Race Report: Boulder Marathon 2007

Reposting my race report from last year...

I have to admit I'm pretty bummed. Saturday: the Expo? There was an Expo? Aside from a Bear Naked tent, I saw no signs of anything resembling an Expo. While I'm sure Clinica Campesina appreciated all of the work you did for them, for those of us who paid upwards of $98 to participate in this race, we'd rather see some things done for us as well. 5K finisher medals? Really? A 5K is a walk in the park...at the very least, finisher's medals should have been varied based on what race you ran, not all the same. Last year's were nothing to write home about, but at least they were somewhat distinctive, (blue ribbons for the half and gold for the full) and if you're going to sink so much funding into them, why not make something that participants are proud to wear? I don't want to wear a medal after running a marathon and have someone ask me how my 5K went. Maybe it's just me, but it seemed insulting. Oh, and the goody bags that were supposed to be so spectacular had...a couple of promotional fliers for things like Gatorade Endurance and a hat and a tee shirt and a pint glass. Nowhere close to as good as last year's.

Sunday: The course itself was great; the volunteers were wonderful cheerleaders and there was water, Gatorade and Clif Shots aplenty. A little more variety would be nice...but otherwise, the course was great. However, when I got to the finish...

Nobody announced my name at the finish line...at all!!! What a major bummer that was. I mean, I know I'm slow, but come on, man. That's one of the best feelings in the world, and it got totally squashed for me. In fact, the only person--aside from me--who seemed to notice I finished was my friend Jack, who came to pick me up and snapped a few pictures. Amy, you did see and congratulate me, thank you.

And then I find out you're out of finishing medals. So no medal. The 5K finishers got medals but there were none for the last 40 or so marathoners. You guys underordered for a race that reached its capacity a month in advance last year; what on earth were you thinking? Food was scarce, if even available and difficult to find to the point where we just left. After running 26.2 miles, you don't want to have to walk all over to get food. Whatever my "beverage ticket", "meal ticket" and ticket with all my info was for, I still have them, so I hope you don't need them. The music was mediocre at best, and far too loud--and this is coming from someone who regularly brings cotton and expensive earplugs to shows so that the amps don't blast my eardrums into oblivion. Oh, and since nobody seemed to be taking down times, I came in around 5:48:11. I did get my Avery beer and was happy about that, and I did finish. So that was good. But everything else was...well, lacking, to say the least. Even now, when clicking on the "get the most up-to-date race info here!" link on the homepage gets me to...th same email I received from you a week ago.

On top of which, I receive an email from Timberline Timing Systems--the only company I know of to even attempt to collect a $30 fee for NOT turning in your chip after the race, are you KIDDING ME? --today that said times were posted. So I checked by bib number. My numbers weren't there. I checked by name. My numbers weren't there. I was exceedingly careful to run over every mat and get the okay from the volunteers and race officials that my data had been collected. So...? I don't get my splits because these supposedly amazing timers totally suck? Grrrrreeeeeeeaaaaattt...

I have to say, this was pretty disappointing. The GoLite sponsorship was sorely missed; they made great shirts that you can actually wear to run a full marathon in, not cotton ones that you can't. Maybe at least there will be some cool shots whenever brightroom posts them...otherwise, better luck next year, guys. I know you were trying to make a lot of changes and turn it into an awesome, differently-styled race but instead it was a different, poorly-organized race without enough food or drinks or fun stuff at the end. Like a finisher's medal.

Oh my, it's time again for the Boulder Marathon...

I sincerely hope it's better than last year, but I really think Race Director Jeff Mason is going to trip over his own ego and self-aggrandizement. From his "blast" emails:

"Year 2" of the Boulder Backroads (2000) was one of the most memorable races in my life. The weather was beyond belief. 464 of us finished the marathon, and the conditions were miserable - it snowed the night before. I wasn't planning on racing the event, as I was training for Vegas that next winter and Boston (again) the next spring (never went under 2:30 in Boston, but pulled off 2:41, brutal). I set the alarm clock for 4am. What the heck, this might be the day to run the distance with Steve Krebs, and let the chips fall where they may. As I sat in the warmth of the car waiting for the call to the starting line, I saw that all of the other "hard cores" were there. It was going to be a race. I figured I had a secret weapon, however, as I had 20 years experience in nordic ski racing, so the cold didn't bother me. I took off at the gun and hammered the first 20 miles in the icy, mucky, water. (and some of it was slow going, as we ran on the canal north of the "Res" and, as the second runner out on this part of the course, there was an inch of fresh snow!) What a day that was. The only guy ahead of me was off the Romanian Olympic Team, he was gone from the start. It was all the Colorado "has been's" fighting for bragging rights. The icy water kicking up on my hamstrings made them completely tie up by mile 23, and I had to literally stop and stretch them several times just to be able to keep running. I finished in 2:49 and change. Krebs closed fast in the last few miles and I held him off at the finish. He returned the favor by beating me the next time we raced. We agreed it was one of the best races either of us had ever run.

So, we all have our Backroads stories. When I was running for CU, back in the mid-80's, we used to go out there in cross-country practice and run "repeat miles". 10 separate mile repeats averaging 4:44 pace type thing. Jog back to the start and do it again, over and over. I will never forget having the opportunity to run with some of the best runners in the country. Memories I will never forget. The fastest CU guys would average 4:30 per mile. So yes, you can run fast on the backroads! And remember that the course record out there for the marathon is an astounding 2:23. (Silvio).

My proudest accomplishments in running and nordic skiing happened when I was in high school, as I competed at a national level at the two sports at the same time. I basically competed in races year 'round. In high school, I won 7 City Championship Titles at Denver South High School, (1981-1983). I won the DPS mile championship two years, won three city titles in the 2-mile, and two city titles in cross country - and placing second in another. Ran 9:39 for the 2 mile, placing 2nd in State as a senior. Ran under Jerry Quiller at CU. Varsity athlete in nordic skiing and running. As a high school nordic athlete, I won several age-group Colorado state championships, competed in the Junior Olympics seven times, and was a 4-year letterman for CU skiing, lettered in CU track and cross country running, finished 23rd in the Big 8 in cross country senior year. Our team won Big 8's, districts, and finished 5th at NCAA's.

I'm not the kind of guy who advertises who I am, and what I am all about. If I was, I could have sent this to you a year ago.

Instead he chose to send it to us now. Nice of him.

The most recent "blast" referenced a sponsor incorrectly within the first few lines...Teko Socks of Boulder became Teck Socks.

I tried to work with Jeff on the marathon and for my efforts, which were exhaustive, received belittlement, rudeness and have now been totally cutoff. For sourcing a vendor he seemed excited to work with, as it would have generated massive exposure for the race, who he hasn't spoken to since the agreement I brokered between them, for calling my credibility into question with that. For spending 4 hours walking around in the rain after Boulder's infamously enormous 10k the Bolder Boulder with his "cards" that had no information on them...the race logo on one side and an art print on the other...and handing them to every runner I saw.

Reportedly, the artist who created that print for Jeff hasn't been paid either.

The race course can be brutal: almost no shade for those 26.2, and if the finish is as disappointing as it was last year...well, register for the race and see for yourself...just don't hold your breath to hear your name called at the finish line...

Maybe you're cool with supporting a race with a director who makes up for his lack of experience and brash ego by blaming it on the former race director and founder of the Boulder Backroads Marathon, by pointing fingers and avoiding responsibility, by flagrantly lying and backing out of agreements he makes, but I'm not. I'll be reposting my race report from last year to this blog once I can find it...I deleted it after Jeff implored me to, after I thought he was a better man or at least a better RD than he demonstrably, repeatedly is.