2021 Maple Leaf Marathon

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I ran the Maple Leaf Marathon in Fairlee,  Vermont, on Wednesday, May 19, 2021. After Tuesday’s Granite State Marathon, I drove to White River Junction in Vermont.

My dad was a Civil Engineer. We did a lot of family car vacations. By age 14, I had already been in 45 states. On these car trips, we visited a lot of dams and bridges. A favorite comment from my dad was “nice cut.” Engineers cut to smooth a roadway through a hill’s top or side.

Going across New Hampshire into Vermont, there were a lot of excellent cuts. Most of the cuts were through granite. New Hampshire is the Granite State, home of the White Mountains. I wonder where they sold all of the granite from the cuts; countertops, building stones?

Getting closer to Vermont, I started losing the Boston radio stations. I was not able to find any on the AM dial. On FM, the scan picked up 3 NPR stations. I was close to Dartmouth. Do we need 3? More about that in a later post, sometimes NPR can give me a new perspective.

I got to White River Junction around 3 pm on Tuesday. I didn’t want to take the 30 minute trip to Lake Morey in Fairlee. So, I will need to trust the maps for parking and course layout.

I had another pre-race meal of Domino’s plain chicken wings, brown rice, and veggies. I only used 60% of the UCAN I mixed for the New Hampshire Marathon. So, I only needed to mix three bottles for today’s race.

I arrived on race morning around 5:30 am and parked at a location where I would pass at the beginning of each loop. I parked in the shade that would keep my truck bed out of the sun for most of the day.

Vermont did not require face coverings for people who are vaccinated. Though, most of the stores still had the signs up requiring face masks. We did not need to wear masks anytime during the race.

Today’s race had about 50 in the marathon and another 30 in the half-marathon.

The course was 100% on paved asphalt. There was a short out and back of about 1.1 miles and five counterclockwise loops around the lake of 5.02 miles. Before the race, I was unsure about the hills on the course and the amount of shade.

It was in the high 40s at the start, with a forecast of the low 80s by noon. Wearing a singlet and shorts, I made sure to spray on sunblock. I needed to keep gloves on for the first lap. On a paved course, I decided to wear my Nike React Infinity Flyknits 2.

Yesterday, I was able to maintain a 3-minute walk and 7-minute run pattern. I thought I would be a little tired. So, I set my watch to a 4-minute walk and 6-minute run pattern. I was going to start the repeats at the turnaround of the initial out and back section, running the first 1/2 mile. My drink plan was 5 ounces of UCAN every 20 minutes.

In the first half-mile, there was a significant uphill. My legs were feeling fine. So,  I ran up the hill. The turnaround was just after the summit. On the return, I started a walk break, walking downhill. I’d rather walk the ups and run the downs.

It was supposed to be partly cloudy. During the race, there were very few clouds. Much of the southbound leg was sunny. If I had not used sunblock, the chance of burning was 100%. By my fourth loop, there were sections on the northbound leg without shade.

I wanted to run 70 minutes on each loop. This speed would get me to the finish in around 6 hours.

On the first lap, I was able to see what hills are on the course. I tried to maintain the 4-minute 6-minute pattern. That meant running ups and walk downs. At the top point of the lake, I could look across the lake and see the resort at the start/finish. It looked so far.

On the second lap, I decided to walk all of the ups, even if that was part of my desired run portion. Also, I ran down the hills, which hurt some.

I was able to maintain this pattern through the fourth lap. Toward the end of my fourth lap, my left shin started hurting from the pounding, which did slow down my running.

Starting the fifth lap, I sprayed on more sunblock and maintained my pattern for the first 20 minutes. At that time, running became difficult. I decided to walk the best I could to the finish. When I made the last turn and was able to see the finish line, I started running because if you begin a race running, you need to finish the race running.

I did the loops in 1:05:09, 1:12:23, 1:15:58, 1:18:48 and 1:25:31. A little heat and being tired slowed me as the day progressed. My finish time was 6:30:27, 37th of 48 runners.

This race was the third day of the New England Challenge. The Challenge is six marathons in six days—one in each New England state.

All six races have no time limits. They start at 6 am and are done when the last person crosses the finish line or drops.

It would be cool for the six-race medals to be able to connect into one significant award. The neck strap attachment would need to be on the backs. Each medal would need to be proportionately or cartoony sized to make them fit.

This race was my 71st Marathon finish. I’ve finished marathons in 36 states.

Course support had water at the north end of the lake, about halfway on the loop. They wanted us to stay in the lane facing traffic. However, the water table was on the other side of the road. At the start/finish line, they had water, Gatorade, and snacks. Traffic on the loops was mainly landscapers and handymen. There were many larges houses on the lake, and most appeared to be vacation houses.

These two races were the second time I ran marathons on consecutive days. Knowing I am running back to back, I plan to pace the races like a 50-mile race.  The downside of this method does not allow me to run a marathon at my current potential. My last back-to-back total finish time was 11:50:13, this time 11:55:56. My 50-mile time is 12:06:00.

I have 14 more states to complete all 50. They are Rhode Island, Kentucky, Illinois, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, North Dakota, New Mexico, Montana, Washington, Alaska, and Hawaii. There is an organization that manages marathon series throughout the midwest.  I may be able to do some doubles. That will still take another four years, assuming I can keep moving and have enough money for the travel.