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


View Duke City Marathon - Albuquerque, NM in a larger map

The Off-Piste Pope

Super Pope - John Paul II (1920-2005)

So if you haven't heard, the Pope is stepping down. This news is quite the departure from papal historical norms, but all-in-all a welcome move for the better. The current Pope scores low marks for charisma, he is often socially awkward during appearances and can be tone deaf in Vatican media releases. His style projects the sterile coldness of doctrine and orthodoxy rather than the wonder of faith. Not much of a well of inspiration to his Catholic flock around the world, practicing or not-practicing. These shortcomings are magnified several fold by the unique brilliance of his predecessor, Pope John Paul II.

The magnetism of John Paul - previously Cardinal Karol Wojtyla of Poland - was manifest in the way he humanized the seat of St. Peter with natural charm and ease of grace. That, and the man had balls. He waded into the tension of the Solidarity movement in the early 80's in open defiance of the Soviets and the Iron Curtain that veiled off eastern Europe. He publicly lent his (and Rome's) support to the cause, even holding an open Mass during his first visit as Pope to several hundred thousand of his countrymen. The ruskies unsurprisingly tried to knock him off for this stunt, but like a badass the Pope shook off four gun-shots wounds, later recovered, and eventually pardoned his would-be assassin. And a big papal middle-finger to the KGB when the Soviet state toppled and fell nine years later.

The Pope on vacation in 1984

What made the guy seem real to me were the stories of his youth, wandering and adventure-seeking in the Tatra mountains of Poland. Hiking, kayaking, exploring. He was John Muir with a funny hat. It was oft publicized that his first love was skiing.

When asked, "Is it befitting a cardinal to ski?" his reply was, "What is unbefitting a cardinal is to ski badly."

Undoubtedly the best ski quote of all-time. Upon his passing, several of his closest confidants revealed that in his early days in Rome the Pope engineered several clandestine trips to the slopes, having his bros help him sneak through the guarded gates of the Vatican then back again. They'd head off in a borrowed car, no security detail, no cellphones, no one on the planet knowing their whereabouts, trunk loaded with parkas and wool sweaters I assume, and the Pope - with all the many burdens of heaven and earth on his conscience - would then spend his morning, hidden there in broad daylight, waiting his turn in the lift line and bombing down runs with a smile on his face.

Happy Ash Wednesday. Find time to get some turns in this week if you haven't already.

A Brief Meeting with Billy Mills

Old adversaries - Billy Mills and Steve Gachupin

Had the chance to meet and talk with Billy Mills this weekend. The guy is an American running icon primarily for his come-from-nowhere victory at the Tokyo Olympics back in 1964. Mills was the VIP guest at this weekend's Buffalo Thunder Half Marathon along with Jemez Pueblo's Steve Gachupin who was with us as well, and double Olympic Trials qualifier Alvina Begay who wasn't there because she was storming up Old Taos Highway with the rest of the race field.

As for meeting Mills, I mostly just wanted to shake the guy's hand and tell him that it was an honor to have him visit Santa Fe, but with Steve standing there I mentioned that the two of them had some history since they raced each other in the 1968 Olympic Marathon Trials in Alamosa. This was the correct thing to say and it started Mr. Mills off on a story about how he had run the Trials only to pace George Young to victory. Knowing that Young was from New Mexico I found this story more than a little compelling. Apparently it was Young's first marathon and he kept wanting to press the pace. As Mills tells it, he repeatedly advised George to hold back then sent him on his way at mile 20. George won the race and competed later that summer in Mexico City running 16th. Mills mailed in the rest of his Trials race, abandoning soon after 20mi, Gachupin claimed bragger's rights with a 15th place showing.

1968 Marathon Trials - Gachupin at left, Kenny Moore of Oregon, George 
Young of Silver City (10), Billy Mills at right

Mills went on to say that he never ran another marathon, the distance was too grueling especially since he had a hypoglycemic condition that made things difficult. I noted that he had pretty good credentials for a guy that couldn't run a marathon, running to 14th place at the Tokyo Games in '64. He answered that it was just as grueling then even though he had been in the shape of his life, by his estimations he was in 3:56 mile shape at the time. He continued his story saying that there were no water stations along the route in Tokyo. Runners were allowed to set one bottle out on the course and his had only water in it. He had asked the other runners what he should be adding to his bottle (sugar, salt) and apparently they wouldn't give him the time of day, even the Americans. Not because of strategy or gamesmanship, but rather as Mills explained, because it was 'a different time'. Kinda like how the color of the Olympic medal Mills wore around his neck on the flight home was a bit 'different', I'd imagine. Golden rays of Olympic immortality different.

