30th Annual Duke City Marathon - Oct. 2013

The Duke City Marathon took place a week ago Sunday. It was the 30th year of the event which is a milestone even beside the round numbers since it connects all the way back to the tail-end of the running boom. Duke City is quite a bit smaller than it was in the late eighties when we were all growing up, but it remains the largest marathon in the state with approximately 450 annual finishers, and the largest half marathon with approximately 1,200 runners, give or take a dozen runners each year in either race. Roughly 3,000 individual finishers in aggregate when adding in the 5K/10K runners, second in size only to the Run for the Zoo each spring.

Naturally, the big pre-race story in the Albuquerque Journal centered on Santa Fean Chris Chavez - because he’s raced every Duke City marathon ever run. That’s a thirty year streak. Damn impressive considering most marathoners are in a perpetual state of injury or injury maintenance, not to mention the Fall wedding season, vacations, work demands, etc. Think of all the obstacles to run that he somehow dodged or painfully accommodated the afternoon after running. There’s usually a handful of runners who amass streaks like this for a given race, but for Duke City, Chris is the only one. In his spare time, he patched together a nineteen year streak up at Pikes Peak dating back to '95, not just for the Sunday marathon but most years it included the double - the Ascent on Saturday (13.1mi) followed by the Marathon distance on Sunday. All of that is just ridiculous. He’s the only Big Tesuque runner still competing who ran in the inaugural race back in 1985 (twenty-nine years ago), and he's also the race director for the spring Amanda Lynne Byrne memorial races up in Pecos. Know who my go-to guy is for obscure questions about champion New Mexico runners from decades past? Chris. The guy knows everything.

Chris running out Albuquerque's Bosque Trail,
courtesy of Greg Sorber and the Abq Journal

Ok, so Chris is a badass and gets the lead pre-race Sports story in the Journal the day before the 30th edition of Duke City. Also buried in the article were quotes from Santa Fe’s Vinnie Kelley who talks about how Chris trains in the hills on the Upper Winsor and the Nambe watershed and how hard it is to string together thirty straight marathons and how Chris and himself have trained together on occasion over the years. So how’d Vin run in Sunday’s marathon?, only a 3hr 18min finish at altitude, to win the 60yr age group by thirty minutes. That’s an automatic qualifying time for any race in the country other than the Olympic Trials. Way to hammer Vin.

Lots of other nortenos in the race fields though I don't know them all well enough for a spotlight. Cordova's Senovio Torres took the men's 55-59 age group by thirteen minutes, 3hr 25min; and former Lobo and Santa Fean Shawna Winnegar dispatched the half marathon field to win by four minutes; 1hr 21min. Smokin' fast.


Related Posts:
 - Big Tesuque Trail Run Recap - 2013
  - La Luz Trail Run Recap - 2013
  - Pikes Peak Ascent - Race Report


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Luminaries on the Rail Trail

The Santa Fe Rail Trail at Rabbit Rd.

Got in a great long run with Nunez on Sunday. We ran out 22 pleasant miles on the Rail Trail starting around sun up. Early on I was blabbing about the upcoming New York Marathon when Caroline Rotich comes by us, a possible top three finisher if she accepts an invite to run. Can't say that happens to me everyday. Later we saw another area pro running an out-and-back on the trail.

On our return trip James was talking about the upcoming Duke City Marathon. As we discuss the race we run into Chris Chavez who happens to have run all twenty-seven previous Duke City Marathons. Helluva streak. He's out on the trail getting in last minute training for number twenty-eight. Chris joins our run and starts rattling off a history of the race with a great anecdote about former Albuquerque runner and NYC Champion Ibrahim Hussein. Hussein won Duke City one year, yet does not hold the course record. The record belongs to former UNM star Pablo Vigil, son of legendary Adams State coach Joe Vigil. Quite a morning.

Santa Fe Rail Trail
22mi, 3hrs 5min



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Oct. Events Calendar - Duke City Marathon

- Yesterday was the Duke City Marathon in Abq.  In addition to the marathon there was a half-marathon, marathon relay, and 5K.  There were about 350 marathon runners,  ~1,200 in the half, and about the same in the 5K.  I know Jacob over at the Santa Fe Trail Runner had been training for the race, the Striders had at least one all-female relay team, and Chris Chavez and Vin Kelley were adding to their 20yr+ participation streaks.

Update:  Santa Fe area finishers included, first time marathoner Amanda Cola running 2nd overall in a time of 3:24:53; Maryann Kos finished 4th overall in 3:26:46; Vin Kelley ran 3:16:35 despite a major spill at Big Tesuque two weeks prior; Tony Gallegos ran 3:22:37; Vince Hesch ran to a PR of 3:22:43 - bold running sir; Jacob Waltz ran 3:29:33 in his premier at the distance; Chris Chavez completed his 27th consecutive Duke City Marathon in 3:31:16;  Ted Freedman was an age group winner in the half-marathon in 1:35:27; Tracy Kneisler ran to a PR in 1:56:19 (8th AG); and Julia Kinney crossed in 1:57:07 (5th AG).

- Monday 10/18 is the first day for qualifiers to sign up for the 2011 Boston Marathon.  The 2009 race filled up in January, one of the first times the April race had ever filled up.  Last year's race filled up in November.  I'm thinking this year's event will be full in about 10days less than eight hours. 

- Sangre de Cristo Mountain Sports is sponsoring a North Face speaker series event with Norwegian skiier/basejumper Karina Hollekim, Wed. 10/27, 7pm at the SF Armory for the Arts.  Tickets are either free, $8, or $20 for the reception. 

- The Santa Fe Film Festival is happening this week around town, one featured film that caught my eye, The Athlete, is about the life of Olympic marathon champ Abebe Bikila. Showing will be Sat. morning 10/23, 10am at the CCA. 

- Over at the Second St. Brewery they've got Oktoberfest special brews on tap (Altbier, Schwarzbier, and Oktoberfest Lager), as well as other German themed specials throughout the month.

- Lastly, we haven't had much snow just yet, but I hear the Santa Fe Ski Swap is tentatively set for Nov 12-14th at the Genoveva Chavez Center.  Discounted Ski Santa Fe season passes are available until Nov. 15th.




Related Posts:
   - Chicago Marathon - Local Results
   - Athens and NYC Marathons
   - Duke City Marathon Race Report - SF Trail Runner
   - Duke City Race Report - Brian Pilgrim (Abq)


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