Redding Marathon

REDDING MARATHON

JANUARY 16, 2022

3:57:41

3rd Place Overall Female

1st in Age Group

After the excitement of CIM (blog still in the works) and the holidays, I wanted to schedule a new race to keep myself motivated during the darkest and coldest part of the year. My first choice was Mesa Marathon in Phoenix (February 12) but my husband reminded me that we already have several trips planned including the NYC marathon in November and Boston in April 2023. He suggested that I scale my trips back a bit with those World Majors coming up and I begrudgingly agreed. With this understanding in mind, a search of more local races brought me to the Redding Marathon. We had been to Redding on only two previous occasions, the most recent being when we traveled to Oregon last August for the Crater Lake Marathon (see blog: https://beth610723.wixsite.com/website/post/crater-lake-marathon

Redding, California is 155 miles directly north of our town. An easy drive up Interstate 5, Redding is located in the shadow of Mount Shasta, a 14,179 ft. potentially active volcano in the southern end of the Cascades. (the middle photo below was taken by my neighbor the day after the marathon, the others were from internet search)

Redding is located 75 miles from Mount Shasta and about 100 miles from the Oregon border. The more I researched this race, the more it appealed to me. The course description told of beautiful trails along the Sacramento River, the logistics seemed runner friendly with a later start time (8:00am), buses to the start from the finish line area where there was ample parking, bag drop at the start line with additional clothing drops on course, and regular bathrooms at the start line inside the warm visitor’s center at Shasta Dam. After finding a relatively inexpensive hotel near the bus pickup, I was 90% sure I’d venture north to this one.

Then, I got sick. Just a cold, I was negative for the Big C, but I was inactive for a solid week! So, I put off registration while I was monitoring my recovery. I was obligated to run the San Francisco Hot Chocolate 15k on January 9, so I desperately tried to get back to 100% by then. And after a successful race in the City by the Bay, I felt more confident about signing up for a full marathon.

Finally, on January 11, I pulled the trigger and signed up for what would be my 19th marathon. Four days flew by as I tried to squeeze in a few last ditch effort workouts. Four miles here, four miles there. The Friday before race day I felt good about doing a fast five mile run in under 40 minutes. It was a great confidence boost but still, a short 5 miler is NOTHING compared to the beast of the marathon.

Even though I knew I was not at my very best performance level, I was certain I’d be able to complete the distance. So, I resolved to just enjoy a “no pressure” race, have a new adventure, get in a great “workout”, and see how it all goes. Excited for the long holiday weekend, that Saturday I woke up early for a leisurely 3 mile shakeout run at sunrise. It was a gorgeous start to the weekend.

Since Ron was in AR visiting family, this would be a solo race trip. It was therefore a quiet day of packing and cooking up my favorite pre-race meals to bring along for dinner in the hotel later that evening. After double checking my race gear, I zipped my suitcase closed, grabbed a smoothie for the road, and headed out of town, due north!

One of the best things I realized that comes with signing up so late for an event is the ability to know the weather forecast on race day. In past years, since January is typically rainy season in California, the race had taken place in cold rain. This afternoon, however, as I drove up Interstate 5, there was hardly a cloud in the clear blue sky. Traffic was light making it easier to take in the views of the green bluffs on the outskirts of the county.

(Photo from internet search)

As I drove, I reminisced about the smoky drive we took back in August on this same road. Back then the hills were entirely brown and brittle from the harsh summer sun and record temperatures, the sky was dark and heavy with unhealthy air particles. There was no view, no big sky, no wide open, fresh air spaces. There was no guarantee that the Crater Lake Marathon would actually take place, just a constant uncertainty and anxiety about smoke and wildfires. THIS was the polar opposite of that experience and I wondered if it was really the same route we took back then. Ha!

(photo from internet search)

I was about 75 miles in when I began looking for Mount Shasta. There were already several snow capped mountains in sight but none were the unmistakable giant I was looking for. I knew it would be quite visible on such a clear day and within another 10 miles it already revealed itself! Still 130 miles away, there it was, a snow capped beacon leading the way! For miles it seemed like the highway would go right through the mountain.

