Mexico City Marathon 2015
I was scheduled to work a project in Mexico
City the last week of August. On a whim I decided to look and see if there was
any kind of a race while I was there. I thought that there might be a 5k or 10k
maybe.
I found that the Mexico City Marathon was running the weekend
after I was to leave. I talked to my bosses and volunteered to work 3 extra
days so I could be there for the race. I then emailed a friend to see if I
could get in. The registration had closed months ago. Within a couple of hours
I received a registration confirmation email. I was in!
Because of my late registration I had to pay 1000 pesos. The
regular fee was 800. That is a cost of only 66 dollars for a huge international
marathon. That’s about ½ of what any marathon cost back home.
I knew that Mexico City is at a high elevation. So I had been
running Timp at least once a week. Timp starts at 7000’ and goes up to 11500’.
I also did the rest of my runs around noon, as I figured that it would be hot
for the marathon.
I arrived in Mexico on the 19th. We were
implementing new system features that were requirements of some new government
regulations. My schedule was very different here than it had been back home. I
would run in the morning. Lunch wound up being around2 or later and would take
2 hours or more. I would get to the hotel around 7pm. Often I would skip dinner
as lunch was so late.
The first day I was here I got online and did a search for
any running clubs. I was fortunate enough to find a ‘meet-up’ site. Here I
connected with Lawrence. He is originally from Texas, but has lived in Mexico
for 9 years. He was a great help to explain how running and races function in
Mexico. One of the persons that was here from Provo with me was surprised that
I would just go off and meet someone for a run who I had just met online. They just
don’t understand the running community.
The first run we did together was Sunday morning. Lawrence
took me on a grand tour around Chapultipec park. We did a long slow run and
then had a great traditional brunch.
I got in as many runs as I could in the mornings. The
different schedule made things feel very different. When I arrived I felt
confident of running a good time, by the time of the race though I was feeling
slow.
Friday before the race I finished up in the office a bit
early. I contacted Lawrence and he came to my hotel. We ran from there the
couple of miles over to the packet pick-up.
At first there was some confusion about my number. In the
confirmation email it listed it as #1918. When we went to that booth they sent
us over to the 19,000 booth. We finally got it straightened out and I got my
assigned number. It was amazing to see that there were bibs up into the 20,000s.
The start line was just over a mile from my hotel. I had run
over there several times to make sure I know the way and how long it would
take.
Saturday night I got to bed early and set my alarms. I didn’t
sleep a wink. I was so nervous about missing the alarms that I just tossed and
turned all night. I gave up on sleep and got dressed and left the hotel at 05:30.
I jogged, walked over to the start area. When I got there it
was just a sea of humanity. I found the ‘2’ porta-johns near the start. WOW,
only 2 for 10s of thousands of people, and NO paper! For sure different than
back home!
After that experience I tried to get to the start line. It
was all fenced off and they forced us out into the park. When I got to the
street I realized that I was over 100yds back from the front. It was like
sardines from the front to as far back as I could see. I followed the fencing
to the front. Luckily I am small enough that I was able to slide between the
railings and get in about 5 rows from the front. I could barely fit. They had
given out wrist bands at packet pick-up. These were to designate your expected
pace. As I looked around I could see that no one was obeying this. There were 6
hour runners right up front. I was warned about this but I thought maybe ‘runners’
would adhere to this courtesy.
Finally they started the countdown and at 5 the mass surged
forwards. I was pretty much carried forward by the mass. I am not sure that my
feet were even on the ground. At ‘One’ we were off. It was crazy congested. I
was worried about following the course. It was not problem as there were just
so many runners and spectators lining the course on both sides.
It is about a quarter mile to the first corner. We turned
right and headed up Reforma for just over 1 mile. Then we doubled back down the
same street. The course is very twisty and winding for the middle half of the
miles. It completely circled several neighborhoods and through and around
section 1 of Chapultapec park.
I had expected it to be or get hot during the race. It was
very cool and great weather the whole time I was there. Even for the race it
was cool and overcast.
It was amazing how congested the course was the entire time.
I wore my Go-Pro on the chest mount for the entire race. I had planned to set
it to Time Lapse, but it ended up doing video the whole time. It’s shaky but
gives a good impression of the situation.
