Half-Marathons

I have completed four half-marathons this year: Salt Lake, Eugene, Maui and Denver. Here is how I rank them.

1. Eugene

It was a close call between Eugene and Denver. I favor Eugene for two reasons. It finishes on the track at Hayward Field, and the post-race food selection is better than Denver.

Pros:

A. Finish at Hayward Field.

B. Great post-race food selection.

C. Good street closure.

D. Start and end at the same location.

Cons:

A. Likely will need to go to waves if it gets any larger. Streets and trails were a bit crowded during the race.

B. Didn't like the shirt. It was a Nike shirt, which may have been designed by them. To get an idea of how it looks, think about some of the hideous uniforms worn by the Oregon Ducks football team. Yes, it was that bad.

2. Denver

This may be second favorite because I set a PR at it. Also, it is close to where I live and work so it is easy to get there and park. Actually, even without these two things, it is far better than Salt Lake or Maui.

Pros

A. It is a very nice course. Considering it is Denver, it is relatively flat. They do a good job of closing the roads, and the course goes through two decent sized parks.

B. It has a downhill/flat finish.

C. Decent post-race food selection.

D. Runners start in waves, which helps keep the course from being too crowded. For the most part, you can run at your own pace.

E. Mile markers at every mile. Also, there were clocks at the majority of the mile markers.

F. Start and end at same location.

G. Shirt was okay. Not sure why they elected to use a tree to represent Denver. Don't love it but don't hate it.

H. Rock-n-Roll now runs it. I've done a Rock-n-Roll marathon and half-marathon. These have been two of the better organized races.

Cons

A. Altitude. This doesn't bother me too much since I live in Denver. For someone traveling from sea level, I imagine it is not a good thing.

B. The weather can be iffy in October in Denver. The last two years, the weather has been perfect. Not too hot or cold at the start and sunny. In previous years, though, there has been cold rain and/or snow.


3. Salt Lake

I am surprised this is third. The race is notorious for being poorly organized. I mainly ran it because it gave me an opportunity to visit my parents. The fact that it comes in third is an indication of how much I disliked Maui rather than Salt Lake being great.

Pros

A. Beautiful scenery at the start. For the first part, the view is of the Wasatch mountains.

B. Great street closures. Salt Lake also has some wide streets so can run at our pace for the majority of the race.

C. Decent post-race food selection.


Cons

A. Brutal uphill in the last mile or so. At least it felt brutal to me.

B. Altitude. See Denver.

C. Didn't like the shirt.

D. No pacers. Probably not a big deal if you have a Garmin, a good sense of pace, or are not running at one of the provided paces. However, I like races with pacers.

4. Maui

Maybe my impression of Maui is colored because I had a nasty cold two days before the race. However, I doubt that I would do this race again. I can't say that about any of the other races, not even Salt Lake. The best part of Maui was staying another week on the island.

Pros

A. Great location. Duh, it is Maui.

B. Starts and ends at the same place. This is not true for the marathoners since they start 26.2 miles away.


Cons

A. No timing chip. Even the small local races in Highlands Ranch, CO use timing chips.

B. Almost no mile markers. The only one I remember seeing was a mile 25 marker for the marathon. I suppose if you own a Garmin, you may not care.

C. Awful road closures. For a good portion of the race, you are running next to cars. The cars are only separated by orange traffic cones. The only thing that makes this somewhat acceptable is the cars are not moving very fast because of gridlock.

D. The course is too crowded. For most of the course, it is congested Unless you are fast, which I am not, you cannot run at your own pace. This race needs to organize into waves or close down more of the road. Closing down more of the road is unlikely since a good portion of the course is on the only major road between Ma'alea and Ka'anapali.

E. No pacers. See Salt Lake above.

F. Too hot and humid, at least for me.

G. Terrible post-race food selection. The only thing that I remember being offered was apple and orange slices. Maybe I missed the smorgasbord, but if it existed, it wasn't readily apparent where it was located.

Maui Observations: Ten Things That We Learned

Brenda and I recently returned from nine days in Maui. Here are some things that we learned.

1. Don't let the rental car company upgrade you to a larger car. Smaller is better in Maui.

2. Two lane bridges are nice. We discovered an appreciation for them during the drive on the road to Hana.

3. Next time, our first stop for groceries is Mana Foods in Paia.

4. Many newlyweds attend the Old Lahaina Luau.

5. The Old Lahaina Luau is also popular for people celebrating birthdays.

6. Chukars like fresh horse dung. They act like it is a gourmet meal.

7. Don't forget to put sunscreen on top of your hands when horseback riding in Haleakala National Park.

8. The banana bread sold by Julia in Kahakuloa Village makes driving the scary one-lane road into the village worthwhile.

