Race Report: 2014 US Blind Marathon Championships (CIM)

RACE REPORT:  2014 US BLIND MARATHON CHAMPIONSHIPS (CIM)

California International Marathon; Sacramento, California (12/7/2014)

One year ago, I never knew this amazing competition even existed.  I found myself Googling “Blind Ultrarunners” one late night, as I wanted to find somebody who I could run with who was also visually challenged.  Not unexpectedly, the results were sparse, but I did find a man named Richard Hunter who was on an ultra-running podcast.  He has Retinitis Pigmentosa like me.  I eventually got in contact with Richard, and that conversation illuminated my life. 

Richard told me about his amazing journey as a blind endurance athlete, and his amazing feats competing in IronMan triathlons, Marathons and Ultra-Marathons.  I was so inspired.  Richard also told me about the US Association of Blind Athletes, an amazing non-profit organization in Colorado Springs, Colorado that helps blind people enjoy fulfilling athletic lives.  Richard’s then-current project was organizing the US Marathon Championships for the Blind, which was to be held at the California International Marathon.  I was in and registered for the race as soon as I got off the phone with Richard.  That was going to be my “A-race” for the year.

Fast forward several months, and I found myself feeling very prepared and confident that I could best my previous Personal Record in the marathon of 2:56:47.  There always has to be a little “Adversity” thrown into the mix, and this was no exception.  I received a call 5 days before the race, and learned of the passing of an amazing man whose family I am extremely close to.  I changed travel arrangements and would now be arriving into Sacramento at 10 pm the night before the race.  With the help of Richard Hunter, my mother and the Sacramento Running Association, I was able to arrange for my race packet to be picked up without me being physically present.  I missed an inspirational pre-race dinner with 47 blind athletes who all have amazing athletic resumes, and a burning fire inside of them to succeed on a daily basis.

The alarm went off at 3:45 am, and I rose after 5 hours of sleep.  I faintly felt the pains of a sleep deprivation headache.  I embarked on my ritual pre-race routine of taking a shower, and playing Thunderstruck (ACDC), Right Now (Van Halen) and Lunatic Fringe (Red Rider).  Next, I made it public on FaceBook that I was going after a time of 2:50 – a time that is 7 minutes better than my PR which was set 4 ½ years earlier when I was a sprite 40 years old.

Athletes & USABA Staff

THEN IT HAPPENED, I went to the US Association of Blind Athletes morning breakfast at 4:15 am.  I found athletes wearing “BLIND” bibs and people wearing “GUIDE” bibs.  I was awestruck!  I was home, and with my people.  Some people had some sight and some had no light perception.  None of that mattered, however.  We were all there to compete that day.  Regardless of whether it was a marathon relay, a first marathon or an “um-teenth” marathon.  I found myself wanting to speak with every person in the room.  I zeroed in on a young lady sitting by herself, Maribel Vasquez.  This would be her first marathon.  She needed help getting to the bus, so I guided her.  When we got to the outer door of the hotel, some people told us that the buses to the start were a couple blocks away.  I was stopped dead in my tracks.  The sun had yet to rise, and as soon as I stepped outside of that door it would be like I was blind with no light perception.  I told Maribel that we needed to wait inside and I would get us some help to get to the bus.  I wasn’t comfortable risking a twisted ankle for Maribel, even if I didn’t care about twisting my own ankle.  As it turned out, USABA had a special bus for Visually Impaired athletes waiting right outside the door.  Maribel boarded the bus, and I boarded soon thereafter.

