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This past week I ran the Niagara Falls International Marathon. This was my first marathon & I’m extremely happy to say that I completed it in 3:38:45.9!!

Katie, Greg, Myself & John

Additional photos in my Photo Gallery.

2007 Niagara Falls Marathon

The weekend started with what was supposed to be an easy Friday night out at the UB/Akron soccer game. Unfortunately, I rained for nearly the entirety of the game. While I had a waterproof coat on & gloves, I realize in hindsight that sitting in the rain was probably a very stupid thing to do the weekend before the race. I’m not sure if it was related, but I slept terribly Friday night into Saturday morning - I dreamed it was race day, I missed the starting gun, forgot my GPS watch and had the wrong shirt & shoes on. These horrors kept me restless early Saturday AM. (I do remember that it was very sunny during the dream.) Throughout the day Saturday I felt a little sick (headache, light soreness), but fortunately it turned out to be nothing.

I spent the majority of the morning finishing up cleaning the apartment to prepare for the arrival of two friends from college (John and Greg) and John’s brother’s girlfriend Katie, who were all running the half marathon and staying with me the night before.

We headed to the Lexington Co-op (hey look - they have a .coop domain!) shortly after they arrived to grab some fruit & health bars. I had yet to make my way to this market & liked it quite a bit - it fits well into the Elmwood Village area I live in, but I was hit in the leg by one of their patrons. I can’t even begin to imagine how demoralizing it would have been to been sidelined the day before my marathon by a run-in with a shopping cart.

After John asked the check-out girl a couple of typical inquisitive questions John likes to ask, we began to leave for the Fallsview Casino to pick up our race packets, but returned back to my apartment when we realized we might not be able to cross the border with the fruit we’d just picked up.

I’ve only run three races & this was the first one I picked the packet up for before the day of the race. I’d been up to the first casino constructed on the Canadian side of the falls when I was in high school, but not to this one. I was very impressed - it reminded of a couple of the Vegas casinos I saw earlier in the summer (particularly Caesars Palace and The Venetian), but on a much, much smaller scale. As the race started in the United States (behind the Albright-Knox art gallery) and finished in Niagara Falls, Canada, I had to check in with Canadian customs before I was allowed to pick up my packet. The doorman at the entrance to the packet pickup made sure no one snuck in, annoying me by pouncing on me right as I entered & asking me if I was running the full. The information I’d received prior to the race wasn’t completely clear on what my obligations were for clearing customs - it simply said I had to clear customs (which I technically already did on my way into Canada). The doorman directed me to a table filled with Canadian customs officers, who let me know I’d have to head back to the truck and grab my birth certificate. After a trip to the truck and back, I was back in front of the customs officers again and passed without any problems. They said nothing about if I’d have to do anything special when crossing the Peace Bridge, nor made me promise not to sneak anything into the country. Immediately after the customs table I received my packet for the race and a nice Brooks tech running shirt. I was surprised to see that not only where there different shirts for the half and full marathons, but also for men and women. The packet contained the usual goodies - fliers for other races, food samples, race bib, etc, but also a deck of playing cards from the casino. I found this to be a nice touch, but on the way home found out of the fours of us, only Katie and I received the cards.

Leaving the packet pickup area, I was shuffled through what I thought was a small expo and met up with Katie, John & Greg. We headed out to the hall and stopped at the race information booth to ask about where the half marathon started so my mother could drop them off. The booth attendant treated me as if this was a stupid question and after making me feel like a child handed me an non-detailed map. There was no place to park at the start of the half way mark - runners could only be dropped off! I was again annoyed by a feeling that it was assumed participants would be taking the bus from the casino to the start line. After leaving the booth, we checked out a detailed race map hanging on the wall & I discovered the start of the full came very close to my apartment by turning around at the circle formed by Lincoln, Bidwell & Chapin. We checked out the falls from the back of the casino and followed the river downstream before crossing the border again to come back.

Saturday night we cooked a traditional pre-race spaghetti dinner (way too much pasta), including salad and garlic bread. I don’t remember much more of the evening, except watching the weather channel and debating over what to wear the next morning since it was still rainy and cold outside.

Sunday morning we all awoke around 6:45. Having the race start at 10 was a treat. We all had time to sleep in a little, shower and eat. My mother arrived around 8:20 to take John, Greg & Katie to the start of the half marathon, while I stayed in my apartment to catch some early morning outdoor shows, stretch and decide what to wear. Luckily it was sunny out, but since it was only 40 degrees out and a high of 47 expected with some wind, I decided to wear two short sleeve tech running shirts covered with a long sleeve cotton shirt. I fully expected to toss the cotton shirt aside shortly after the race & in fact ended up ditching it only about a mile in. Aside from the shirts, I wore a pair of Nike running shorts, and a cheap headband and gloves. The very last thing I did before leaving my apartment was to double check my brother’s marathon time.

