State Number 2 - ET Marathon

State Number 2 – Extraterrestrial Midnight Marathon, Rachel, NV

5 August 2012

Do you believe in extraterrestrials?  I’m on the fence as to the answer to that question.  No one really knows, except for maybe the upper echelons of the military or their contractors working in Area 51 just to the west of this marathon’s starting point.  With the enormous size of the universe and the billions upon billions of stars, other worlds of life must assuredly exist.  It would be astonishing to me if there weren't extraterrestrial intelligence, but of course there is as yet no compelling evidence for it.

I’ve always been captivated with Area 51 and what takes place at the Groom Lake complex.  The government has always denied the presence of the facility, but recently has acknowledged its existence.  With the advent of Google Earth and other related software, the facility cannot be repudiated.

If you've ever wanted to run a marathon at midnight along an infamous stretch of pavement known as the Extraterrestrial Highway, also known as Nevada State Route 375, look no further than the Extraterrestrial Midnight Marathon held 5 August 2012 south of the community of Rachel, Nevada.  With Area 51 nearby, I was enthusiastic to be in the proximate area of the secret complex with an opportunity to see or hear secret aircraft or alien beings.

My wife and I embarked on the six hour drive through the Mojave Desert to Las Vegas on Saturday, 4 August 2012.  With such an interest in science, engineering and geology, I find traveling through the desert to be a fascinating experience.  There is a lot to see while traveling along Interstate 15, especially the Ivanpah Solar Power Facility as one comes down the hill into Primm. 

Many think the facility is a secret government complex, but in actuality the facility consists of fields of concentric heliostat mirrors focusing sunlight on receivers located on three centralized solar power towers.  The receivers generate steam to drive specially adapted steam turbines that generate approximately 400 megawatts of power for southern California homes.

This facility has had an impact on bird life in the area, however.  The bright light from heliostat reflections attract insects, which in turn attracts birds.  The birds will fly into the concentrated light and burn in flight from the intense radiation.  Government agencies and biologists are working with Ivanpah to find ways to mitigate the bird deaths.

Las Vegas’ Plaza Hotel and Casino at the entrance to Fremont Street Experience in downtown served as our temporary place of residence.  Our room looked down onto S. Main Street and Fremont Street Experience.  After we checked in, we drove down to the Hard Rock Café Hotel and Casino for packet pick-up and located where the bus pick-up will be.  There was nothing fancy with the expo, so we left the Hard Rock and went back to our hotel.  We spent some time at the roof-top pool cooling off from the summertime Las Vegas heat while sipping on long island ice teas and daiquiris. 

The bus transportation to the marathon start line began around 2030 hours from the Hard Rock Café.  Runners from all around were anxious and ready to go.  Some with alien antennae, body paint, alien regalia and various forms of lighting for visibility, since we will be running under the light of a near full moon.  Of course there will always be the runners out to win the race and those that take their running performance seriously, but I got the perception that most runners were there to have fun and enjoy the experience.

Once boarded, the buses made their way onto I-15 northbound to Exit 64 towards Alamo.  From there, we rode north on U.S. 93, aka the Great Basin Highway, through Alamo and then on to the Extraterrestrial Highway.  A few miles up the highway, the driver abruptly pulled the bus to the side of the road.  Apparently, an object flew through the windshield of the bus in front of us.  We wondered what happened until someone informed us of the incident.  We had no room on board for additional passengers, so they had to call in a new bus.  I heard others surmise that a UFO flew through the window.  I never heard what happened once we left the scene. 

The bus driver apparently missed the turn-off to Highway 375 to the start line.  The area was pitch black with only the headlights from the bus guiding us through.  I continue to wonder why the driver did not rely on the bus’ GPS.  So, we had to turn around and back track to the proper highway.  After a two and a half hour drive, we were there!  The start area was lit up with portable lights.

We disembarked from the bus and hung around the starting area at a location known as the "Black Mailbox," which I found to be actually white.   It's very close to the access road into Area 51, a site notorious for multiple UFO sightings over the years.  The weather was clear with a near full moon.  The stars were not very visible, since the moonlight washed them away.  The desert heat was absent to my surprise as temperatures were somewhat cool as the elevation of the start was around 4,600 feet.  This was my kind of running weather.  Roughly 180 runners lined up for the full marathon, 325 for the half and 80 for the 51K in honor of Area 51.  The half marathon start was about thirteen miles up the road.

