Race Reports

I ran the Conoco Phillips Mayor's Marathon in Anchorage, AK on Saturday, 19 June 2010. The course was a bit hilly, as course altitudes ranged from 100 to 500 feet above sea level. (A look at the nearby Chugach Mountains indicated the course could have been a lot hillier.) The weather was very nice, temperatures in the low 50s, and although there was a bit of light rain this wasn't much of a problem. Several AK runners were impressed by the amount of bear poop on some portions of the course. Fortunately the 851 runners made enough commotion to keep the bears (and moose) away during the race itself. I ran a clock time of 4:00:25, my worst this year. (My best clock this year is 3:51:00 so there isn't that much difference.) The main downside of the race was the awful bus service getting to the start, a number of people bailed and took their own cars or cabs to the start. Another downside, although this is partly personal, is that the sports drink was Ultima. I just hate the taste of that stuff, although some other people like it just fine. The post-race spread was pretty good but there was no free beer (or even beer for purchase).