I felt pretty good through the half way point. Around mile 18
is where the wheels fell off. I had adjusted my goal for the race to just stay
under 3 hours. The elevation started to take its toll. I had to take a few walk
breaks. Every time I slowed to a walk there would be someone encouraging me to
get going again.
I pushed as hard as I could. The last 3 miles were just
brutal. I had to walk many times. Looking back at the data, this is where I lost
most of the time that would have got me to my goal.
On a map the course looks like the last 5 miles are a
straight shot. It for sure was not what it appears. I could only ever see a
couple of blocks ahead. I just kept placing one foot in front of the other and
moving forward as I could. My calves started to cramp at about mile 25. For the
last mile plus I would be running and suddenly stumble as a painful cramp shot
through one of my legs. I must have looked pitiful.
Finally I topped a hill and could see the Olympic stadium.
The course then took a sharp right and through the north parking lot. Then 2
more sharp turns and into the tunnel. I mustered everything I had and tried to
keep some form and pushed with all I had to get up the tunnel ramp and then
around the part of the track to the finish.
I looked up and saw 3:12 on the clock. I was so very disappointed.
It was so not what I wanted. Later I would come to accept it for what it was.
Right after crossing the line my legs really locked up. A
medical person grabbed me and led me to a wheelchair. Into the medical tent I
went. Luckily they spoke pretty good English. They stretched and massaged my
calves for about 10 minutes. I got myself up and walked out. I grabbed a bag of
ice on the way out. I got part way up the exit ramp and decided to sit down and
ice for a few minutes. The marathon personnel didn’t want people there. A guard
person kept coming by and telling everyone to keep moving out of the area. Some
of us just sat there and scowled at him as we were unable to move. I finally
got up and got through the next area. It was a long walk to first get a water
and liter bottle of Gatorade. Next up
was the finisher medal and a bag with 2 towels. They have printing on them with
the marathon name and the distance in kilometers. It was another foreign thing
to discuss all of the distances in kilometers rather than miles. I even saw a
few marathon tattoos. Here they ink a 42 and not a 26.2.
After escaping the gauntlet of vendors I went over to the
agreed upon meeting point for me and Lawrence. I was really nauseous and faint.
I first sat and then lay out on the warm pavers. A person came up to me, they
told me that they were from one of the TV stations. She had noticed my Go-Pro.
She asked if I would let them use some of my footage. I gave her my email and
agreed to send the files to them.
It took about an hour and half for Lawrence to show up and
find me. We had planned to go to his house for a dinner. I had to apologize to
him as I was just too wasted to do that. He agreed to help get me to a taxi so
I could get back to the hotel. Well because of the marathon course we ended up
walking for around an hour to finally get to a place where a taxi would pick me
up and take me. As we were waiting at the stop my sickness overwhelmed me and I
vomited in the bushes a few times. A taxi finally pulled up. Thank goodness for
Lawrence. His Spanish speaking was able to convince the driver to take me to
the hotel. He was worried that the roads would still be closed from the race. He
was an expert and after a few well timed detours we found the roads were open
to the hotel. He dropped me off right at the front door.
As I walked through the lobby I saw another runner. We talked
about the race and our experiences for a minute. He told me that this is always
a tough course. Even the Elites usually finish about 10 to 15 minutes slower
than usual. I felt a little better about my finish time.
I then walked over the store next door and got a Coke. This
seems to be the only thing that my stomach can take after a hard effort like
this. I went up to my room, drank the Coke, and then 2 bottles of Gatorade. An
hour later my legs were still cramping. I ended up just resting in my room for
the evening.
A running friend from back home arrived at the hotel. We went
out for dinner together that evening. I had a big steak and some creamed
spinach. Finally after over 8 hours I was able to keep food down.
I tried to get some sleep that night but wasn’t very
successful. My flight left the next morning at 07:00. I was up at 04:00 to
finish packing and checkout by 04:45. At least the Taxi ride was uneventful.
Summary:
Even though this race didn’t go as I had planned, it was a
great experience. It was probably a once in a lifetime thing. I am very grateful
to all of those who helped make this possible. First a Thanks to my wife Lara
for putting up with all of this craziness. Than a big Thank you to Jorge
Alberto Gonzales for finding a way to get me registered, and then to Lawrence
for showing me the running places and culture of Mexico.
Viva Mexico
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