25th Bolder Boulder
May 26, 2003 – Memorial Day
The Bolder Boulder is the 4th largest road race in the U.S. but to Boulder this is the biggest event of the year. I do have some friends, non-runners and even some runners, who shun the Bolder Boulder and even Boulder during the event. They are missing out. The entire town comes out for this race. The support is incredible – three thousand volunteers. Spectators line the streets for the entire length of the course. The organization is by far the best of any race I’ve done. Sheri and I have now done this race eleven times in a row. We love it so much that this year we decided to run it twice.
My sister Brook started us thinking that our boys might like to run. Brook was running with her two oldest girls, Gaby (8) and Samantha (6). Derek (5) and Daniel (8) were game. Then Kim and her kids, Brennan (8) and Kaitlin (7) joined. My mom came along to herd some of the kids down to the start so that Sheri, Kim, and I could run in our competitive waves and then join them for their wave. This is possible due to the Bolder Boulder’s unique wave start. Sheri and I were in the second wave (AA) which started at 7:01 a.m. The kids were in the ND wave and it started at 9:07 a.m. It was only two miles back to the start so we’d have plenty of time.
Photo 1: Toeing the line at the 25th Bolder Boulder
Kim slept at our house the night before and Magoo came over the morning of the race and we left the house at 5:45 a.m. We parked near Moe’s Bagels and took our usual bathroom stop there before jogging on down to the start. We saw so many friends here including most of Sheri’s running group, Laurie and Kevin Edwards, The Donald, Sheri’s co-workers, Kreighton, Olan, etc. I even knew some of the volunteers. Joe Brooker was on the megaphone at one aid station and Sally Moser was a wave official at the start. It seems everyone is either running the racing, volunteering, or watching.
Sheri, Kreighton, Olan, and I were all in the AA wave and we congregated there just before the gun went off. At 6:55 the elite wheelchair competitors go and Saul Mendoza would win this competition for the sixth time in a row with a time of 20:34. At 7 a.m. the A wave went off (sub-38-minute 10K) and we move up to toe the line. Each wave consists of around 500 people.
Photo 2: Daniel taking to the streets.
The gun cracks and Sheri is off, leading the way as usual. She’s more aggressive running through the crowds while I lay back a bit. We were all shooting to break forty minutes, but Sheri and I in particular didn’t feel we would be up to it. That wouldn’t prevent us from going for it, however, and I went through the first kilometer at 3:50. The race was more crowded than ever before and we all had to do a bit of maneuvering to keep our pace. Sheri went through the first mile in 6:11 and appeared to be pulling away from me. I followed in 6:18 with Kreighton just ahead of me. Olan would remain behind me for the entire race, but not by much.
There is hill in the second mile and it appeared steeper than usual this year and slowed me down to a 6:29 mile. At this point, as is our history when we are both in equal shape, I caught and passed Sheri. Sheri tends to run strong at the start and the finish and I tend to run a strong middle. I went through 5K at 19:53 and thought I really had a chance, but only for a moment. Just past this mark I started hurting badly and felt I slowed down considerable. My third mile was 6:27 and my fourth, which contains another significant hill, was 6:35. I pulled even with Kreighton and Sheri’s friend Jeanette here, but they pulled back ahead of me.
Photo 3: A happy Bloppyhead.
At each kilometer mark, I was just over a 40-minute pace. I felt if I could stay within ten seconds, I could kick to get under forty. At the 8K mark, I was at 32:05 – still in good position, but hurting badly. I let things slip away in the next kilometer. I just wasn’t tough enough and I went through 9K in 36:16 – 16 seconds down. I had been right behind Kreighton at the 7K mark, but now I couldn’t see him. I didn’t give up, though. I pushed and steeled myself for a huge kick.
