2022 Duke City Marathon

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I was not sure how I was going to do. On October 16, 2022, I finished the Duke City Marathon in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

I did three 18-mile runs in September after my standard two-month build-up. I didn’t know how the new meds and the lack of training would affect me.

Fortunately, there is no time limit and a favorable course profile. Albuquerque sits at 5100 feet, and the course was flat, except for some rolling hills between miles 11 and 15. The course peaked at 5250 feet. Total elevation gain was around 500 feet.

The Kingdom of Spain founded Albuquerque in 1706 in their Nuevo Mexico region. They named the city in honor of the Viceroy of New Spain, the 10th Duke of Alburquerque. Thus, the nickname is Duke City. The city is located on the Rio Grande at a pass through the mountains to the east.

The race originated in 1984 and was hosted by the honorary starters, the mayor, and the 15th Duke of Alburquerque from Madrid, Spain.

My goal was to finish. I planned to finish 5 miles in 1 hour, 10 miles in 2 hours, 15 miles in 3 hours, and 20 miles in 4 hours. Hopefully, I could do the final 10km in less than 80 minutes. Going through the half-marathon in 2:30 would be nice.

As a secondary goal, ESPN called the 18-inning Astros and Mariners game on October 15 as a 6-hour and 22-minute marathon. I wanted my marathon to be faster than their marathon.

I planned to walk 2 minutes every 16 minutes, drinking during the walk breaks.

Race day weather was a 48-degree dew point with a 51-degree temperature at the 7 am start time, rising to the mid-50s by my finish. Rain sprinkles were forecast for the entire race, with heavier rain to start at 11 am. Also, in the forecast were 20 mph winds for the whole day.

The rain started on Saturday, continued until 6:30 am, then started again at 7:30 am for about an hour, and then stayed dry the remainder of my race. The wind was not detectable at the start.

I parked in the Civic Center Garage next to the start and finish lines. The organizers had 20 porta pots near the start, and there were no lines for my 6:20 am visit.

Organizers placed the start and finish lines to enable a convenient 5 km race turnaround location. The organizers wanted a finish at the Civic Plaza. This requirement placed the beginning at an offset location, with races finishing while others were still starting. The start and finish used different sides of the road separated by metal barricades.

I stayed out of the rain by tailgating from my trunk. It was dry and warm to change shoes and shirts. I left for the start at 6:52 am to hit the porta pots one more time. The rain had stopped, and there were no waiting lines at the facilities.

I wore shorts over compression shorts, a singlet over a long-sleeved shirt, gloves, a neck gaiter, a ball cap, and my Saucony Triumph 19 shoes. Because of my uncertainty, I tied a heavier long sleeved shirt around my waist.

I wore my single bottle belt with UCAN topped with water at three aid stations. I added a UCAN Hydrate with each water fill.

I did not line up on the start chute roadway. But instead, on the side road to stay under cover until the last minute. I didn’t care if I lost time at the start, though I crossed the line 49 seconds after the gun.

About 400 started the marathon and marathon relay at 7 am, with about 800 beginning in the half-marathon at 7:15 am.

I started behind the 5-hour pace group sign and remained behind them for the first half mile. A large group followed the sign that I passed to get running room.

The course from the Civic Plaza stayed on the streets through the south side of town to the Levee Trail next to the Rio Grande. Past mile 10, the route turned onto a perpendicular trail up to the turnaround at 13.1 miles. Out and back, the path was paved asphalt about 10 feet wide.

The leading male half-marathoners passed us around mile 3 with a lead cyclist. Five minutes later, the half-marathon females passed also with a lead cyclist. Following the lead females were a bunch of male runners using the females as pacers.

Around Mile 3, a light rain started and continued for the next 4 or 5 miles. It rained enough to fill the puddles that had formed overnight. The key to running long races in the rain is keeping your feet as dry as possible by avoiding as many puddles as possible. The front runners will go straight through the puddles. I don’t want blisters from wet socks and shoes.

