In 2012 I ran the Duke City Marathon. I finished in 3:55 for my second sub 4 hour finish ever, and that’s when I decided I would try to run a sub 4 all 50 states.
Fast forward to 2019, and I applied for membership in the 50 sub 4 club online. My submission came back with acceptance. They verified my races (10+ states are required for initial entry). Except for one — Duke City in Albuquerque. The official results list from 2012 has an empty spot listed at my personally recorded finish time. Unfortunately I don’t have documentation of my finish, because I was still using my Nike+ GPS watch at that point. Those files are lost forever.
I signed up for the next Duke City Marathon to cross New Mexico off officially. Then the pandemic delayed the 2020 race to March of this year. Then race directors cancelled the March date completely. The 2021 date ended up falling six days after the rescheduled 2021 Boston Marathon, so I considered ditching my deferred entry into Duke City. But I just couldn’t stand the thought of putting off my Albuquerque return any longer.
So six days after struggling to get to the finish line of the 2021 Boston Marathon, I was on the stating line of the Duke City Marathon ready to hurt so more.
While Albuquerque is at much higher altitude than Boston, the perfect race-day weather made my race much more enjoyable.
I quickly decided to run a relaxed pace. My legs felt great for the first two miles. Then all of the cumulative fatigue from the past few months caught me. I realized I had two options: slow down and survive or hold pace and most likely burn out around mile 15. I slowed down, and I’m so glad.
It’s amazing how two similar race times can feel completely different. In Albuquerque I ran a negative split and kept myself from burning up early. Boston was the opposite — tried to hold faster paces and ended up slamming into a wall with more than 10 miles left. That’s a painful way to finish a marathon.
The Duke City Marathon was exactly like my memories from 2012. The race is a single out and back starting and finishing in downtown. From mile 2.5 to the turnaround it runs on a bike/running path along the Rio Grande. There are only a couple minor uphills in miles 11-13, but then runners turn around and go right back down starting the second half of the race.
The Albuquerque area has just enough mountains in the distance to make it a pretty location. Running along the river is peaceful, and hot air balloons dotting the sky in the distance is really fun. Both times I’ve run Duke City I’ve seen around 20+ hot air balloons.
The race felt a bit smaller this time, probably a result of the pandemic and so many races back on the schedule this fall.
I crossed the finish line in 3:15 with the Macarena blasting. And a surprising number of people actually doing the dance movements to it.
It can be frustrating racing slower than recent goals. Instead of focusing on not hitting those marks, I’m working to accept where I am.
I listened to a podcast while running the Duke City Marathon that reinforced my need for a realistic approach. Honest assessment. Embrace where I am and make the daily steps to improve from here.
Life has been chaotic for the past few months. I had a health issue, moved 900 miles to a new state, and took multiple cross country flights and roadtrips.
I ran Albuquerque 40 minutes faster than I did in 2012, and I have now crossed off 41 states with a sub 4.
Nine states left. Opportunity for improvement ahead.
Running can humble and encourage at the same time.
It’s time to regain consistency and close out 2021 with some solid weeks.