Another marathon in the books! My 5th marathon, and I think it’s the first one that turned out pretty much how I thought it would, even despite weather conditions (and attire) that didn’t even remotely match my training conditions (and attire). I’ll start from the top.
Bellingham Bay Marathon is by far the smallest marathon I’ve done. They had a record-breaking 358 marathoners this year! Which made race-day logistics a bit easier. I was dropped off right at the starting line, and everyone in my cheering section was able to park just a few blocks away from the finish. The starting line even offered a heated venue for runners to keep warm in right up until we made our way to the starting line, which was a huge perk! Not only did we have a heated venue, but we also had indoor restrooms with running water to wash our hands! So much luxury. I arrived in time to watch the walkers head off (scheduled for 6:45, actual departure time 6:49 because, eh, close enough). While waiting for the runners to start, the race organizers had arranged a performance from the local Blackfoot singing and drumming group (awesome!), then we headed out to the starting line just 3 minutes ahead of time and were off!
The first 4-5 miles or so are right along the bay. Absolutely stunning views along with an absolutely crushing headwind. I’ve run into headwinds along waterfronts before (2 years of Peace Corps on a South Pacific island), but that was a number of years ago and I’m not quite familiar with the sensation these days. It was difficult to get a sense of pace, which is crucial in the early miles of a marathon. It’s really easy to run faster/harder than you mean to when you’re running straight into the wind. It was also really difficult to settle into my stride. Once the course turned inland the wind became less of a factor, but those miles came with their own challenges.
The inland section of the course took us on the shoulder of some major roads, and also took us along some smaller back roads. We still had pretty scenery in the background (mountains!) but our immediate surroundings were somewhat unnotable, meaning they could have been any small backroad anywhere. What I did notice was that each time we passed a marathon relay exchange point I would be passed by a sprightly runner with fresh legs wearing the same number as someone else. Didn’t I see 502 a while back, and didn’t they have a pony tail? Oh, right, relay. Shortly after mile 18 was where the full marathon course caught up with the half marathon course, which is the perfect timing to give a sense of hope. (The race day offered a point-to-point marathon and marathon relay, while all other distances – half marathon, 10k and 5k – started from the finish line for an out and back). From there, the course runs into downtown Bellingham. Mile 22 was such a tease because the finish line was just around the corner, so we had a small out and back section at the end. Mile 23 and 24 made up for it though because we were right along the waterfront again, running down piers and docks and over bridges. The finish line was nicely planned so that you came around the corner and the finish was .3 miles away. So much nicer than seeing it from 2 miles down the road! Now for some details.
Weather: I was debating what to wear right up until I left for the starting line. Headwinds along the waterfront are to be expected, but we also had additional wind coming down from Canada, so it was more wind (and cold wind!) on top of the regular wind. It was also hard to get a sense of what the temperature would be. I had seen some forecasts suggesting mid-50s at the start and possibly even 60 at the finish, and others starting in mid-40s and barely breaking into the 50s by the time I got to the finish line. I settled for capris, a long sleeve shirt, and a t-shirt, and that got me through the race just fine. Although the wind was a challenge, it certainly kept me cool. Not once during the race did I feel overheated.
Course support: For the size of the field (358!), the marathon was extremely well-supported. They had aid stations every 2 miles, and course monitors at every intersection in addition to just having course monitors along the course to cheer runners on. My family also came out to cheer multiple times over a point-to-point course. They met me around mile 9, again around mile 19, and caught me at the finish. As I was collecting high-fives at mile 19, I heard someone in front of me say “Who’s the runner with the cheering section?” Oh, that would be me. It was great to see them, and even better that I was still in decent condition when I saw them so that I could enjoy the high-fives.
Finish line: Bellingham Bay Marathon offers some great swag! The shirts have a fun design (great colors too! Grey and teal, some of my current favorites) and the medal was awesome. It had a tribal design on it. They also had some really great designs for sale at the expo, definitely worth the purchase. My family met me at the finish line and my primary request was that they bring chocolate milk, my go-to recovery drink. My aunt and uncle had purchased the chocolate milk specifically for me to have at the end of the marathon, and I didn’t want it to go to waste so I tried to drink as much as I could. Turns out I do actually have a limit to how much chocolate milk I can drink. They brought a thermos of chocolate milk (to keep it cold) and I just kept sipping on it at the finish, in the car ride home, and after I had taken a shower. Then I started to wonder about how much chocolate milk I had been drinking, it seemed to be bottomless. So I checked the thermos. It holds 40 oz of liquid! I probably drank more chocolate milk than water on race day.
Random strangers: Two funny stories came out of the race, and I’ll start with the second one. I typically run alone. The vast majority of my training runs are done alone, and I never plan to run a race with anybody, especially not a marathon, because anything can happen and I don’t want my good or bad day to impact someone else’s race plans and goals. Right around mile 4, someone who had been keeping stride with me for a good minute or two started talking to me. That conversation lasted 10 miles. Then the silence lasted another 9 miles. It was his first marathon, and he made it all the way to mile 23 before taking his first walking break, which I consider pretty impressive. It was ironic for sure, and I will admit it did make some of those early miles go by pretty quickly.
The other funny story happened before the race even started. I am a fan of throwaway layers so that I have something to keep me a bit warmer at the starting line before I start moving for the race. So I wandered over to Goodwill before leaving for the race and picked up a hoodie that had NY on it, didn’t mean anything special to me. Turns out it was NY Giants, which is something special to other people. Immediately upon walking into the venue where the runners hang out bfeore the start of the race, the very first person I see says “New York Giants! What do you think about this player, and what that means for the season” and so on and so forth. The conversation didn’t get very far because my first plan was to find the line for the bathroom. Then I ran into him again later, and the conversation continued. He asked me what pace I planned to run and said we should run together so we could talk about the Giants. I had to ‘fess up that I know nothing about football and even less about the Giants, and that I was planning to drop the sweatshirt right across the start line. He found this both disappointing and amusing and we went our separate ways. As we congregated at the starting line, he found me again and asked if I was really planning to throw away the sweatshirt. Yup, still the plan. He said his wife would pick it up and keep it. So I dropped the sweatshirt right across the starting line, as planned, and I can only hope it found a new home.
Finish time: My cousin’s son turned 3 the same day of the marathon, so there was plenty to celebrate. Everyone kept asking me what my goal time was for finishing the race, and my only goal was to finish in such condition that I would still be able to eat cake later that day. During training, I had finished most of my long runs at just under a 10-minute pace, which would put my finish time right around 4:15 (if I was having a good day and injuries stayed at bay), and that’s exactly what happened: 4:18:06 was my official time (though I don’t understand how that happened because the finish clock said 4:18:16 when I crossed the line). I’m happy with the result because it was everything that I was hoping I would accomplish: paying attention to the scenery, running a mostly consistent pace across all 26 miles, and eating cake later that day.
All in all this is a gem of a race! I highly recommend running this one, and do it while the field is still small if you can.
The Redhead 
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