BMO PHX Marathon 2016: Run with the Devil!
3:40am I’m up.
Gotta go. Quick, because last bus
leaves at 5:15am. Now I have ZERO issues
with a point-to-point run or being bused to the start. NOPE!
The access to the limited parking for this growing
event is a problem. It needs solving
quickly as this run is becoming increasing popular, with yearly growing crowds
(both on the course and volunteers / fans cheering).
Why is this run popular?
Well. It’s a net downhill
course. It’s in February, in
Phoenix? What else do you need? Wonderful views on the marathon course that
begins in the Usery Mountain Regional Park just prior to sunrise, with a
fireworks start (that my fvcking GoPro Session failed to document).
As always here in the desert, cool predawn start. But not cool enough. The temperature was eerily warmer than
usual. If you’ve been reading my recent
posts, you know that Phoenix has been in a global warming warm winter span
breaking heat records in winter left and right.
Averaging this winter around 10-15 degrees above normal.
Fortunately this run begins at 6:30am. But maybe we should have started at 5:30!
Upon the start, runners are treated to a nice view of the
valley from Usery Mountain Regional Park.
Off in the distance where the city lights dominates is where we’re
heading after the gun fires and the fireworks stop.
A dim start, lit only by the gentle tickling of the
morning sun, dancing behind the distant Superstition Mountain.
By mile 3, the sun has popped up and our course is now
fully visible. Still a slight coolness
in the air, we are welcomed by neighborhood cheer squads and water stations
spaced evenly about every two miles!
Fvcking awesome!
One thing that the BMO PHX run does that I would love to
see more of, is have a competition that the runners vote on after the run
online. Which cheer squad was the best,
most memorable? I don’t know what the
prize is, but these folks come out to compete.
Mile seven the entire crew was dressed in Star Wars gear
and runners were greeted with Dark Vader in full dress!
Red Mountain dances in the distance for the first third of
this run, before the vistas are shifted more southeast, where Camelback and
McDowell mountains become fixtures in the distance.
Because of the views and wonderful cheer station distractions,
you forget that the sun has been radiating its life giving heat! And before you know it, you’re nearing the
halfway point! AND ON FIRE!
NO LITERALLY ON FIRE!
But once again this is where the people of the Valley of
the Sun rocks! See this is the fvcking
desert and once you’ve spent some time here, you adapt and you look out for
others because of it.
So as the sun climbed higher in the sky, more and more
people stood in their front yards with water hoses wetting down runners!!!!
Sure the course had two water cooling stations (basically
a car wash for runners near aid stations), but the fine drips, as welcomed as
they were, were nothing compared to a full on water nozzle of coolness from the
gods of H2O!
By mile 24, I was spent.
My body overheating with every push to go faster. I would slow, cool down, push, and
BAMMM! Body would instantly heat up,
screaming slow da fvck down or we’re going to be in trouble.
Runners were falling left and right around me. The heat was beating us up like Mike Tyson in
his prime. There was a lady with her
coach nearby around mile 24 that was in tears.
She proclaimed “Everything hurts!”
But she was still moving. She continued “I will never do this again!”
Better believe I began laughing.
I proclaimed, “if a marathon was easy, everyone would do it. You guys have made it this far and that is an
accomplishment. If you’re not hurt, take
it home and get to that finish.”
Others began shouting phrases of accomplishment and
courage to finish. Funniest proclamation
“I can still feel my feet, so I’m good!”
But I ain’t gonna lie y’all. It was HOT as HELL! Most torturous run I’ve endured (well there
was that day in the desert while training for my 50K where I almost died, but
that was on a trail run while sitting under a tree listening to death whisper
options in my ear before I uber’d my way out of that situation).
…but I digress.
Last few splits are testimony to the growing heat. The recorded high for the day was 88
degrees. My garmin registered a spike of
93 degrees somewhere around mile 21-23, but settled on 88 for the last 2-3
miles. And you could feel the temperature
change. The last couple of miles were definitely
an elevation drop, with the finishing chute in a protected area.
Don’t know if it was the change in temperature or the
fact that I was near the end, but I was able to dial up the pace and get’er
done the last 1.5 miles.
Finishing 1 minute and 6 seconds above my goal of sub
five hours, I was relieved to finish around the Carey Corp Volunteers and USMC
personnel that assisted USMC Carey to the finish.
I was definitely depleted, but finished with strong
legs. I could have given more on the
course physically if it wasn’t for the heat and that was a good feeling!
And yes, if life gives me an opportunity I will be back
next year to Run with the Devil!
Enjoy the video.
Remember, be good, do you, and strive to be the better
you you know today! Peace!!!
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