Last Chance BQ race, Sept 7, 2025
26.2 mi. – This was a novel replacement for the Sydney Marathon, which I did not get selected for in either the general lottery or the “special” Abbott WMM drawing for athletes with at least 3 stars.
When I learned I wouldn’t be running for Star #7, I clipped in to the idea of doing one of the last chance BQ events. Geneva, IL, Grand Rapids, MI and Erie, PA host them. Since MarathonPacing.com has been the team behind the Erie race, I liked the idea of going there and seeing some people I know. Maureen and Kerry were also in for the trip, so it was the summer mission to train in the hot months for this one.
We flew into Erie’s small airport. My flight had a connection in Charlotte that had me waiting there for 2.5 hours ~ alone. I was grateful to have the nice Centurion Lounge to spend that time in. When leaving the first flight, I wrenched or twisted my right knee in some fashion getting out of my seat into the aisle. It was a dull “pop” and some following crunching sounds, nothing I’ve ever had before. (Nor do I have any previous knee issues.) I walked through the terminal to the next gate area and soon noticed I was limping and the back of that right knee was sore and getting worse. How was I going to explain getting injured “deplaning” after training all summer?
This race proved to be very challenging since I came to the event with several pieces banged up. My left side high hamstring/glute was an issue since Feb 2024. Prior to training for the Erie event, I elected to have Daniel work on this area to finally snuff-out whatever was still in need of healing. Those sessions started in May and went into July, including Shockwave therapy and other modalities. It felt as if I was gaining more resilience and less of the pain on that side – until I drove from FL to NYC with my friend Steffie. Three days in a car and I was in pain doing minor slow runs. Prior to that, this side only had me noticing the difference when I began a run, especially on hills for the first few reps. Now it was painful and noticeable way more often. My second point of injury was a sore right adductor muscle. I don’t have any incident that led to me feeling very sore on this side, but getting out of bed and how I slept definitely rang the bell with this new tweak I was experiencing. It affected my running because it flared up along with the left side hamstring & glute. On one interval day, I ran 5 of 6 miles and stopped when it was apparent something was wrong. I traveled back to NY by plane for a funeral, missing all workouts for those 5 days due to feeling pain even during a 1/2 mile warmup jog in the parking lot of a gym I was intending to visit for a treadmill tempo run.
That’s it, right? No! The Sunday before the Erie race I slid out on a concrete sidewalk while riding a bike. My left elbow, forearm, shoulder, hip, knee and palm were all scraped up and involved. I had to change wound dressings twice per day to get moisture on the scrapes and cuts. Also to block bleeding and whatever else to find its way onto my bed linens each night. Movement opened things up
Once in Erie, I limped around Friday late afternoon and evening to a nice dinner on the bay, overlooking Presque Island, the race site. Saturday morning packet pickup wasn’t open until 12 noon, we arranged to drive to the park, run 3 miles then get our numbers. I planned on walking and sputtering in any runs to see how all the parts were functioning. Kerry and Maureen ran along a paved path on the bay side, in the reverse direction we’d be using for the race the next day. I tried trotting along very slowly behind them, no issues. I looked to see that I had run 1/2 mile and still no ill effects. I thought I could possibly just go this slow pace for another mile and turn around, if anything went wrong, I wouldn’t be too far away. They both stopped at the turnaround where I reported no issues yet, I would jog back also. They went faster than me, but being able to do this run had me satisfied I could run the race on Sunday. If I could heal again what I had already done since yesterday, I would be able to do well.
We gathered our race numbers and packets, a pair of socks and a small one strap backpack. We opted to do a drive around the island to see all parts of the course,. We got out at Lifeguard chair 8 and took a few photos.We drove around getting some things we needed then back to the AirBnb house. We ate dinner at 3:30pm at the same Italian restaurant the pacers use, Valerio’s. It was very delicious and not overpriced! We each took portions home, too. We went to Wegman’s supermarket and a nearby liquor store for things then back to the house. I wanted to sleep early and get things started digestion-wise. This works well when I can time it properly.
