Bob Mann: 2022 Big Beach Marathon

Sun Jan 30, 2022

Last October, I finished my 50th marathon in my 50th state. For 16 years, that was the quest that I was on. I didn't repeat any states, which meant that after every state I completed, the list of available states remaining got smaller and smaller. But once the 50 were complete, everything opened back up. Since I had decided to continue running marathons -- and had gotten the okay from my cardiologist -- I pretty much had any marathon in the world to choose from. Yes, I have set my sights on completing all 50 states again. But unlike the first go-round, I won't limit myself to just the U.S. I've thought that I might run the provinces of Canada. And maybe I'll try one or two in Europe. So yes, the world was open to me.

But yet on Sun Jan 30, 2022, I chose to run in Gulf Shores, Alabama. That might seem like an odd place to choose. But this was a reunion meeting for the 50 State Marathon Club, and they were going to present me with a trophy for having completed all 50 states. So it was really an easy choice. The Big Beach Marathon in Gulf Shores became my 51th marathon, and Alabama became the first state that I have run twice.

Getting there was an adventure. I was set to leave New Jersey on Saturday morning, but there was a snowstorm on the way. The airline texted me a couple days ahead of time and offered for me to change my flight for free. So I chose to fly down on Friday, thus (hopefully) beating the storm. I had a layover in Atlanta each way, and while I got out of Newark on Friday just fine, there was a problem in Atlanta. High winds were causing delays in Atlanta, and they eventually shut the whole airport down. We did manage to land in Atlanta, but my flight out (to Pensacola) didn't happen, so I was stuck in Atlanta overnight. I ended up being rebooked the next day on the exact same flight that I was originally scheduled to take from Atlanta to Pensacola. So it was a bit of an ordeal, but I finally did make it to the Gulf coast.

Once I arrived, the rest of the weekend went fine. On Saturday afternoon, the 50 State club had the meeting, and it was a nice turnout, with over 30 members in attendance. From the ordeal of the travel, I was exhausted, and went to bed really early. As a side note to show how tired I was, I had been on a streak of 143 consecutive days where I had logged at least 10,000 steps. I could have sworn that I checked to verify that I was over 10k before I went to sleep. Yet when I woke up in the morning, I saw that I had logged only 9,899 on Saturday. And thus my streak was over. I don't know how that happened, because I was positive that I checked before falling asleep. I must have been so tired that I mis-read the numbers. Or perhaps my watch just didn't sync with the app correctly. I'll never know.

Anyway, I woke up Sunday morning, ate breakfast, and walked a couple of blocks from my hotel to the start/finish area, which was right along the beach. The temps were nice and cool, which meant it would be nice running weather. It's funny that some of the coldest marathons I have run have been in the South. But then again, those are the ones I've run in January and February, so I guess it makes sense.

The race started by the beach, but the course headed inland. By Mile 2 we were running in Gulf State Park, and the majority of the race was along the trails in this park. The terrain consisted mostly of either a paved bike path, or a wooden footbridge that spanned the swampy bayou of the park. I started out with a quick pace. Mile 2 was my fastest, at 9:12. Through 7 miles, my slowest mile had been done in 9:24. After that, I slowed a bit. First it was into the 9:40 range, and then, inevitably, it got even slower. There was no marker for the halfway point, which I found strange. Just about every marathon has some sort of mark to indicate that the race is half over. I estimate that I passed the halfway point in about 2:05. That's about a minute after I passed the Mile 13 sign, so it's a good guess.

Of course I kept getting slower the further along I got. My pace slipped under 10 minutes per mile, then under 11, then under 12, and for the last couple miles it went under 13. But nonetheless, I was feeling fine. I think I've reached the point in my running career where I don't mind getting slower. I was poking along, but I was confident all along that I'd get it done.

The biggest annoyances near the end of the race were a wooden pedestrian bridge over the road that we had to take. The ramp up was rather steep for that late in the race. Overall it was a very flat course, so this would have been the biggest "hill" on the course, and it was in the last mile. And by the time we were heading back west for the last few miles, the wind had kicked up a bit, and we were running straight into it. That made those last few miles that much more difficult.

But I made it on through, and I finished the race in 4:35:12. That's 5 minutes faster than I ran in Rhode Island in October. I certainly won't complain about that time. Overall, I found the race quite enjoyable. There wasn't a ton of spectator support, but I've found that I don't need that. It was a pleasant course, nice and flat, with good running weather. This is about all I ask for in a race these days, and this race provided that.

So it was a successful weekend in Alabama, for marathon #51. And state #1 of Round Two, I suppose. I don't yet know what I'll run next. I suppose it could be almost anywhere in the world. Other than Alabama, I guess. I'm just happy to be still out there doing this.

And now the photos. Click any image to enlarge.