What a great place to have a race! The scenic drive through the Red Rock Canyon Conservation Area is basically the course. There is a little hook down a dirt road to make it a full 13.1 miles. All along the way, you see thegorgeous Red Rock Canyon cliffs either in front of you or to your left. Soon after starting, the road rises slowly up to an excruciating peak of about 1000 feet above where you start. Then around mile 8 or 9, you can turn on the rocket jets, head down hill, and zoom to the finish line. Both of my miles 10 and 12 were run at sub-7 min pace. That is FAST for me. In the end, I smashed my half marathon PR by 7 minutes on one of the hardest courses I've ever run. 1 hr 50 min was the finish time. Yay!
Afterwards, I decided to forego the pancake feast and went back to the finish line so I could cheer wh
en Holly finished the full marathon. I expected her to come in fairly soon after me, probably as the first woman, given her recent strong runs at the Arizona and Austin marathons. When we ran by each other on the course (with a big high 5, of course!), she was well in the lead for the women. I was so pumped up to see her flying by, even with her trademark "Schmalz Waltz in full gear. Be forewarned if you ever try to run beside her in a race to give her some room if you want to avoid getting walloped with an elbum! But about 10 miles after that point, she tragically suffered a major leg injury. It would be later diagnosed as a stress fracture of her right femur. Amazingly, she endured what must have been excruciating pain for several miles and finished the race. What a hero! But I wish she would have sent the message through other runners to have her picked up by someone. When she crossed the finish line, I knew she was in a huge amount of pain. She could hardly run--it was very disheartening to see. With everyone in our group finished--Holly, Tami, and myself, we quickly packed up and headed back to the hotel because of Holly's condition. We didn't know it was broken at the time, but the basic course of action was standard. Ice, crutches, and Red Robin french fries.
Understandably, my feelings were mixed in the days after this race. I loved the course, was excited about my improvement as a runner, and had a great time with Holly and her family (mostly before the race). It was strange to be in Red Rock Canyon and not be able to go rock climbing. But we just didn't have time for that. I so prefer to run races with friends or family. And Holly is a great friend--a running partner who I hardly ever run with because she lives too far away and is quite a bit faster than me. But the injury was a huge blow to her. So, I wish she had sat this one out. As a result of the injury, she sadly missed her first Boston Marathon and had to take about 3 months off from running, including about a month of being on crutches. In hindsight, we believe the problem may have been attributed to a combination of a chronic hamstring injury and the hilly nature of the Red Rock Canyon course. Certainly, it demonstrates that there is often a fine line between athletic accomplishment and excruciating injury.
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