Race morning we left the house at 4:30am for a 1 mile run. Sharing one bathroom is an adventure, when all have the same schedule of waking and departing. I drank a Maurten 320 bottle for the first 80mg of carbs, plus 1/2 bagel sprinkled with honey spread. We left at 5:30 and arrived to park shortly thereafter. A short .6 mile downhill walk in the dark had us at the start area before 6:00 am. A few porta potty visits and we had a sunrise. The runners were staged in a parking lot next tot eh race start, and brought over in pace time order to the course road and Start Line. I started with Kerry in the 3:35 pace group. We ran together on the narrow road for about two miles before we had more room to see in front of us and maneuver if necessary. Our pace was supposed to be 8:12 mins per mile – even the first mile in the crowd was faster than that. Kerry & I could talk, move to where the photographers were, and enjoy the very noticeable 55 degree starting temperature. I told Kerry we were going a bit too fast after the first three to four miles. A guy with a Baltimore singlet chimed in saying we were only three of four seconds ahead of pace. Not correct, we were already probably 20-30 seconds ahead.
The daylight and open breaks in the tress had us keeping pace through miles 4-8. Once on the end of the island, we encountered the only
“mild” rise on the course, a car bridge over a small creek. We turned westward and felt some breezes. Our group was a little thinner now, some ran ahead, a few fell back. Kerry and I stayed together past miles 9, 10 and 11. Once there I told her to run as she feels – do not have any thoughts about staying with me. I ate a gel at mile 5 and again at mile 10. I took a Tylenol Extra Strength pill at mile 8. I wasn’t having any specific pain, this pace was more relaxed than what I had done most of my interval and tempo training runs at – so no problems yet.
Kerry slowly moved ahead, catching back up with the pace group. They were still ahead of time for a 3:35 finish. I was only 200-300 m behind them. I ran the rest of the race mostly alone, occasionally passing people also solo running in between pacer groups. When we got to within 1.25 miles of the Finish Line & beginning of Lap #2, we had families and fans along both sides of the road cheering. I saw one lady holding a sign that read, “Stay Hard,” so I jokingly said, “Thank you Mrs Goggins.” Wearing a PBRR singlet with the clear to see text allows people to yell out at me, they like Palm Beach, Florida! We ran just past the open gate to the park and around a set of cones for the course to wrap back to running east. Going under the Finish line for Lap #1, I estimated Kerry and the pace group were about 30-45 seconds ahead of me.
The second lap was a solo effort. The course and things I remembered seeing the day before and on the first lap seemed to arrive quicker. I ate another Maurten gel at mile 15 and two more Tylenols at mile 16. I wasn’t feeling any specific issues, but I didn’t want to have something rise up and then have to wait 3-4 miles for a Tylenol to calm things down. This course had a water stop every mile. 26 chances to get water or Gatorade. In the final 6 miles, I didn’t eat gels, I took Gatorade every other aid station. I saw the gal with the Goggins sign again – this time she knew who I was and I called out to her for a laugh!
Mile 20 was right before the only rise on the course, when I went up the hill I was only 100m away from Kerry and the pace group. As I felt things tightening up in the final 4 miles, I eased off the pace only a small bit. I was well within my BQ time with a very healthy buffer, so I didn’t want to risk speeding up and having anything subvert my efforts. The last few miles were long tree-lined straightaways, not many fans until that final stretch by Mile 25. Here there were more families and spectators, all who had to park where we did and walk the course. No cyclists were allowed except course officials and race volunteers helping at aid stations. In the last mile, I could see that Kerry wasn’t in the pace group. I imagined she felt good, knew she had a great time already, and sped up. Maureen was on the side of the road taking videos as I passed, she pulled out at half way. She had good videos of Kerry and I each passing her separately. Kerry looked great, smiling and at a nice pace. My turn – a labored and limping run past at 8:25 pace in the final 1/2 mile.
I came in at 3:35:56. This earned a 9th place for my age group out of 46 guys, an avergae pace of 8:14. BQ earned and may this be the last time I am in a race wondering if I can finish the distance due to injured body parts.
-dm
drun4fun 