At the bottom of the first steep hill leading into the stadium, I picked up my effort and really worked it. I passed Jennette here, powering over the top. I tried to recover a bit on the short descent before the final hill. I went under the 6-mile banner with 70 seconds to go. It was still possible and I started kicking up the hill. I entered the stadium and really cranked it up. A glance at my watch and I didn’t think I’d make it. I pushed hard, passing an obviously injured Patty Murray who started in the A wave. I crossed the line in 40:05 (498th male, 10th for my age). Dang. Still, I was very pleased and surprised with my time. My last three times at this race have been 40:09, 39:48, and now 40:05. Before that I was never very close to forty minutes.
I immediately saw Kreighton (39:52, 474th male) and soon Sheri (40:18, 30th woman, 2nd for her age). Sheri had been closing on me at the finish and kicked hard in the stadium, flying by Jenette, but apparently motivating her to pick it up and finish only a second behind. Olan (40:26, 535th male) was right behind her.
We talked for a bit before being ushered off the field. After grabbing some water, we headed down to Folsom street to cheer on Kimmy and Magoo. They were both hoping to break fifty minutes, but it would take a huge effort and a great day. Kim had just qualified on a treadmill two days before. Magoo had lost 62 pounds in the last twelve months and was running faster every day.
We anxiously watched the minutes tick by as we scanned the crowd. We saw the Trashman go by, then Sonya and Warren Teissier, and then Beth Reese. Finally we saw Kim. She was alone and looking good with a smile still on her face. We urged her to pick it up for the finish and she responded, surging by other runners. She’d finish in 51:37, 1413th women. A couple minutes later and Magoo appeared. We’d find out later that he had to take a bathroom stop in the 8th kilometer. He ran stride for stride with Kim for six kilometers, reaching the 5K mark in 25:23. Magoo finished in 53:39 for a PR of over 23 minutes! He ran a remarkable race and would surely have been a minute or two faster without the pee break. He was nervous before the race, but performed very well on a difficult course.
Sheri jogged back to the car while I tried to find Kim and Magoo. I wasn’t successful and eventually headed for the car as well. We met with Kim there, but where were the kids and Nana? We were hoping to meet them there and give them a ride to the start, which was a mile away. We called Nana on her cell phone and realized they were already at the start. The kids were too excited and had to get to the start.
We walked down to the start and found Daniel, Derek, and Brennan holding up the rope that marked the start of their wave. Soon, Brook, Kraig, Gaby, Kaitlin, and Samantha joined us up front for some photos. When the gun went off, Brennan took off like a rocket! He’d completely run the first two miles and then keep a steady pace to finish in a remarkable 1:13.
Derek also took off fast and Daniel called after him, “You’re going too fast, Derek!” Sure enough he was, but he was having fun. The little guy weaved in and around other runners in the crowded field. He ran the first kilometer and shortly before there Daniel went by with Sheri. Each kid was assigned an adult to stay with them. My charge was Derek. Kim got a good workout staying with Brennan and won the combined time competition among her, Sheri, and I.
Derek and I started walking at the first kilometer mark and, with some short skipping exceptions, would walk the rest of the way. I carried a pack of Skittles and would dole out four of them for each kilometer and each mile. Derek remained happy and cheerful the entire time. I carried a video camera and a still camera to document his first Bolder Boulder.
At the two mile mark, Derek said his legs hurt. I wasn’t so concerned about Derek doing the entire race on his own. I just wanted him to have fun. I put him on my shoulders from kilometer 3 to kilometer 4 and then again from 5 to 6 and from 7 to 8. This, along with the Skittles, fueled him to a fun race. At each banner Derek would say to me, "Ask me what time it is, Daddy." I'd ask and he's respond with glee, "Skittle Time!"
At one point we were talking to a lady and I told her Derek could name an animal starting with any letter. She tested him on a number of letters. "A," she said. "Alligator!" said Derek. "N." "Newt!" "Q." "Quail." Derek can't be stumped. Here's a sample of Derek's unique and joyous racing form:
He kicked hard once he got into the stadium, bouncing off a couple of the big walkers like a pinball. He’d rebound off one person, look for a hole and and dart through a gap. He finished well under two hours and was thrilled with the keychain he was given just as he finished. I put him on my shoulders as we exited the stadium and filed into line for our snack bags and drinks.
