Paavo Nurmi Marathon - Hurley WI

[Fast Eddie]

Marathon #85 and State #44.

Paavo Nurmi Marathon in Hurley WI.  Little town of 1600 people about two hours east of Duluth.  For those that don’t know, Paavo Nurmi, the Flying Finn, was a Finnish runner who won five gold medals at the 1924 Paris Olympics (take that Chariots of Fire runners), including the marathon.  This area has a history of Finnish heritage and this was the 49th running of this marathon, making it Wisconsin’s oldest marathon.  It would be my second shot at crossing Wisconsin off my list as I ran and completed the Green Bay Marathon back in 2012, but the race was black flagged/cancelled when I was at the 18-mile mark due to heat injuries overwhelming the medical team.  Even though I continued to run and finished the marathon distance, the clocks were turned off and no official results were given.  According to 50 State Club rules, you can’t include black flagged marathons.

This was my first marathon of this year, with my focus on shorter races this year, including three 10Ks and a half marathon.  So I gained a little speed, but my endurance suffered.  A 32K training run five weeks out was a tough finish.  I usually go 34-36K in my longest marathon training run.  Still a 1:50 half marathon race four weeks out was heartening and thoughts that I could go under four hours again for a marathon.  Unfortunately, I sprained my ankle in a softball game the afternoon of the half marathon.  Tried giving it 2-3 days of rest between runs, but only managed a 11K run as the longest distance, and did no running a full week before the race.

Road trip to this marathon with a seven-hour drive from Toronto to Sault Ste Marie and then another five hours to Hurley the next day.  Bus pickup at the hotel was at 6am to take us to the start line in this point to point marathon.  Eighty runners in the marathon, boasted by about 50 relay starters.  Low 60F to start with light clouds.  Temps quickly rose to the high 70F at the race end.  So, not too bad for an August marathon. 

Started well, monitoring the ankle with every step.  Just some residual soreness and some tightness of the right calf as well.  Guess I was changing my gait just enough to stress a different part of the calf.  Course was really hilly, four really good hills, and lots of rollers in between, including what seemed a constant uphill the last 5 miles.  Things started to fall off the rails almost right after the halfway point, going from 6-minute kilometer splits to 6:30 and then to 7:30 minutes after 18 miles.  Increasing ankle soreness and loss of fitness was taking a toll on me.  Still, other than extended walk breaks through the water stations and a couple of tough hills, I basically managed to shuffle my way to the end.  Finished in a close to personal worst of 4:38.29.  Oh well, at least I got ‘er done. 

[Coyote Mas Loco]

Hey cool. Nice report.

Great road trip--I drove more or less the opposite direction some 20 years ago this month, from MN to MA.  Was a DNS at Paavo Nurmi way back in college, over did it with training and had to take a month off.

What's left for your 50 states?

[Fast Eddie]

What's left for your 50 states?

- Maine
- New Hampshire
- Delaware
- Kentucky
- Minnesota
- Alaska
Oh, and D.C. too.

In Canada, need P.E.I. and Newfoundland-Labrador.  Haven't thought about any territories yet.   

[Plugging Along]

Way to go! 

Your choices for Minnesota:
http://www.marathonguide.com/races/search.cfm

1/7/18    Zoom! Yah! Yah! Indoor Marathon Northfield, MN ( INDOOR, no kidding, Boston ruled it ineligible after somebody used it to qualify)
4/29/17    Brainerd Jaycees Run for the Lakes   Nisswa, MN (cool time of year)
5/12/18    Lake Wobegon Trail Marathon St. Joseph, MN (cool, trail)
5/27/12    Stillwater Marathon    Stillwater, MN
5/28/17    Med-City Marathon    Rochester, MN (paved)
6/3/17    Heartland Series   Winona, MN
6/5/16    Minneapolis Marathon   Minneapolis, MN
6/17/17    Grandma's Marathon    Duluth, MN (big, expensive (hotels), warm)
7/15/17    Eugene Curnow Trail Marathon (formerly the Half Voyageur Trail Marathon) Carlton, MN (near Duluth) (hilly, warm)
8/20/16    Endurance United Urban Trail Marathon    Saint Paul, MN
9/6/08    Superior Trail Marathon    Lutsen, MN (trail, real hilly)
9/9/17    Moose Mountain Marathon    Lutsen, MN (trail, real hilly)
9/9/17    Dick Beardsley Marathon Detroit Lakes, MN (paved - Dick Beardsley himself hosts it, photo ops!)
9/16/17    Walker/North Country marathon   Walker, MN (half trail, half paved)
9/23/17    Ely Marathon   Ely, MN
10/1/17    Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon    Minneapolis/St.Paul, MN (big, cool, paved)
10/14/17    Bemidji Blue Ox Marathon Bemidji, MN
10/22/17    Mankato Marathon   Mankato, MN

[JBM]

Great job!! I admire your interest in this challenge of all 50 states. There is the Smuttynose marathon I think in Oct in NH. Full and half I believe. Or maybe Nov.


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