Monument Marathon Trip

Introduction

First off, this is sort of a blow-by-blow of what I did while on my trip to Nebraska.  I suspect most of you won't find it too interesting, but I do like to categorize my left over photos.  

This chapter also helps me remember of what I've done and where I've been.  It is amazing how many "little" things that one forgets over time.

First off, I went to Nebraska solely to run the Monument Marathon.  I wanted to complete my tenth state and 21st marathon.  Being that Scottsbluff Nebraska is a 7.5 hour drive from Salt Lake City and I made the plans and headed east.

Friday

I took the day off from work all together.  I wanted to get into Nebraska before night time in order to pick up my bib and potentially see whatever I could of the area.  I had a limited amount of time to see everything and the clock would be ticking.

I rented a car and was headed east by 9 AM.  It was smooth sailing and I managed to make a quick stop at Echo Reservoir, in Echo, Utah.  Normally the water levels around here are a lot higher, but with the shortage of rain we've had, it was a fraction of its normal self.  

That black Camry is my rented ride

After that, I continued driving into Rawlins, Wyoming.  I still have fond memories there when I visited the old state penitentiary on my way to Casper Marathon.  I wound up gassing up there and eating at the McDonalds (hey I was in a hurry).

Once I got to Cheyenne and started heading north, the road became unfamiliar territory.  When I moved to Utah from Illinois in 2012, I traveled I-80.  I'll be honest, I-80 isn't very fun to drive on and is pretty dull until you cross into Utah.  It's like someone turned the beauty levels to 10 a few miles into the Utah border.

First view of Nebraska

Edge of the bluffs

 I rolled into Gering Nebraska just after 5 and managed to pick up my bib and a huge swag bag filled with goodies.

I had a little bit of a hard time navigating my way around Gering / Scottsbluff.  The roads just didn't seem to be as well lined up as say Salt Lake City.  There were a few times when I had to pull off to the side of the road and check my phone's GPS to figure out where I had to go.  Luckily, it wasn't terrible but the signs seemed hard to read and the layout of the city wasn't natural.

I debated on doing the spaghetti dinner, but I had heard that the Scottsbluff National Park was open late and for free.  Once again, sensing a ticking clock as far as touring went, I opted to journey to the park, which was a mere 5 minutes away from the Expo.  You can see the pictures here.

Blown away with the natural beauty, I decided to go to the Hampton Inn and Suites, where I was staying in Scottsbluff.  I took the slow way there and got stopped by every light and stop sign in town (I think).  I soon found out that if you don't take the highways around town, it is slow going.

I didn't have any problems finding it.  I was greeted with a pretty cool sign too:

I decided to keep dinner quick and easy so I crossed the parking lot and went to Perkins for some salmon and fries.  It was a bit pricey but it was quick and hot.  

I went back to my room and crashed.  As usual, I slept poorly despite taking a sleep aid.  I think between driving all day and being anxious about the race caused me to toss and turn most of the night.  I always set at least two alarms but part of me worries that they actually won't go off.

Thankfully, I was by myself and could turn up the AC, but even that didn't seem to help.  Luckily, the race didn't start until 8 AM and I did get some rest until 5 AM.

Saturday

What the marathon weather initially looked like

First off, I ran the marathon, which you can read about here.

After making sure I was okay, I  made my way back to the hotel.  While I was disappointed with my time, I was happy to have run such a beautiful course and got another state knocked off my list despite the trying conditions.

I quickly showered up and decided to once again keep things simple.  I had filled out a survey for the Perkins Restaurant and therefore had a 10% off coupon.  So I crossed the lot again and sucked down a ton of iced teas followed by a large breakfast.  

I love pancakes after a long run and Perkins has good ones.  I opted out of the meat option so they super-sized my eggs and hash browns and threw on another pancake for me . Sadly, I was defeated by this plate, but I finished about 95% of it.

After eating I went back to the hotel and got my bearings and went out and visited Chimney Rock and Jail Rock and Courthouse Rock.  

