The D-Day MAY 1, 2011 at Avenue of the GIANTS Marathon race

I was up in my room in Piercy, CA at Krishnalaya by 5 AM and had a shower I packed my running gear, fuel belt alongwith Gu, Gels and Candies  thanks to  my daughter Chai who had sent a survival pack just a few days prior by priority mail. She has had a Nike Marathon Race under her belt at an young age and knows what it takes to keep the runner fueled.

One thing I forgot to mention in my earlier Blog was that I had picked up a 'bug' in the last week leading to the race day. I had cold and congestion and I did not do my usual workouts in the gym nor any short runs. Nor did I want to administer any NSAIDS [Ibuprofin or Tylenol]  as I had read from Internet articles  that such remedies could cause major side effects to Heart in long races. As a result, I was worried that My VO2 volume [Oxygen intake] will be impaired in this ultimate run day and I may not hit my goal of finishing this race in about 4 Hr 45Mins.  Nevertheless, I had made up my mind that I will run the entire length of the 26.2 Miles no matter how  I felt, while also promising my loved ones that I will listen to my body and do appropriate corrections to my goals. Contradicting  positions I guess. Anyways, as you would soon find that I prevailed and finished the run without any injury except little bit of my pride for not coming in under Five hours.

                                        My Bib Number is 708

That said, we left Piercy at about 6 PM and headed North on Hwy 101 to the Humboldt Redwoods park.  40 Miles later we entered the Park and it took us over 40 minutes to reach the parking lots. It was indeed the long line of cars filled with hopefuls and the traffic control in the park. But we were comfortably ahead of the 9 AM Marathon Start time

Weather again was same as day before, bright and shiny, may be 60 Degrees at the race start time.

Inside the redwoods pointing to the trail named after the Marathon  race

The Avenue of the Giants  has been called by no less of an authority than RUNNERS WORLD MAGAZINE one of the most beautiful courses in the country. Marathon is a double out and back, as the course profile indicates; 

                             The OMRunner Group before the race at the start line

The Marathon starts just beyond the Dyerville Bridge on Bull Creek Road and proceeds 6.5 miles to the first turn around. The first mile is relatively flat, and within half a mile of the start, we will be running under a canopy of beautiful Redwoods. After the first mile, there are some sharp curves and fairly short hills. There is an open space and a sweeping curve at about the 4/9 mile mark. Then for the next mile or so, we enter arguably the most beautiful part of the course.   See the race profile below

The giant Redwoods close to the road look as though they were painted on a large canvass, the way they are perfectly arranged. At about five and a half miles, just beyond the Albee Creek Campground, we will enter an opening that continues to the first turn around. 

Redwoods painted on a canvass? No, its real

                                                          Giants vs Mini me

The temperature was still cool and part of the road is still shaded. The last mile plus is a gradual uphill with few curves.  

The second out and and back is mostly shaded, and has only one significant hill, as we travel through Weott at just beyond the 15 mile mark going out or the 23 mile mark coming back (2 and 11 for the half).

                                                                     Priceless Views throughout the Marathon course

                                                     Eel River cuts through the Redwoods,

                                                      Fellow OM Runners Meyappan and Narayan

 There is what appears to be a steep hill near the 14/25 mile mark, but it is mostly an optical illusion.  The area near Weott is open for about half a mile and the road is heavily cambered, 

                          Myself at about 18 Mile mark- Smile does not show my Crampy Pain 

One has to Run wisely, enjoy the natural beauty of the area, and I had  a great time as a runner!!  Feeling when I got My Medal at the finish line, it  was Ecstatic finish to a 5 month Journey

My fellow OMRunners finished pretty strong as you may see below

Full Marathon
Subra Kumaraswamy	3.51.00
Ranga Ranganathan	4.27.56
Mohan Sankaran	4.28.39
Arun Sharma	4.37.17
Krishnan Subramani	4.38.16
Sanjay Bombwal	4.42.57
Dharmanand Gattepalli	4.47.42
Ganesh Iyer	4.52.18
Alkesh Patel	4.52.33
Ram Appalaraju	4.54.30
Narayanan Venkatachalam	5.05.00
Meyyappan Ramanathan	5.07.13
Komath Damodaran	5.08.47
Santosh Mahabaleshwar	5.20.12
Bala Gampa	5.25.15
Sharada Sripadam	5.41.56
VP Shenoy	5.55.26
Sumeet Gagneja	5.56.54
S. Raghupathy	6.20.16
Halh Marathon
Arun Khanna	2.24.10
Sowdamini Damodaran	3.50.21

                           Do you know the way to SAN JOSE, CA?

One more thing: I was wearing my GARMIN GPS watch and it captured my whole 26.2 Miles run minute by minute and my heart rate, pace etc. Please check my Garmin link below and see the beauty of the Giants in the Humboldt Redwood Park and my running stats. 


http://connect.garmin.com/activity/83021695




Well,  I am glad to report that I have finally achieved my goal of completing the Marathon race and most of all I have been healthy and no injuries to report except exhaustion and elation 

I want to thank all my Friends and Family for the support, love and affection shown to me in writing, calls, emails  and in the silence of their own minds  throughout my Marathon Race training without which I would not have been successful.

Also thanks to all who contributed to CMSJ in my drive to raise some money for their great cause.