Running in the Dark

Posted byNicholas RadfordPosted inUncategorized

I’ve run three marathons.

My first was the Seattle Marathon in November 2022. Next was the Walt Disney World Marathon in January 2023. Now, less than a year after my first, I just finished running my third–The Light at the End of the Tunnel Marathon.

I can safely say that this was my favorite marathon experience yet. This is probably due (in no small part) to the fact that it is entirely downhill, as we run from the top of a mountain to the bottom, only to get shuttled back to our cars at the start. Another factor that helps this marathon’s case for my favorite, is that it starts with a two-and-a-half-mile-long tunnel with no light. It’s an old train tunnel that has been converted to be part of the trail and is the inspiration for the name of the race. We were highly encouraged to bring our own headlamps for this part of the course and it even had a table set up at the end of the tunnel to drop off the lamps once we were done with them, to be transported to the finish line for pickup. I opted to just stick mine in my pocket since I’m not a huge fan of having to pick up my things after a race–I just want to get the heck out of there so I can eat and rest.

I loved the tunnel because it felt like I was living in a found-footage horror movie. I even brought a GoPro to capture some footage, but I haven’t had a chance to review it yet. I hope it turns out okay because the dang thing ran out of space after the first half of the race. But the tunnel wasn’t the only good part of the race. The views were truly incredible. It was foggy but not too cold, and I could see down some of the sheer drops. It felt very much like Alan Wake or the intro of Twin Peaks. This is a big part of why I love living in the Pacific Northwest. There were even bridges to cross, which overlooked waterfalls and other natural beauty.

Nick Radford hitting his trademark race pose!

Further down the mountain, as we started to approach the base, other people started to occupy the trail. Hikers with their dogs, some true badasses riding their bikes up the hill, and even some mountain climber folks ascending the rockfaces. Very cool!

Another big bonus was the plethora of support tables afforded to us. I’m a sucker for refueling stations–they’re pretty necessary for a novice like me. I recently upgraded to a hydration pack that allows me to transport more than I normally would, but I still try to keep my load light so snacks and hydration at these stops become an absolute must. Luckily, there were tables about every two and a half miles, so I never ran out of water. They also offered Tailwind nutrition, which is basically like Pedialyte, at every table so I’d double fist with a cup of that in one hand and a cup of classic water in the other. At the halfway point, they even started having tables with actual food like Nutter Butters, chips, Oreos, and some energy gels, so I loaded up on those when I had the chance. I never actually had to dip into my stockpile of additional snacks until after I had crossed the finish line though. You never know how your body is going to react to certain foods during a marathon, and I had no idea how often restrooms would be showing up so I didn’t want to take the risk. They were a great post-race snack as we were shuttled back to our cars.

Speaking of restrooms, in addition to my fastest marathon, my first downhill marathon, and my first marathon that required a headlamp, I had another first during this race: the urgent need to–ahem–lighten my load with nary a bathroom in sight. I couldn’t see the next support table when it happened, or I would have asked when the next restroom was coming up, so I had to make a choice. In the end, I decided to take a small detour off the trail before returning to my journey. As I rejoined the race, some poor woman screamed, exclaiming that she thought I was a bear, for which I apologized. Another lady told me I didn’t have to go so far off the trail, but I assured her that I really did. Once I got back into the groove of running, my anxious brain started to worry that “what if I had waded through poison ivy or something when I went to appreciate nature?” My legs didn’t itch or anything, but I’d heard stories from a friend about getting poison ivy on their nether regions under similar circumstances. Fortunately, my anxious brain was lying to me again, but that didn’t stop me from bagging up all my clothes when I got home, just in case I’d carried any of the stuff on them.

As I got to the last six or so miles, shortly after the wall I usually hit, the five-hour time pacer started to catch up to me. Marathons, in my experience, generally have pacers to keep up with if you have a goal to finish within a certain amount of time. My goal was to finish before the five-hour pacer, so every time she showed up, it was like a jump scare of my own failure catching up to me. The first time she passed me, she said something nice, and it took me a minute to recognize who was saying it. Once I realized who I was talking to, I knew I had to speed up, and I did. She immediately recognized the shift and said, “you’re speeding up on me.” I told her I had to, but she reassured me that she was stopping to walk soon, so I was doing great. I appreciated her support but continued at my increased speed, hoping to avoid further encounters. I didn’t. She caught up with me again a few miles from the finish line but immediately reassured me that she was stopping to walk again soon. As she kept pace with me, she continued offering morale support by telling me how good I was doing and how little there was left. As we entered the final two miles, she offered one last “it’s just like training” for me to chew on as I pushed myself to complete the race with a personal record.

Nick Radford celebrating crossing the finish line!

Upon completing the race, I was met with a very supportive crew with an announcer, my medal, and treats. I’d done it. My official time was 04:55:21, a personal best despite finishing 693rd out of 757 competitors. That’s one of my favorite things about marathons: sure, you can compete with other people, but in the end, it’s a deeply personal experience where you can challenge yourself.

I barely missed the shuttle back to the summit (I think I was third in line after they filled up and took off), so I stood around waiting for the next one, which wasn’t the most comfortable after running a marathon. But eventually, we all packed into a smelly school bus and took the twenty-minute ride back to our vehicles. After the bus dropped me off (right next to my car even), I chowed down on more snacks as I made the journey home. I quickly showered and got cozy after ordering some lunch to be delivered, timing things almost perfectly so that my meal was ready for me after I’d washed and addressed any wounds (my poor feet were a bit of a mess). I then settled in for some well-deserved sustenance and a nap.

Throughout my running journey, I’ve been trying to rework my social media algorithm to show me more running content, and I’ve had decent success. Most recently I’ve started following an Ultramarathoner named Andrew Glaze, who has given me a little hankering to try ultramarathoning, which–from my understanding–is anything more than a standard marathon (which is 26.2 miles). There are pretty wild ones, like two hundred milers that cover the whole distance of a state, a one hundred mile race, fifty miles, and it seems like the lowest official race distance for an ultramarathon is 50k (thirty-three miles). I don’t know if I have any desire to ever do the hundred or two hundred-mile races, but thirty-three miles seems like a nice doable challenge. As such, I signed up for a 50K race in October that I intend to start training for. It’s not my NEXT race, I have multiple half marathons I’ve already signed up for, and I may join a random 5K or 10K here or there, but the 50K is my next major challenge and I’m excited for it! Stay tuned, because I’m sure I’ll write at least one blog about it.

THE WORLD IS YOUR BURRITO!

Links:

One thought on “Running in the Dark”

  1. Pingback: The Number 2023 – NickIsRadford

Leave a comment