Most of the trip there was mostly lonely stretches of highway punctuated by farms and ranches.  I did drive through Bridgeport Nebraska and it was something out of the Twilight Zone.  I didn't see a single soul in the yard or on the street (except driving).  It was sort of nostalgic with older buildings and mills and such.  I think I'd be really bored living in a town like that and I often wondered what people did for "fun"

Once I got back to the hotel, I realized it was getting late.  I was so exhausted from the run and the heat.  I managed to get down to the pool though and sit in the sauna for a bit:

After cleaning up, I decided I had to try some of the local cuisine.  I didn't want to drive too far and debated on Chinese versus Mexican.  Fortunately, I picked Chinese and wound up driving about half a mile down the road to the Wonderful House in Scottsbluff.  The outside doesn't look like much but the inside was cozy and clean.

I was a little worried about having to wait for food (I was waffling between starving and being turned off from food) but once I got there most people were in the process of leaving. It was nearly 8 PM when I arrived and I had hot food in front of me by 8:15.

I ordered a Szechuan tofu dish that was awesome (and reasonably priced):

After eating, I went back to the hotel and worked on my blog and didn't get to sleep until almost midnight.

Sunday

Sadly, it was time to go home and while I figure I had seen all the cool things the immediate area had to offer, I sort of suspect I had left somethings undone.  

In the morning I ate at the hotel's continental breakfast.  It was passable and managed to keep me well fed throughout my ride back home.  I will say that I would recommend the Hampton Inn to anyone staying for the marathon.  It was about a 10 minute drive to the race start and the hotel was very clean and comfortable.  They even had bananas out for all the runners and it seemed like they really catered to us.

The drive home was pretty uneventful and I had less anxiety about driving home than I did driving there.  I spotted a bunch of areas I'd love to explore more, especially in Wyoming.  So many things to see, so little time...

I wound up gassing up and eating in Rock Springs, Wyoming.  And like most of my "big" races, this trip was no different in that I stopped in at a Golden Corral there:

I was there midday and the food turnover wasn't the greatest.  I'd eat there in a pinch again, but it definitely wasn't my favorite GC.

I wound up getting home just after 6 PM and I was never happier to return home.

Just a really good trip that had me excited about seeing new things and breaking my preconceptions about Nebraska.

Conclusion

This was a really nice trip.  A lot of people looked at me like I was half-crazy when I said I was going to Nebraska for the weekend.  But I am happy to report that what I experienced was a trip well worth taking.

The marathon, while definitely not my best in terms of performance, gave me a lot of confidence in the fact that I could gut through anything, and I did have a good time.  People there were incredibly friendly: from the runners to the volunteers.  Nebraskans are certainly a cheery folk.

All told, I paid about $70 for the car, $200 for the hotels, $75 for food and a $100 for the race (I registered the last day you could).  While definitely an expensive weekend, I had a great time and would definitely recommend this marathon to those looking to race in Nebraska.

2015 Monument Marathon Race Recap - Gering / Scottsbluff Nebraska

Official Time: 4:30:04
Placement: 31st, 4th in 45-49
Results: Here
Race Website:Here
Weather: 57 at start with southern wind.  Upper 70's and sunny at finish. Elevation 4300
Garmin Route: Here

Mile	Time	Comments
1	8:53	Down hill
2	8:57	Down hill -- just rolling with the flow and taking it easy
3	9:05	Coming into the level zone
4	9:24	I can feel it getting warm
5	9:31
6	9:22
7	9:20	Baking and it is pretty warm.
8	9:19	I feel pretty good but I am hoping it doesn't get much warmer
9	9:21
10	9:21	I am consistent
11	9:31
12	9:45	Okay, I am really hurting at this point.
13	9:59	Cross the half way at 2:02.  I knew I was in trouble.  My head was a bit foggy from the heat
14	10;09	Made a conscious decision at this point to really dial back the pace
15	10:13	Somehow managed to do fairly decent miles here despite the uphill
16	10:02
17	10:18	Blazing sun here.
18	10:11
19	11:40	Pretty sure I pulled a nature boy here and filled my portable gatorade.
20	10:51
21	10:48	Feel okay but I just want the race to be over.  On dirt trail at this point.
22	11:22
23	11:37	Please let me finish without dying
24	11:27
25	11:30	Just trying not to walk.
26	13:19	A final climb at the end -- passed by a cemetery.
26.4	4:40	I was hurting so bad. So happy to cross the finish line
Total Miles: 26.4 - 4:30:04

Introduction

Well, in my quest to run a marathon in all 50 states, I spotted the Monument Marathon in the back of Runner's World Magazine.  Needing to knock off Nebraska, I figured since I was trained for a marathon, wasn't too beat up from Jackson Hole's Marathon, and had a few extra bucks, I opted to jump into this marathon pretty much at the last minute.  From all the descriptions I had read, it was a well organized marathon in a part of the country that I don't have a lot of experience visiting.