The race started promptly at midnight.  Lighting the way were green glow-necklaces, headlamps or flashlights with the moon providing most of the light.  The "almost" full moon, provided plenty of light along the almost deserted highway.  I donned a reflective construction vest and carried a small LED flashlight, as did my wife.  After a couple of miles, all I could see was a perfectly straight line of lights ahead of me.  We really didn’t need a flashlight since we could see just from the moonlight alone.

I overheard some people say coyotes may be present.  I wasn’t worried or concerned since they stay away from humans.  I didn’t see or hear any along the way.  What I did want to see were UFOs flying in and out of Groom Lake, lying on the other side of the mountain to the west.  It was disappointing not to see any.

The first thirteen miles of the race consisted of a gentle climb of over 1,000 feet in elevation to the Coyote Summit at 5,600 feet elevation.  The summit served as the half-way point, and it was all downhill to the finish.  The climb was not bad, since we took it slow and I suffered no obvious effects from the elevation; however, my wife had a slight hangover from the pool-side refreshments we sipped on earlier that afternoon.  I could see the lights of Rachel in the far distance knowing that was the finish line. 

As Rachel got closer, I realized my Garmin would not show 26 miles, but instead around 20.  Either there was a mistake in course measurement, my Garmin was inaccurate thanks to alien beings from Area 51 affecting the 30 or so satellites orbiting the earth at 20,000 km, meddling with trilateration, interfering with the satellite’s atomic clocks accounting for the general and special theories of relativity, or we would have to run past the finish line for an out-and-back of 3.1 miles each way.  The latter ended up being correct.

Running a marathon only to run by the finish line, while watching others finish, is demoralizing.  As we ran past the finish line, the sun was about to rise.  A pale blue color swept over the eastern mountain ranges indicating daylight was nigh.  As we made it to the turn-around with only 1.5 miles remaining, we were in the homestretch.  A race official was there to instruct the 51K runners they still needed to keep going for another 2.5 miles before arriving at their turn-around.  I was so glad I was at my turn-around.

After making the turn, I was feeling pretty good and broke away from my wife with an increased pace since I wanted to be done.  Several runners had their pictures taken under the Extraterrestrial Highway sign just outside of Rachel as a reminder of their midnight marathon.  It was plastered with various stickers and decals serving as a reminder of others who have had their pictures taken as well.  It was still dawn, and the camera flashes illuminated the highway sign with its engineered grade prismatic reflective properties.

At long last, the finish line was actually in sight.  As I made the final turn onto the gravel driveway into Rachel, I saw runners passing in the opposite direction like I did during the preceding hour.  I knew how they must have felt, as I was there too.  The sun was just rising above the eastern horizon as I finished and was delighted as I received my finisher’s medal.  My Garmin read 26.31 miles ±15 feet, with a time of 5:25:23 – 12:25 pace.  My wife came in just a couple of minutes later as she, too, was glad the marathon was over.

While enthusiastic about being in the proximate area of Area 51 with the opportunity to see or hear secret aircraft or alien beings; that, indubitably, didn’t happen.

The transport buses back to Las Vegas have been coming and going for the last couple of hours.  We decided to pick up our drop bag and skip the breakfast spread provided by the Little A’le’Inn Restaurant in downtown Rachel and board the bus back to Vegas.

Based on my research, Rachel was founded in 1973 by a local farmer and was first known as "Tempiute Village", and then later as "Sand Springs."  In 1977, the town was renamed "Rachel" after the first baby born in the valley, Rachel Jones.  After the premature death of Rachel in 1980, local residents created a cemetery and memorial park in her honor.

Rachel is an unincorporated community of Lincoln County with a population of about 50, mostly being ranchers.  How many aliens in this 50 is always open for debate.   Art Bell, on the other hand, may contend all 50 are aliens.  As the closest habitation to the Nellis Air Force Range and Area 51, Rachel enjoys somewhat of a celebrity status, particularly among aviation enthusiasts and UFO hunters.

The unofficial speed limit in Rachel is Warp 7 and receives a modest number of visitors interested in the government's secret doings (me included), with a small tourist shop, motel, and an alien-themed restaurant and bar appropriately named the Little A'Le'Inn where earthlings are welcome.

