Des Moines Marathon

The Des Moines Marathon is in the bag, another state, now 31 marathons in 18 states. I did not qualify for Boston, but I did finish in 4:28, which happened to be good enough for third of twelve in my 65-69 age group and ten minutes faster than I ran TCM two weeks ago. I collected a nice-looking aluminum water bottle for the effort.

Starting out, I wasn’t too impressed with this marathon. The runners’ instructions seemed to be designed for people who already knew what to do. They even say that a runner is responsible for knowing the race course, which is difficult at best for a visitor. I tried to find out where race gels might be handed out, so I could start with the right number, but didn’t find that information, though it could have been there. Two places, it turned out. The start was skimpy on spectators, and the few I saw were looking a bit glum at eight in the morning. Water stops were disorganized - sometimes the Gatorade was first, and sometimes the water. Sometimes the Gatorade was dispensed in the cups normally used for water. You really did have to ask.

But the positives FAR outweighed the negatives. After the half-marathoners split off, the spectators seemed to get with the program. As usual I wore my name on my shirt, and GO DON was a frequent greeting. Porta-johns were plentiful right from the beginning - you gotta love that. The race has an early start, so people who need more than seven hours can run it. Volunteers were everywhere - on bikes, on foot, in vehicles, and especially at every turn. Lots and lots of cheerful Iowa volunteers. Best example: A cheerful volunteer named Julie traveled on a bike with my sweeties all the way from mile 23 to the finish, just to be sure that they had water and anything else that was needed. This was especially comforting, because some of the earlier water stops had closed by the time my sweeties passed by. Thanks Julie!

Weather was excellent, almost perfect. 50 degrees at the start, 69 at my finish, with a brisk wind that actually felt quite good most of the time. And for some reason it seemed to come from behind more often than from the front - when does THAT happen? It’s not an "easy" marathon - there are some significant hills in the first 18 miles, but from that point on it is mostly flat.

I discarded a garbage bag almost immediately after the start, a long-sleeved shirt after about five miles, also improvised gloves and ear covers, finishing in a short-sleeved technical shirt, shorts, knee covers, and of course my Brooks Burn shoes.

Stuff:

• Just before mile 13 we ran one loop of the marvelous 400-meter outdoor track at Drake University. Very cool.
  
• Team In Training was there, raising money for blood cancers like mine, and I got the opportunity to thank several of them.
  
• I started with the 4:15 pace team, but they went out too fast and I lost them.
  
• I finished with the 4:30 pace team. For a while I fell behind them too, but I caught up again just before the finish line.
  
• At about mile 22 a man who might have been my age passed me looking as if he was going exactly the pace he wanted to run. I tried to keep up but couldn’t.
  
• Lots of runners saw "Minnesota Don" on my back and commented. Many were from Minnesota themselves.
  
• I ran a Galloway-like system, run a mile walk a minute. I also walked up hills, and late in the race I walked more.
  
• Most of the runners I talked to along the way were from Iowa, and mostly from Des Moines, but several were from Minnesota.
  
• In fact, as the awards were announced, I heard Minnesota mentioned more than once.
  
• The race route had some out-and-back sections, and I enjoyed seeing the other runners face on.
  
• I did a lot of walk-run late in the race, and there were a few runners that I passed dozens of times. But that works for me.

All in all a nice marathon. I enjoyed it and recommend it.

Splits: 9:13, 9:02, 9:42, 19:33 (2 mi), 9:33, 9:58, 12:40 (major potty stop), 9:17, 9:21, 9:48, 9:30, 10:48, 11:24 (minor potty stop), 10:09, 9:28, 9:44, 10:20, 11:05, 10:55, 10:32, 10:49, 23:10 (2 mi), 11:04, 9:56, 1:59, total 4:28:58, pace 10:15. I can do better, so many marathons, so little time :-)