What can I say? This race is fun! It's fun for the racers and it's fun for the spectators. The race this year was in Marlinton and consisted of a 3 mile run, 4 mile downstream conoe, and a 10 mile flat bike ride. It can be performed as a team of 4 or less. Usually it's different people doing each leg but individuals can also do all three legs. There is even a "family" category for families that would like to attempt it. The first leg this year was the three mile run on the river trail. It was my job to start the race for the team and keep them in a good enough position to do some serious damage with the canoe. My friend Joe and his friend Jeremy are the old dogs at this race and really get a thrill out of motoring down the river in the canoe and passing people. The final leg of the bike ride would be carried out by my friend Kevin in his debut as a bicycle racer.
It was a misty morning and very cool. I think it was in the low 50's. I had been up since 5:20am because I went turkey hunting till about 7:45am. The turkeys were gobbling but they wouldn't come to my calls. Kevin met me at my house and we headed for Wal Mart to meet up with Joe and the sausage and egg biscuit he got me. When we arrived in Marlinton it was a flood of people with bikes and canoes in the small town. I am going to guess somewhere around 150. I'll know more when the results are posted. We got there a little early so these are just some of the canoes below.
After hitting the registration table (shown below), we began to stand around and wait for the "instructional" meeting. The lady that organizes the race is quite a character. She was trying to get everyone to "dance" to get warmed up. I downed a granola bar and some gatorade. After some pre-race instructions. Kevin was on his bike riding the 4 miles or so to Buckeye. I warmed up by running around town. The legs felt good after a couple days of rest. I told Joe I would be back in 20-21 minutes. I was hoping to be faster. I was wearing the little green stretchy bracelet for our team.
I lined up a little farther to the front than I think I would have normally. I was on the 2nd line of runners. It was pack of more than 50 but less than a 100 I think. Again I'll know more later. The countdown began and the man with the pistol pulled the trigger and "click" ... nothing. So we tried again and this time the pistol didn't fire either but we were told to start anyway on "go". I took off hard... too hard...
The best average pace I was hoping for was a 6:55. I looked down at a quarter mile and thus far I was running at a 5:43 min/mile pace. That's a short sprint pace for me! I began slowing down. The granola bar was a little too much to eat. I felt like I had a balloon in my stomach. I couldn't seem to get enough air or get "warmed" up really. The first mile was on pavement starting in the streets of town and leading out onto the trail. From there it turned to gravel. I ran the first mile in 6:43. Soon after that the lead runners came whizzing by going the other direction. My friend Birch was running 3rd. I said "go Birch" in the best out of breath voice I could do. At the turnaround point (1.5) there was a barrel to go around. I hate turning around in a race it just kills your momentum. I was slowing down a good bit now and my 2nd mile was a 7:20 with an average pace of just under 7:00. I got back on the pavement for the final mile.
The runners were strung out now. I was doing good but I was guessing I was somewhere around 20th in the race. There was this guy in front of me and I passed him. Then he sprinted by me. I didn't do anything but maintain my pace. I eventually caught him again. We rounded the corner off the trail and onto the street and he took off on a sprint for the final quarter mile. I couldn't. I was doing all I could. My pace for the last mile was about a 7:05 so I was able to speed up the last mile. I could see Joe step out of the crowd and into the "exchange" box. I sped up a little bit but couldn't sprint. I took the bracelet off and handed to it to Joe. He took off for the canoe. It was a couple hundred yard trip down to the water at the Marlinton bridge. I checked my watch ... 2.94 miles in 20: 40 which is a pace of 7:02. A little slower than I would have liked but about the best I could do at this time.
I just started gasping for air and staggering around. I was kinda out of it. It is one thing to run a marathon, you hold back, you prepare for the pain and fatigue at the end. In a short fast race, there is no muscle pain or fatigue, just a lack of oxygen. I wandered toward the river. Joe and Jeremy were so fast I didn't see them leave the bank. I then got to where I could see down the river a good ways. I couldn't see them there either. They were gone man!
I had to make it to Peterstown to see my girls' soccer games so I hopped in the car. That's when I realized I could still see most of the race and not be late for the games. I drove down to Buckeye and ran/walked the mile or so back to the river. I got there before any boats arrived. I chatted with Kevin and told him how I thought I did. About 5-10 minutes later. Boats started showing up coming down the river. We were standing on an old steel bridge. It was a beautiful sight. Coming first were the Droop mountain boys. Some big fellows that had lots of power. Then another canoe. Then two kayaks. Then here they came... They were in 5th place.
I started talking to Joe about his trip. In several minutes the first biker came back by. Then another and another. Kevin came by in what I remember as 6th place. He later said he had passed one rider, evidently the one that got around Joe in the field. We saw the rider he passed go by and I said to Joe "there's no way he'll catch Kevin" because he really looked like he was struggling to go. The bikers had about 4 miles to go to the finish on the rail trail. A good portion of that was paved. The lead bikers were cruising along in the 20 mph range. I took off for Peterstown....
The guys stayed for the announcement of the winners. It appears we got 6th overall and 4th amongst the teams. That means 2 individuals did all three events and beat us!. I think one of them even got 2nd place overall. Like I said, I'll know more when the results are posted. (Kevin made a nice keepsake of the race shirt, green bracelet, and race bib.)
This was a really fun race. It would be great fun for families or buddies to do. Each leg is not that long for 1 or 2 people to do. There were some folks there who were serious. Others were there to have a good time and just finish. I heard the food at the after party was great. I would recommend this race to anyone in the area. It's fun to be in and watch!
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