Bataan Death March Marathon

Several months ago I was looking for a marathon to do in March and I came across this one.  I had actually thought about doing it last year,  I had a conference to go too, so I couldn't do it last year. This year, I live only 45 miles up the road from where I take place at White Sands Missile Range, so I absolutely had to do it.  I worked early hard training,but my
 Lst really long run was a month ago and the I got bad sick.  I had a horrible virus that turned into a sinus infection and an ear infection and ulcers in my throat.  I ended up on antibiotics, and the last week I was on steroids because eustacean tube was still full and my ear was clogged.  I got the all clear on a normal ear on Friday..yay!  That unrealized to racing, I'm just happy my ear went back to normal. Anyway,because of the sickness, I did not train at all for a week, then my volume the following week was half what it was supposed to be. So I did not feel I was very well prepared for this marathon .  And I was scared! Everyone kept talking about how horrible it is. How high the hills are.  How deep the sand is.  How bad my blisters would be.how many toenails I would lose.  How I needed to carry extra socks, extra moleskin, extra this or that.  Don't forget my sunscreen.  All that stuff.  I sled two people who had done it and they said it was really hard. It they hadn't run it.  So.....my plan was to train for a marathon, read all the race information closely, and then be flexible with my day.  My last marathon was five years ago in Tokyo.  It did not go well at all.  It was cold, rainy, and about 20 mph winds.  I went out too fast and bonked at mile 18 and was utterly miserable after that.  I had no plans to make that mistake again!  So I trained hard And the official race info said that if you planning to run, then wear good running shoes.  That was the only runner specific advice!

He weekend started on Saturday when you have to pick up your race packet.  We planned it so that we would have time to meet the veterans of the actual march.  Oh yeah....if you are young and don't know...the Bataan Death March took place in World War II.  The Japanese captured about 80,000 army and navy troops and forced them To march 65 miles. Many hundreds of Americans died and thousands of Filipinos died.  They were then transferred to Japan to work in slave camps and there they stayed until the end of the war.  Many survivors come to the march and they make themselves available for questions The day before.

At the end of the check in, there was a man who had written a book.  I bought one on the spot and asked him to sign it for me.  There is even a photo of him inside the book that the Japanese took of him.  In a room was a man who had been working in the copper mines about 40 miles from one of the bombs.  He told about things they did to the guards, how he stole things, they weren't allowed to speak English at all, they had no medical care, And sometimes the man standing right next to him would be shot for spoken small infraction.  He had no idea how he lived.  After the war, they were sent to the Philippines for 30 days to fatten up before they were allowed to go home.  He still weighed 85 pounds after that!  It was very rewarding to meet them.

This morning, I was up at 0300 and drove the 45 miles or so to the Army post where it was held.  I slathered all my sensitive areas and anywhere that might chafe with body glide, it some Vaseline in key areas, slathered a thick layer of SPF90, put on my Garmin And my road ID anew set off for the start.  They had a speech and did a roll call where they called the names of the attendees and then all the names ( about 10) of those veterans who had died over the last year. It took about 45 min to get to the actual start line be cases my category was the last to go.  I was civilian light..that means I could wear whatever I wanted.  The other main categories are military light, which means they hAve to wear a uniform and military heavy, which means they have to wear a military uniform And a 35 pound pack.  Holy cow!  I am NOT doing that!  There was a short version which was only 15 miles.  At the end of the race, I was passing people who had walked the short one.

Once I got going, I was able to run the first six miles or so.  I had seen the elevation profile (hint...always look for an elevation profile for pane race you are attempting!  It will save you surprises).  I knew there was a six mile hill starting at mile six and it was downhill with a few up hills from there.  And then people talked about "the wall" and the "sand pit" which was supposed to be ankle deep sand.  I got to the big hill and realized that it was A. long and B. steep and C. I wasn't getting up it any faster running than I was walking.  So I basically did a speed walk up hill for six miles averaging 15 min miles.  Running felt so good after that!  I started running after that and pretty much ran the rest of the way except for a few short uphills. Things got ugly from about mile 23-25 when I had to start counting. It's bad when I have to count. I did those two miles by running 200 steps and walking 100, then repeat. Oh my. Then mile 26 is almost home. I never was exactly sure what the sands pit was...there was one area of maybe a half mile where the sAnd was pretty deep and I had to walk and I think that must be it. But it surely was not ankle deep! There were a few other areas that had deep sand where I had to walk. I think the wall must have been the last few miles that wrapped around base housing. I didn't make much of it, but on the last mile, a lady told me that this part was so ward because we had to go ALL THE WAY AROUND base housing. They had mile markers every mile and I had my Garmin. Made no difference to me if there was a wall or what I had to run around...I knew the distance. People let crazy things beat them down. The wind was pretty horrific for the last two hours, but they were mostly crosswinds. And since I wasn't on a bike, it didn't really matter! My goal was to finish in less than six hours. My last marathon was 5:12 and I was miserable. This one was 5:43 and I was not miserable. There were parts that were really hard, but I might not wait five years until I do my next one! After the run, I did do my usual lay down in relative agony and stretch. Then I waited for the first time ever for a post race massage. That was a brilliant idea! I think I'm going to schedule another one this week. I ate a brat and sauerkraut, drank a beer, and then drove home. Took a nice shower... I was filthy! I thought I had some bad tan lines, but it turns out I had mild tan lines and a lot of dirt. No burns. Been lying on the couch watching the tube ever since! After I get the pictures out of the phone, I'll post them on the blog.