I left to walk the approximate half mile to the start at 9:15 and was surprised at how few runners I saw - most were inside the art gallery. The doors and therefore lines for the johnny-on-the-sports pointed into the grass outside the gallery - had it been wet out, this would have been a mud pit - if a race organizer ends up reading this, you may want to think that one over if it’s something changeable. I wandered around Hoyt lake, the casino & the Lincoln rose garden until 9:50 or so, when I made my way to the starting line and got a spot about 30 feet behind the line without fighting at all. I talked to two guys from UB who hoped to finish in 4 hours and a couple others who all shook my hand when I told them it was my first full marathon. The Canadian & American national anthems sounded terrible - as if they were sung by a dying 90 year old lady. The gun went off very close to 10 & I would guess I crossed the start line less than 20 seconds after.

The course headed down the center road of Lincoln Parkway until the circle at the end of it, where we turned 180 degrees and returned back to the art gallery on the west most road of the Parkway. Just shy of the starting line, we turned around 180 degrees again and head back down the very same road of the Parkway we started on! We continued from the end of Lincoln onto Chapin, crossing Potomac, less than a couple hundred feet from my house. I was a little surprised by both of these - the course map wasn’t detailed enough to show the route & my email to the race directors asking the exact course was never answered.

The only thing worth noting for the first couple miles was that I had to disable to the “too fast” pace alert on my watch - I’d set it to chirp if I was going faster than an 8 minute/mile pace, but found myself doing just a touch faster than that without even trying.

We arrived at the Peace Bridge after a little more than 4 miles. There were surprisingly only a couple customs officials visible. We stayed to the rightmost (north) lane of the bridge and didn’t have to stop, slow down or even flash our bib number to enter Canada. The customs presence on the Canadian side was much more visible. The elevation map indicated there was 60 feet of incline for the bridge, but it was such a rush running up it I didn’t even notice. The wind was surprisingly light at the apex of the bridge & the view incredible. I commented to the guy next to me that it was hard to believe there had been four to six foot waves on the lake the day before. He agreed and we started to talk a little. I’m used to running alone and enjoyed talking to him. He was a Canadian and asked me what my goal was. When I told him 4 hours, he said I was running with the 3:45 pace group. I said that was about right for my Rochester half marathon time of 1:45, but that I didn’t think I’d be able to or want to keep that pace and dropped back from his group. (Little did I know I’d best 3:45!!) He was the first of four or five people I talked to - all were extremely friendly and happened to be Canadian. One even commented it would have been nice if the girls from one of the strip clubs we passed were outside to cheer us on!

After crossing the Peace Bridge, we turned downstream, but circled under the bridge and headed back towards the lake (another surprise…). The wind here was noticeable, but we only ran into it for a mile or so and then headed downstream for the remainder of the course. Before we turned downstream, I slowed at a water stop and ended up grabbing a blue Gatorade. I walked at the end of the stop while I drank some of it. Blue is not my favorite flavor, so I left quite a bit in the cup. A volunteer saw me walking toward him and placed the garbage can he was carrying between us. I tried to thrown the cup in it, but instead hit the rim, which caused it to splash all over him. I felt terrible and apologized, but he didn’t seem to care.

Around mile 7, we passed three trees a beaver had cut down. What a beaver is doing in the Niagara I don’t know, but if he wrestled those trees against the current of the river, I’m glad I didn’t encounter him!

The wind would occasionally pick up and blow upstream (into our faces), but the course was very flat and for the most part I was able to keep between a 7:50-8:30 minute/mile pace until past mile 20, even stopping at nearly every water stop. When I crossed the half way mark, I looked at my watch and saw a time of 1:44 - a minute faster than the Rochester half marathon earlier this year! I knew then I’d either have a good time or I might pay later in the race for keeping that pace. At mile 13, I planned to stop in a johnny-on-the-spot, but a spectator entered just as I arrived. I did stop at the one at mile 14.

By mile 16, I was still feeling great. I was crunching numbers in my head - giving myself 10 minutes to complete the last 6.2 miles, I started to suspect I was going to beat my brother’s 2005 Buffalo marathon time of 4:19:25. By mile 18, I was confident I was going to crack 4 hours. At mile 20, I knew I was going to do both, so I set my sights on Greg’s 2007 Rochester marathon time of 3:51:34. At mile 22, I started to realize that wasn’t going to be a problem if I didn’t hit the wall, but I wasn’t sure what I’d finish at.