(Photo credit: my neighbor, Rozelle 1/17/22)

To give you an idea of how different it was with the smoke, we had driven up the highway and over the mountain, never once seeing Mount Shasta! (for photos see my Crater Lake Marathon blog)

I continued up the interstate until I saw the “Welcome to Redding” sign, then I exited onto Hilltop Rd. to find the local Fleet Feet store where bib pickup was being held. It was around 4pm at this point and the sun was a little lower in the sky. I thanked the volunteers for my race bag containing my bib and jacket. I was proud of myself for remembering to check that I had a blue sticker on my bib which meant I paid to ride to bus to the start line. ($15) I grabbed a drop off bag and wrote my “332” bib number on it, readying it for the morning. Then I jumped back into the car forgetting to take a photo and asked the car navigation for directions to the hotel. During that short drive I saw a sign for the Sundial Bridge and decided to exit to check out where the finish line was going to be. The sun was going down so it would be best to see this first before checking in at the hotel. I made a right into Turtle Bay Exploration Park and was surprised by the crowd! Between the holiday weekend and the perfect weather (70 degrees), there was a lot of people gathering on the bridge and, most likely, ending their daily outdoor excursions as this is the trailhead for the Sacramento River Rail Trail.

I was really impressed with the park. It had a gift shop, coffee store, restrooms, and visitor’s center. It was a lot prettier than I imagined as well and although I was a bit out of my comfort zone, I was feeling happy about my choice to come here.

The Sundial Bridge was really cool with its glass pavement and 217 foot mast. It’s one of the largest working sundials in the world! And it was sure to be a glorious final stretch of the marathon the next morning.

I was already feeling more relaxed as I walked back to the parking lot. This is where I’d be parking in the morning to take the bus. While it was crowded now, I assumed not too many people would be there at 6:45am. From there, it was a 1.4 mile drive to the hotel. Easy enough. I chose to stay at the Americana Modern Hotel after reading the reviews online. Nothing fancy, but great for the $140/night price. It was clean, quiet, safe, and close to the bus pickup.

I settled in, organizing my race gear, setting my alarm, and warming up my dinner in the microwave. I felt relaxed knowing I didn’t need to be at the bus pickup until 6:45am (7:05 for the late bus). I slept ok, waking up a few times but overall got a good night’s sleep. Race Morning!

I woke up before the alarm, got dressed and relaxed with coffee and the local news. I brought a few things out to my car and noticed that there was frost on many of the car windshields. I decided it’d be a good idea to wear compression calf sleeves on my legs, throwaway gloves, and a tech running jacket for the race and wear an extra jacket to the start. I hurried back inside the hotel room and warmed up my coffee. I brought along my percussion massager and worked on loosening up my legs while going over the course map.

As expected, I had my pick of parking spots at Turtle Bay and finally felt “at home” when I saw the busses and other runners. The RD, checked for my bus sticker and asked me to board the third bus. The other runners looked experienced and I was happy about the competition. I knew it was a small event but there was still quite a few athletes. Not only was there a marathon, but also a marathon relay, and a 5k. The relay runners wore generic white bibs which were easy to differentiate from the full marathon bibs.

Just before we left for the Shasta Dam start line, the RD boarded the bus and gave us the lowdown. She explained that due to Covid, the visitor’s center at the Dam was closed. Waiting would be outdoors with porta-potties available. That made me a little nervous because it was chilly and it wasn’t going to be any warmer 1,000 feet up on the dam! I wished I would have known so I could have brought a foil blanket. But, I figured time would go fast once we were there and focused on the flashes of the orange sunrise coming through the trees over the mountains. The bus seemed to climb steep grades that twisted and turned. Being afraid of heights, I closed my eyes as we continued up narrow roads that overlooked steep ridges. I lost my sense of direction and before we knew it, we had arrived.

I tried to distract myself from the cold, breezy air by taking photos and eating my pre-race banana and Honey Stinger waffle but my teeth chattered regardless. I forced myself to drink my cold water knowing that soon enough I’d be warming up and needing that hydration.

