Race Report: Moose's Tooth Marathon

Well, my friends, I finished. As usual, my marathon freakout was just a bump in the road. I did just fine.

I’m a little lost about how to go about this race report. As this is only my second marathon, I really have nothing else to compare it to but the DisneyWorld marathon. And these two races are on opposite sides of the spectrum in everything from location, to support, to number of people, to scenery, etc.

When I ran Disney, I was 1 of 20,000 runners. When I ran Moose’s Tooth, I was 1 of 300. Talk about pressure to not finish last! Haha.

Let’s start with the cons. There aren’t too many. It was a good race, just sooooo very different from Disney.

1. The spectators were sparse. Most of the course was run on a trail system throughout Anchorage, which has its advantages, but I really missed having spectator support throughout the journey.
2. Planning for this race was a little difficult. I carried my fuel belt, because there wasn’t much information about where aid stations would be. But my fuel belt only has room for so many GUs and so much water, so I had to figure out where a few of my friends could meet me on one of the trails to refill my belt.
3. There were only 300 marathon runners. 300 runners can get fairly spread out during 26.2 miles, and it felt like I was all alone on the course at times. Kinda freaked me out a bit.


And the pros.

1. The course was beautiful. And shaded. I had coastal views of the Cook Inlet most of the time. And let me tell you, Anchorage and its coast are gorgeous. It was a clear and sunny day (still a bit chilly…55), and Mt. McKinley could be seen in the distance. I was hoping to spot a moose during the run (which I have on this trail before), but it didn’t happen on marathon day. Bummer.
2. The aid stations were just as well stocked here as they were at Disney. They were placed about every 2 miles apart, and some even had food. This would have been good to know beforehand because I probably wouldn’t have carried my fuel belt, but it was still reassuring to know that there was support on the course. I was worried about that.
3. There were only 300 marathon runners. This is both a pro and a con. The solitude was nice. It gave me the opportunity to just run with myself, and push myself, and challenge myself, and not compare myself to the runner in front or behind. It was just me and my tunes and my thoughts.

So my results? I didn’t PR. I sort of expected not to, but surprisingly I’m not bummed about my result. After all, I finished 1 minute, 29 seconds slower than Disney. Which is awesome because Disney was as flat as a pancake. No hills, nothing. Just a flat and fast course. And this course was, shall we say, a wee bit more challenging. Hills EVERYWHERE. And, who puts a 150 ft hill at Mile 25.8? Alaska does. So finishing a tad bit slower than Disney doesn’t really make me feel bad. I’m actually quite astonished with myself. Proud, even. And no, I didn’t finish last!!!

My time: 4:51:23.

Just think what I can do on another flat course. I can’t wait!