The bus drove all the athletes 26.2 miles to the start line in Folsom, California.  The race is point to point with a net elevation loss of 356 feet.  When the buses arrived, I was escorted off the bus by Summer (an employee of VSP – the title sponsor of the Blind Marathon Championships) and Joe Crespo, a power lifter who was running the marathon for “cross-training” (WOW!).  We arrived at the tent for visually impaired athletes – it was heated, right by the bathrooms and just yards from the start line.  When I hit the tent, I went to look for Adrian Broca – a legendary marathoner in the blind world.  He has won national championships, broke 3 hours and was featured in Runners World.  When I found Adrian, I was star struck to say the least.  He held his cane, had a slight build and spoke with a soft voice.  He also wore his Boston Marathon jacket.  His guide was at his side.  Adrian and I got to know each other for the next few minutes.  Soon it was time for the last bathroom stop, then time to make our way to the start.  I looked outside and the sun was still rising.  It was still too dark for me to stumble through the mass of people and get to the start.  I asked Adrian and his guide if I could tag along with them to the start, and maybe follow them until it became light enough for me to run independently.  They said, “of course, come on”.  Adrian put his hand on his guides shoulder, and I put my hand on Adrian’s shoulder.  I felt so loved and cared for in that moment.  We made it to the front – where Adrian and I like to start.  We both love to “COMPETE” as well as Run.  When we got to the starting corral, a person from the crowd told Adrian Hi.  I overheard part of the conversation and thought I heard that one of them was aiming to run a 2:49 marathon.

I knelt and said a prayer for my kids, all racers, and the wonderful man who had passed and his family.  I stood up and the national anthem was played, and then the gun fired. 

We were off.  I tucked in behind Adrian who was running right by his guide.  We were swerving through runners . . . man there were A LOT of fast runners there.  Adrian quickly made his way to the outside and followed the painted line on the shoulder of the road.  This is a familiar strategy that I use all the time in races – find something consistent that has contrast (dark – light) and follow it relentlessly.  Adrian carries a cane when he runs so I think other runners quickly identify him as visually impaired.  I wear a bib that says “BLIND” in 4-inch letters.  Depending on whether the bib is facing another runner, they may or may not be able to know that I am legally blind (20/400 with a 10 degree field of vision).  When a race starts, everybody goes out fast, and I knew Adrian was driving the pace hard.   We ran the first mile in 6:18.  That was way too fast for me.  I was hoping and praying that I could hold 6:29/mile for the marathon.  I had to choose between trying to hang on to Adrian and mix it up the entire distance, or let him go and run my own race.  I was there to win, so a part of me said “GO”, but the experienced runner in me said “run your own race and fire the jets when it is time”.  I let Adrian go, and it was scary and painful.  I was running with a champion, and able to (at least for a short distance).  Adrian and his guide faded off into the distance and after about a minute I could no longer see Adrian.

Adrian Broca

I settled into what I thought was a comfortable pace, and continued to be surrounded by REALLY FAST marathoners.  There were a lot of rolling hills through the first 8 miles.  No hills were too steep or long, but they definitely kept your legs awake.  On the down hills, I noticed that people really put on the gas.  I chose not to go with them and save my quads.  On the up hills, I noticed that people really slowed down.  I pumped my arms and drove the pace up the hills.  I think years of trail running really pay off on running the hills.  At around mile 9, I thought I caught a glimpse of Adrian.  It was Adrian!  He was following the line on the shoulder of the road, and still driving hard.  It was a Moment to behold.  I wish I had a camera to capture it and share.

I felt strong and maintained my pace.  I caught up to Adrian around mile 9-10, said Hi and checked in to see how he was doing.  I looked at my watch and my average pace was 6:24/mile – still too fast for the rolling hills that I was encountering.  I felt strong and believed in my training, and the altitude conditioning that my body had as a result of me living at 5,280 feet above sea level.  I decided to hold the pace.  I asked Adrian where Matt Rodjom was.  Matt is a very fast middle distance runner, who has flirted with a sub-3 hour marathon in the past.  I knew he was somewhere close.  Adrian hadn’t seen Matt.

