Crater Lake Marathon Race Report (Read 931 times)

Crater Lake Race Report: Now I am walking funny... THE COURSE: The Crater Lake Marathon is part of the Crater Lake Rim Runs, which include a 6.7-mile, a 13.0-mile, and a marathon run in one of the most spectacular locations you could imagine. It follows a question-mark-shaped course, starting on the west side of the lake, running clockwise around to the south shore, then south along the Pinnacles road to Lost Creek campground, with a nasty last 4 miles out-and-back along a dirt road to finish. It is limited to a total of 500 runners for all distances, and it filled up about a month before race day. Crater Lake Marathon course (Hint: select "satellite" option for the best view) Crater Lake is a remote location, far from the nearest airport and lodging so just getting there takes some planning and effort. Technically it's difficult--long climbs and descents at high elevations. The weather is unpredictable, and can be in the 30's at the start and around 80°F at the finish. Rain, thunderstorms and high winds are rare, but always a possibility. With a start at 7600 ft, highest point of 7850 ft at mile 14, finish at 5980 ft, and constant hills all along, you must work to earn the spectacular views. My Polar computer indicated a cumulative total ascent of 6400 ft, which might be high, but it is a course that is always up or down, never flat, and those hills really add up. Aid stations with water and Gatorade are every two miles and you really need to drink at each one, as the air is so dry that you can get dehydrated quite easily. The sun is quite intense at that elevation so sunscreen is mandatory. The hardest part of the race is the last 4 miles, where exhausted runners pass the finish line at mile 22 and must complete a steep 4-mile out-and-back to finish.Is it worth the trouble? Absolutely! It was the most memorable of my 20 marathons and also my most difficult one (no contest). As always, I learned a lot from driving the course beforehand. I highly recommend it. MY IMPRESSIONS: Runners catch a bus to the starting line at Watchman's Point for the 7:30 start. We parked at Rim Village and caught the bus to the start at Watchman's Point. It's quite chilly before sunrise so we all wore extra clothing that we put in drop bags shortly before the start. The beauty of the sunrise over the lake has to be seen to be believed. I talked with a few fellow Marathon Maniacs, most of whom were also running the difficult Haulin' Aspen Trail Marathon the next day. Ouch! For carbs I carried a 20 oz. bottle with 800 calories worth of Perpetuem, which has worked well for me in the past. Once the sun rose it warmed quickly and everyone removed their extra layers and gloves. I climbed a hill to take the above photo, getting some sand in my shoes, just a little bit that I thought wouldn't matter--that was a mistake. The race starts with a brief half-mile climb then a long, mostly downhill, 9-1/2 mile section. If the 6.7 mile race were a certified 10k it would be a very fast course. We enjoyed the panoramic views toward the north, and occasional views of Crater Lake. l like downhills as much as anyone but after 6 miles I started to feel my quads. Once the 6.7-milers had peeled off it was three miles of ups and downs, then the big climb. From 9.5 to 14.5 the course climbs 1100 feet past the 13-mile finish to the highest point at Cloudcap. It was during this long climb that I talked to a few runners who had signed up for the marathon but had already decided to drop at 13 miles. At various points we could look up and see the road ahead, high above, and it looked like a very long way up there: The altitude and climb were getting to me and I took some walk breaks on this section. Finally I passed the 13-mile finish and saw my wife Karen who had gone ahead of me and took second in her age group in the 13-mile run. Another mile and a half of climbing, and I was at Cloudcap Point, the highest point of the course, across the lake from the start at Watchman's Point, which is visible just right of center: That view was a nice reward for the hard climb, and was the last we would see of the lake on the course. After that, I knew, it was (almost) all downhill. Piece of cake, right? Well, for awhile anyway. The next section was an 8-mile downhill around the south rim of the lake. After a couple of miles I was thinking, downhill is overrated...another couple of miles and I was really feeling it. My quads had taken quiet a pounding since the start, they were starting to tire, and each step was more like stomping. In addition to that, the sand in my shoes was starting to make its presence known, I was getting a blister on the sole of my left foot. By that point I was all alone, the road was closed to traffic, and I needed some motivation, so I pulled out my iPod shuffle. The music helped a little. Eventually the live Bob Seger tune, "Get Out of Denver" came up, and it's a really rockin' tune, and I got an adrenaline rush from that tune that lasted a couple of miles. The next tune that came up was a surprise, a Scottish Folk tune. WTF? A Scottish folk tune? How did that get into my playlist? Well, I am planning to run the Loch Ness Marathon this fall and anyway, it's got a good tempo, so I went with it... At mile 22 I arrived at the worst part of the course. We had to run past the finish line, up a steep dirt road, to the final turnaround, then back to the finish. To quote Jeff Caba, who won the race,

"That last Climb is brutal. There is no better way to describe it. It sets you up with that long downhill, which really trashes your thighs and your quads, then to have to change gears and go back up that steep climb is a lot of work.

I could see the race clock as I passed the finish line, and it read 3:44:00. Four miles to go, maybe I can do a 4:20, I thought. Soon I abandoned that idea as I was reduced to a power-hike up the dirt road. I passed nobody and nobody passed me. We all felt about the same by that point. Along that climb my iPod served up Jimmy Buffett singing: "Now I wish I was somewhere other than here...down in some honky tonk, sippin' on a beer..." I knew just how he felt! Many expletives were uttered by me and the other runners (now hikers). One runner passing us, headed downhill, instead of the usual encouraging words, just said, "I won't lie to you... it's a mother$#@#!" At long last I looped the orange cones marking the turnaround and headed back down the hill. At that point the downhill didn't feel any better, my legs were just trashed by then and I limped down the hill at a pathetically slow pace. It wasn't a bonk--I had plenty of energy, it was just fatigued legs. At long last I saw it: 385 yards to go! I crossed the finish line at 4:41:44. Almost an hour to do the last 4 miles! It felt so good to stop, and I dipped my feet in an ice-cold stream while enjoying the watermelon. Despite the difficulty, I wouldn't have them change a thing, I didn't do this race because I wanted an easy one and the difficulty makes the finisher's shirt all the more special. For souvenirs I have the t-shirt and medal, as well as very stiff legs and a big blister on the sole of my left foot. Priceless!

I think I would rename this race "Beauty and the Beast. " I can't imagine how hard that must've been! I'll bet that cold stream and cold watermelon at the end never felt and tasted so good! Congratulations on finishing, or rather surviving, a really difficult, but beautiful race! Thanks for the great report and pictures!

Thanks for the race report Perfesser! As usual, it made me feel like I was there. Great pictures and great job on a difficult course.

Nice report! Did any one roll down them hills?

Dude who took 8th at Crater Lake is running Monkey...

Agreed, on both counts...

Here is #8's review: http://www.runango.com/forums/topic_show.pl?tid=54363#fp

Nice report. Add 20 BPM and you have my heart rate...