[613] Clearwater Marathon (50k)

I thought I have a good sense on my ability after these last 7 years. My fastest runs all have been in the early years 2016-2018. I went into Clearwater Marathon to do a 50k with more like a vacation in mind and not expecting to set a record. It surprised me when I finished faster than I ever had before. Must be the nice weather and water.

Clearwater is a destination marathon. When I checked the entrant list out of habit to see if anyone I know, I saw there were a lot people from out of states.

It has been on my list of places to visit since couple years ago. My cousin has been there. He isn’t a runner. You can’t go wrong with a visit to Florida in the winter. I searched and found they do have a marathon. So I registered. It served for me to cross off one of the 50 states. At least that was last year plan. This was before I decided to run at Space Coast.

I did an impromptu visit to Florida over the Thanksgiving and ran the Space Coast Marathon (report). I picked Clearwater over Space Coast because it was the cheaper option (my logic, ended up doing both, the irony of instead saving money I spent twice as much). A marathon in Florida wasn’t technically needed any more. Still, I like to run as many marathons as I possibly can. It was in the pipeline, and the show must go on. Other justification was this was a last fun trip before the hard work for the 100 milers.

Clearwater was kind of my first 50k for 2024. Road marathon, that is. Now here I view 50k and marathons to be equivalent. Yes, a 50k is almost 5 miles more, i.e, 31 mile instead of 26.

I ran a 50k not long after the new year at the Mid Maryland 50k race, which was a trail race in bad weather. Also I ran Redeye 50k on New Year day. Those kind of runs did not count because rail runs are a different beast. Trail runs are almost  training runs. I don’t put all my effort in it like road races.  Mostly it is the pacing. Trails, I run at 15-17 (even 18-20) min a mile but road races, my speed is higher and this time at 11-12 mins per mile. Road running is what I like the most. I like the fast pace, big hype, and many people. I don’t know why I like it. I just do. All those things are what many ultra people do not like (true, UTMB Grindstone, left a bit of sand and aftertaste in my mouth). The debate of road race vs trail race can go on forever.

Clearwater Marathon was held on a sunny weekend with 65-70F on a beach. It was a worthy vacation in the middle of winter. I can’t say enough, no wonder people love to go to Florida. Back home for me was still cold and in near freezing temp. Two different worlds.

My mom chose to come along. I don’t mind. I did want her to come along. Trips are better when they are shared to have someone to witness my performance and fun. However, I have gotten used to traveling alone, so having an extra guest kind of change the dynamic.

My trip started with a lot of rough spots and mishaps, though many were out of our control. First was the last minute need to go back to my house for my ID card (because I wouldn’t be able to board the plane without one). I didn’t plan to take the day off work, but situation forced me to leave my work early.

Then I had to pick up my mom, which was not on my agenda. She was going to meet me at the airport originally but some complication came up, too long to share. My mom always wants to do thing her way. She had arranged without my knowing, my transportation by asking my cousin for a ride for me! It was quite convoluted, in that I had to drive to such and such place, leave my car, etc, meeting her, wait for my cousin. Also on the way back, I would have to find a ride to my car etc. It is like 9-10 steps to get one thing done. At the time, we were expecting a snow storm on our return. I wouldn’t like planning things depending on contingency, like what if we won’t make it back in time. In our area, with snow, all plans are off. And indeed, we couldn’t make it back.  Why don’t I just meet her directly at the airport, just one step. I can get myself to the airport just fine as I have done so on many of my trips. I don’t need my travel plan to get more complicated involving myself with everyone in my family and hers. Then the argument became, if I can get to the airport so easily, why don’t I go pick her up too. But she lives literally next to the airport. The drama. The planning differences between someone who flies once every 10 years versus one who does it 10 times a year.

It changed my travel plan a bit from taking the rail to driving and parking at the airport. It ended up being a better plan to have a car instead of taking the train, because I went straight into work once I came back. Having a car at the airport was nice (I could also leave my car at work). The cost was about the same (I got a discount for parking at the airport).

At the airport, the airport’s internal rail to our departing gate (concourse) was not available. We were not sure what happened, nor did the staff. No announcement was made. They must have taken one of the trains offline or trains were required single tracking (sharing the same rail going both direction). We waited on a crowded platform for 30-45 minutes at the busiest time with no train appeared going to C Gate and it brought undue stress for my travel companion whether we should walk or continue to wait for the train. A side comment, after being in many other airports, our airport at IAD is a bit over complicated and over-engineered. It also lack of signs and such of where and how you need to go if things go wrong, this time, train was not working. Taking the train was the main (and only) way to go from Gate (concourse) to Gate (concourse). And hmm, the planner never expected the train to not being available.