Ian Sharman as "Spidey"

When I got to the halfway point, I realized that I had just run the fastest half marathon of my life – 1:24:34 (6:28/mile pace).  I remembered that the elevation profile for the last half of the race looked pretty downhill and I was hoping my legs would not seize up.  Again, I looked around and there were A LOT of runners, relatively speaking.  We encountered fog from about mile 15 to 20.  It was a bit eerie and cool all at the same time.  I saw silhouettes of the human form, pumping and pushing as hard as they could.  It was art in motion.  Suddenly, I looked to my left and there was Spiderman.  A runner was dressed in a full Spidey suit (who turned out to be the past Grand Slam of Ultrarunning Champion, Ian Sharman).  I ran on his heels for a bit, and did he ever get a lot of attention.  Spectators were screaming words of encouragement to him.  I had a BLIND runner bib, and I think people wanted to encourage me too.  They yelled “GO HOKA” – I think because I had a HOKA ONE ONE shirt on.  I wish they would have just yelled – “GO BLIND DUDE!”  Maybe next time.

I arrived at mile 20, the infamous “Wall”.  The place where your glycogen stores deplete and your body has to adjust to using fat and simple ingested carbs as fuel.  I have been at this place in a race before and been reduced to a limp.  On this day however, I felt good and strong.  The 4 gels I had ingested every 5 miles were paying off.  I had fuel for my body to keep pushing at its anaerobic threshold.  I only hoped that the final 10k would be a net downhill with no significant uphill sections.  Mile after mile passed, and so did the runners I was catching.  Soon we were in Sacramento and winding through the streets of California’s state Capitol.  I did not look at my watch for the last 3 miles, and ran as hard as I could.  I was trying to stay close to 2 women who appeared to have been engaged in a grudge-match.  One would pass the other, then the next would push hard to the lead, then they would switch.  At about mile 24, one of the ladies drifted into my path, and I skinned the back of her shoe.  Because I have tunnel vision (10 degrees of vision), when I am looking directly at a painted line on the road, I cannot see a person just inches from me at my side.  When you’re running 6:30/mile at mile 24 and fatigued, the situation becomes more serious.  Thankfully, I just skinned her shoe and I immediately moved to the side.  She was upset and did not appear to know of my visual impairment.  I felt bad that I might have disrupted her rhythm at that late stage of the race.  She eventually caught me again, and passed me right before the finish.

Me & Mom @ the Finish

26.2 miles..Check!

My watch beeped and that told me I had just finished mile 26.  I knew I had only 2 more blocks to go so I started sprinting.  A couple of corners, then the finish chutes.  As I looked at the race clock, I saw 2:51 and change.  I had missed my goal, but had set a Personal Record.  I dropped to my knees before the finish line, kissed the ground, and said a prayer thanking God for giving me the day.  When I crossed the finish line, there was my Mom.  She had a smile from ear to ear, and I told her “I think I won?”  I had never really “won” anything.  I could see the pride in her face.  We hugged and kissed, then I told her I had to go back and cheer Adrian on when he crossed the line.  Within a couple minutes, Adrian came across the line in fine form.  When I got to him and congratulated him, he also congratulated me.  Adrian had encountered stomach problems in the late miles, but still managed a 2:55:46 finish.  I brought Adrian over to my Mom so they could meet, then we took a picture.  Matt Rodjom finished in 3:04:21 after running into trouble at mile 24.  Richard Hunter PR’d, earned 4^th place in the Visually Impaired race, and 3^rd overall in the Clydesdale Division (big guys).  Maribel Vasquez finished her first marathon in 5:41:57.

I want to send out a HUGE THANK YOU to my sponsor - PrincetonTec, who supplies me with night time lighting solutions, and has restored my sight when the sun goes down.  I also want to thank the Sponsors of the USABA Marathon Championships that made this event possible:  VSP Vision Care, Delta Gamma Sorority and all of the individual donors.  Finally, a huge shout out to HOKA ONE ONE who makes the most amazing shoes that have kept this old guy running injury free.

Jason Romero is a highly sought after inspirational speaker and the 1st and only blind person to run across America.  Jason is a member of the US Paralympic Team, holds 11 world records in ultra-running, a former attorney and business executive, and a single father of 3 children.  More information can be found on Jason at www.relentlessromero.com. 

Giving thanks for my health, safety and a great event.