Cinco De Mayo:
What Happened?
I am sure
that with the spotlight on Reno Nevada’s Cinco De Mayo’s inaugural
marathon (which also included
associated events of 5 KM, 10 KM and half-marathon), it will be hard for
marathoners, especially first timers, to look at the race and see what went
“right”, rather than what went
wrong. That being said, I will try and
focus initially on what I perceived as positive related to the marathon.
I arrived
at the packet pick-up at the “11th hour” as it were, that is on
Saturday May 6th around
Located
immediately inside the doors of
There was a little
confusion where the timing chip station was concerned, since it’s wasn’t
properly emphasized, and it caused a great deal of problems the following
morning when a fair number of runners competing at different distances did not
have their chips.
The expo
had typical marathon vendors sporting such items as inaugural marathon
supplemental gear-long sleeve shirts, sweaters and the like. (Incidentally the
marathon “finishers” race t shirt was a cotton short sleeve and I got what was
remaining-an extra large-) The design of the t shirt is the same format as
A very large
not to be overlooked “perk” along with the entry fee was free admission to the
pasta dinner, which included a speech by “
The dinner, which
was held at the Circus Circus in Reno, included a very nice self service pasta
buffet with salad and desert spread, waiters on hand, full service bar, and
could be attended by family and friends for an additional well spent $20.
The morning
of the race I was confronted with an unusual and pleasant scenario, in the US’s
“biggest little city”… no problem finding restrooms (unless you count being
tempted by 500 slot machines one has to pass in Nevada’s cleverly configured
casinos), no concerns finding secure
parking in the heart of downtown; (gambling revenue off sets the 5 story
parking garages and security and oversight); and finally, no worries about
turning in my sweat bag (an A to A course with my car a few blocks from the
finish)…
Here end the
majority of my accolades for this marathon. At the would-be start of the
marathon (630 am) we were greeted with news I can’t thus far remember
encountering at a marathon…the start would be “a half hour late”….
Wow. What an
unusual move for a marathon. I would determine two things later (one: what
caused the delay) and two; the delay didn’t help make the marathon a much more
efficient event.
I kept
considering the first timers-I can’t imagine someone who trained for months and
was mentally psyched for it to have their balloon deflated like that… spouses
waiting based on projected finishing times, runners who may be on a deadline
for a flight…and most disconcerting-the fact that we were in the Nevada desert
in Spring, and each minute we started later in the day could compound problems,
especially for the rear echelon of the marathon field. (Incidentally the delay was related to getting
permission from the city to set the course(s) up-one would have thought this
would have been planned out further in advance)…
From the
beginning of the marathon, when it finally did start, I sensed trouble. My
splits in the early miles were between 1 and two and a half minutes different,
despite the fact that I it was early in the marathon and I knew I was running a
fairly even pace.
As it was, I
should have been happy—at least I “got a split” from a mile marker-between
about miles 8 and 14 I didn’t notice any mile splits at all. Most of the aid
stations, located about every two miles, had “abandoned” tables with bottles of
water in buckets on the ground, or in chairs. A few offered watered down
Gatorade, and gu-belt camel backed marathoners earned their weight in gold…the
only supplement on course besides water and diluted, powdered Gatorade were a
few energy bar stations (ever tried to consume one of those energy bars while
you were running(?)… and gummy bears
(a little easier to consume on the run)….
Two other improvements
of note here….the half marathon split off at about 7 miles and there was no
prominent distinction of the split. There was a local law enforcement official
directing traffic, but no course official in place. I found myself looking back
after I made the turn to ensure a (yellow) marathon number was behind me and
not a blue half marathon number.
I understood
after the race that several marathoners inadvertently took the half marathon
course, but I am not sure if the reverse is true)… Also a prominent half marathon denotation was sorely lacking, a
staple of most marathons. I did pass a giant rainbow colored balloon around
what I thought to be half way, along with a small group of area residents, but
without mile marker, prominent aid station or other, I was unable to determine
where I was at on course….. (around
this point I also observed a classic Jet Black ‘49 Ford Coupe “Hot August
Night” by design. Reno’s famed summer car show came to mind, and along with the
hot air balloon, I at least sensed the culture of my surroundings, and felt a
purpose of being for selecting the marathon)…
The
course was predominantly hybrid rural-urban, on the outskirts of
To this end,
however, I was sorely disappointed…there were supposed to be five bands and I
noted only two of any significance (including the aforementioned), and the
second was so far inset off of the marathon route their voices and instruments
could scarcely be discerned. This band
was “staged” next to the only body of water we would encounter a small lake…
Part of my
motivation to do the race, (rather than some of the other area marathons such
as Vancouver Canada), (beside the fact that I love Nevada and have been making
annual pilgrimages there since I was a young kid), was that my wife (Yuri) is a
first language Spanish speaker, and I wanted to get her more involved in the
marathon experience….The website opened up with Puerto Rican Salsa music…
With Cinco De
Mayo as the theme, and the listing of all the previous Latin Pop and first
language Spanish speaking groups that had entertained at Reno’s Cinco De Mayo
on the marathons web site, running Reno’s Inaugural Marathon seemed like a sure
winner in terms of familiarity for
Yuri. I couldn’t have been more wrong, and was sorely disappointed.
Free admission
to a Latin Jazz artist for the marathon was included for an evening performance
at the Sands Resort, downtown; the evening after the marathon, (finishers),
guests were $25. We opted out in favor of going to nearby Spark’s Cinco De Mayo
event for all of a half hour—530 to 600 PM, (we learned it closed two hours
early because of suspected “gang activity”…
Did I mention
that an angry pit bull lunged at me just before mile 23? His collar tightened
around his throat as the last of his chain length expired, just inches from
Achilles, sending me about 18 inches in the air and landing with a severe
charley-horse in my corresponding right quad. The owner asked me if I was ok. Thanks,
friend..
As I have heard
often said…”folks, I couldn’t make this stuff up”……
Finishers
of the marathon were rewarded with an inaugural, spinning,
The
following Maniacs “survived” the marathon…
Eddie Hahn 3:37:57
*Les Omura
Dave Bell 5:
Charles Sayles 5:56:45