Many runners had someone drive them to this area and remained in their comfortable cars while us bus riders jumped around trying to keep our blood flowing. Luckily, bag drop was right at the start line which meant I could wear my warm jacket right up until the last minute then throw it in the bag to be retrieved at the Sundial Bridge.

My toes were numb. I found the start line and the simplicity of it against majestic Mount Shasta was breathtaking, especially in the early morning sun. I took in my surroundings for a moment, grateful for the ability to experience new places especially ones as pretty as this. “TEN MINUTES!”, a man shouted through the smallest bullhorn I’d ever seen. “FIVE MINUTES!”, he said again. I waited 2 more minutes then reluctantly took my cozy jacket off, stuffing it in my bag with my phone and tossing it in the drop box.

By this time, I wanted the race to begin just to get warm. Without much ado, the bullhorn let out a warning siren and the announcer started the countdown from 10... There was no timing mat at the start, the clock started when the announcer said go. A few seconds were wasted before I actually ran under the start banner. My toes still numb, we crossed the dam. My mouth was still quivering. It was a little windy but I was sure it would die down once we started the descent to the river. I started slow, not concerned about other runners passing me. I took note of one woman with “Team Beef” (probably related to the Houston Marathon which was also taking place that day) written on the back of her singlet moving out in front of me and a man pushing a B.O.B. stroller who was going my pace.

I memorized the course elevation which called for a steep drop of 500 ft. starting after the first mile. I braced myself for it, trying not to go too fast and taking light, easy steps so as not to tear up my quads in the beginning of the race. What I didn’t expect during this section was the winding road. It was so twisty that you couldn’t see around each curve and twice cars came up in the left lane so we quickly scooted to the right, making it difficult to run tangents.

By mile 2, the course had flattened out and I settled into a comfortable pace. “Stroller Man”passed me with ease. As predicted, the wind was blocked by the mountains and the sun was as well, making temps crisp and the road shady. We entered the Sacramento River Rail Trail by mile 3, near aid station 1. The trail hugged the river for many miles and was quite dramatic in the early morning with the steam rising from it. I took my first GU at mile 3.5 even though I felt like I hadn’t yet begun to work. I was running behind a young male with super curly hair that bounced around in a high ponytail. Something told me not to pass him, to just tuck in behind him like he was a pacer. I was going by feel and felt like I was holding back a bit, a good idea early on. At mile 4, we ran through a short train tunnel which reminded me of the Tunnel Marathon in WA (where I ran the 2 mile long pitch black tunnel). This tunnel was only dark for a few strides but fun nonetheless.

(photo from internet search of previous race)

We seemed to hit mile 5 in no time! It was getting warmer and I focused on the next aid station (supposedly located at mile 6), my last opportunity to drop my running jacket and gloves to be conveniently returned at the finish. I wanted to be paying attention so that I’d have time to unzip, pull it over my head, etc., the course being curvy not revealing what was up ahead in any long increments. I was ready, but still lost a few seconds leaving the course to toss my belongings in an old pickup truck then doubling back to get water. Done! Now I felt lighter and cooler, almost cold, but ready to work. I picked up the pace and caught up with my “pacer”, then settled in again, the sun now bright on the trail.

I took another GU at mile 7 as we started a slight climb. A few men passed by, but I stayed in my zone and tried to conserve energy for the time being. Near mile 9, as we climbed away from the river another woman joined our pack, which now included a friend of the “pacer”. The woman dressed in a bright yellow shirt wore a hydration backpack and with heavy steps seemed like she was struggling. She almost seemed to lean backwards in form and I wondered why she was working so hard this early on.

As we approached mile 10, I noticed the “pacer” and his friend fist bump, smile at each other, then they start sprinting. Yellow shirt woman crossed over and ran off in the direction of the restroom and I realized this was the relay exchange section!

Well, this changed things! First of all, now I was alone. And second of all, the “pacer” had only been running a 10 miler! Ha!