Several unpaved roads that traverse the desert terrain near Rachel lead from Highway 375 to the heavily secured boundary of Area 51.  Trespassers may be actually shot on site.

When the nearby tungsten (element symbol W) mines closed in the late 80s, the population rapidly dwindled, and today’s “economy” is mostly driven by visitors and ufologists.

Overall, the marathon course wasn’t too difficult.  The elevation and the climb in the first half were not significant factors for me.  I believe it would be safe to assume that most runners do this marathon for the experience, the t-shirt and race medal and bragging rights, so it really isn’t a PR course for most.  Serious runners may try for a PR given the downhill grades in the second half of the course.

It was now time for the 2.5 hour journey back to Vegas and I was a little apprehensive about the ride back.  Did the driver find time to sleep before driving, required of a commercial driver?  Was he drowsy?  Was he awake enough?  Those were some of the questions I had running through my ever inquisitive mind.

As we departed Rachel, Highway 375 seemed to disappear suggestive of a mathematical system representing three-dimensional objects and space on a two-dimensional surface by means of intersecting lines drawn vertically and horizontally and that radiate from one point on a horizon line shared with the typical lackluster desert scenery.  This could be a recipe for disaster if the driver falls asleep at the wheel. 

It wasn’t long after we departed most of the runners on the bus fell asleep, while my wife stayed awake worrying about the driver’s responsibility for providing a safe trip.  I was kind of dozing off, but generally stayed awake with the same worry and uneasiness as she.

There were some instances the driver veered off the road only to be roused as the bus’ wheels rode the rumble strips along the road’s right edge line.  Numerous traffic engineering studies have proven that these rumble strips save lives, and it was proven that Sunday morning.

At times, I noticed the driver slapping himself, yelling and fiddling with various things trying to stay awake.  We still had two hours to go, with about a half hour of high-speed traffic on I-15 into Vegas.  One runner decided to sit on the floor next to the driver as engaging and talking to him seemed to keep him awake.  I was thinking of the same thing, but he beat me to it.  It worked as he seemed to be focused on the task at hand.

When we reached Vegas, the driver made various stops at different hotels before arriving at the Hard Rock.  I breathed a big sigh of relief as we disembarked from the bus.  As we walked through the hotel and casino area sweaty, haggard and exhausted, various guests had this perplexed look like, “what the hell happened to you?”  I guess many wouldn’t understand.  We arrived at our car in the parking garage and drove back to the hotel to take a well-deserved shower and nap.

During that evening, we strolled onto Fremont Street Experience for a bite to eat and to listen to the different genres of musing being played by local bands.  Everything from country to hard rock were being played as part of a Rock of Ages Festival.  Fremont Street is always an experience as different street artists abound displaying their works of art to topless women in g-strings donning pasties (some with body paint covering up the affected areas) posing for pictures – for a price that is.  Of course, one cannot forget about the light display above the street synchronizing with music.

The loud music played until 0200 hours making sleeping rather challenging since the room’s window was a few stories above all the hubbub of the festival.  The man at the front desk informed us upon check-in of the festival and the music may be a little loud, but only until 0200 hours.  We did expect the noise, but didn’t expect it to be so loud and bothersome.

The next day saw us checking out of the Plaza Hotel and checking in to the Monte Carlo on the Las Vegas Strip for a day soaking up the rays at their wonderful pool area.  We also managed a visit to the Gold and Silver Pawn Shop made famous by the History Channel’s Pawn Stars.  Although we didn’t see the “gang” at the store, I did manage to sneak in a photo with Antoine, the security person at the door.  As I perused the showcases, a USGS brass survey disk from the South Pole marking 90 degrees south latitude caught my eye.  With an asking price of $5,000, it wasn’t worth it.  I later saw on an episode that the owner put the survey disk on consignment with the shop with the owner accepting a 25 percent cut of the sale price.  If I would have known that, I could have made a fair deal.

That evening, we purchased tickets to see Rita Rudner perform at Harrah’s Las Vegas.  Although it was a long walk, made longer with all the people on the strip, we enjoyed the show as she was quite entertaining.  After the show, it was time to head back to the hotel to ready ourselves for the trip home.

In all likelihood, I would not do this run again; but it was definitely an experience I will not forget.  Anyway, on to State Number 3.