Blues Marathon - Jackson, MS January 3, 2008

Race report from Neil Solomon

Let me start out by saying that I do not think Jeff and I will walk /run to our spots at another  relay event since it was  about 6-7 miles and we actually got stuck in a parking lot and had to crawl out underneath a fence. Luckily we are  thin or else we would have been stuck.  Once I finally got to my 15 mile mark there was a guy there from another team about 20 years younger and legs as tall as me.  He ran for the corporate team 180 runners,

and told me he tried to qualify for the Olympic marathon about 10 - 12  years ago. He was going to run the last 2 sections.  He said he is a 2:45 marathoner now.  My heart just sank because I knew now matter what kind of lead Jodi gave me I was not going to keep it.  When Jodi got to me, with her screaming for joy we  were in first, I had about a 30-40 second lead which evaporated and he passed me after about  1 1/2 miles.  I was running fairly steady at  about 6:35 pace for the first 4 miles keeping the other guy in sight and planning to pick it up the last mile and then made  a right turn up Ridgewood for the last mile that was up hill the whole way with short plateaus in between and the uphills were steep, ask Terry Ingram.  The last mile killed me and  I did it in about 7:35 and finished my 5 mile in 33:55.  When I saw Jeff at mile 20 I said catch the guy in the orange tank top who probably had at least a minute or two  lead at that point, Jeff can tell you exactly.  Jeff did a great job making up time and I am very proud of the whole team.  It was one of the most enjoyable athletic events I have done and even though I have been a part of the Pine Belt Pacers for only a short time all you guys and gals are great.  Looking forward to the Mobile event but since I am running the half marathon as well I will run the lead 5 mile section slower at about 35-36 minutes to conserve energy.  See you soon and again congratulations and thanks to everybody. Neil        

The second edition of the Blues Marathon took place in downtown Jackson on January 3, 2008 with more than 2,000 participants and almost the same numbers of volunteers.  Edward Tabut in 2:18:53 and Divina Jepkogei in 2:46:29, both of Kenya, were the overall winners in the marathon.  Everett Whiteside (1:11:52) and Janelle Ralph (1:32:57) claimed the victory in the half-marathon event.
 
The Pine Belt Pacers Hares set a new relay record for the club. They ran 2:59 (later we will have the official results). Congratulations to Terry L., Keith B., Jodi L., Neil S., and Jeff H. for an excellent performance. The PBP Hares team was the top squad in the Open Relay Category.  The Pine Belt Pacers Turtles also had a great time and finished in 3:45. Good job Andrew, Kily P-E, Deborah, Terry I. and Nestor Raul for your hard work in this great but super-hilly course.

Pine Belt Pacers Phillip Wedgeworth, Ray Henderson, Tony Mozingo, and Nancy Munn were also present in the half marathon. Leonard Vergunst placed second overall in the Masters category in the Marathon with a time of 2:53:29. Times will be posted later at http://www.msbluesmarathon.com.

I felt a pop in my left hamstring after just half mile into my running leg but managed to finish OK the last 6.2 miles. However, after finishing, a "nice pain" got in my leg and is giving me a hard time now (I guess I am just getting old and rusty! :)

See you guys next week in the First Light Marathon where we will also have 2 teams (not so fast as the PBP Hares but with a lot of heart among their members!).   First news on the race follows ---->   http://www.clarionledger.com/article/20090104/COL0508/901040347/1180/SPORTS
 © Pijume Diwesi

Race Report by Terry Terminator Lawhead -->

I arrived at the Gateway shortly before 4:00 a.m. and Neil was already there. I warned him there was little chance Nestor would be early and not to expect him prior to 4:15 a.m. Right at 4:15 a.m. Kily and Nestor arrived and we were on our way a few minutes later. When we were a couple of miles south of Richland, Jeff called (he was about 10 minutes behind us). We pulled into the McDonald’s parking lot in Richland and waited for him. When Jeff arrived we caravanned to the race site. As fate would have it we pulled in right next to Keith and Deborah. After discussing a little race logistics, we headed to the starting line where we met Jodi, Andy, and Terry I. Keith distributed the remaining race numbers and timing chip and Andy and I headed for the starting line. Neil and Jeff decided to walk to their respective relay points. Although it was only a couple of inches on the map, in reality it was more like seven miles, so they were good and warmed up by the time they had to run.

