At the Eugene, Oregon World T&F Championships, Sydney McLaughlin (USA) ran a 50.68 in the women’s 400m hurdles \u2013 and was just 1:57 behind the winning 400m, without hurdles! And\u00a0Noah Lyles just lowered the American 200 meter dash time to 19:31. Great…these quick short, little runs were well shy of going 26.2 miles.<\/p>\n
Anything else? Well, the fact that I eeeked out one more marathon this year, yes – that\u2019s a Summerfield 2022 Record. Ha! Must I bore you with the details, obviously! Since ending my \u201creal running exploits a few years ago, I only jog downhills anymore. Now all I do is pick a course that gets measured accurately (I used to be a certified USA T&F course measurer, and I would \u201csanction\u201d races, really). Then I build up to it, and pull it off. I used to do this using Frank Newman\u2019s marathon course going to Livingston (yes, walking the whole way). Moving to Nye, Montana – I found a great course, measured it, and did it last year, with Stacy\u2019s help who did the last 16 mile with me (if you ever need a new marathon course, just get to Absarokee, park near the intersection of the only blinking light going through town, and take off going toward Red Lodge.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/winddrinkers.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/Screen-Shot-2022-07-28-at-7.39.33-AM.png\")
<\/a>(the Absarokee blinking light starting line \u201ceveripedia.org\u201d)<\/p><\/div>\n
After 2.8 miles, turn West onto the Nye Road, and go the 24 miles to the Cathedral Mountain Ranch gate…exactly 26.3 miles. You have the thrill of seeing the snowcapped Beartooth Mountains as a backdrop – just like seeing the Absarokas going over to Livingston).<\/p>\n
<\/a>(CMR Gate Finish Line, “cmra.us\/photo\/cabins\/gagte1a.jpg”)<\/p><\/div>\n
Back to this year\u2019s 2022 marathon. Instead of the traditional FNM on Memorial Day weekend (we were in France then), we kept waiting for decent weather – not hot, not on a weekend. Too many days in the 90\u2019s, so I got impatient, and decided to start at 2:30am, on the coolest day (only 85\u00b0) for weeks.<\/p>\n
The next challenge was to find the perfect cache sites for my smorgasbord every 5 miles or so. This year, I discovered that all those metal guardrails along highways always have little curved endings, with hollowed-out cupboards behind, perfect for storing food and drink, and a flat spot on top to sit on while dining along the roadway. Suddenly, \u201cdoing a marathon\u201d turned into a stroll along the road in style. What\u2019s in the cache? The obligatory 14oz, 30g Premier Protein drink a\u0300 la Franklin Coles, a used Coke bottle with Gatorade refill, a banana, a GU packet, a Kirkland chewy granola bar, and a little crisp apple. The last 3 caches had a wonderfully honeyed (moist soaked-through) peanut butter\/honey sandwich. I discovered that much food is great for a much longer distance! At the end of the walk, I found out I weighed a pound heavier at the end than at the beginning! That\u2019s something new. (Perhaps I\u2019m putting out too much food.) Oh, I also carry a Scott Jurek inspired waist belt which holds 3 pouches – one for the ibuprofen and HammerNutrition ecaps, the others for the nasty GU packets.<\/p>\n
If you\u2019ve gotten this far in the article, my apologies. Here are some of the highlights:\u00a0at 2:30am July 19th, the moon was high in the SW over my shoulder, with Neptune right beside it. This picture doesn\u2019t do justice to the sight. It was like a huge flashlight.<\/p>\n