Las Cruces Marathon 1/7/23 and El Paso, White Sands Trip

 

State 47 Las Cruces Marathon

January 7, 2023

5:21:25 107/140  Overall 3/4 in 70-79

Jodi 10K: 1:11:56  27/44 overall 4/8 in 50-54 

            Jodi, Katie, and I flew to El Paso and then drove across the TX/NM border to Las Cruces which was only 45 minutes away. Jodi and I went to the packet pick-up at the host hotel where we were staying. It was very tiny. Raceday looked to be cold (mid 30s), but by the time we got to the 8AM start, the sun was warming us up so I wore short sleeves along with my gloves. Temps stayed in 40s with a bit of wind most of the race; it only felt warm the last few miles (that’s what happens when you’re going so slowly that you’re out there past noon 😊.) The course was primarily a running trail (like Woodwar Park trail) going out 13 miles and then back. With only 140 full-marathoners, I pretty much ran by myself the whole time and there wasn’t much scenery and only a few spectators. Although the course was perfectly flat (95’ gain), Las Cruces is at 4000’ and I found that the elevation really affected my ability to run the way I normally do. It just seemed that my legs would get heavy after 2 minutes of running so instead of the usual 4 run/:30 walk, I did 2/:30 the first half. By the second half, I was doing 1:30/:30. I wasn’t really tired, sore or hurting, but the lack of oxygen to my heart and legs just kept me from running like I would hope to.

            Jodi ran the 10K and then she and Katie came out to help me in the last few miles. Katie ran about 4 miles and talked to me and helped me finish strong. It was great to have some company! Also, I got to see Penny Martin Wilbanks in the race and talk to her after. She's our friend from TX who did her 40^th state heading for all 50. Jodi originally met her when we ran in Eugene in 2019 and we follow her quest on Facebook. I also got to meet and take a picture with Mrs. NM after the race. After the race, we got revived with dinner and frozen custard and also toured the New Mexico State University campus.

            Sunday morning we had a super Belgian waffle breakfast and then went to White Sands National Park. We walked around the dunes while Katie did some running. We then headed back to El Paso to follow El Paso Mission Trail seeing 3 missions and a jail that Billy the Kid broke into to free a friend. We finished our day with fine Texas BBQ!

This was Marathon #179; 38 states+DC on 2nd go-round; All 10 Canadian provinces.

Next marathon: ?

Marathon photos: https://photos.shutterfly.com/album/1754678781772528