This recaps the Fueled by Fine Wine Half-Marathon Inaugural Run on July 11, 2010 at Dundee, Oregon. It was hubby’s email to our friend who didn’t run the race. My unofficial time was 2:24:15. Not my best but not my worst either. It was definitely a challenging course but I would like to run it again next year and properly train for the hills. Hubby said, “I’ll cheer you on.” I’m sure he’ll change his mind.
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Subject: you are a lucky man...------------------------------------------------------
…for not having run the Fueled by Fine Wines ½. In a word it was “absolutelyf*ingbrutal.” I got the impression the organizers had never run a day in their lives, although they struck upon the idea of a “fun run through wine country” and perhaps a way to market local brands.
Miles 1-6 – mostly flat, scenic, pleasant. Miles 6-8 were a steady 7% climb. Few people were able to make it without walking at least once. But the hills didn’t stop there. At the top of 8 you dropped steeply down (reminding you that you had quads), then the hills continued up/down/up/down for the rest of the course. No one ran mile 11 to 12. No one. It was up hill, hot, and by then, most everyone’s legs were spent. There was even a brutal hill to the 13 mile mark, which then turned to a steep drop down to the finish line. Water stations seemed a little too far apart and understaffed.
I had hoped for a 1:50. Ha. 2:12:51. To further put the race in perspective, the winning overall time for Helvetia was 1:12. Here – 1:36.
Anyway, the worst day running is better than the best day of sitting around on the couch. The wine tasting afterwards was nice with lots of wines, a complimentary glass and, admittedly, the views were outstanding. It conceivably could be done again, but only after significant and dedicated hill training.
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start and finish
the kind of sign you don't want to see at mile 12
the loot
Dundee hills
perspective of the altitude courtesy of my friend's heart rate monitor
enjoying some free wine with hubby!
Nancy, me, SoloRunner
I just became a member of dailymile and saw your profile. I started reading your blog and found this post. You and your husband hit the nail on the head in describing this course. I would do it again because it was beautiful, but not without training on some more hills first. Hope to see you there next year! Are you running the Vancouver Marathon?
ReplyDeleteThank you for reading my blog. I hope we are friends on dailymile! :) Vancouver Marathon is on my list next year. I hope to meet you!
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