I lined up right behind the elite runners (boy are they little) and was able to see them for about two miles. Although I stopped at mile 5 (and was glad to) they just kept going. According to my Garmin, my splits were:

Mile 1 – 5:47 (down hill)
Mile 2 – 6:05 (slight uphill)
Mile 3 – 5:59 (down hill)
Mile 4 – 6:37 (up hill! - saw wheel chair racer rolling backwards)
Mile 5 – 6:14 (rolling hills)
Total 30:42

I handed the timing chip to Keith and he was off (up another hill). We waited there until we got to see all the other Pacers. After that we boarded the van and headed to the 10-mile mark. We repeated this process until we all had our chance at misery in the hills. I don't know how many miles each of them ended up running, but Keith, Kily and Neil all ran more of the race after their respective legs.

The hills were the last thing my injured ITB needed. I iced it down after I ran and it felt a lot better. Running two races in three days probably wasn’t smart, but I think I survived without any real damage. I’ll get back on my re-hab program and get healed up before I race again.

If I ever run the entire Blues Marathon it will be just for fun. There are way too many hills to try to run a fast time. That being said, they really did a great job with the race and it is certainly worth running, just be aware of the hills.

Great job everyone and good luck Pacers at the First Light Marathon next weekend.

 Race report by Jodie Lee ---> 

My Blues weekend started by staying at my Mom's in Brandon so I wouldn't have to drive from H'burg so early on Saturday. Joni Dunbar met me there at 6 and we met the rest of the Pacers close to the start line around 6:30. After our teams started, we were taken by our awesome driver Deborah and navigator Nestor to our different starts. I think I tested out every porta potty on the race course and even took Becky Ryder's advice to go in the bushes if you have to, so now I can add that to my list of race experiences. I went in the bushes at Belhaven College! Thanks Becky! As I watched for Keith to come I got a good look at the guy that would be running the 3rd leg for the St. Louis relay team. His hand off girl came in and not long after I spotted Keith climbing the last giant hill of his leg of the race. Right as I was about to run off, Terry Lawhead said, "Catch that guy." (the St. Louis relay guy) I had already planned on going after him but I'm glad Terry said it. Joni and I took off and our runs are usually filled with lots of talking but not this time! I had a mission-to catch "that guy" and run the best I could. At 2.5 miles I looked at my Garmin & thought my gosh, I've got 2.5 to go! The hills were killing! We finally made it to Lakeland Dr. and there was some relief from hills. It took me 4 miles to "take him down" but I caught "that guy!" As I passed him I said "howdy!" He looked surprised. Well, soon I got to Neil. I sure am glad I met him at Steamwhistle so I knew who to hand it off to. That was fun! I was so excited when I saw Jeff at the finish to find out we got under 3 hrs. Thanks for running with me on your Saturday morning Joni-true friend! These fast guys on both teams inspire me to keep working hard! Maybe I'll catch Terry or Neil one of these days! Ha! Ha!