The train did come, and it was packed already. People were smart to take the train to B Gate then rode it back to C — which might seem logical but not, because the line is is not linear, anyway, they were smart in beating the crowd.  Don’t ask why B Gate is in the opposite direction as C and our location we were at was not A but T, which is in the middle between B and C, yes Dulles is confusing; the staff told everyone not to board for B Gate train because it was going the other way, however, many did and ignored the staff. Luckily, we managed to squeezed in and we got to our gate just in time for boarding. The parking and train delay used up our two hours we planned to be at the airport. I was planning to work remotely at the airport as I had done in past trips. Not this time. We barely made it to our departing gate. I don’t usually use gate C either, being I don’t usually take this particular airline. I did it this time because it was the cheapest direct flight. When it comes down to traveling on 3-4 major airlines, there is not much choices. Each airline like cable companies carved up routes where they have a monopoly over. My opinion, air traveling is dreadful, yet the only way. (I heard stories of those making 3-4 connections to get to a place, such as my Idaho trip).

We arrived late Friday night in Florida (when all settled, it was past midnight). The car rental was a breeze though, because we got into line before the crowd showed up, but I was given an electrical car, which I did not want due to lack of charging stations available and the time (7 hours) required to charge it before returning it. I did not want to complain too much seeing the long line and took what they gave me. I know I could “upgrade” or change or cancel my reservation and pick a different car, but it was late and I wanted to get to bed as soon as possible because we would have to be up before 5 for my 5k in Saturday. I was grumpy because my trip started out since noon, and I missed both real lunch and dinner. A couple hour trip has turned into a 12 hour ordeal (yes, first world problem). All the while, back of my mind, I needed to sleep. I have been training my body to shut off around 8 pm. I was cranky by now because it was way past my bedtime.

It also added extra burden to learn how to drive an electrical vehicle. It was not hard, but took me time to google how to turn on/off the car. There was no on/off button like I expected. Basically, step on the pedal and go. There is the little shifter thing but it has only three positions (not marked) forward for reverse, shifting back to drive. No one cares about neutral, unless of course your car breaks down and it needs to be pushed. There is a button for park on the side. You could go directly into park from either the forward/reverse mode. I was playing with the thing since it was so simple to me and didn’t know I had it on reverse, so when I let go the pedal, my car accelerated backward. I thought pushing the stick forward was to start the engine or go forward. Yes stupid me of not reading. Polestar was aiming for the minimalist look and feel, so instructions and words are few. Luckily, no one or car or pillar behind the car. The car was okay. I had a scare. I quickly, changed direction and headed out the lot. A fun learning experience. This is like in a movie. Comical at best.

Our hotel was satisfactory. It was one of the cheaper ones but it was along the race course. Ideally, my mom could wait for me there while I run. I would go by it twice during my race. Ideally, but things never work out like that. It was only a mile from the start and finish. However, the plan fell through due to my mom unable to get to the finish line on her own, so she had to come with me at the start of the race and waited, so much for the hotel.

I needed the walk and training for my hundred mile while on the trip. By training, I chose to walk to most places because most places were quite close and I did not want to pay for parking. My mom walked along with me but however, due to her footwear choice of wearing sandals, she got blisters early on (first couple minutes into the trip). I told her to go back to the hotel to change shoes, but she wasn’t sure she could find me again, so she stayed close to me. I was not going to go back with her. I got a race to do.

By Saturday, I had to sleep early for my Sunday race. I slept well, but my mom was up and about. She blamed the coffee that kept her up at night but I think it was her being on the phone the whole evening. She got very excited when she talked with her friends. For me, I needed my sleep.

She also did not bring enough warm clothing. The weather was not hot as she expected but got windy and “cold” in the 50s. It was 45F in Atlanta during our layover. By any measure, it got chilly on Sunday even down in Florida.

Her wellbeing became my another thing I needed to check off. It was not a game stopping moment but issues like these put a damper on the trip (things like not getting enough sleep, not wearing the right clothes or shoes or bringing an ID or whether she has her medications). I felt like taking care an adult child. I don’t check these things unless it is taking a newbie on a backpacking, where safety issue comes into play, even then, everyone is on their own if one chooses to bring less things. It must have been so long since I had a trip with my mom.