Here's some video of Mills wrecking dudes on a cinder track in Tokyo. Olympic and American record, a PR by 50 seconds, and the making of an American legend. 


Related Posts:
  - Buffalo Thunder Half Marathon, 2011
  - Buffalo Thunder Half Marathon, 2013



View Santa Fe to Buffalo Thunder Half Marathon in a larger map

Bandelier National Monument and Lummis Canyon

Adolph Bandelier c. 1880 - courtesy Museum of NM

Local historian Mark Simmons penned a terrific write-up of area icon and archeologist Adolph Bandelier in his most recent column in the Santa Fe New Mexican. Bandelier is a New Mexico figure I have a lot of admiration for if only because of my many wanderings through the canyons and mesa tops of his namesake at Bandelier National Monument. Even in the wonderland of northern New Mexico, the canyons of Bandelier are a special place to visit. As usual, Simmons frames a compelling historical profile that is worth a read if you have a few minutes to spare.

Bandelier came to New Mexico to survey and document many of the area's living pueblos at the turn of the century, but was eventually drawn to the ruins among the canyons of Los Alamitos upriver from Cochiti, proclaiming it to be 'the grandest thing I ever saw'. Simmons' write-up includes a bit about the archeologist's chance meeting and subsequent friendship with another New Mexico luminary, photographer Charles Lummis. Of their chance meeting, Bandelier writes:

"One day in a New Mexico sandstorm, a bronzed, middle-aged man, dusty but unweary from his 65-mile tramp from Zuni, walked into my solitary camp at Los Alamitos. Within the afternoon, I knew that here was the most extraordinary mind I had ever met."

Charles F. Lummis - courtesy of braunlibrary

Lummis was to travel extensively through the western Americas, spending a number of years in northern New Mexico, and later in his career he personally counseled President Teddy Roosevelt on the affairs of the Native Peoples of the western United States, acting as a staunch advocate for their cause. Together, Bandelier and Lummis archived and photographed much of the remaining artifacts and cliff dwellings of the people that once settled in and around the area of Frijoles Canyon. 

Established as National Monument in 1916, it was Bandelier's name selected by the Park Service to represent the area's cultural treasure in honor of the body of work the two men put together. Lummis' name adorns the magnificent canyon that stretches just west of Frijoles and Alamos canyons inside the Monument boundaries. The canyon's elevation profile dips 700ft from rim-to-floor. A spectacular sight and a trail obstacle with few rivals. 

There's a fairly extensive network of trails through Bandelier Monument that cross the mesas and send the canyons. The origins of some may be as old as the ancient cliff dwellings themselves. The loop through Frijoles Canyon (16+mi) might be the best trail run in northern New Mexico in my opinion. At the present time much of the backcountry trail network is closed due to the catastrophic damage from last summer's Las Conchas Fire. When the restoration work begins to fall into place and the trails open to the public once again it is well worth the time to run out Frijoles or venture out to Lummis Canyon and the Stone Lions beyond.

Frijoles Canyon looking west (c. 2008)  - courtesy of mywisconsinspace.com

Stone Lions, Bandelier Natl Mon. - HDD (Aug, 2009)

View Frijoles Canyon - Bandelier, NM in a larger map

Micah True - A Life Well Lived

Micah True - curtesy of RunTramp.com

The dominant news story in the running world this weekend is the passing of trail running icon Micah True. Also known as Caballo Blanco in the Mexican villages where he ran out thousands of miles, True was a passionate advocate for the Tarahumara Indians of Mexico's Copper Canyon. He brought attention to their plight as the race director for the Copper Canyon Ultra Marathon, run each March in Urique, Mexico. True was elevated to trail icon status from his prominent depiction in Chris McDougall's influential trail bible Born to Run (c. 2009).

