Camp Pendleton Mud Run

Ojai 2 Ocean Marathon

 a dork at the start line -- oh wait! that's me

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 cool "recycled materials" finisher's medal that doubles as a bottle opener

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that bike path is the course!

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at the finish with friends

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This morning friends and I ran the Ojai 2 Ocean Marathon.  The race starts in the mountains of Ojai, runs along the bike path for much of the course, and ends 700' lower at the Ventura Pier.  It is an amazing race!  The first half is almost all downhill.  Not a steep decline but a beautifully slight downhill that feels awesome.  Around mile 15 it flattens out and remains pretty flat all the way to the finish line.  The first 5 or 6 miles are run around Ojai and the last 5 or 6 are run along the beach.  This morning it was lightly misting at the start and around 53*.  It continued to mist until around mile 10, stopped, and began again when we were closer to the ocean around mile 19 or 20.  The temperature around the finish line at 10am was about 57* thanks to the marine layer.  Perfect race conditions all around!  My race was a good effort.  I held back initially because I didn't want to start off too fast.  The bike path's downhill sped me up a bit but I was still doing great until my right leg began to cramp.  Not just the calf or the quad, but the entire leg from quad to my toes.  Ouch!  That started near mile 24 and continued with me until the finish.  I had hit 20 miles at 2:57 so I was hoping to finish under 4 hours even at a slow pace but my pace got slower and slower until the cramping left me doing a run-walk to the finish.  I missed a new marathon PR by less than a minute!

Finish Time: 4:06:00

Average Pace: 9:23

Overall Place: 478 out of roughly 1000 (the race is capped and had sold out)

Sex Place: 191 out of 409

Division Place: 61 out of 132

I'm pleased with my effort.  Being so close to a new PR and not getting it is heartbreaking but that's what makes the challenge fun.  I knew I'd be somewhere in the middle of all places.  This year's race was only the second running and there were twice as many runners this year as last year.  It's a Boston Qualifier and I know competitive runners with Boston on their minds will be flocking to this race in the years to come!  There was definitely a more serious crowd here today than in other races I've done recently. 

May: 128.02 miles