Even toward the end of our trip, we ran into issues. We ended up being stranded in Atlanta after not being able to make our connection flight due to our earlier flight being delayed nearly an hour. We might have made our connection (with only 5 minutes for the transfer) but I went to the wrong gate previously shown on my phone/pass (they didn’t expect me making it, so it was already changed; I thought I could beat the system by going there anyway), which did not help. Delta gave us vouchers for hotel and food. It was not bad, but we were separated from our luggages. Our luggages made it onto the plane and arrived safely home (Delta held our bags for us; and we were grateful), but we were left behind in Atlanta.

There were also major oopsies trying to get to the hotel in Atlanta during our layover with many other stranded travelers like us. There were two hotels having the same name (they are different tier) and my taxi driver took us to the wrong one somehow assuming we were rich people (what, is it because we took a cab rather than wait for the shuttle?)! We were not aware of it until at the check-in counter. My mom said I was scammed. The receptionist told us to wait for the shuttle, which might take us to the other hotel. I thought not. I decided to call an Uber to get us to the correct hotel. I guess, I should have gone with Uber instead of the airport taxi to avoid such mistake. Only good thing was we beat the other hotel shuttle van, which carried all other stranded travelers. The hotel shuttle only runs once every half hour (we did wait almost that long but it seemed never came). We had our room first. It was near midnight by the time we had everything settled down. Things like these made me angry, but I swallowed my pride and rode it out. By then it was the third day of having very little sleep.

We did not even talk about the TSA. Yes, Unlucky me. I was stopped by the TSA. It delayed me at least for 30 minutes when normally takes only a minute for me to get through. I had to be checked like 5 times. The first time, they said I was a pre-check passenger so they waved me through (I had to hold a sign so that people knows I was a pre-check; weird that I was the only pre check there, and maybe because I was the only one), but I think my laptop was causing an issue. I think some areas, like in the South, there is a deep distrust of the federal government, so people do not use the pre check program. They needed me to go back to be rescanned along with everything. I took off my shoes, my jacket, my hoodies, everything they wanted. I don’t mind. I’ve been through three airports on this trip and each airport TSA procedures were a bit different, but yes, I knew carrying less is better, clothes, shoes, belts, no papers or phone in pockets. Funny, they said I was not listening to their instructions because I started to take off my shoes. There was absolutely nothing on me. The guard had no clue what was setting off the alarm. It was flagged by probably people in the backroom. They couldn’t find anything. I think because my bag also used for backpacking and has been to many places, so it might have picked chemicals like propane that might trigger the sensor, but nobody knew. Yes, I had a water bottle too I forgot to empty. 5 times I had to go back through the security! The thing is each time they had to search my bag again and scanned with their special x-ray machine and made me stand aside waiting. Each time they needed a different person to check. Each time, I had to request permission to let me back out through their special gate (they said I had to go back out and I can’t just walk back through the medal detector, which makes sense to have one-way direction to avoid confusion of who being checked) and I had to cut back in line with everyone staring at me. Note, I couldn’t touch my bag. They handled it. They tried placing in different direction (somehow orientation matters). Five times, so almost all its 6 sides were scanned. They didn’t put it upside down. Each time, I was flagged again to step aside. Each time, the guards there acted like they never seen me before. I was ready to do a full body pat down, which they did. Luckily, they did not say they wanted a further interview me, they did ask where I was going and who I was traveling with, and my flight number, which are routine questions. You know you must be in deep doodo. I could not think of why I was stopped. Must be the Florida water. It was all part of the procedures. Why 5 times, my best guess was the machine malfunctioned. Yes, I hate traveling. Insanity is to do the same thing over and over and expect a different outcome. They could have said, I need to bagcheck it because it wouldn’t pass their sensor.

It seemed like I was just complaining a lot but like running an ultra, when I set my mind to run my race, no matters the costs or problems, I will accomplish my goal. So I pressed forward relentlessly getting past all unexpected things that always crop up. Only this time, there were more issues than normal.

I ran my race and got it done. I got myself back home to prove I did it. I was angry. The trip was exhausting for me and was many ways different from my trips in the past. It was no holiday for me. Each thing was not much, but thousand things, I was dead by a thousand cuts.

As for my run itself, I enjoyed it a whole lot. I arrived a day early so, I could run a 5k on Saturday and to check the marathon course beforehand. Sunday was the main event.

The race organization was good. It was in tip top shape like many of my races. The police and course volunteers were plenty. The course was well marked with cones. Almost every block had volunteers. Aid stations were about a mile or two apart. I did not need them but it was good that they were there. People were friendly. Only one thing that could be average was they had to reopen the road at 1:30 pm. It was enough time for me to finish a marathon, but for some people, 6.5 hours is not enough time. (Space Coast kept theirs open for 7 or more hours, I believed the last guy finish at 8 hours — officially 7 hr course but unofficially 8 hr). No such thing here. I left about 2 pm when everyone too left. The last guy came in at 7 hours (30 mins after closing).