Having to jump puddles and not running straight lines, I went through 5 miles in 54:30.

A considerable bottleneck formed between mile 5 and the half turnaround. The five-hour marathoners and the two-hour half-marathoners mixed with the fast half-marathoners returning.

I used the first 10 km of the course for my Run Through History Virtual result with a time of 1:08:00.

I made it through mile 10 in 1:56:40, and the half-marathon in 2:29:54. Directly behind me at the half-marathon turnaround was the man carrying the 5-hour marathon pace group sign with no other runners with him.

I completed 15 miles in 2:53:48. At that time, I modified my interval plan to walk 2 minutes every 8 minutes.

Up until mile 16, there was no noticeable wind. I had turned onto the Levee Trail, and a severe cross wind hit for the next three miles, slowing my pace and chilling my cheeks. To keep my hat on my head, I pulled my neck gaiter over its back.

At mile 16, I started calculating the mile pace to finish in 6 hours. I needed to keep them under 17 minutes which was quite doable.

Over the next few miles, my walking breaks lengthed to three, then four minutes.

By mile 20, I had to keep them under 18 minutes. I made it through 20 miles in 4:04:09.

My thoughts changed from walk breaks to run breaks. I needed to run some. After mile 20, I decided to run 100 paces every 8 minutes. I kept this routine until the finish, and the running portion was not very pretty.

The mile markers from 21 to 25 were not in the correct locations. My 22nd mile was 12:22, probably short, and my 24th mile was 19:29, probably long. My average pace over the last 10 km was 15:42 per mile. The locations felt accurate up to mile 20. They were doing so well.

After mile 24, by that time, I needed to keep them under 29 minutes. I can do that. I was on the broad streets of Albuquerque. The roads were closed to traffic. Construction barrels with pennant flags blocked all the cross streets. They only needed a few volunteers to manage those barricades. I’ve never seen this setup.

I was able to use the entire road width and ran as many tangents as possible. With runners in front of me, I could see where they were turning, giving me focus points.

I knew the finish was on 3rd Street. When I saw 12th Street, I knew it wasn’t much more. Between 4th and 3rd Street, the wind picked up to the worst of the day. Still blowing hard as I turned onto 3rd, the downtown buildings made a wind tunnel into my face.

As I passed a cross street, the headwind turned into a tailwind pushing me to the finish. I started the race running, and the wind helped me finish that race running.

My second half was 3:11:56 for a finish time of 5:41:50.

I finished 326th overall, 223rd male, and 4th in the Male 65 to 69-year-old age group. In the past three years, only two male finishers were in the 65 to 69 age group. Oh well, out of the money again.

This finish was my 79th marathon in my 44th state.

The organizers did an excellent job with operational management. In addition to the marathon, they had 800 half-marathon, 600 10km, and 600 5km runners. The only food at the finish was apples, Gatorade, beer, and Coke. I’m on a no-alcohol med. Oh well.

Except for the puddles on the course, this marathon had an interesting course and is nearer the top of my favorite races.

Parking in the civic center garage costs $1 per half hour with a $10 max. If I had been faster, I could have saved a few bucks. Being out of the rain was worth it.

Did I ever say I was OCB? About a mile after leaving my hotel, I wondered if I had put my gloves in the gear bag. I wondered so much I had to stop and check. Good thing they were not in my bag. I returned to my hotel to find them on the dresser. I would have hated life at mile 16 as the wind hit me. I kept my gloves on the entire race.

In the weeks before the race, I was on a heart monitor until 10/10/22. The results were transmitted to my cardiologist. Since I received no calls from my cardiologist before the race, I assumed no abnormal findings and running would not be an issue.

I was still a little nervous. Was that tightness or pain an issue? Is that a bad pulse, I feel? I was unsure about my health and endurance. I hope I can get over these uneasy feelings.

It was a three-day drive to New Mexico and a three-day drive home, around a 3600-mile round trip. Gas prices varied from $3.34 to $3.89 per gallon. The further west I went, the higher the price. I thought Texas would have lower prices.