2015 Rock 'n' Roll Denver Half Marathon

October 18

Just one day of racing, Half Marathon at altitude 5280 feet (one mile) above sea level. Eight Track Heavy Medal. Full Marathon is an entirely different course, sharing only the finish line. 5k and 10k course on Half course.

Saturday

Later morning flight (plus time zone) would get me to Denver just after noon. SkyRide bus route AF would take me to downtown Denver (24 miles away) to Union Station. RTD Denver provides a nice Free MallRide bus service to the Civic Center where I could catch route 48 to the Expo. The Expo is on the north side of Denver, but I didn't want to carry all my luggage, so I checked into the hotel to drop off my bags first. I had a little trouble figuring out where to catch the Free MallRide, so I lost 30 minutes. By the time I left the hotel for the Expo, it was already 3 pm. I brought my Elvis outfit to change at the Expo.

Saturday Expo

I took the Free MallRide to Civic Center, but could not find where to catch bus 48. To make matters worse, there was a Zombie Crawl that started at 2 pm, and there were people (mostly zombies) everywhere. Some of the buses had to be re-routed. I reviewed the race instructions on where to catch route 48, and the location was only a block from my hotel. I ended up walking on 16th Street back to my hotel, but saw some interesting costumes (not everyone was a zombie). I was finally able to catch the bus, and head to the Expo. I arrived at 3:30 pm, and the Expo closes at 5 pm, not a lot of time to explore. The Expo in past years has been at the Convention Center which is close to the race start. This year, it was moved to the National Western Complex, a fairly old building, with limited parking. The bus dropped me off about a block away, and when I saw all the traffic, I was glad I took public transport. The Expo was quite warm inside, so I elected to not to change to Elvis. Free samples kept my hunger at bay, since I had not even eaten lunch yet. The line for the Toyota test drive was short, so I signed up so that I could get a $10 certificate at any RnR Expo this year. A group of runners were planning a dinner later in the evening. So I ate a few food samples back at the hotel before dinner. I didn't get to sleep until around 11 pm, but I don't require much sleep anyway. The health app on my iPhone recorded 9 miles, a bit more than I would have liked. Normally I try to limit walking to 5 miles.

Sunday Half

Start is about a half mile from my Hotel, the Free MallRide was operating but started after 6am, so I waited with a few other runners for the bus. Other runners were walking by at 6:15am approached. The bus was pretty packed, since many were riding from Union Station, and the bus ride would save a walk of 1½ miles. A few blocks walk to the staging area, but it was already 6:30. I stopped at the start line to meet the announcer, Ann Wessling, who was at San Jose a few weeks earlier. As I was headed to the Gear Check, I noticed that the Porta-Potti lines were extremely long due to the limited number available. I decided to get in line first, since the lines would only be longer later. By the time I got near the front (took over 20 minutes), one of the units ran out of TP. The ladies in front of me didn't want to use it, so I was able to cut in. Over to the Gear Check, and back over to the start, but it was already past the 7:15 start time. I jumped in the corral with some of my fellow traveling runners, and off we went. Just before we crossed the start line, I waved my red guitar high, so Ann could see me, and she called out my name (Henry, not Elvis).

There have been many new courses this year for me, and I normally bring my Xero Sandals as a backup. Denver seems to maintain their streets well, so no back up required. I can pretty much handle whatever surface condition comes up, I just have to slow down a bit (or a lot, if it's really rough). First mile split at 10:24, but then I had a cramp in my diaphragm, and had to slow. I've never run at this high of an altitude, and I could feel the lack of air as my lungs never felt full. Downtown also has tall buildings, so my GPS was a bit inaccurate. I didn't bother to take any pictures, as I was just absorbing the sights of the city. Another runner mentioned something about my blue suede shoes, and I sung a few lines of that song. Surprising, even at altitude, singing wasn't a problem, since I wasn't running fast. We passed Pepsi Center (Denver Nuggets NBA), Union Station, and Coors Field (Rockies Baseball). Another barefoot runner passed me, so it was good to know I wasn't the only one.

At mile 6, the 10k runners headed to the finish, and the Half Marathon course headed east to the City Park. The out and back section of East 17th Ave is about a mile. Only a few of the speediest runners returning, but I stayed near the right edge to generate a few smiles on the runners. At mile 7.5, we headed into the city park, and the road surface was slightly rougher. It had been ideal smooth up to this point, but I could not go fast due to the altitude. Some spectators had their dogs with them (it's a city park), and Elvis couldn't help but singing "You ain't nothing but a hound dog" as I passed the pooches. We exited the park at mile 9.5, and the surface is smoother again. This also begins another out and back to mile 10.5, so 2 miles of high fives (but not continuous).

At mile 11.5, the course heads back to the finish in downtown. The sweepers (literally street cleaning sweepers) are cleaning up after the last runner. One of the nicest things about the course was that there were plenty of spectators along the entire route. Normally during a Half Marathon, I'm able to pick up the pace the last few miles, but not when my lungs do not have the proper air pressure. I didn't really bother to check my time, and really didn't care since I wasn't at risk of being swept. Not as many photographs as in other races, but I did my best to strike the proper pose (i.e. get that guitar away from the front of my bib). As I crossed the finish line, a saw the Competitor photographer, and was able to get a clip on the race video at 0:07.

Denver Post captured me heading towards the finish. Select picture to see news text, "Henry Chan, dressed as Elvis and playing a plastic guitar, heads towards the finish line during the 1/2 Marathon..." The full marathon started about an hour later than the half, so even with my nearly 3 hour finish, they were still on the course. Special treat in the finish area, a guy was handed out hot breakfast burritos from a cooler. Not much time to hang around for the concert, headed to the heavy medal area to pick up my eight track, then off to the hotel to shower and head over to the airport. Check out time at the hotel was 11 am, but I got to the hotel at 10:54, and asked the front desk if there was any problems if I was a bit late. I checked out at 11:30, and waited for Free MallRide bus to take me to Union Station for the 12:40 pm bus to the airport. Got there early, about noon, and ate a few of my race goodies while waiting.

Somehow forgot to check in for my flight, so I ended up boarding nearly last. Luckily, the middle seat on the first row was made free just as I boarded, so I was the second passenger off the plane.

Official finish results, Marathon 1591. Half 7189. 10K 2406. 5K 876. 100 or so in the Relay, wheelchair, and other groups. Pace 13:23 min/mile, clock time 02:55:19, gun time 02:56:48. Total time in Denver only 28 hours.