The double loop course made things easier. We ran two loops. I think looped marathon courses are kind of boring to run. It does have the benefit of not getting lost and to go a bit faster on the second loop. I did not go faster on my second loop though.

The half marathoners were with us on the first loop. There were plenty things to see. I did not talk to anyone but #40, he said his name is Deco but I couldn’t him on the finisher list. He did finish though. Reason I mention is for trail races, we like to know who we are running with, but road marathons, people usually don’t talk. It is two different culture. The competition is more intense. There was a half marathoner who tried to race with me, and she did beat me at the last mile. She was with me for at least 10 miles. I tried to engage her in conversation, but she had her earbuds on. I was ignored. Yet, I was aware she was next to me, running side by by side. I ran hard. So because of that I got exhausted before halfway.

I did start off faster than I knew was wise. We crossed over three bridges. Those were the tougher sections.

We started at Sand Key Park. There were plenty of parkings. Race started at 7:00 but we were there by 6:00. We ran to Clearwater Beach (on the road, mostly main road). Then we were moved to a wide sidewalk/bike lane around mile 3-4. We crossed over to mainland. From there we entered some residental areas. We passed by a golf course. Basically running in a big rectangular shape on the map and we crossed another bridge to get back to Sand Key Park.

As with most races once the half marathoners left us, it was very lonely. I hit my wall early around mile 13-14 to my surprise (normally I don’t until mile 21-23).

There were about 1000+ half marathoners but only maybe 300-400 marathoners. The ultra runners were even fewer, about 100 of us. So the course felt a lot empty after the half marathoners left us. There were a few marathoners and ultra (50k runners) around me but everyone was far apart. Unlike before, there was no more running elbow to elbow. It really cut any chance of a conversation.

I have been in the rut before so I knew I just had to keep moving regardless if people were passing me and leaving me behind. Aid stations were about every couple miles apart. I persisted to go from aid station to aid station. I did not use aid stations much on my first loop since I carried my hydration pack. On the second loop though, stopping at the aid stations gave me a target to get to. Soon I got back into my running pace by mile 15 and 16. As an ultra runner, I learned to set mental goals, such as reaching the next bridge or the next aid station. No matter how long or far, you just have to pull yourself together. You just got to do it over and over again. It is a mental thing.

I was able to catch back up with some runners now. I also know there would be many new runners and they would too hit their walls for the first time in their life. Pretty soon I saw a few started walking. This was still early, not yet at mile 20 when majority of people would start dropping into a walk. I urged those not to give up. I was surging forward.

At mile 17, the 50k runners (myself included) we had a 5 mile section spur of an out and back (2.5 miles out and 2.5 miles back) and we were separated from the marathoners. I knew, it would put me an hour behind the marathoners by the time I rejoined their course. This also was my second low point because we were leaving all the familiar people around us.

I knew I had to do it, to make this trek. I signed up for a 50k so this was my race and my course. Luckily, once I made the turn, I was with many 50k runners. There were at least a 100 of us. It was a surprise to me because for the past couple hours, it was hard to find any ultra runners and suddenly everyone I saw was an ultra runner. It was an out and back, so on my way out I could see the faster runners already on their way back and after the turn around I could see the slower runners who were behind me. I was not so lonely after all. It was in about 40th place, mid pack, dropped to 46th after the official result released. We all gave each other encouragements when we passed because we know how boring the out and back course could be. This cheered me up considerably when I saw people, especially those who were struggling, making myself feel lucky that I was still running. I started to feel my pace was not bad. At the time, I did not know I was running at my personal best. It was just natural. I was not straining. It did not feel like a record breaking run. Runners call this finding the flow. I was swimming in the current.

I regained my momentum on the way back after rejoining the marathoners. I did not feel extremely tired as before and I was moving. I took some gummies that were available at one of the aid stations and swallowed down some Gatorade. My fastest 50k run was a little shy of 6 hours at the Marine Corps Marathon (around 5:56 time). I was not certain I could beat that, since I have been much slower recently since October of last year.

As I rejoined back the marathon course, I saw an official pacer ahead. I was not sure what pace she was pacing, since she reached already at the end of the street (maybe 100-200 yards away – 300 meters).

