A year or two ago Sarah and I learned about the Big Sur International Marathon.  Obviously the thing that caught our attention was the location.  Sarah doesn’t mind training so long as there’s a good destination involved.  The photos we saw on the web site for the race were amazing to say the least.  The race immediately went on our bucket list, somewhere close to the top.

This past Christmas I was considering various gifts for her.  At one point she mentioned the race.  I looked into the details only to learn it’s a lottery that only takes 4k runners each year.  Other major marathons (New York, Chicago, even Dallas) typically have anywhere from 10k to over 30k runners.  I knew that the odds of getting in would be slim.  I did some research and found out that our favorite charity, the Children’s Tumor Foundation, had entries for Big Sur.  Christmas morning she opened an envelope that simply said “Big Sur?”.  A week later we began training.

TRAINING

For the next three months we worked our way through Hal Higdon’s Intermediate II training plan.  I wanted a more difficult training plan for one reason.  Big Sur is known for a challenging elevation profile.  The five marathons I had run probably had a combined elevation gain of 250ft.  One two mile stretch of Big Sur alone was close to 600ft.  The training plan put us through three different weeks of 50 miles with a long run of 20 miles.  We did one run each week of focused hill work, along with some focused weight training.  We were fortunate to stay healthy throughout.  We went into race week feeling ready and confident.

RACE DAY

Race mornings are always early.  This one was earlier than most.  The race is a point to point, so busses have to transport all runners from Monterray and Carmel to the start in Big Sur.  Our scheduled bus pick up was 4 AM which meant a 3 AM wake up.  We ate a light breakfast, grabbed our gear, and made our way to the pick up.

An hour later we were dropped off in the woods of Big Sur.  The temperature was cool but not too cold, somewhere in the 50’s.  All indications were that it was going to be a great day.

Around 6:15 they started calling for the slower runners to fill the back of the start corral.  We waited a few minutes and then made our way to the corral around 6:30.  At 6:45 the gun sounded and the elite runners were off.  Shortly thereafter the rest of us crossed the start line and were off for the day.

A few minutes into the run I noticed a tingling sensation in my toes.  I don’t think I’ve ever had that happen before.  A few minutes later Sarah mentioned that her toes were tingling.  It was bizarre.  My only guess is that it was the downhill start.  It wasn’t exactly how I wanted to start the day, and the first five miles were downhill.  Thankfully somewhere along the way the sensation ended.

Around mile four we came out of the forest and caught our first glimpses of the coast.  The sun was still yet to clear the hills but we could see it hitting the water.  It was gorgeous.  It was the first of many moments from the day that will forever be etched in my memory.

THE CLIMB

For me this day was entirely about a two mile stretch – the climb to Hurricane Point starting at mile 10.  Never in my life had I attempted running uphill for two miles.  Never in my life had I attempted to run a half marathon AFTER running uphill for two miles.  Miles 12-26 were a huge wildcard in my mind.

As we neared the base of the climb we could hear the beating of drums.  It was a great motivator as we turned the corner and started uphill.  A few minutes into the climb Sarah mentioned that she was feeling good.  I echoed that but reminded her we still had a lot of climb left.  We were on the heels of the five hour pace group.  A few more minutes passed and the pace group stopped for a brief walk.  We were still feeling strong so we continued running.  Once or twice we did stop to grab a picture; the views were unbelievable.  But each time we started again we were back to running.

We passed the mile 11 marker still feeling strong.  As we continued to climb the winds started picking up.  The higher we went, the stronger they were.  I was not watching mileage on my watch, so each corner we turned I anticipated a mile 12 marker.  The closer we came the more walkers we passed.

At long last we turned a corner to see the mile 12 marker and the beginning of the descent.  Knowing that you just crushed one of the most challenging stretches of any marathon out there is an amazing feeling.  We took a few pictures and then started the descent.

THE SECOND HALF

To be completely honest, the back half of the race was pretty uneventful.  We continued along the coast and finally into Carmel.  The views changed from amazing scenery to amazing homes.  I remember thinking as we hit the 18 and then 20 mile markers that this was the best I had ever felt this deep into a marathon.  It seems all of the training really paid off this time.

We crossed the finish line, received our medals, and then made our way to the post-race festivities.  We passed the massage tent but the line was pretty long so we opted not to stop.  It was getting warm out and we did not see a whole lot that really interested us so we opted to catch the next bus back to Monterray and call it a day.

POST RACE

We had lined up massages at a local spa for later in the afternoon.  I was not in pain like I had been after other races, but my legs still knew they had just gone 26 miles.  The massage was great and did wonders for recovery.

We had a celebratory meal at a local burger joint.  By now we were starting to feel the full combination of a 3 AM morning plus a marathon.  We downed a few burgers, went back to the hotel, and slept like a pair of rocks.

FINAL THOUGHTS

If you’re a runner I’d put this race on your bucket list immediately.  We talked to several folks that had done races literally all over the planet that said this was the most amazing scenery they had ever run.  If you consider it there are shorter distances available but do the marathon.  The first 13 miles are by far the most amazing, and the marathon is the only race that covers them all.

The race remains a lottery to get into due to the logistics involved and the number of runners it can facilitate.  That said, I’m pretty sure the Children’s Tumor Foundation has slots available next year.

Lastly, I can’t say enough good things about racing with CTF.  I hope that the dollars we raise really do make a difference, and that one day there will be a cure for NF for our buddy Denver.  Thanks to Jason and Katy for introducing us, to Kim for keeping us connected throughout, and to Coach Sara for making sure we were ready to go come race day.

So what next?  You know us.  There will always be something.