of the race. This felt like an ultra marathon rather than a
marathon. The hardest section for me was
from mile 16-20. It was 4 miles between
aid stations and what I thought would be downhill was up and down and felt like
it was mostly up but I am sure it was net down.
The hills just kept coming and I was ready for a downhill. At the Four Corners Aid Station at mile 20
the downhill finally came. It was nearly
2 miles of steep downhill losing much of our elevation gain until we turned off
the road onto a single track trail that headed up hill and then down. The change back to uphill was mentally tough
for me as I had been expecting to go downhill since mile ten. The terrain was beautiful and the views
amazing. Even though I had been running
at 5000ft of elevation for a long stretch I felt pretty good. My hamstrings were sore from climbing and now
my quads were tired from the down but not able to totally embrace the relief
because of the fatigue from the uphill. One
mile at a time I finally reached the last aid station at mile 23. I was very surprised to be pointed onto a
single-track trail that went up and rolled along the canyon with an amazing
amount of switchbacks and eventually a set of stairs to climb between mile 24
and 25. The final mile or two seemed to
take an eternity however I actually enjoyed the final march down the trail into
the park and eventually to the finish line. 4:31 was a long time to be running. My overall moving time according to my Garmin
was 4:20. Only 11 minutes at the aid
stations. I would have stayed at the
friendly well- stocked aid stations all day but the finish line called my name
and my bucket list insisted I check off The Lithia Loop Trail Marathon.
 |
| Finished. |
A logoed
pint glass and a finisher rose inside of a Lithia Loop Backpack
was a great finisher’s gift. Food and
beer were served inside of the Pioneer Hall in Lithia Park. The smile on my face told the story. The climb and the rain and the cold and the terrain
were a challenge but I finished what I set out to do and I was proud of that.
It was an amazing day and an amazing race.
I liked it. It was indeed a hill for a climber.
Paula
Harkin
Lithia Loop
Trail Marathon
November 2,
2013
4:31:
 |
| Lithia Loop Elevation Chart |
No comments:
Post a Comment