I asked the aid station volunteers what pace she was running but they seemed not to understand my question. I asked a few other volunteers too, none of them know or understood me or they were ignoring me. I did not want to waste too much time at the station. It was late in the day (for they probably were out there for 4-5 hours) and volunteers were tired. Unlike volunteers at ultra events who are usually knowledgeable and ready to help, these volunteers were only there to pour water for us and probably hoped their shift would end soon. They felt they had down their job with all the cups available on the table and I was ignored. Maybe I surprised them as the only runner who needed more than water. Only way for me to find out what pace the pacer is pacing was to catch up to her. It gave me the motivation to keep the pacer in my sight.

Less than a mile later, I caught up. She was the 6 hour pacer. I knew if I stay in front of her, I would get my 6 hour 50k finish and likely PR (setting a personal record). I told her how helpful she has been for me to have her as a target. Even though, I did not run with her at the beginning (since I was doing an ultra and ran faster than marathon crowd, but having her at the end helped; note, 50k people did not have pacers; some races do, but not here), but in my mind I was expecting the 6 hour marathon pacer to be around once I rejoined the course. My goal has been to keep the pacer in sight.

Funny, I did not see the 5:45 pacer. Probably there was not any 5:45 pacer. Maybe I did but did not remember. Somehow now that I was on the marathon course again, I was catching up the marathoners. Ultra runners were moving much faster compared to the remaining marathoners. Most 6 hour marathoners were either walking or doing walk and run. For me, I got a second wind and I was running. It felt good to show off. Soon there was only 5 miles left. I sent my mom a message to let her know I am expected to arrive on time. It was 11:50, and I had only 4 miles left. In my mind, I know I could reach the finish in an hour.

Then there were 2 miles left. The resorts and condos near the start came into view. I started to see many more runners, because many were moving slower, but I was moving faster. Everyone was like 3 ft to 10 yard apart. I continued to catch up to people closing the gap on many. I finished at 5:39 (race clock, bib time was 5:37). I was just happy to get it done and set a personal 50k record while at it. It was 14 minutes faster than my previous record. Not earth shattering fast for a 50k, but it is 30 seconds faster per mile. I ran at a 11 min pace. I know there is still room for improvement. I take it and PR is a good thing. Note, a 12 min mile pace is my normal pace. It felt good to run fast. Of course, I would like to do it in 9 min or 10 min, because in an ultra, that translates to hours or more of early finishes. In a race, every second count!

Unrelated. After I just finished the race, a running friend texted me that I got into Wasatch 100 on lottery! He was the same guy who first told me about my entry to Western States, a bearer of good news. The drawing was the day before but they did not post the entrant list until Sunday. I was following the lottery but they had computer issues, so we did not know the results until Sunday. Not many people were aware of me getting into Wasatch than Western States.

What this means, it is a grand slam (to do 4 of 5 historically prestigious races in a sunmer; I got into 3 so far) minus Vermont! I am on the waiting list for Vermont 100. Come on Vermont! Let me in. A friend said I should write to the RD to petition for an entry (they do have provision tickets available for grand slamers, however, I did not select it during the initial signup). I rather try my “luck”. I am 73rd on the waiting list at the moment. My chance to get in is not that great but there is a chance. We still have 4 more months before panicking. If I get in, that would be great, if not, I won’t cry over it.

Also unrelated, I had a EV rental car, believe to be a Polestar 2. It drove fine but finding a charging station and charging it to the full 100% was impossible. We did find an EV charging station in an empty office building parking lot across from the Buccaneers stadium, and it was cool I got to see the Stadium as a side trip. The office parking was secluded (dark) and kind of creepy to stay there to charge the car. We felt like trespassers. We charged it for 2 hours and it got it from 75% to 87%, which was good enough if it was my personal car, however, our rental agreement required it to be at 100%. It probably would take another 3-4 hours to get it to 100%. I had to pay a surcharge for returning it less than a full charge. The fee was almost as much as my rental. Yes, my rental cost was quite low, cheaper than hiring an Uber. I was not happy nonetheless. I wouldn’t want an EV again but the experience of driving an EV the first time was well worth it.

Conclusion: We encountered a host of minor annoyances on this trip, but we were blessed with the warmer weather compared to back at home. Be thankful. We (I) had fun running my race and setting a personal record. I have been a slow runner, so it not typical for me to do a marathon and break a record. I take that gladly when it happens. Clearwater is definitely a destination marathon. I recommend it. I would go back if not for the other 35-36 more states I want to visit.

With my 100 mile races getting in the way soon this year, doing marathons would have to wait a bit till next year or later. There is at least one more marathon this year (Delaware in May). Clearwater definitely was a time to be treasured and remembered.