Coastal Trail Runs Grizzly Peak Marathon: Bearly Reachable!

When Burnout Bear and I first looked at our 50k training schedule at the start of the year, we knew that the two longest 26 mile runs would be tough to accomplish.  Not only would they demand a lot of time and effort, but a lot of planning and incentive, as well.  We decided that the easiest way to complete them was to sign up for a race.  This way, there would be greater encouragement to start, finish and run strong until the end.  So, for the first 26 mile run, we signed up for the Coastal Trail Runs Grizzly Peak Marathon in Tilden Regional Park located in the Berkeley Hills.  And this was Burnout Bear's first marathon ever!

The week leading up to the marathon, I had the hardest time figuring out what water system and nutrition to use.  Burnout Bear already knew that he was going to stick with his traditional hand-held Amphipod.   He encouraged me to stick with what I have been using in training, as well, (either a Fuel Belt or my Camelback "shirt") and this was sound advice.  The night prior, I finally decided to go with the Camelback "shirt" (the bladder is worn inside of a special shirt pocket) and fill it up so that I wouldn't have to rely on the aid stations too much, if at all.  I would then use my Spibelt to hold all of my other stuff, including salt tabs and additional nutrition.

Based on my prior training pace and the difficultly of the course, I set a goal to finish with a sub-12 minute pace.  This was going to be a challenge, but not impossible.  I would definitely have to work hard, but that's the purpose of a goal, right?

Poison Ivy on the trail.

And what a doozy of a marathon it was!  Not only did it have over 5700 ft of climbing, but the trail was surprisingly technical and was covered with rocks, roots, and mud the entire way.  It didn't help that we were stuck in the bathroom line for 15 minutes (there was only one stall in the men's room) and started the race 3 minutes late.  We were caught behind the slower runners who were walking every incline, including many 5k and 10k runners wearing headphones on a single track trail (grrr!)  (Note: there were 5k, 10k, half-marathon, 30k, marathon and 50k races run on the same course at the same time.)  We had to carefully run off-trail to get around most of these runners, which resulted in a lot of frustration and poison ivy rashes on our arms (!) and legs, unfortunately.

Burnout Bear finishing strong!

The marathon route consisted of 2 half-marathon loops.  Both Burnout Bear and myself ran the first half much faster than we probably should have due to the mental game of running alongside the half-marathoners.  Hearing other runners at your heals is a great way to run faster, but it is tough to block out of your mind if you are trying to reserve energy for a second lap.  The toughest part of the course was the steep descent and ascent (both ways on both loops) on the Lupine trail up to Vollmer Peak which was basically a narrow rock slide.  I saw several runners trip and even one runner at an aid station icing her arm and blue, broken fingers before heading out to complete the final 13 mile loop of the 50k (!).  I managed to complete the first loop in 2:22 and knew that I had a good chance of meeting my goal of a sub-12 minute pace if I could keep it up.  This was a great motivator to conquer the hills a second time!  The final climb to Vollmer Peak was one of the most painful experiences, but I knew that the rest was mostly downhill after that.  When I saw the yellow ribbons indicating that I was back on the 10k course with only 3 miles remaining, I ate a gu that I stashed in my shorts (Cliff Vanilla, my favorite) and it helped me run strong all the way to the finish.  I was ecstatic to see 5:01 on the clock as I ran in.  I had reached my goal!

Finishing with the Grizzly Peak Bear in the background.

Burnout Bear was waiting at the finish as I crossed, looking a bit tired but holding up a medal!  He completed the marathon in 4:47 (clock time; 4:44 running time), earning himself 1st place in his age group.  What a spectacular first-marathon performance!  Burnout Bear certainly conquered Grizzly Peak!

As for me, I managed to place as 3rd female and 1st in my age group, as well.  Somehow, the third female that was in front of me at mile 14 disappeared.  Hmm.  I never saw her again and she didn't finish by the time we left the race...  Hopefully she didn't encounter the Grizzly!

A sample of the trail

An outstanding view of San Francisco from one of the peaks.

A view of Tilden Regional Park.  (All of the pictures above have been provided by Coastal Trail Runs - thank you!)