Catalina Eco Marathon

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The Catalina Eco Marathon is well worth a trip to the west coast. OK, so I was fortunate to be traveling on business and suspect that had that not been the case I may not have looked for or entered this event. But having run it I would consider making the journey again. The race takes place on Catalina Island about a 1 hour ferry ride form Long Beach. The island is a playground to meet all tastes be it sailing, boating, hiking/running, fine dinning or playing the casino. About a mile inland roads give way to dirt and a network of hiking trails crisscross scrub land grazed by buffalo.

[singlepic=6945,280,200,,right] The race is in it’s fourth year and is named because of the diverse habitats it passes through. Starting at sea level on the outskirts of Avalon the main town, the route immediately climbs about 2,000 feet in the first three miles. As you climb, the views open up over the water toward the mainland in the distance. The going was easy enough despite the gradient and the increasing warmth of the day. Despite the 8 am start and mid-November day, the sun beat down on the runners as a reminder that good hydration was going to be important. Once at the highest point the trail changed to a more technical single track covered in loose gravel that undulated constantly. Many of the field that had run hard up the initial hill seemed to struggle on the descents. Just a few minutes earlier I had been wondering if my fitness was sufficient for the race but Now I found myself whizzing past runner after runner.

For about 4 miles we undulated along open ridges that provided views of the island and the sea on both sides. The going underfoot and exposed terrain reminded me of sections at Wasatch, but on a gentler scale! At ten miles we dropped steeply, the sun got hotter as the trail descended into the shelter of a valley. The going became softer but not wet, while at it’s lowest point shade from trees provided welcome shade, now and again we crossed or ran on sections of dried creek beds. I mused that on a wetter day the course could be quite mucky here. In the pre-race brief we were warned that unlike ‘normal’ marathons, aid stations would 2 to 3 mile apart. I heard a lot of discussion between other runners about this as if it was a once in a life time challenge to over come. How could the face director be so sadistic, but I said nothing about the 5 to 8 mile aid separation at the Bluff for fear of being lynched! Despite the heat, it was noticeable that many runners didn’t carry any fluids between aid stations.

[singlepic=6953,280,200,,left] Gradually the trail started to climb once more. We passed a series of corals where the local buffalo must be gathered from time to time. None of these beasts were evident on the course with the exception of their hoof prints, poop and the offer of buffalo burger at one of the aid stations. Aid was limited to water , Gatorade, M&Ms and jelly beans. the burgers were an exception at just one of the 10 stops. A couple of others had fruit, there were no grilled cheese sandwiches or other homemade delights that you might expect.

At mile 19 there is a hill called the Crush, it’s pre-race reputation was well documented but the reality was a lot less intimidating. At it’s base I started to catch some of the hares who had sped up the first hill. One guy dug in behind me, overtook and then performed the cardinal sin of slowing down. It was game on and by mile 21, he was a distant memory. Avalon once more came into view below us so it was clear the descent to the finish would begin soon. I had nursed a niggling cramp in my right calf for the last few miles and worried that during the descent it might bite back with vengeance but spurred on by the concern that runners behind would also be using the downhill I threw as much caution to the wind as my tired legs would allow. The descent was actually fun, plenty of loose gravel, a few rocks interspersed with switchbacks, it didn’t seem to take long before I hit paved road for the final mile to the finish.

The line was located closed to a beach in the center of town, to reach it you had to run the length of a narrow street watched by an audience of race followers and local inhabitants. A young volunteer offered me a finisher medal while another offered to cut my timing chip off. We had been given small zip ties to secure the chips to a shoe, but I chose to loop mine with my lace. Not wanting to have it cut, I instinctively bent, removed the chip and retied my shoe. As I stood straight several people expressed surprise I was able to bend so easily! [singlepic=6946,280,200,,right]

Sometime later after recovering with a few drinks and a large bowl of ice cream, I checked out the results. I had timed myself at 4:05 and guessed my position to be around 20th. To my surprise, I had come in 7th overall, 4th male and 1st in my age group – to celebrate, I went off and ordered a large helping of fish and chips!

Race results

Photos

Notable memories of the race:
– The aroma of eucalyptus trees at the start.
– Stunning views.
– Flowers in bloom that you normally associate with summer, but it was mid-November.
– Vast numbers of large crows throughout the race, sometimes gathered in groups reminiscent of the movie birds!
– The crows eating the flour course markings on the ground!
– Flying over the snow-bound mid-west just a few hours after running in upper 70 degree weather.

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