Whenever I think of Nebraska I think of boring corn fields and miles of empty plains.  Western Nebraska is anything but this as you will soon see and I was completely stunned by the natural beauty that can be found in the tiny towns of Gering and Scottsbluff -- just about an hour past Wyoming.

So without further ado, I booked a room, rented a car and made my way east on Friday morning for Saturday's race.

Pre-Race 

The Monument Marathon starts at 8AM and I had to be at an amphitheater no later than 7 AM to catch a bus to the race start.  The weather was forecasted for a warm run but I was somewhat hopeful when I saw that the clouds were overcast.

I had gotten up at 5 AM and ate breakfast of some Wheaties and Gatorade and a Power Bar.  I also forced down a can of beet juice.  By 6 AM I was out the door and easily found the bus loading area.  It was just the marathoners there so using the bathrooms and finding parking was easy.  This race was pretty small -- maybe a 100 runners.  Many were doing the 50 states or were Marathon Maniacs.  There were also quite a few Nebraskans there as well.

I boarded a bus and soon after 7 AM we were on our way to the Wildcat Hills State Recreation Area, which was the race's start.  The area is also the highest elevation and it was chilly and breezy up there.  In fact, everyone huddled in the back of the building to avoid the chilly southern winds.

I wound up making small talk with a Coloradan who was super friendly.  Usually when you have time to kill at races like this, it is easy to make friends. The time flew by pretty quickly and before I knew it was 8 AM and the race was to begin.

I had brought a good selection of clothes to the start.  I was going to go with shorts and a tank top but with the cold breeze I changed out with just a standard issue tech shirt.

After cycling through the bathroom a time or two and the singing of the National Anthem, the race began on time at 8AM

From the Wildcat Hills Area pre race

From the Wildcat Hills Area pre race

Starting line

Starting line

The Race

Almost immediately I regretted not wearing my tank top.  I could feel myself getting warmer with each mile.  By the time I reached the flat section of the course I could feel rivulets of sweat dripping down my forehead.  It was WAY too early to be this darn warm!

However, the initial miles are just stunning.  It is all downhill and there is only a few sections were it was a steep downhill.  I kept it easy and didn't go gangbusters and I wound up snapping quite a few pictures.

A little bit of a bummer was that route 71 is under construction.  We had an entire lane to ourselves but it was graded in spots and I saw one runner go down on it.  

All downhill at the start

All downhill at the start

All downhill at the start

Finally levels out

Despite running on the side of a major thorough way, I was never particularly worried about my safety.  Traffic heading into the city was pretty light and we did have a large should to run on.  There wasn't much crowd support here, but like all the volunteer stops, we had enthusiastic support...

After about 6 miles or so on the side of the road, our journey took us on a jaunt down a farm road off the beaten path.  Here there was no traffic and I had the wind in my face.  It actually felt pretty good and I was cooled off.  It was a little monotonous here and this was probably my least favorite part of the course, but it was flat and I managed to lock down a steady pace:

Heading into town.

After the initial miles I was pretty much running solo the entire race.  In fact, around mile 12 there was no one in front of me and the person behind me was a tiny dot.  With only about 90 runners in the race, you do have to work with running by yourself.

Around mile 12 I ran into the finishing half marathoners.  There was a really nice crowd support here and I got a nice boost from them.  For a small town marathon, the people were really out in force for this race.

Being totally drenched in sweat and suffering, I wound up dumping my shirt.  Now I am not a Men's Health cover model by any means, but it helped keep me cool and I was willing to suck up my pride to avoid further chafing and over heating.

After passing by the half marathoners I started the lonely trek into the Scottsbluff National Monument section of the course.  Here is where the scenery and the hills would start.  Also there wasn't a lick of shade here and I was baking.  I hadn't worn any sunscreen either and I could feel my arms and head getting burned.