Photo 4: Derek at the finish in Folsom Field.
Daniel had run around 1:40. Daniel had run the race without sitting down, stopping to pee, or being carried. In doing so, he won his bet with Hans Florine and had a $30 payday coming. Gaby and Kaitlin ran an excellent 1:32:30. Samantha finished just over two hours. Nana ran right around 1:41. There were no reports of whining out of anyone! The race was a huge success.
We’d find out later that our friend Lance Denning finished in 11th place with a time of 32:30 and Kevin Edwards just broke forty minutes (39:57). Sue Bennett ran 52:30 or so. The Donald, injured for the past five weeks, ran a pain-free 46:32. Susan Brooker walked the race with her baby in a backpack and finished just in front of Derek and I.
We regrouped at the northwest corner of the stadium, as usual. The only problem with this was that no one told Nana about this meeting place. We expected her to just stay with at least one of the kids, but the kids wouldn’t have known where to go either. Nana got separated from (i.e. dropped by) Kaitlin and Gaby and we had to locate her via cell phone. With great forethought, Brook and Nana ran with cell phones.
The Memorial Day festivities were really emotional. As the colors were presented, a mounted rider escorted a rider-less horse around the field. It was symbolic of the thousands upon thousands of Americans who have given the ultimate sacrifice so that we may live free. A Japanese-American who was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor in 2000 for heroic deeds in WWII made a short speech. Six skydivers, representing all branches of the military, made perfect landings on the infield with the last one trailing a huge American flag. The crowd went wild. During the National Anthem, four jets in incredibly tight formation buzzed the stadium. It had me tearing up.
Everyone but our family cleared out after that, but we stayed to watch the men’s elite race and what a race it was. It came down to a sprint finish in the stadium between Dejene Berhanu from Ethiopia and Paul Keogh. Keogh is one of the very few people who has ever run under an hour for a half marathon, yet he was beaten at the line by superior speed. They finished just under 29 minutes.
We headed home after that and arrived just in time to see Deena Drossin annihilate the field for the third time in a row. Only the great Rosa Motta had ever won three in a row before. Immediately after the race Deena announced she’d be back next year to try and extend the streak. Full results for the record 48,000+ entrants can be found at: http://www.bolderboulder.com/results.cfm.
Photo 5: In Folsom Field watching the Memorial Day festivities.
Below is a graph of my heart rate throughout the race and then my mile splits. My heart rate was 165 at the end of the first mile and then continued up into the 170's for the next four miles. I hit 180 at the sixth mile split and I maxed out at 184 - very near my max heart rate. This shows I was putting in a serious effort. The only pure running I did (pure meaning it was just running and not including scrambling) in the ten days before the race was the day before (5 miles and 1000 vertical feet on trails), and then 9 days before at the Cottonwood Classic 5K. Before that I ran 5 hilly miles on the 11th and 7 hilly miles on the 5th. My running totals for the five weeks leading up to the race, including scrambles, was 10, 7, 24, 32, and 11 miles. You can see that I wasn't very consistent. All these miles (except the Cottonwood 5K) were slow, hilly trail runs, albeit some were at a high heart rate. Hence, I was thrilled with my time, even though I didn't make it under 40. It doesn't seem right that I ran that time considering the workouts I did last year for only 19 seconds faster. Maybe the key is ice cream and lots of rest - those were the only training aspects upon which I was consistent!
| Runner | Finishing Time | Place in Age |
| Sheri | 40:18 | 2nd |
| Bill | 40:05 | 10th |
| Derek | 1:50:43 | 14th |
| Mom | 1:43:50 | 17th |
| Brennan | 1:13:11 | 32nd |
| Kaitlin | 1:32:50 | 33rd |
| Samantha | 2:00:58 | 46th |
| Gaby | 1:32:50 | 53rd |
| Daniel | 1:40:03 | 100th |
| Trashman | 49:29 | |
| Kim | 51:37 | |
| Magoo | 53:38 | 160th |