I thought I might not write about Micah's passing because I haven't read McDougall's book and I didn't know the man myself, but several area runners did, (Gabe, Mariam, Ruthanne, Daniel, Marc). Many had made the trip down to Urique to meet the legend and the quiet people for whom he advocated, and to run the trails that he made famous. Others had met him or heard him speak at trail and mountain events around the southwest over the last couple years. He was very well liked and highly respected. It was this network of people who held him in such high regard that first brought media attention to his disappearance near Silver City earlier last week, and it was the same mass of well-wishers that drove the growing media attention as large search parties formed to aid in the rescue effort. For an athlete in a very niche, non-commercial sport, the bright spotlight that his passing has attracted is an impressive testament to what kind of a man he was and what kind of effect he inspired in others. 

In the canyons of Mexico - curtesy of Ryan Heffernan

  

Coverage of his passing in the Boulder Daily Camera can be found here.

Notable acknowledgments to the man in the blogosphere can be found here, here, and here.

A photo album of the Copper Canyon Ultra can be found here (Outside Magazine)

Caroline Rotich and the Santa Fe area Elite Training Group

Aron Rono and Caroline Rotich, courtesy of michaelclarkphoto.com

Update: Caroline is the new 2015 Boston Marathon Champion.

| Got to meet a solid group of local elites on Tuesday at a planning meeting/dinner for the upcoming Santa Fe Run Around. Friend Ryan Bolton has moved into a coaching position for some of the recently disbanded AmeriKenyan athletes and was at the meeting along with Aron Rono, Patrick Kemboi, and Abebe Yimmer.

Caroline in NY, courtesy of letsrun.com

I thought Caroline Rotich was going to be there but she couldn't make it. Caroline has been training in town for several years now and is starting to light it up on the majors circuit. She's coming off a 9^th place finish at the New York Marathon last Nov. (2:29:46), a 1st place and new course record at the New York half-marathon in March (1:08:52), and a 4^th place finish at the Boston Marathon three weeks back (2:24:26). At both the New York half and at Boston she bested cover-girl and Alberto Salazar coached athlete Kara Goucher (CU alum). So what we have here is:  Caroline > Kara, Bolton > Salazar, Santa Fe > Eugene. That's what I'm talking about. 

In any case, Caroline couldn't make the dinner. Apparently she's vacationing out in Lubbock this week which is particularly awesome.

1. Professional career rocking - check.
2. New PR - check.
3. Two top ten finishes in a marathon major over the last six months - check.
4. Solidly on the list of favorites for New York this fall - check.

Sweet, I think I'll head to Lubbock for a little R&R.

Abebe Yimmer was gearing up for the upcoming US 25km championships in Grand Rapids May 14th. He's the Ethiopian rep in the group but gained US citizenship recently so he'll be competing for his first US title in Grand Rapids. I asked him how he was feeling, if he was in form or what - and he was like 'oh yeah man, it's all good, training is great, I'm going to do great'. Funny as hell. I asked him what the plan was, if he was going to push the pace or mark the leaders, drop surges or what - he just said he was going to make it a race, nothing to worry about. The guy has good style.

Rono's collegiate days

Aron Rono was just out racing in Stanford at the Payton Jordan Invitational. The guy mixed it up in a blazin' 10,000m that had 19 guys run under the 28min mark. Finished 11^th in 27:31. That is 'effin crazy fast. He didn't take down American runners Bobby Curtis or Matt Tegenkamp who finished just before him but did nip World Champ medalist Tahri of France. Aron ran to four consecutive NAIA 10,000m titles in college so he's a pretty bad dude on the track. He helped rabbit the 5000m at the Prefontaine Classic last May. I don't remember asking him where he was racing next but I did get to meet his new fiance. I think he made it to last year's Run Around dinner as well so he's been training in the Santa Fe area for at least a couple years now. A pretty cool guy.

Patrick Kemboi was preparing for a race in Indianapolis I believe. I don't know him that well but Ryan told a funny story about dueling with the guy in college. Ryan apparently has this photo from XC nationals of himself running in a pack of what turned out to be several future Olympians. They're positioning themselves for the final kilometer of the race. Patrick sees the photo and recognizes not just the runners but also where in the race the photo was taken, noting that he was not in frame because he was up ahead running faster than all those chumps. Great story.

