The Monster Marathon 2018

I just can't get enough of the Finger Lakes Runners Club's Monster Marathon. The timing usually works out that the race can serve as a long, supported training run on close-to-home trails. There's also a bit of nostalgia factor; the accompanying half marathon (run on the old course in Kennedy State Forest) was one of my first trail races back in 2011.

The marathon course is a double out-and-back that snakes its way around Treman State Park in a slippery S-pattern. (Half marathoners run a single out-and-back of the same route.) Runners receive handicap starts based on age and gender. This means people who are older and/or female had a head start over the final starting wave. At age 35, I'm still considered a young buck and was rewarded with an 8:00 a.m. start time in the final wave of runners. Standings are based on the order in which runners cross the finish line, rather than their time spent running. Essentially, it meant I was starting off tied for last place overall
with a dozen or so other guys age 37 or younger. The handicap gives the race a different element of competition, and since The Monster is low-key enough, people aren't too concerned with awards and standings. The half marathon with a similar format runs concurrently with the full 26.2.

I ran the marathon as a supported long run as I began ramping the mileage back up after a busy and exhausting summer running some tough races. I wasn't interested in flat out racing The Monster for time, but wanted something a little quicker than just time on feet. After marking half the course the night before the race, I wasn't too well rested when I reached the starting line but felt pretty good overall.

I managed the first out-and-back in 2:04, only five or six minutes slower than what I ran in 2016 when I was racing hard in much warmer weather. The second loop was much slower, especially the few miles heading west on the Finger Lakes Trail starting around mile 16. This same uphill stretch wrecked me in the file miles of Cayuga Trails this year. The singletrack ascent is fairly easy to run on fresh legs, but at the end of a high mileage week or the late stages of an ultra it can be daunting. What goes up must come down, fortunately, and the final inbound section was a breeze.

Kudos to my friend Daniel for his successful debut as a race director. Daniel and I both served as first time RDs this fall and spent a lot of time hashing out ideas for our respective races. I'm glad to see his event went pretty smoothly. Also of note: It's believed that someone obtained photographic evidence of the fabled Forest Monster, which seems to have migrated down from Virgil and taken up residence at Treman State Park ;) Definitive evidence remains sketchy, however.

PC: Daniel Longaker

Off in a blur. PC: Daniel Longaker