Posts Tagged ‘CIM’

California International Marathon TV Coverage Far From “Utopia”

It seems to me that if you want your marathon to be a major event, your local media has to treat it like a major event. When it comes to the California International Marathon in Sacramento, I’ve got some good news and some bad news.

The good news is that the Sacramento Bee‘s coverage was thorough and interesting, helped along by the fact that it boasts enthusiastic and talented runners among its staff. But even without that insight, this morning’s coverage got all the essentials, and the photographers not only provided an excellent gallery, but shots of each runner who crossed the finish line – offering them for sale, in addition to those of the race’s official photographers.

The bad news is that the television coverage was excruciating. Three years ago, KCRA-TV aired five hours of live coverage, with a camera on a cycle tracking the leaders, and Dick Beardsley providing color commentary. They even managed a few in-race interviews with middle-of-the-packers. The coverage had its faults, but at least a considerable effort was made. This year we got a shot of the start and a couple of brainless interviews with spectators as part of the morning news package. The local CW affiliate also provided coverage, but it was so bad it was herniating.

The station checked in with a reporter at the finish line in between segments where people sent in photos of their Christmas tree to see if it was straight or leaning to one side. Eventually, men’s winner Tesfaye Girma-Bekele of Ethiopia crossed the finish line and was met by the reporter, who asked him where he was from. When he told her, she excitedly relayed to the viewers, “He’s from Utopia!”

It didn’t get better.

Second-place finisher Josh Cox looked a little puzzled when she asked him if he had run “the full 27 miles.”

When women’s winner Buzunesh Deba responded “tired” after being asked how she felt, our intrepid reporter opined, “No wonder she’s tired! She just ran 26.62 miles!”

Perhaps next year some enterprising sort will put together a small network of running bloggers to fully cover the race with video, photos and interviews, and circumvent the major media entirely. Hmmmm….

My First Marathon Race Report – 2005

I found the race report for my first marathon – the 2005 California International Marathon – and wanted to make sure it survived in the archives, so I’m reposting it here. I can’t find my second one, but I’ll keep looking. I ran only four times a week while training for this race, with a max week of 46 miles:

The California International Marathon was my first. The taper was my first, as well, and that was quite an experience.

The first two weeks of my taper were exceedingly uneventful. My runs were steady and easy, and I was so laid back I thought, “This taper madness stuff is so hyped and overblown.”

Then came last week.

Every little problem freaked me out. I reinstalled my entire wireless network even though it was my cable Internet provider that was having the technical difficulties. I scrubbed the kitchen counters three times. I compulsively hunted down the ants living behind my dishwasher.

I did three-mile runs without even breaking a sweat. I sat through the course lecture at the expo with my leg twitching the whole time. I calmed down a little with a pre-race dinner at PF Chang’s (garlic noodles – 610 grams of carbs!) I’ve never been so amped in my life.

I got a full six hours of coma-like sleep. A 4 a.m. wakeup, my usual routine and out the door.

Caught one of the first buses at the Sheraton at 5 for the long drive to Folsom. We got there just before 6.

IT WAS FREEZING!!!

I was in a long-sleeve wicking shirt and tights, plus warmup pants and a sweatshirt and disposable gloves, and I was still bone-cold. Large crowds were huddled in a mini-mart near the starting line. I saw a woman clad only in shorts and a thin top standing by the exhaust of a generator, trying to stay warm. I can’t imagine how the guy in the kilt felt.

I spent the hour before the start shivering and eating a big salty bagel, washed down with some Fiji Water. Out of the porta-potty at 6:50, turn in my sweats bag, and find myself caught in a crowd well behind the 4:30 pace group. No room to move up to the 4:00 group, but I figured I would just start slower.

We took off right at 7 a.m. without ceremony. It was great to finally run, but I couldn’t feel my toes. I went nice and leisurely behind the 4:30 group, wondering why the 4:45 group was running ahead of the 4:00 group.

Mile 1 – 10:06
Mile 2 – 9:58
Mile 3 – 7:48???

The first three miles consisted of my efforts to gradually work my way up to the 4-hour pace group. I was with the 4:15 group by Mile 3, finally starting to feel warmer. The third split was obviously wrong, but I can’t determine which other mile is wrong in the other direction. Oh well.

Mile 4 – 8:42
Mile 5 – 8:52
Mile 6 – 9:13

I caught the 4 hour group at Mile 5, tried to slow to their pace, but kept pulling away. At the Mile 6 turn I was about 50 yards ahead of them. I decided to run my normal pace, checking behind me and in front of me for the relevant pace groups. My cumulative time at Mile 6 was 54:40 – right on pace for a 4 hour finish.

Mile 7 – 9:01
Mile 8 – 8:59
Mile 9 – 8:53

We made our way down Fair Oaks Blvd. and I was maintaining proper pace. I passed the Kilt Guy as a female spectator yells to him, “Nice skirt!”

“It’s a kilt!” he bellows, a little peeved.

Mile 10 – 8:37
Mile 11 – 8:37
Mile 12 – 8:49

I’ve run six half-marathons this year, so it didn’t surprise me to see myself speeding up a bit at this point. We climbed the only significant hill at 10.5, but I was worried about the rolling terrain for nothing. It was hardly noticeable. Unless you run crazy fast in the first half and really burn out your quads, CIM is really a great fast course for anyone – particularly for your first marathon.

Mile 13 – 8:40
Mile 14 – 8:01
Mile 15 – 8:44

This was the most exciting part of the course for me. A huge cheering throng was gathered right after the halfway point, which explains why I ran an 8:01 in the middle of a 9-minute pace marathon. I crossed the halfway mat at 1:57, which was right where I wanted to be.

Mile 16 – 8:39
Mile 17 – 8:24
Mile 18 – 8:46

Felt great at this point - even better than during my long training runs.

Mile 19 – 8:32
Mile 20 – 8:34
Mile 21 – 8:50

The organizers set up a canvas “wall” just after Mile 20 and I blew through it feeling pretty good. My cumulative time at Mile 21 was 3:04:48. I was on pace for about a 3:51 finish.

Suddenly (you knew this was coming, didn’t you?), I started to get a cramp in my right hip. I’ve never felt anything like that while running. The longest run of my life prior to this race was 21.2 miles, so it didn’t surprise me that the pain worsened as I exceeded that. I was very well hydrated, my GU worked magic, and I otherwise felt fine.

Mile 22 – 9:23
Mile 23 – 9:37
Mile 24 – 11:25

I gutted it out for two more miles, but then my right knee started to seize up (in sympathy with the hip, no doubt). About two minutes past Mile 23, I took a walk break of exactly five minutes. It did the trick. Everything loosened up a bit, and I started running again.

Mile 25 – 9:31
Mile 26 – 10:34

Finish – 3:56:29

1,469th of 3,249 finishers
174th of 309 in age group

The hip carried me for another mile at a reasonable pace before cramping again. I found myself praying for this thing to be over. I took a two-minute walk break with a mile to go, then just grimaced my way down L street, past the exceedingly loud and annoying music, around the corner at 8th, then managed a laughable sprint to the finish.

I spotted Mrs. A. at the end of the chute, grabbed her, and started to cry. Not those little tears of joy everyone had, but deep, racking sobs that made my whole body shake.

Once I composed myself, I desperately searched for the food. I was starting to lose it while waiting in line, but the hot tomato soup cheered me beyond measure. I ate just about everything they had, then sent Mrs. A. to the coffee truck for a giant cup with massive amounts of sugar. I felt close to human soon after.

It was a hell of an experience, and something I will remember for the rest of my life.