They could have come up with a better name for this marathon, something creative, like Lake Chicot Marathon.
Mainly Marathons managed this race. They host 13 week-long series across the country comprised of 70 days of racing.
The Riverboat Series consists of seven races in Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi, Tennessee, Kentucky, Missouri, and Illinois. I have already finished marathons in Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Missouri.
On Sunday, April 17, I drove from Fredericksburg to just East of Memphis. The hotel didn’t have a microwave in my room. Good thing I brought my spare. With my restricted diet, I could eat the food I brought.
I’ve been having digestive issues in the past couple of weeks, probably from higher than acceptable sugars intake. I’m working to reduce that number from 180 grams per day to below 120 grams.
I thought I was having right IT band issues. An excellent DPT that I know told me it was probably Patella Tendonitis. I’ve been wearing my PT strap for the past two weeks with some success.
After working through a morning digestive issue, it was a short 5-hour drive on Monday to Monticello, Arkansas.
During the trip, I started getting digestive pains that went away with eating. Strange.
The races start at 6:30 am. So, I was up at 3:30 on Tuesday and out of the hotel by 4:45. I got to Lake Chicot State Park around 5:55 am.
Lake Chicot is an oxbow lake, the largest oxbow lake in North America. The lake was a horseshoe bend in the Mississippi River at one time. Sometime in the past, the river rerouted to a shorter path, cutting off the upper inlet and forming the lake.
The forecast for the day was 46 degrees at sunrise, rising to 60 degrees by noon, with sunny skies and winds up to 10 mph.
The course was 60% in the shade. I was concerned about getting sunburnt. And the course, 18 out, and back laps. From end to end was just over .7 miles. So, 1.4 miles per lap with two 180-degree turns per lap.
The race was USATF sanctioned, but the course was not USATF certified. The race organizers used a walking wheel to measure. To be USATF sanctioned, they needed to add a 1% error factor. So, the total distance measured was 26.46 miles.
The good part was the course was flat. The bad part was the quarter-mile of uneven, rutted, potholed pavement on each lap.
I wore shorts over compression shorts, a singlet over a long-sleeved shirt, knit gloves, a ball cap, and a neck gaiter pulled up over my ears. I used my Saucony Endorphin Speed 2 shoes.
I parked on the course where I could access my car each lap. I mixed six bottles of UCAN and, using my single bottle belt, took one with me to the start line.
The first nine laps went well. To help count laps, we picked up a brown rubber band as we passed a table at the start/finish line. After five laps, we traded the brown bands we collected for an orange rubber band.
I started getting digestive issues during my ninth lap, and in the tenth lap, I stopped at one of the seven public bathhouses on the loop to take care of the issue. The appearance of the solution was not good.
I got through the half-marathon in 2:36:52. I kept consistent times through lap 13 and then faded in the final 5 for a second half of 3:17:44 and a finish time of 5:54:36.
The weather matched the forecast with the temperature at the finish of 60 degrees.
The organizers provided a starter medal with hooks on the bottom to attach a finisher medal.
No headache but my right leg from the knee down was painful, especially in those last five laps.
Post-race, I found a Subway in Lake Village, Arkansas, and got a footlong BLT. The bacon and mayo were yummy. I am not sure if this caused a digestive issue 90 minutes later or it could have been 6 hours of running and walking,
This race was my 73rd marathon in my 38th state. I have finished a marathon or longer race in 30 consecutive years. As for my Favorite Race list, it falls near the bottom.
I’m heading to Kentucky for a Friday Marathon. I’ll probably do the early 5:30 am start and more walking than running.