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December 2007 Team Santa Fe Activities
RACES:
Baton Rouge Beach Marathon and Half
http://www.brbeachmarathon.com
Baton Rouge, LA
December 1, 2007
Barb Dutrow 1:39:36 3thF 1st GrandMaster F, 63/565 Overall
Nearly 800 runners gathered for a mass start of the 13th annual
Baton Rouge Beach marathon and half. At 7am, the dawned clear
with cool nearly perfect running temperatures although a bit of wind.
The 13 mile course begins near the Baton Rouge "Beach" at
University Lakes, runs through the campus of Louisiana State
University, around the University Lakes, through a residential
neighborhood up over an overpass with a return via the Lakes to the
Beach. Two "hills" punctuate the mostly flat course but with so many
turns and crossings of major roads (protected by police),
it is not a fast course. Half marathoners complete a single loop,
marathoners complete two loops passing by the finish for the half.
I ran the half marathon with many other runners to keep one going.
My pace was consistent such that I passed several other runners in
the last few miles, especially on the overpass. I finished in 1:39 for 3rd
Female overall, 1st grandmasters Female, and 63/565 overall. This
was within seconds of my last year's finish.
Thanks to Polar Heart Rate systems for keeping me going, to Thorlo
for padding my feet and to CW-X and Varsity Sports for perfect
clothing.
Half Ass Half Marathon
http://www.clubsouthrunners.org
Baton Rouge, LA
December 9, 2007
Barb Dutrow 1:49 3rd F 1st GrandMaster F
December is long distance racing weather in the south. The half-ass
half marathon takes place only a week after the Baton Rouge Beach
Half Marathon so legs are stiff and sore which is reflected in the less
than stellar times. This lower key run makes two loops around
University Lakes - with a change in direction after the first loop. For
those of us who run this route frequently, there are a few subtle
changes that you can't forget lest you run longer, and running the
opposite direction is often confusing for mile markers. Yet, the race
was great fun and people tend to run in packs. Temperatures were
warm, in the 60-70s, for December. Hot dogs, donuts, and lots of
fluids greeted runners after the race.
Thanks to Polar Heart Rate systems for keeping me going, to Thorlo
for padding my feet and to CW-X and Varsity Sports for perfect
clothing.
Muir Beach Trail Runs (11K, 17K, 33K, 50K)
Muir Beach, CA
December 15, 2007
http://www.pctrailruns.com/Muir_Beach.htm
Barb Dutrow 1st F50, Carl Gable 7th M40, 3:59:56 28/78 overall
by Barb Dutrow
Nearly 400 runners gathered for races beginning at Muir Beach and
covered a variety of distances. We chose the 33K run, consisting of
three connected loops, which also had nearly 5,000' of elevation gain.
The day dawned cold with frost covering the grass and fog rolling in
off the Pacific. The race started a few feet off the beach and began
with an immediate climb - it was not to flatten out again - due to the
hilly terrain of active plate tectonics, as the course ran within a few
miles of the San Andreas fault in California. It was a stunningly
gorgeous race course. We began by climbing the sea cliffs, and then
veered inland to run up and down grass covered hills, into fog
shrouded valleys, through eucalyptus forests to emerge in the Marin
Highlights with a view of the Golden Gate Bridge looming above the
fog. We circled up and down steep climbs and onto the Pacific Coast
trail for a beautiful return with the Pacific Ocean just over our left
shoulder. The climbs were steep; about five climbs of 1000' vertical,
but with steep climbs came steep downhills. The race ended with a
steep downhill back to the beach. Three aid stations were amazingly
well stocked, with many sweet and salty foods and
staff that were attentive and helpful.
We started out running together but I had horrible chest congestion
and didn't know if I could run. Carl is faster on the downhills so we
parted ways in about 20 minutes, but were running between 20 - 100
yards apart. About two hours into the run, Carl waited for me at an aid
station and we finished together
in 3:59. We were pleased as we had estimated a 4:30 run.
Afterwards, my quads were incredibly sore.
Thanks to Polar Heart rate systems, Thorlo socks, CW-X and Varsity
sports for providing gear.
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