[Canceled] Race the Lake Marathon, in Cooperstown, NY, where all hell broke loose!

Par Autre 12 Juin 2016 23:09

Race The Lake marathon is a very challenging run on small county route roads around beautiful Otsego Lake in Cooperstown, NY. It is challenging not only for the mileage, but also the elevation change. I had only slept one hour and a half, and was quite tired but I felt 100% motivated for the run and ready to go!

The start area was in the countryside at Clark Sports Center where I got my runner’s packet and bib. It was cold and overcast. At 7:50, we listened to the national anthem beautifully performed by a young opera singer. We were approximately 100 marathon runners and got to the starting line 100 yards further down. The marathon started at 8:00 a.m.

We started outside the small town of Cooperstown and then proceeded through the residential neighborhoods before travelling through the small, beautiful city center. The course was flat and fast and passed through very nice areas. The run seemed to start very well.

At km 3, it started to rain a bit but just a few rain drops that did not bother us much. We all thought that it would not last long. We left the town towards the banks of the picturesque Otsego Lake and started circling clockwise around the lake. I thought we were going to run on a trail but we actually ended up running right next to a road open to traffic, without any protection for us runners. This situation always bothers me a lot.

At km 5, it was raining cats and dogs, and I was completely soaked. The sky was taking disturbing colors. The course being flat and fast, I passed km 5 in 30 minutes. But the rain got worse with thunder rolling over our heads. Bummer! Even though cars were very careful with runners, they unintentionally splashed us with water. What bothered me the most was us running on the roadside between cars and safety barriers while it was pouring on us. Quite a dangerous predicament, in my opinion! To top it all, the roadside was damaged in certain areas and we had to run among the cars. Not a fun thing to do, believe me!

I went on at a slow pace and reached km 10 in 1:01. Flashes of lightning illuminated the dark sky. Things were taking a nasty turn and in my opinion, the lack of safety should have prevented this run to happen, whether it rained or not. Nevertheless, I was psyched up to withstand this foul weather that was making the run so unpleasant. To top it all, there was only water at the first aid stops and I needed Gatorade to replenish my electrolytes. I had to wait until the 14th aid stop to do so!

I reached km 15 in 1:35 which was OK due the circumstances, i.e. fatigue and weather. Cars were squidding in the rain, lightning got worse, thunder rolled increasingly louder, and I could not see 100 yards in front of me. I started considering the run might be cancelled. Running in such conditions started to feel dangerous.

At km 16, a member of the organizing team told me that the run has been cancelled due to the lightning perturbing the rest of the course. A bus picked up all the runners, one after the other, including the half marathon runners who had started 30 minutes after we did. We all were very disappointed, but it was the right decision to make, I think. Besides lighting, the safety conditions were not satisfactory. They could have at least used cones to separate runners from the traffic. Red Card, guys!

As for the weather, there is nothing to say! The bus and van that took us back to the starting area had a hard time going through certain overflowed areas. As we arrived at the start, the rain had stopped but we definitely could see dark clouds and lightning above the lake. I got a few donuts to eat, went back to my car to warm up as it was still cold and I was completely soaked. I drove back through several overflowed areas.

I went back quite frustrated to not have finished the run. Furthermore, I had to register for another marathon in this state – my 2016 challenge consists in running one marathon per state in the US. It’s kind of hard to register so late in the game but I found one possibility on Saturday, October 1st in the Hamptons where Thierry, a friend of mine, might – I hope – join me for the half marathon.

I chose to run the Race the Lake Marathon – a run on Saturday June 11 – instead of the two other New York State marathons on Sunday June 12. A bad choice as the weather turned out to be nice for those two Sunday runs! Too bad! I cannot register as it is too late. I am leaving for Montreal where I am going to rest for a few days and recover for the 3 ½ marathons that I ran in the last 12 days. This was really challenging and tiring but Immun’Âge® will help go over it and recover quickly.

See you next Sunday, June 18 for the Dam marathon, in the beautiful forests of Oakridge, OR.

Have a nice week,

David