Well, certainly Catalina Marathon reinforced one of the cardinal rules of races - that you never, never, never think (much less say out loud) “well, at least the conditions can’t get any worse….” After having picked our way up and down steep hills for 10-12 miles or so, with varying degrees of rain (from light rain to downpours), on a trail with 1 - 2 inches of mud (and gooey mud, at that!), we arrived at the top of a hill to meet cold air and 25 mph winds. It was at that point that my friend and I both forgot that cardinal rule and said, “well, it can’t get any worse than this.” Of course, the race gods heard us - and that’s when it started to hail which, with the wind, was blowing right into our faces. So, there you have it - never think the conditions of a race can’t get worse !!!
Really, Catalina Marathon was a fabulous adventure. Santa Catalina Island is a small-ish island (21 miles long, 8 miles wide) off the coast of southern California, in the shape of a figure “8.” Wrigley (yes, the chewing gum magnate) owned almost all of the island during the first part of the last century; he donated the land to a conservancy that now maintains the island as a wild life preserve. There are about 200 bison on the island (and yes, you CAN get a buffalo burger in town), along with antelope, foxes, and other small mammals. The island is beautiful, and it probably looks like it did 200 years ago. There’s one town, Avalon, which encircles the main harbor of the island, with 3,500 residents. Most people own and drive around in golf carts, and you can walk from one side of town to the other in less than 10 minutes. There’s a lodge, a cantina and campgrounds at Two Harbors (at the isthmus), where the race starts.
If you’re looking for a good trail marathon, this is it. The run is almost entirely on trails - there are probably 1 – 1 ½ miles of paved road on the course (mostly as you come into Avalon at the end). But it is hilly - the course starts at sea level, ascends to 800 feet, drops down a bit, ascends back up to 1,000 feet, drops down to 400 feet, goes back up to 600 feet, then back down to sea level, then from miles 12 to mile 22, goes up and down and up and down and back up to 1,600 feet. Then back down to sea level in 4 miles for the finish. Check out the course elevation profile on the website (www.pacificsportsllc.com/CatalinaMarathon)
I planned this race with my former running friends from Los Angeles (the Santa Monica Mountain Goats, so named because they run in the Santa Monica Mountains every Saturday). We took a ferry from Long Beach (right by the Queen Mary !) on Friday morning, and the ferry ride took just over an hour (if you are prone to seasickness, this may not be the race for you). Our ride was pretty smooth, and dolphins played in the wake of the boat coming over - a good sign, we thought. We stayed in condominiums in Avalon, but there are also small hotels in Avalon if you are thinking about this race.
On Saturday morning, at 5:00 am, we were at the dock for the 35-minute ferry ride to Two Harbors, where the race starts. Rain was in the forecast, but we were all hoping that the rain would hold off till maybe noon. No such luck - it started pouring just as we were coming into Two Harbors (and we discovered it had been raining there for a couple of hours).
We started the mud fest at 6:40 (ten minutes late), and the trail started going uphill almost immediately. Within minutes, everyone’s legs up to their knees were covered with mud. And I don’t know what was worse - going uphill or downhill, as each foot slid about 1 - 3 inches with every step ! Almost everyone was in a rain parka, garbage bag, or raincoat, although I’m not sure it did much good. It was at this point that I decided that I would rather take my time on this race than finish with a twisted knee or ankle from trying to move too quickly in that darned mud ! Probably about mile 7, I slipped going downhill and fell backward, not hurting myself but falling in 2 inches of mud from my calves to my shoulders. Yuck!!!! (of course, some people pay lots of money for a mud bath --- but I just got mine for free!) Someone came along behind me about a mile later and insisted on taking a picture of my backside with my camera - I can’t wait to see it !!
I caught up to a couple of my friends at about mile 12-13, right before the hail started. Somewhere around mile 13, there was enough firm soil on the trail to make running possible. We still encountered pockets of deep mud and there were rivers of water flowing downhill the whole way on the trail, but keeping a running pace was clearly easier. The up-and-down hills were relentless from mile 12 to 22, the highest peak of the course (1,600 feet), and the trail started going downhill at mile 22 to sea level. BUT - my feet were hurting someplace they’ve never hurt before: at the top of my foot, just under the laces. I finally figured this out later that night (duh!) - I had run for 6 hours with shoes that seemed to weigh at least five pounds more than usual, and the top of the foot under the laces carries the full burden of that extra weight. No wonder the top of my feet felt bruised!
Running down into Avalon, the light rain turned into another downpour. The bad news was that the streets were flooded, so that we were running through intersections with ankle-high water; the good news was that all of this water washed the mud off our shoes and legs. So everyone finished with clean (but very wet) shoes !
Well, I finished within minutes of my Goat-friends, at (believe it or not) just over 6:30. And I was proud of that!!! After the race, the race director confirmed what we all had thought: these WERE the worst conditions in the race’s 26-year history. Just for the curious - the winning man finished at 3:03 and the first woman finished at 3:32.
Ok, so enough talk of the mud. The scenery in this race is breathtaking - green mountains, lush valleys and rocky cliffs over incredible sandy beaches (ok, so we only had good scenery for the first 10-ish miles – after that, the rain and the fog obscured most of the views). Usually, runners see bison and other wildlife along the run, but the wildlife must have gone into hiding with all the rain (being obviously much smarter than the runners). There were aid stations every two miles, fully stocked. Bless those volunteers - they must have been out in the pouring rain and wind for hours.
So - even after all of the rain, mud, wind and hail - I can’t wait to go again next year !!!!