I ditched my gloves at the 22 mile mark. The head band disappeared at mile 23. The outer shirt went at mile 24. The mist from the falls hit me at mile 25, but I’d slowed down a little and actually walked a very short distance that wasn’t a water stop. I got a little angry at myself, crunched some more numbers & realized I could finish in the 3:30s if I pushed it, so I did. The last mile went by in a blur. I crossed the line in 3:38:45.9, an 8:16 minute/mile average pace!

The bad thing about finishing so fast was that no one (including myself) had been expecting it. Greg, Katie & John were just walking to the finish after I crossed! My brother Nick and mother were there though & I somehow caught them out of the corner of my eye as I crossed.

After crossing, the paramedics covered me in a blanket. I walked right to a volunteer who looked like they’d take off the chip on my shoe, but they told me they didn’t do that. I had to wander around the finishing area until I could find one. On my way out, I was handed a bottle of water and bag of bananas and other food. I don’t like bananas and can’t even remember what else was in the bag. I expected tables of food, but the bag was it. It makes me appreciate the tremendous amount of food at the Rochester Marathon even more than I already did.

At this point, I had no idea where Greg, John & Katie were, so I wandered around trying to find them. I would have throughly enjoyed sneaking up behind them waiting at the finish & asking who they were waiting for, but had no luck spotting them.

After 15 minutes, I headed to the car to fetch my coat and cell phone. Since I couldn’t find the the three, I called John. By this time it was ~4:05 after the start of the full marathon. John answered and was surprised to hear me. He asked where I was. I told him I’d had to stop running at 3:39. I loved hearing the panic in his voice when he responded “Oh no - why?”, to which I (probably smugly) told him “Well because that’s when I crossed the finish line.”. He told Greg & Katie. I could hear the excitement. It was awesome. Then I turned around & saw all three of them standing by the fences just before the shoot.

After the race, we all headed to the Anchor Bar for some wings and beer. I’d had a beer two weeks before when I got a deer with my bow, but couldn’t remember the one I’d had previous to that. I’m not a big wings guy, but I ate a lot and enjoyed that beer.

Monday night I met some friends out to watch some football. I’d eaten two helpings of spaghetti and one of chili before leaving, but still had a decent sized hamburger and order of potato slices while out. I was tempted to order another hamburger, but didn’t want to spend the money. I ordered two tall Guinesses as well - they may have been the best two beers I’ve ever had. As I hadn’t drank much in months, they did sneak up a little on me. I’ve since been contemplating how enjoyable it will be to keep the beers to a minimum.

My body felt good at the end of the race. I wasn’t stumbling or in need of any medical assistance. Afterwards my right calf was a little tight and my right (good) knee sore. My left knee, which has had a torn LCL & ACL & ACL surgery feels just fine. Three days out, the soreness it going away. I even played two 5 minutes shifts of a soccer game Tuesday night. I saw no blood or blisters (I had two small blisters on my toes after my 20 mile run). There was a little bit of chaffing from my iPod Nano arm holster, but it’s already disappeared.

While I’d would have liked to crack 4 hours, I was mentally prepared not to - my real goal was just to beat my brother’s time. I never would have dreamed of cracking 3:50, much less ending with a time in the high 3:30s. I don’t know if it was the weather, the course, the extra month of training since the half marathon earlier or what, but I couldn’t have asked for a better race. I wore the marathon shirt to work the next day & had a couple people who’d known I was running ask me how I did. After having previously told them I just wanted to beat 4:09:21, they were all in awe when they heard 3:38:45.9. I was even told a runner from my department I don’t even know heard about the time without me telling him.

I’m still riding the high from the race. I doubt it will be my last marathon.

I’d like to thank John, Greg and Greg’s wife Mary for talking me through the training when it got tough. I couldn’t have done it without you. A thanks goes to my mother for carting the crew around. And one to my brother Matt, who I’ve always been competitive with - you unknowingly wouldn’t have motivated me & we would have never known who the fastest Valites was if you hadn’t gone out on your own and run a marathon first.

My splits for the race were:

1. 7:58
2. 7:45
3. 7:47
4. 7:57
5. 8:02
6. 7:48
7. 8:00
8. 7:54
9. 8:05
10. 8:09
11. 8:07
12. 8:08
13. 7:54
14. 8:34
15. 8:38
16. 7:57
17. 8:24
18. 8:14
19. 8:23
20. 8:26
21. 8:32
22. 8:46
23. 9:18
24. 8:50
25. 8:47
26. 8:56
27. 7:36 (.46 miles)

This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 31st, 2007 at 9:04 pm and is filed under running. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.