Hills! Hills! Hills!
Valley of Fire State Park is a must-see destination if anyone wants to escape the superficial concrete jungles of Las Vegas. You will be amazed with the abundance of red rock formations that you cannot find anywhere else.
While browsing through the list of events in runningusa.com, one of the events was Valley of Fire Marathon 2012 organized by PlanetUltra. I only got to visit VOF last September and I really did like what I saw. So, the chance to come back was something I wouldn't let pass me by. It was a small race with only 300 participants give or take spread sparsely among four categories: full marathon, half marathon, 10k and 5k. One of the volunteers whom my dad was chatting with before the race (yes, my dad drove me to the event) said 35 people signed up for the FM. But only 26 runners finished.
As it is fall, the morning weather was naturally chilly. I was freezing my behind off. I dilly-dallied at the start corral near the park's visitor center before the race officially began and we scrambled like mice in a mace. We already tackled a hill at the beginning of the race. And numerous hills came after it. If not for the amazing landscapes that awaited us, I would have thought of this race as torture. I tried running the uphills but had to resign to walking them after my legs started screaming. I reached 13th mile at 2:45. At this pace, the target of 5 hours was already out of the picture.
The second half, now that was torture. The sun was getting fiercer and scorching me like a demon entering a hallowed ground. And we bade goodbye to the more scenic portions of the park. I also thought I was lost when running on the dirt roads of the park that's why I decided to walk most of it. When I got back to the paved roads, I could barely see any other runner. My energy is close to being fully depleted. I walked more and ran slower. I ate in most stations that I passed by and at times I thought I was not in a race but in a picnic.
Knowing that I was behind the pack affected my morale. I almost kissed dirt when I saw the 26th mile mark. My dad who came back to the park to pick me up even passed by me and asked me to just ride with him in the car. And of course, I said no. It was actually more difficult than it looked and the finish line seemed farther than it was.
There were only few people left by the finish line. I heard my name announced by the emcee as I was approaching. My dad was there waiting and recording my "strong" finish. I finished with a big smile.
I clocked in at 5:54 which is my worst PR to date. I finished 24/26 and won second in my age group (2/2). This has to be the toughest race ever but one of the races I enjoyed the most.
Kudos to the organizers and the very friendly volunteers. Looking forward to next year and I will be back for a vengeance.
Event: Valley of Fire Marathon 2012
Location: Overton, Nevada
Date: November 17th 2012