In any case, Santa Fe is stepping up as a training area for some serious top level athletes. You've got to think other athletes and coaches are beginning to notice, pretty sure Salazar and Goucher have. Ryan tells me that Caroline is fixated on winning New York, which would be huge. Ibrahim Hussein huge for New Mexico at least. Until then she's awaiting offers from Chicago and Berlin to see if that's where she'll be running in the Fall.

See Also: 
  - Caroline Rotich Races to Boston Lore ('15)
  - Rotich Running Daegu ('11)
  - Luminaries on the Rail Trail
  - Chasing Antelope on Foot - Outside Magazine (May '11)

2011 US Indoor Track & Field Championships - Albuquerque

Made the drive down to the Albuquerque Convention Center to spectate some championship racing yesterday. It was somewhat amazing they were hosting a top caliber event like that just down the road. Tickets were easy to get and I was maybe expecting a low turnout in attendance because of the absence of any kind of event marketing, but the stands seemed full enough. There were also plenty of nachos to be had of which I helped myself.

The night started off with the field event competitions. Couldn't see the womens triple jump so well, so we wandered over to the mens weight throw. These guys were awesome. It seemed like a modified hammer throw and there were a few guys that could heave it. Some of the athletes were hulking, the guy that won was big but looked the least athletic of the lot.

Next up were the qualifying heats of the 800m. All of the athletes looked like fitness title champions and every runner announced was either a Conference, NCAA or US National champion. Phoebe Wright powered through the women's field taking the best time into Sunday's final. In the men's qualifiers, lightning fast Duane Solomon led from the gun to take the first heat. The second heat featured a cut looking former NCAA champ, Jacob Hernandez, but he and the others were blasted by Mark Husted who truly looked like a high school kid out there. Husted waited until the final 150m and just went wide and dropped them all. You could see Hernandez trying to respond but the skinny high school kid just eased away. I wouldn't have believed it if I didn't see it with my own eyes. Husted is actually a DII champ which is mighty impressive for a skinny 15yr old.  The mens and womens 400m races followed with no big names in the race. I did note that Tavaris Tate is two-thirds ass and legs, and one-third torso. Those proportions apparently make a guy fast as hell.

Lagat signing after winning the 3000m

The mens high jump began next and the announced field had a four time US champion and Olympian in it, Oregon's Jesse Williams. He was a pretty average looking guy next to the rest of them, but on his first jump it was obvious he was a class above the others. He won with a 7'5" clearance. Beyond the high jump pit, the mens pole vault was beginning. All of these guys looked like they were in a band or something. What is it with vaulters? Crash Davis was on the entry sheet but didn't compete. Olympic Champ Brad Walker was in the field but no-heighted. What the hell Brad? I think he may have been distracted by the mens high jumper in the white body suit. That guy probably should've been asked to put on some pants. Mike Hollis won the vault clearing over 18'.

The womens 3000m was run next. We were cheering for Jenny Baringer (Simpson) an ex-CU Buff. There was a field of only six women which seemed odd, and after a 2000m warm-up Barringer and Sarah Hall pulled away from the rest. A Colorado/Stanford match up that played out with Hall tracking Barringer through the entire race and surging on the bell lap. Barringer held Hall off on the back stretch and pulled away with authority over the last 70m winning in 9min 2sec.  She pumped her fists a few times at the finish, clearly happy with her performance. Colorado for the win sons. How about them BUFFALOS!, that's what I wanted to yell at Sarah as she walked by, but she looked tired and it would have been in poor taste. We came away with no photos of the womens race but a great photo album from the evening's events can be found here.