As I processed what had happened, the ascend steepened. I noticed “Team Beef” girl way up ahead, noting that she must be warm now in her black leggings, her black jacket tied around her waist. From mile 10-12 we climbed 250 ft. and I was feeling it. Around mile 11, we ran through a parking lot with lots of crowd support. A girl wearing pink from head to toe passed me raising her arms like she was crossing the finish line, her family and friends loudly cheering her on. Had she just started her section of the relay? Was she a full marathoner that started slow and was really working these hills? She looked fresh and strong and she sped up, away from me. I was struggling a bit but still a voice in my head said, “I’ll catch her later”. I had resorted to quick walk breaks by now as the grade was starting to wear me down. At mile 12, my mind was already giving up. “So much for finishing in under 4 hours…” “why am I doing this” “I’m not even half way there” “I’ll never make it another 14.2 miles!” “Maybe I should take a DNF at the next relay exchange” I just wanted to be done. I tried to recollect the elevation map. I remembered specifically that I just needed to get to mile 14, then it would be downhill from there. But was there a mile in between that was easier? There must have been because I got back on track, running nonstop. Mile 13, a quick left turn. I glanced at my watch at the halfway mark: 1:54:56! I seriously expected it to read 2:06:00 or more with the pity party I had the last several miles. That info and the idea that I was close to the 14 mile mark that I “just needed to reach” gave me the mental boost I desperately needed.

At 13.5, I started closing in on “Team Beef”. It was steep and CURVY but this time it seemed easier to me. By 13.8, I passed her and didn’t see her again. I reached the “summit” and flew down the backside. At 14.5 I reached for another GU and ended up dropping it, doubling back to pick it up. Ugh. The course continued through the town of Old Shasta (a reroute due to the Carr Fire in 2018 that destroyed a bridge on the River Trail). A left off a short highway section took us through another aid station then continued to a fork. I almost went to wrong way looking for the small green arrows that were usually on the road. At the last second, I saw the arrow 5 feet off the ground posted to a trail head indicator sign. In the distance I saw a few runners, including the “Stroller Man”. We were descending fast! Whether I liked it or not, I was flying! I could no longer slow myself down, instead I concentrated on controlling myself so as not to go over the revene. I said goodbye to my quads knowing I‘d be paying for this speed sooner or later. I told myself to “enjoy” the downhill until mile 18, then I could resort to a “walk it in”approach if I needed to. I thought once Middle Trail spilled back onto the Sacramento River Trail and flattened out I’d be done for. But the trail continued slightly down and became shady and cool making it easy to continue.

I saw a bridge about a mile ahead and figured we’d be crossing it to finish the last section of the race. I told myself to just run easy to get to the bridge. I felt good mentally again as I counted only 7 miles to go. At the bridge crossing, mile 20, there was another aid station and a relay exchange. I ran to it smiling, reading a sign that mentioned something about Humpty Dumpty not hitting the wall. I tried to understand it as I grab a large cup of Gatorade and forged forward to the pedestrian bridge.

Another left off the bridge and onto the “out and back section”. My mind was deceiving me thinking that I was close to finishing even though I still had 6 miles to go. Fresh relay runners were flying both ways down the path. Since there were so many generic white bibs coming at me, I concluded that the turnaround wasn’t too far. I was wrong. Haha. After a windy stretch, the path opened onto a residential section, then extended north on a quite hilly and warm segment of new trail. It was the most scenic part of the race with Mount Shasta showing off in the bright sunlight over the path and river rocks.

There was so much up and down on this part that I had gone back to walking some of the steepest climbs. I kept thinking that the turnaround was just around the next bend. When I reached the top of the hill at mile 21.5 and saw the course winding down as far as my eyes could see, I literally laughed out loud and said, “OMG! Really??!!” I decided I’d better get to it since I still had so much work to do.

