Race report: Big Sur Marathon

This year I enjoyed my 3rd Big Sur marathon and it didn't disappoint.  I LOVE this race.  It is hands down the most beautiful, and most enjoyable (albeit tough) run.  Race weekend started with an early flight to SFO where I met my mom to drive down to Monterey for checkin.  We made good time winding along the 101 to get to the expo in downtown Monterey.  After picking up my bib, we hit the road again to Carmel to check into the hotel and then rest before race day.

Race day came FAST.  In part, because I had to get up at 3:30am to catch a 3:45am shuttle to the starting line and in my stress of missing my alarm as well as pre-race jitters I just barely slept.

At 3:45 I made my way to the streets of Carmel where I simply followed other groggy looking runners to the lineup of school busses that would take us to the starting line.  The finish was in Carmel so we got to drive the entire course on the busses pre-race which added to the jitters.  Every up and down hill, I pictured in reverse.

I got to race village around 4:45am where I then waited ... and waited ... and used the porta potty many many times in part to kill time ... and waited until 6:45am to start.

Finally, it was time to start and I lined up in coral 1 with a good view of the elites.  The national anthem was sung (beautifully) and it was go time!

 The Big Sur marathon is a rolling race with some sizeable hills up to a 600ft climb.  There's a total elevation gain of 2,100 feet and an elevation loss of 2,500 feet.  The start was a downhill incline, and then the rolling began:

The race organizers and volunteers were amazing and did quite well getting entertainment where it was really needed.  My favorite drummers were right on a big hill incline and the beating of my brain got lost in the drums which was nice.

 Another great point was a grand piano just after another big climb with music blasted on speakers mingling with the crashing of the ocean.

 During the race my phone started restarting after mile 13 or so, which was a killer with motivation and trying to reset the phone.  I found myself repeating a mantra of "I feel good, I look good, I'm doing good" just for reinforcement.  It got me through the quiet moments on the run.

Finally ... done!