As I ascended into the park, I made the mental decision to dial back the pace.  My head was foggy from the heat and I knew that if I tried to maintain my sub 10 pace that I was going to wind up in very bad shape.  At this point, and I hate to admit it that I surrendered so early in the race, was to finish and I quit looking at my pace all together.

I did try to enjoy the beautiful surroundings though as I made my way through the main road through the park:

Scottsbluff National Monument

Heading into the national park

Heading into the national park

Monument across from Scottsbluff

This was the toughest part of the course.  There is one serious climb here but generally speaking miles 11 - 15 are uphill. 

However, upon cresting the hill, there was a very sweet downhill:

After circling around the back of the park, you are greeted with the trail portion of the race.  I thought the race was going to be entirely on road.  At first, the road was gravel that kicked up some tiny stones into my shoes, but the trail quickly turned into nice packed dirt. 

Runners are treated to seeing a seldom seen part of the bluffs and I really enjoyed this section.

It was very lonely running here though.  The course support was there, but the runners were so far apart that I sometimes wondered if I was still on the right track.  Also the cyclists who were watching over the runners seemed to vanish here and it seemed all too easy for someone to get hurt or have heat issues and not be able to get help.

One of the two sections of shade on the course

At this point I was in survival mode.  While my mile splits aren't too awful, I was truly hurting.  I was sucking down fluids at every aid station and I was greedily working at my 28 ounce flask.  I wound up draining that at least twice and managed to fill it up nearly 3 times during the race.

The final miles are on residential streets.  Crowd support once again came back and it was awesome to see so many people supporting the marathoners.  The half marathoners had long finished and at this point it was simply us stragglers.

I wound up picking up my shirt at mile 25 and started my way into the final mile:

The other only shaded section of the course

The final mile practically killed me.  It was a general ascent and there was one nasty hill that I just walked up.  I was completely drained and the finish line couldn't come fast enough.

I wound up crossing the finish line in a disappointing 4:30 but at the same time I was happy to be able to claim Nebraska off my state's list.

Conclusion

T-shirt, finisher's plaque and my bib

Monument Marathon finisher's medal

After crossing the finish line, I kept moving.  There was a small finisher's village and I grabbed an ice cold Gatorade and sipped on it.  I was really worried about having another medical episode -- especially from the heat.  They had swimming pools filled with ice and I wound up applying some to my head, back of my neck and thighs.  That helped a lot and I only had a brief moment of "Oh my gosh, I am going to be sick"

I eventually grabbed some food: they had pizza, chips, Gatorade, water, and cookies.  Not a bad selection of food even for this late in the race.  

To say the least, I was disappointed with my time.  I figured on a bad day I could do 4:18.  But this race really kicked my butt.  I think the heat got me and if it had been cooler I would've done better.

I also had to cut myself a bit of slack:  I did do Jackson Hole about 3 weeks ago, so I am sure that had some detrimental affect on my conditioning.  

Final Thoughts

Despite my relative poor performance I thought this race was really good.  The volunteers were very helpful and they knew what they were doing.  They were stocked with fruit, gels, and even some had ice.  The course was also nicely marshaled by cyclists looking for struggling runners.  I saw a few runners that were being helped by them on account of the heat. Also on account of the warmer weather, a few extra water stops were supplied: kudos for that!

The mile markers were pretty much spot on.  I know the course has been certified and I felt, despite my Garmin's measurement of 26.4 miles, that the course was accurate.

I loved the plaque that I received at the expo.  I'll definitely hang that up somewhere.  The swag bag was a monster too: tons of coupons, goodies and gadgets.  I am still sorting through it.  Other races could take note.

The t-shirt is well designed but it is a high quality cotton one.  I only wear tech shirts for races so it isn't something I am likely to wear except to the office or on super easy runs.  It is a quality shirt though and not a cheapo one.

I liked the finisher's medal too.  It is in the shape of Nebraska and it is something I'll definitely be happy to display.

I would love to see the folks start this race earlier.  8 AM is way too late, especially given the weather conditions.  I was really hoping for a 7 AM start time.

I definitely enjoyed myself and am glad I ran this race.  While the first half the course isn't terribly exciting, the second half is stunning.  Nebraska isn't just cornfields and endless plains and the Monument Marathon clearly showcases it.