Avenue of the Giants Half-Marathon (Humboldt County, California)

It's half-marathon day here in northern California among the giant redwoods. For several of years, I have wanted to run the Avenue of the Giants Half-Marathon near Fortuna, CA and this year, I decided I was going to do just that. My friend, Miranda, was on the wait list, but did not get in due to her late registration. She was still willing to drive up with me and support my race, which I'm very appreciative of.

I've been feeling pretty good the last few weeks, but I'm certainly not in top running shape . . . even my own top running shape. Couple with that, I got very sick to my stomach last night and was unable to keep down my dinner. I thought about skipping the race, but I reconsidered and decided that even if I have to walk the whole thing, it would be worth it to run along this famous avenue in the shade of the tallest trees on the face of the Earth.

Traffic getting to the start line was a disaster. With only one road in and one road out, it made for quite a mess. Eventually, I just hopped out of the jeep and walked the last quarter-mile or so. If I hadn't, I'm not sure I would have gotten there by start time. Miranda was able to turn around and do more exploring of the giant trees on her while she waited for me to finish my race.

With the countdown from five down to "GO", we were off and running. The route first takes us parallel to Highway 101 and then across an overpass. As we race across, the cars passing below us honk in support of all these crazy people running for no reason, of which I am one. From here, the race takes us another six miles or so along the Avenue of the Giants and through the rich green forests of the redwoods. As I run, I notice a healthy crop of poison oak alongside the road. I've had plenty of bouts with this monster when I lived in Reno and even worse knock-down-drag-outs with it's cousin, poison ivy, since moving to Georgia. I kept my distance.

There are actually three distances in progress. A full marathon, which started about an hour before the half, the half (my race) and finally a 10k. All three races share some of the same routes, but obviously have different turn around points. As I approach the four-mile marker, I hear a bike approaching from behind and a loud voice calling out "make way for the lead runner". Just a few yards behind him, the lead runner of the marathon is pushing hard and running like lightning . . . .much faster than I am and he's put in 13.1 miles more than I have by this point. It's quite a while before I see number two in the marathon. After checking the results later in the day, I noted that the lead runner I had seen won by a wide margin . . something like twenty-five minutes or so. He was crazy fast!

Now with that out of my way, I figure it's time focus on my own race. The course is mostly flat and I'm able to maintain a pretty good pace without walking for quite a while. My stomach is causing concerns though and as I reach the restrooms at the turn-around, I decide it's best to see if I can do anything to empty it. I wouldn't want to be the next person to use that port-o-potty after I left it, but I do feel much, much better and my stomach seems to have calmed.

From here on out, I will be doing a combination of running and walking. I never truly get out of breath, but there are points when I get inspired by music and push hard. Then again, there are other moments when I stop completely to take a picture of the gorgeous scenery that surrounds me. Honestly, I'm here more for the experience that to push for a PR and given my stomach situation, that's not every a possibility anyway.

Finally reaching the finish line, I take pride in my accomplishment. Though a time of 3:01:27 is almost embarrassing, even for me, I finished the race under less than ideal circumstances. The course was absolutely beautiful and I couldn't have asked for better weather. I really wish I could have been competitive today, given the flatness of this course, but I settle for just have finished this amazing race. Unfortunately, this is the final day of my vacation and I will be working out of one of my company's California offices for the next few days before returning home to Atlanta.