49 - El Maraton del Rio Grande, Las Cruces, New Mexico

Billy the Kid

My New Mexico marathon was combined with a tour of much of the State. As you might know, Billy the Kid became a legend in 1880's New Mexico. Much more recently, the popular TV series "Breaking Bad" was filmed in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Mark is very interested in old west history (including Billy the Kid), and he also is a huge Breaking Bad fan; therefore, he jumped at the chance to accompany me on this trip!   I am not a Breaking Bad fan (part of one episode was more than enough for me to endure), but I was willing to see the filming locations.  It was also fun to learn more about the history of Billy the Kid and the events surrounding his life and early death. Our vacation was the week before the marathon; details of the vacation are at the end of the blog.

El Maraton del Rio Grande was the final day of the Day of the Dead series of marathons that started on Monday, October 27.  Each day, the course was a loop of 1.0917 miles out, and than back along the same trail that ran along the Rio Grande River in La Llorona Park. Since each loop or lap was only 2.18 miles, that meant that one had to do each loop 12 time to complete the full marathon (26.2 miles). You could run a marathon on any of the 7 days or on all of the days.  There were about 9 people who ran each of the seven days; however, I was not one of them.

Unfortunately, I had read about the course before I got to New Mexico. Usually I don't look at the course description, but for some reason, I stumbled upon it and read it.  My initial reaction was total dread.  How in the world was I going to be able to run the same loop 12 TIMES !!!  I even considered bringing music along, which I never do during a marathon.

It turned out much better than I anticipated.  Instead of counting 26 miles, I was counting 12 laps or rubber bands.  Each time we got to the turn-around, which was both the starting and finishing place, as well as the "one giant aid station, with more food and drink than you could ever need," we picked up a rubber band to help us keep track of our laps. After picking-up 11 rubber bands and running one more lap, we proceeded to the finisher's table where our time was recorded and we received our medal. Following is a link to the video that Mark took of me finishing:




The medal was a small New Mexican ceramic tile with skull art on it. Each tile had a different depiction of skull art and we got to choose our medal. The race T-shirts were different...they also had skull art with Dia de Los Muertos written on it.

Since I had some prior knowledge about the "unique multi-loop course setup," I decided to bring along an extra pair of sneakers to leave at the turn-around. The first pair I wore was fairly new, so I was concerned about getting a blister. The race director put out a tarp on which we could leave our things on while we were running. About half way through, I changed sneakers, which turned out to be a good idea because a blister had formed on the inside of my left foot.  After changing sneakers, it didn't "grow" any more. Another advantage to this course was that I did not have to run with my running pack around my waist (for my cell phone and power bar).  I was able to leave that on the turn-around tarp.

It was true about the giant aid station: there was more food (and a huge variety) than I have ever seen at an "aid" station.  The two things that stood out for me were the coffee and hard-boiled eggs with salt.  At the 6 AM start, it was chilly (the sun had yet to come up) so the coffee was a much appreciated "aid." Even after it warmed up, the coffee tasted great; there is nothing like a cup of black coffee in the middle of a long run. The hard boiled eggs with salt were the best idea ever!  A dose of protein with salt is a great energy combination — egg with salt and a little coffee, my kind of "Red Bull."

On marathon Day 7, the day I ran, there were 33 people running the full marathon.  Our names were written on our race numbers, and everyone called out each other's name as we were passing each other, running along side, or meeting up at the aid station.  Everyone was friendly and encouraging; it felt like a marathon party!

So, all things considered, this marathon was the most unique and actually quite fun.

Vacation details:

Tuesday, October 28, 2014:

Arrived late evening into Albuquerque, and rented a car.  Stayed at The Hotel Blue. Dinner at Flying Star Cafe, which was around the corner from the hotel. 

Wednesday, October 29, 2014:

Breakfast at The Hotel Blue.  Took a morning trolley tour of Albuquerque.  Lunch at Vinaigrette. Coffee at Steve's Ice Cream and Java in old town, Albuquerque.  Drove up to Taos on the "High Road to Toas." Stayed at the Inn on the Rio. Dinner at The Love Apple.

Thursday, October 30, 2014:

Taos Pueblo

Breakfast at Inn on the Rio.  Visited Taos Pueblo & Kit Carson Home & Museum. Lunch at Bent Street Cafe & Deli.  Coffee at Coffee Cats.  Drove to Las Vegas. Dinner at El Fidel Restaurant. Stayed at Historic Plaza Hotel in the haunted room (310). 

Friday, October 31, 2014:

My Dad's Birthday - he would have been 86 years old.  After we checked out of the hotel, we visited the Santa Fe Trail interpretative center. Drove onto Fort Sumner.  There happened to be a restaurant in Fort Sumner called Fred's so we had lunch there in honor of my Dad's Birthday (my Dad's name is Fred). Visited Billy the Kid's grave and Bosqu Redondo Memorial.  Drove onto historic Lincoln. Stayed at Wortley Hotel in Lincoln.  There was no restaurant in town open for dinner, so Donna from the Wortley found "something" in the kitchen to "whip up" for us (homemade burritos). Donna had a fire going out in the back of the hotel, under the stars and that's where we had our dinner.  Saw a shooting star!

Saturday, November 1, 2014:

White Sands National Monument

Breakfast at Wortley.  Walked around historic Lincoln.  Drove to Las Cruces.  Stopped at White Sand National Monument along the way.  Stayed at Big Chile Inn.  Dinner at St. Clair Winery & Bistro.

Sunday, November 2, 2014:

Los Pollos Hermanos

Breakfast in room.  Marathon started at 6 AM -  daylight savings time was over so it wasn't too bad.  Drove to the start.  Later in the morning, Mark walked the mile to La Llorona Park from the hotel, in plenty of time to video my finish. After the marathon we drove back to Alburqueque. Saw a double rainbow on the way!  Stopped in Truth or Consequences (T or C, as the New Mexicans call it) for lunch at Passion Pie Cafe.  When we got back to Albuquerque, we made a brief visit to Los Pollos Hermanos - restaurant from "Breaking Bad," which is actually called Twisters in Albuquerque.   Back to The Hotel Blue and to dinner at Flying Star Cafe. 

Monday, November 3, 2014:

Morning flight  to NYC.