Race Report by Keith Barrett  --->

Here's my story and I'm Sticking To It! OUCH! I thought I liked running hills! Our weekend started Friday afternoon as we headed to Jackson to stay with my brother and his wife Friday night. I probably would have been better off getting up early and riding with the clan Saturday. As you all know I don't like to drink BEER so I figured going to one of my brothers friend's house Friday night would be OK. WRONG! Anyway finally got in bed around midnight and actually got 5 good hours of sleep. We met everyone early and mapped out the final details for the run. OH, I had to pick up our chip Saturday morning because I actually dropped it at the expo Friday night. Luckily a volunteer found it and tracked down my cell number and gave me instructions for picking it up Saturday morning. Kily and I both ran the second leg so we jogged about 2 miles to the transition area and waited for our teammates. Terry ran a very good 1st leg and passed the clip, if I had to do it again I would have carried it. I lost 15 or so valuable seconds trying to get the darn thing on. I hung in around 6:50 /m until mile 8 and quickly went to 7:30/m, hell I thought I was in the Newton Hills of Boston, very tough 2 miles. I finally reached my destination passed the chip to Jodie an she was off an running. Kily and I ended up jogging another 9 miles or so. Finally back to the finish where we rehydrated with Bud Light/Miller Lite-- I mean water and Gatorade.

See Clarion Ledger Article

 
Official times for some Pine Belt Pacers:

Half Marathon

146. Ray Henderson 1:55:07
147. Phillip Wedgeworth 1:55:07
190. Tony Mozingo 1:58:11
246. Gary Thornton 2:02:03
338. Nancy Munn 2:08:26

Summary number of finishers: 983
# females: 506 -- # of males: 476 -- Average time: 2:25:57
*****

Marathon Relay Competition -- 24 Teams

1. 180 Energy Runners 2:58:38
2. Pine Belt Pacers - Hares 2:59:02
3. Pine Belt Pacers - Turtles 3:45:31
4. Snailchasers Alpha 4:09:05
5. Lightheart 4:09:49
6. Team Ramey I 4:13:40
7. Running Road Kill 4:15:52
8. Fired Up Five 4:17:43
9. Not It 4:19:20
10. The B Flats 4:28:56
11. 4 Hotties And G-Love 4:30:25
12. Nola 5 4:32:09
13. Snailchasers I 4:36:06
14. Snailchasers Uno 4:36:38
15. 114th Military Police Company 4:36:53
16. Bullet 4:44:30
17. Speedies 4:46:20
18. Not It 2 4:49:30
19. Cri 4:49:33
20. 4 Girls And A Guy 5:09:24
21. Team Ramey Ii 5:19:27
22. Diversified Technology 5:24:23
23. Blues Bs 5:43:42
24. Team Ramey Iii 6:11:47

Pic1&2:  Pacers before the race
Pic3:  Leonard, Andy and Nestor Raul
Pic4, 5, 6, 7, & 8:  Start of the race
Pic9:  Race leaders at mile 5
Pic10:  Terry finishes the first leg; Keith gets ready!
Pic12:  Leonard at mile 5
Pic13:  Women's Leader Pack at mile 5
Pic14:  Pacers waiting for Andy M. (mile 5)
Pic15:  Kily ran 17 miles with Keith
Pic16:  Tony Mozingo crosses the 5m marker
Pic17:  Andy passes the chip to Kily at mile 5
Pic18:  Leaders at mile 10
Pic19:  Pacers at mile 10
Pic20:  MTC president Jack Ward runs so fast that the camera can't get him in focus
Pic21:  Kily transfers the chip to Deborah
Pic22:  Ray Henderson and Phillip Wedgeworth at mile 10
Pic23:  More than 2,000 people ran the hilly course
Pic24:  I forgot her name.  She is an excellent runner in the MTC events (mile 15)
Pic25:  Jodi ran in company of Joni D.  Her parents cheered for them!!  (mile 15)
Pic26:  Deborah finishes her leg at mile 15!  GREAT JOB Deborah!! You did it!
Pic27:  Pacers goofing in mile 20.
Pic28:  Pacers showing legs!
Pic29:  Great music at mile 20
Pic30:  Terry is ready to finish his leg at mile 20
Pic31:  Nestor Raul after finishing the race
Pic32:  Jeff and Keith are ready for another 26 miles
© Pijume Diwesi

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