I kept seeing pink flashes way up ahead. Was that “Pink Girl”? Was she still running? So, she was either doing the full marathon or the second two legs of the relay. In any case, I was inching closer to her. I also saw “Stroller Man” coming my direction and for the first time got a glimpse of the child inside. All I saw was a few cheerleader pom poms waving in excitement. Oh my goodness, how cute! Had she been waving those for the last 22 miles?! Up ahead was an aid station. “Water!”, I shouted just before I yelled, “Is this the turnaround?!!” like I didn’t have a second to spare after I had just walked up the hill. LOL The volunteers are so great! The man said, “Yes! You can turnaround and head back. Drop your cup anywhere!”

Knowing I was on my way back made life easier even in the hot sun. (It was only 60 degrees) lol I was hot on the heels of “Pink Girl” as she was starting to slow down. As I got back to the aid station at the residential area, I took my last GU, emptied my pockets of the spent packets, grabbed a water and walked as I drank it all. Then I caught up to “Pink Girl”, running side by side with her for a half mile before overtaking her just before mile 25.

Just after that, there was another fork. I looked for those green arrows. I yelled out, “which way?!” and some nice volunteers pointed right. “Continue down by the river!” I didn’t see any other runners this way, just some teens skateboarding. There was another fork! Ugh. Nobody was around this time. Up on the left was a gazebo and restrooms. Was I supposed to go that way? “Continue along the river” echoed in my mind. I went right. I didn’t see any markers and was suddenly unsure about my decision. Did I just screw up at mile 25?! Wait! What’s that? Is that a mile marker on the grass on the left side of the path?! YES! Oh, thank goodness! It was half knocked around backwards, but there it sat on a tiny cone. Mile 25! I relaxed into my final stretch. A few minutes later I looked at my watch for the first time since the halfway mark. 3:49:51! Oh, wow. I’m not doing too bad. Maybe I can BQ! Haha. I put it in gear and tried to make it happen, not sure exactly where I was in that final mile.

I passed a few men that were struggling while I was coming in at an 8:30 pace. With a quarter mile to go, my BQ came and went. I continued though, looking for the Sundial Bridge. I pushed myself up the entrance to it, onto the glass pavement tiles, running hard but with a smile as the crowd lining it cheered. With an official time of 3:57:41, I finished my 19th marathon. A senior volunteer placed the medal around my neck, holding my arms and looking at me square in the eyes, “Wonderful job!” “You did great!”, she said.

As I sat down on the closest bench I could find, I wondered how I placed. Nobody mentioned that I was first female so I figured I’d go find my drop bag. LOL On the way, I noticed the awards table and asked if my name was on the list for age group placement. Sure enough! 1st place in age group 45-49 out of 8 women. For placing I received a beautiful tile plaque.

Finish festivities were impressive for such a small event; music, hot soup, snacks, bananas (apparently they are famous for having pie at the finish but due to Covid it was missing this year), a beer truck, massages, etc.

I hung out longer than I expected I would. Bonus: the visitor’s center was open and the restrooms were clean. I even browsed the gift shop and, if I had the forethought to bring my credit card in my drop bag, I probably would have bought some souvenirs. Making the short walk to the car to get it seemed like too much at the time. Ha!

I waited as the old school list of finish times was printed and posted (with scotch tape to the trailhead information sign). I ran my finger down the list looking eagerly for “F” for the top Females. The 1st place woman finished in 3:21:00 at age 59! Incredible! Next was a 30 year old with a 3:44:00, then me. I took 3rd place female overall out of 30 women and I was proud of that!

I grabbed a bunch of snacks and headed back to the car. Still on a runner’s high, the drive seemed a lot quicker on the way back. Knowing I had the following day off made the trip tolerable and recovery would be fast.

To think a week earlier I was unsure if I should even register seemed crazy. Just go for it! Sign up for that race! Even if you’re afraid, you’re not fully trained, it’s far away, it’s out of your comfort zone, you don’t know anyone, or it’s only a few days away! Ha! Get out there if it feels right and be grateful for the chance to experience new things. You may be surprised by the outcome AND by what you can do!

As I added the first marathon medal of 2022 to the collection, I look forward to more adventures like this in the future. What will you do in this new year if you have the chance? Will you choose adventure?