9. If you carry a tripod, people will ask you to take their picture. They often seem disappointed when you take a bad picture of them.

10. It is hard getting on the plane to go back home.

Maui Observations: Things To Do

During our trip to Maui, Brenda and I tried to do as many activities as we could pack into a week. Here are a couple of the activities that we particularly enjoyed.

1. Haleakala Sunrise

Brenda and I arose at 3:00 am to drive to Haleakala for the sunrise. Aren't we on vacation? We arrived at the summit about an hour before sunrise. We were almost too late. We parked in the last available parking space in the summit lot. The car behind us returned to the lower parking lot.

We got out of the car and were greeted by a cold wind. Fortunately, we were forewarned about the morning cold, and thus prepared. We each wore long pants, sweatshirts with hoods, and gloves.

While prepared for the weather, we didn't bring a flashlight. We stumbled in the dark on a trail to a lookout point. We were the only two people on the trail. Most of the other observers watched from an area next to an enclosed viewing structure.

As I looked East, I saw the sky turning red as the sun rose. With the clouds surrounding the lower portion of the mountains, it was an amazing view. I took pictures that failed to capture the beauty of the changing sky. I was mesmerized by the view. When the sun finally appeared above the clouds, it didn't seem like we had been watching for almost forty-five minutes.

As the sun appeared, a couple was seated on chairs near the parking lot. Brenda noticed the man kneeling before the woman, followed by a hug and champagne. He had proposed, and she accepted. What a great idea.

After the sun was fully visible, the parking lot quickly emptied. We stuck around as the views from the summit were gorgeous. Eventually Brenda convinced me that we needed to leave to check in for horseback riding.

Was it worth getting up at 3:00 am? Absolutely.



Haleakala Summit



Haleakala Summit - View to the West

Tips:

A. Arrive at least an hour before sunrise to park in the summit lot.
B. Wear cold weather clothes. We were both thankful that we also had gloves.
C. Bring a flashlight.
D. Do this early on the trip to take advantage of being on mainland time.


2. Haleakala Horseback Ride

I am surprised this is second on the list. I do not like riding horses. I've ridden a horse once as an adult. I did not enjoy the experience. I agreed to this adventure because Brenda had it high on her list of things to do.

Because the check-in was outside the park, we drove 45 minutes down the volcano to sign the legal waiver and then 45 minutes back up to the summit for the ride. We saw many downhill bikers go down the road. They were all wearing motorcycle helmets and silly jackets. I was glad that we passed on this activity.

At the lower summit parking lot, we used the restroom facilities and applied sunscreen. We then meet our guide Ra.

Once all the riders showed up, Ra loaded us onto horses. My horse was Rocky. After I mounted Rocky, Ra instructed me on the basics for handling the reins. He also warned me to lean back when the horse navigated steeper sections to avoid falling off the front of Rocky. Oh, I now see why we signed the waiver for bodily injury or death. Great, I thought this was safer than bike riding down the mountain.

Our group headed off. As we entered the volcano crater, the views were fantastic. It wasn't long, however, before the trail got steep. I quickly realized Ra was not kidding about the possibility of falling falling over the front of the horse. I spent the next two hours amazed at the views and terrified of falling off the horse every time the terrain steepened. Finally, we arrived at our lunch location. I was grateful to dismount from Rocky.

Lunch should have been pleasant. However, as soon as the food was brought out, the bees appeared. Bees scare me because I have an allergic reaction when stung. I tried to eat lunch as fast as possible while standing - not exactly an idyllic situation.



View at Lunch

Once lunch was finished, the bees left. This allowed me to take in the views and take some pictures. Far too soon, it was time to get back on the horse. Ra promised that the ride out would be easier. Ra also took a picture of Brenda and me on own horses.




Another Lunch View

At this point, you may be wondering how bad were the other activities if this was the second best. Despite the tough first two hours, the ride improved heading out. Ra was correct that going up was easier than going down. This helped me relax on than horse.

As then ride, my horse started to fall behind the group. I tried to urge him to keep up to little avail. Then unexpectedly he started to trot. After getting over the surprise, I realized this was fun. He trotted until he got close to Brenda's horse, then he went back to his slow walk. When the distance opened up again, he would trot until he almost caught with Brenda's horse. This continued for the rest of the ride, and I enjoyed every minute that Rocky trotted. By the time we arrived at the horse trailer, I was almost disappointed that the ride was over. Further, Brenda may have an easier time convincing to ride with her in the future.



Brenda and Me (Yes, we are both wearing sweatshirts.)

Tips:

A. Apply sunscreen to the top of your hands. Brenda and I both got forgot and got sunburned there.

B. Take your camera, there are many photo opportunities.

C. Wear warmer clothing and dress in layers.