I just signed up for my next full marathon. The Extraterrestrial Full Moon Midnight Marathon. This should be the best marathon out there for those of you who want to be abducted by an alien while running a marathon, if that is your thing.
We all know I am into odd races out there. Beach Marathons, Hilly Marathons, Double Marathons, etc., so this one should qualify as one of the oddest.
The race, as the name states, starts at Midnight and also in the middle of the dessert in the middle of Nevada on August 5th. It is run right outside the famed Area 51 along the Extraterrestrial Highway about 2 1/2 hours outside of Las Vegas. I am guessing also that is should be a full moon too. I have read a lot of reviews of this race and it sounds like a real blast.
Race headquarters are in Las Vegas and from there, we will board a coach bus for the 2 1/2 hour drive to the Famous Black Mailbox (which I am told is ironically white?!?!) of UFO folklore. The full marathon as well as the 51K (get it? 51K for Area 51) start right at midnight where temps usually are around the 60's. Thanks God it is not at 12:00PM, that would be a scorcher. Everyone wears a head lamp and well as a glow necklace as we run down the highway toward Rachel, NV where the finish is. The buses take the half marathoners and 10K runners to their starting points and wait and the finish for runners after they are done. Apparently lot of runner dress up in costumes and make it a real UFO type event.
Sounds like fun to me. I even have my shirt already picked out, the one I wore as a pacer for the Rock 'n Sole Half which is a really bright safety green color. Kind of Alien like.
I am nervous about a couple things. One is getting enough sleep before the race. I fly out the Vegas Saturday morning and plan on taking a long nap at the hotel in the later afternoon before leaving for the race. I know on the bus, it will feel like a party of sorts so no rest there I am sure. I will be running from Midnight until ??? so no sleep there but maybe on the bus back to Vegas. The next concern I have is the elevation. the race starts at something like 4600 feet and gradually rises to 5500 before dropping back. I I have only once ran at this high of an altitude and have heard some horror stories. I do not plan on racing this one so whatever time I get is OK with me. The 1000 feet of gradual gain over the first 13 miles will test the legs over the long haul but hopefully not kill them.
I am not too worried though, I will have fun. I hope to see some aliens and maybe run a couple miles with them. Hopefully Aliens don't have huge kicks at the end to beat me to the finish line.
Keep on Running!!!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
That sounds really cool! I'm doing my first evening race this weekend, so I understand where you're coming from on the late-night start (although a marathon is a whole 'bother ball game!). Good luck with it!
Post a Comment