Braun, Rupp, Lagat, and Vaugh with 1000m to go - Assoc. Press

My crappy photo of Vaughn leading early

The mens 3000m featured World Champ and Olympic medalist Bernard Lagat, new American Record holder Galen Rupp, hometown boy and UNM alum Jeremy Johnson, CU badass and recent US Cross Country Champ Brent Vaughn, and a field of notables including Aaron Braun, Jeff See, Kyle Acorn, and Trevor Dunbar (the only collegiate in the race). Johnson went to the front with the field loping along at a conservative pace. At about 1500m Braun went to the front and controlled the pace for a few laps before trying to trade the lead to someone else. The pack nearly came to a stop since nobody wanted to be in front, so Lagat pulled forward and the race was on. Lagat was clearly the star of the night and the crowd favorite. A few laps of Lagat up front and then Rupp finally challenged with 3 laps to go and pressed the pace. Everyone fell off the back but Lagat and Braun. My man Vaughn looked spent, I thought he'd be in the mix a bit more than that but he was cooked. Lagat and Rupp both looked real relaxed as they'd come around each lap while Braun was working like hell to hang on. At the bell, Lagat just destroyed the both of them. It was over in about 10m. The announcer had the last split at 26sec, and there was a loud ovation for Lagat at the finish. Both Lagat and Rupp finished under 8min off what was a pretty slow pace for much of the race. Braun finished strong in third. Johnson held on for sixth. Vaughn was the first athlete to leave the track, looking disgusted. I wanted to give him a 'how about them BUFFALOS!' but he looked like he probably would have punched me. Him and Sarah both. Afterward, Lagat and Rupp (mostly Lagat) were mobbed by fans and kids looking for a photo and an autograph, and the guy obliged for 10-15min. Up close, Lagat just looked like a pure expression of speed. An amazing looking athlete with an electric smile. Quite a sight.

Henry Rono chatting with his former WSU coach John Chaplin

Aside from the competition itself, there were some big names walking around the arena. We walked right past Paula Radcliffe on the way to get some nachos and I thought, was that Paula f'n Radcliffe? Yep pretty sure it was. Wait, when are you racing next Paula? - eh, but it was too late. An un-announced Dan O'Brien was circling the infield interviewing athletes after heats and on the podium. The guy looked like he could throw on some spikes and compete out there on the spot. He was ripped. Alberto Salazar showed up, spoke briefly and was presented with some achievement award. He spoke of how he felt American distance running was on the rise, although one wouldn't conclude that seeing as most of our top talent wasn't running in Albuquerque this evening. The big dog pacing around bleacher side was Henry Rono. Large groups of college and high school aged runners would walk right past Mr. Rono oblivious to who this old well-dressed gentleman with the cap was, then an older spectator would be shuffling by and stop in their tracks, staring with mouth open and ask to shake his hand. Between those four athletes there may be eight world records, an Olympic gold medal, a few World XC Championships, a slew of world titles, and several NYC and London marathon victories - some pretty heavy artillery.

Meredith, Paula Radcliffe, Therese and Gina

That's it. I don't know if I'll make it up to today's competition since I have some work to do today. The track was impressive and the crowds were impressive. USATF should probably let people know when they put on events like this so people know they can come watch them. Also someone should let these youngins know who Henry Rono is. One ought to know greatness when it's right there in front of you.

Multiple Marathons in One Year - Max Mujynya and Michael Wardian

If you know Max Mujynya, you know he's a guy that logs some serious miles and enjoys his running.  He really is a perpetual motion machine.  I took a peek at what Max put up in 2010 and it's pretty impressive.

By my count, that's ten marathons and one ultra.  Ay, Dios mio!  It looks like he just about cleared the board of official New Mexico marathons, on road and off, with the exception of Shiprock.  And he did this all in the same calendar year, not to mention finishes at both Boston and New York.  That is a solid year of racing.

What's more? The guy had a slow year compared with 2009 when he completed fourteen marathons.  His last race in Tucson a few weeks back was his 46th marathon finish in 47 months. That's tough.

Compare Max to another gunner, Mike Wardian out of Virginia.

Ten marathons as well - touche Max! Wardian ran several shorter distance races and one 100K ultra, but all of that wouldn't fit in the image above.  The guy can hammer.  If you note the fine detail, Wardian won three marathon titles outright, and ran to four other top 5 placings (in the same calendar year!), but fell short of the Olympic Trials qualifying standard by a scant 1m 55sec.  The fascinating nature of a foot race, particularly the marathon, is that there will always be the next race in which to run faster.

Related Posts:
  - Year in Review - 2010
  - The Athens and NYC Marathons
  - Chicago Marathon - Local Results, (scroll down)
  - Duke City Marathon - Review