The Hawk

It's been more than two years since I ran the Hawk Marathon for the first time.  I've been holding off on writing this post because it was one of those days you don't want to forget. I think each time I tried to write this post, I got this fear that I would never be able to have a race that was this amazing again.  This weekend on September 10, 2016 at Clinton Lake ended up being one of my favorites in my life. Let me tell you why.

Prior to race day, Lawrence experienced a little bit of rain. Enough for the race directors to make a tough but fair call to move the race to the road. They made the announcement at the spaghetti feed the night before race day. At first I was a little worried. I had kept most of my mileage on the North Shore Trails and had avoided pavement. I also had no road shoes. However, despite my initial concerns, my mind changed to go with the flow.

The spaghetti feed was delicious and it was great to see all my wonderful new trail running friends I had made throughout the last half year. I really enjoyed spending some trail time with many people I would be running with the next day. After a quick drive through the new course, it was time to go to bed.

I woke up just before my alarm went off. It was race day! I got up early so that I could wish my friends who were running the Hawk 100 or 50 miler good luck. I got dressed and put my trail shoes on for luck. Those runners were starting an hour earlier than us. With some photos and lots of laughter to pass the hour, it was finally time to get to the starting line.

Prerace photo with my LTH friends that were running the Hawk Marathon.

The starting line was at Shelter 2 and basically to get in the full marathon distance you had to run almost every single road along the Clinton State Park. There were many marathoners as we all huddled along the starting line. Suddenly, the count down had begun and we were off!

I took the first part of it slow, telling myself not to go out like an asshole. As we made our way around the shelters and further in the park, I kept my distance from all the faster people. I knew that they were about to encounter the first giant hill of the course. I had run this hill a few times during the summer at the Lawrence Trail Hawks Wednesday night hill repeats. I knew that if I kept a solid stride and kept my breath steady, I would make it up the hill with no trouble. As I made my descent I could see all the others ahead of me. I just watched as the other runners went way too fast. After the hill, I made my way down to the Marina Road. I had never been down to Marina before this point. You have to go down a steep hill, which I knew I was going to have to come back up shortly. As I'm making my way around the marina, I started singing "All Star" by Smash Mouth. I wasn't one for singing usually, but there I was in such a good mood. I finally made my way back up the steep hill and kept going.  At four miles in, I finally started to speed up.

Running along Marina road at Clinton State Lake. Photo courtesy of Mile 90 Photography.

Since you take every single road, you get to see runners in front of you and behind you the whole time. I loved this because I got to tell everyone good job and cheer them on as I ran, which I did every time I saw someone. Did I mention that I saw them multiple times because of the route? I got two see some of my 50 miler and 100 miler friends as well as they headed back to the start while I made my way further into the park.

The weather was beautiful, with the sun out but with cooler temperatures. There was a light breeze that kept me and my red hair and fair skin happy. I made my way past the first aid station at Lands End cabin and worked along Campground 1, which was very crowded with lake goers, campers and other runners. I really enjoyed seeing my dad at the aid station waiting for me and cheering me on!

My dad took this as I was running into the Lands End aid station.

A few miles later I made it to West Park Road and the aid station there. From there we got to run the Skyline Shuffle course, which is made up of Bunker Hill and part of the park disc golf course. It was the only part of the race that wasn't on concrete. It was a really nice place in the course because it was right around the half way point. It helped give my legs a little break from pounding the pavement. Bunker Hill also has a beautiful view of the whole lake.

Running on Bunker Hill. Photo courtesy of Mile 90 Photography.

The back side of Bunker Hill. Photo courtesy of Mile 90 Photography.

After a few miles I was back on the road headed back to Campground 1. I was feeling good! I kept seeing people I knew that were running different distances and cheering them on. I didn't realize it at the time, but I was also passing a lot of other runners. Up until I made it to the last aid station, I was using my own nutrition roughly every 5 miles and some Tailwind. When I got to the last aid station, I asked for a Coke and some Pringles. The Coke was magical and helped give me a little jolt of energy for the next few miles ahead. I saw my dad and told him that I would see him at the finish line and kept on going.

Since this was my first marathon I didn't really have any other goals than to finish. I had no ideas what to expect on how I was going to feel, especially if the race was on the trail. I didn't look at my Fitbit Blaze at all during the race, until I reached the U.S. Army Corp of Engineer building. I was starting to feel a little fatigued in the mind. I was wondering which way I was going to have to go to get back to the starting line. I was sad to find out that I had to go the far way to get back. Once I looked at my watch I realized that I had a chance of making it under 4 hours and 30 minutes. That was enough push to get me to the end. I ran faster. Soon I could see the finish line and my family all waiting for me at the end. The cowbells were going! Crossing the finish line was one of the best feelings in the world. But it didn't end there.

I finished my first marathon at 4:29:46. It wasn't what I expected it to be. It was better! I felt great. Sherrie Klover, the race director of the Hawk, came up to me and presented me with my finisher medal, my Hawk 26.2 sticker and a third place female finisher cup that was hand made with the Hawk logo on it. I was in shock. I was overall third female for the whole thing. It was the nicest surprise ever!

Crossing the finish line of my first marathon!

I hung out with my friends and watched people come in from the marathon. I eventually went home and showered and came back to watch everyone else. I went to Lands End and volunteered there as the 50 milers and 100 milers continued their journey. I ate a lot of food. Evnetually, I was walking like an old woman. My knees were in pain as the impact finally caught up to my body. I put on my Oofos and elevated my legs and runners came in slowly throughout the night. Hours later my knees felt better. I only got about two hours of sleep that night, before helping the Lands End Crew tear down the aid station. It was wonderful to see people accomplish their goals.

I just finished my race photo!

My goal was just to finish. If you have read my previous posts, you would know that I did not grow up as a runner. Here I was years later and I had just done the hardest thing ever, but I had so much fun doing it. It was thanks to my family, my new running friends and the Lawrence Trail Hawks that made it such a special day! I couldn't have done it without them!