The race director shouted "GO!!" and everyone took off. I took the lead immediately. I decided to run the first couple of miles at a good pace, trying to put a good distance between myself and the rest of the race. My first few miles seemed easy at 7:30 pace. There was a lot of sand in the first 2.5 miles. I arrived at the 2.5-mile aid station but did not stop. I knew I didn't have much time to spare. So I kept going. By the time I got to Mile 4, I was starting to need some nutrition, so I slowed my pace down to about 7:50. I was keeping a good distance between myself and the second place guy. It was about a 1 minute interval. Upon arriving at the turnaround aid station, I took a gel and chased it with some water. The guys at the aid station asked if I wanted some food and I told them probably next time around. Off I went. The second place guy arrived at the aid station about 30 seconds after I left. So I was still okay. I still felt great so I kept my pace under 8 minutes. I saw Betsy approaching the turnaround about 5 minutes after I left it, and we slapped hands. The half marathoners had started, so I saw G, Sue, and Shaun running. We all whooped at each other and I went on. I ran the course in reverse, noting the one long gradual incline that was ALL SAND. I knew that'd be my sticking point later on. I vowed not to walk it. I arrived back at the start/finish line in first place. Tom and Terri had all the stuff I needed (they were great jockstraps!!)...I downed some chicken broth and Coke, put two more gels on my race belt, and turned around to leave. I was supposed to take a bottle of Accelerade with me, but I forgot it. Off I went again!

As I started the second lap, I got about a minute in and noticed that second place was now a female runner...and she was FLYING!!! So instinctively stepped it up to keep my lead. The second lap was pretty much the same as the first, pace was a bit slower, but I still felt good. At about Mile 14 I saw Shaun again, and as I looked back after passing, I noticed the second place girl gaining on me HARD! I thought, here's where I give up first. Sure enough, at the turnaround point, Mile 15, we arrived at the aid station together. We chatted a bit, took some endurolytes, and ate a bit of food. We left the aid station together. I was breathing hard, she was not. We were running 7:30 pace. We introduced ourselves, her name is Christine. I ran with Christine for about a mile and decided it was time to hang back. I gave up the lead at Mile 16. I was still first place male so I was ok with that. I knew the second place guy was back there so I kept my pace around 8 minutes to make sure I kept that place. Again I ran the course in reverse. I saw Betsy again. She put up her hands in a "what happened" gesture, and I just said "Yep, she's fast!" I went on. The long gradual hill didn't slow me down on lap 2. I passed Terri about a mile from the start/finish area, we slapped hands and whooped. Christine passed me on her way out about 1 minute before I entered the start/finish area. She looked great. When I got to the start/finish area, Tom had my broth and Coke waiting again, which I drank with enthusiasm...I was tired and needed sugar. Then I got my gels and put them in my belt, and this time, took the Accelerade. The race peeps told me I was three minutes behind Christine. I told them "she can have the lead, she's way too fast for me!" They laughed. After focusing myself again, I was ready to go for the last lap!

Out I went! I was looking for the second place male. Didn't see him. I saw Terri again, although, I was so focused I almost missed her! Saw my half marathon buddies again. About 5 minutes in, I saw the second place guy...he was walking!! So at that point I knew that I would at least take first place male. But the girl in third place was gaining! So I kept up an 8:30 pace, but I knew I was slowing down. By the time I was at Mile 23 my pace was 9:10 or so. I was tired. The sand was just sucking the energy out of me. My feet were feeling heavy. It was starting to get hot out. Even with this pace though, I lapped a couple of the other racers. That felt good. When I got to the turnaround aid station, the crew had left to go get supplies. There was an almost empty bottle of Coke there. I drank it up...right from the bottle, and tossed it in the trash. Then I took my gel and some water. My Accelerade was all shaken up so I opened up the bottle, emptied it, and filled it with plain water. I was feeling dehydrated so I decided just to run on water and the last gel. I wanted to hit a 3:35 marathon split, but it wound up being 3:37. Still good. I was stil happy with that, since my marathon split at the Georgia 50K was 3:39. Being as tired as I was, I figured I'd get some Gatorade at the aid station 2.5 miles from the finish, just to keep the electrolytes in me. My splits were approaching the 10:00 pace mark now, but I managed to keep them around 9:50. When I got to the last aid station, I took my gel, swigged some water, and then took some Gatorade too. It was extremely difficult to start running again, but I knew I only had about 25 minutes left. I was at 3:54 on the clock. 2.5 miles to go. I tried my hardest to keep my pace up, but I was so tired and so sore from the sand that I barely managed to keep 11 minute miles. I saw Betsy about 2 miles into her last lap. She told me she was in pain, but she was pressing on! I was so proud of her!! As I approached that last hill, I was tired, but I manage to get up it without too much extra effort. It certainly wasn't as hard as that hill in the Georgia race. At a mile to go, I wanted to cry because it felt like I was never gonna get there. Meanwhile, I'm thinking, that girl in third place is catching up and I can't do anything about it. Little did I know that she was actually 38 minutes behind me.

Upon seeing the finish line ahead, I breathed a sigh of relief and tried as hard as I could to sprint...no luck...so I just jogged across the line and stopped. Tom, G, Sue, Terri, and Shaun were there cheering me on. Pictures were taken. I stopped my Garmin and just bent over to breathe. One of the race directors gave me a glass of water. They asked if I was ok. I stood up and said "Let's do a CrossFit!!" and started doing squats on the spot. That lasted all of about 3 seconds. Then I needed to sit down.

NOTHING!! This was a 10 minute 50K PR, and a 69 minute PR for THIS race. If I could learn to defy gravity, then maybe that's the answer to this question.

I relaxed a while, showered, and then Sue (my savior) massaged my feet and legs for a while because the bottoms of my feet were cramping. After a while, when Betsy hadn't finished yet, we went to go look for her. First Tom and I...we found B and as we were walking back with her, we found G who was coming out too. Then Sue joined us. We all walked Betsy in together.


SAND!!! Hate that stuff!


It is a small race, but it's so well organized and very well stocked. It is fairly expensive, but they provide so much stuff. There is no shortage of food or drink. Very nice people and very nice participants. This is definitely a race I'd love to do for years to come.