State Number 5 - Tacoma City Marathon

State Number 5 – Tacoma City Marathon, Tacoma, WA

5 May 2013

The fifth state in my 50-state quest took me to Tacoma, Washington for the 2013 running of the Tacoma City Marathon.  This was the seventh anniversary of the event and also served as the tenth anniversary and reunion of the Marathon Maniacs.  The Tacoma Marathon was the first of three for the 2013 year.

Our 4 May journey began by driving to Long Beach Airport/Daugherty Field (LGB) for a JetBlue 737 flight to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA).  Traffic anywhere in the Los Angeles basin is always a concern and can be unpredictable.  This was realized at the Santa Ana Freeway (US 101), the Pomona Freeway (California Route 60), the Golden State Freeway (I-5) and the Santa Monica Freeway (I-10) split.  Traffic is nearly always congested at this location due to lane drops and merging traffic. 

The traffic on southbound I-5 was very congested, and, being in an exit only lane, forced us to exit I-10 west towards Santa Monica.  Realizing the error, we took the first exit into a shady industrial area of Los Angeles for an unpleasant diversion.  Lucky for us, our GPS unit directed us back to the I-5 freeway without any misfortune.   Traffic usually eases after the aforementioned split due to the increased lanes and higher speeds, so it was a smooth ride to LGB by way of the Long Beach Freeway (I-710).

Long Beach in the early days

The airport was undergoing a major renovation of its Streamline Moderne style terminal building, which is considered a historical landmark.  The 1930s architecture inside the terminal building was decorated with memorabilia and photos of early aircraft along with displays of local aviators, including Earl Daugherty, who developed the property the airport now sits, and Amelia Earhart who learned to fly out of this airport.

The Long Beach Airport has an aggressive noise abatement program for residents around the airport property.  Under the Long Beach municipal code, the city can criminally prosecute the aircraft’s owner and the pilots for breaking the noise ordinance.  As the airport continues to grow and air traffic over the region increases, so do the complaints about loud and low flying aircraft.  If someone chooses to live in the flight path, do so at your own risk and don’t complain.

After check-in, we made a long trek through temporary walkways and corridors to a make-shift security area in a portable modular unit.  Once through security, we had to walk through another outdoor corridor to the gate area.  After a short wait, it was time to board the aircraft for our departure to SEA.

The 737 aircraft taxied to and departed Runway 30 for an Anaheim Six Lake Hughes Transition procedure.  The 2h 40m flight took us over California’s central valley, Lake Tahoe, Crater Lake and the Cascade Mountain Range, Portland and a straight-in approach to SEA Runway 34C.

Being newcomers to SEA, we followed the rental car signs hoping the counters are in the airport baggage claim area.  We found out that the rental car facility was outside of the airport so we had to catch a shuttle bus for transport to the facility.  This new facility was home to all the car rental companies.  A one-stop shop as one might say. 

Once we took possession of the rental car, we drove south down I-5 to Tacoma.  The host hotel, Hotel Murano was our living quarters for the weekend.  The hotel’s Venice Ballroom served as the venue for the marathon expo, packet pick-up, the pre-race pasta dinner and Marathon Maniac anniversary meeting.

At the conclusion of the expo, the ballroom was set up for the Maniac meeting and the pasta dinner.  We purchased the $20 meal tickets in hopes of having pasta, garlic bread and salad as we were getting hungry.  Approximately twenty tables were set up in the ballroom with roughly ten per table.  One table at a time was allowed to get in line for the catered food.  With my wife and I located at a table towards the back of the room, I wondered if there was going to be enough food for all.  I thought that surely the caterers would prepare enough food for everyone as the Maniac staff would have first taken a headcount.  Boy, was I wrong.  There was enough food for about three or four tables only. Immediately, I thought the organizers were joking, but they weren’t.  After paying $20 a ticket, fellow Maniacs were annoyed and angry.  Luckily, refunds were given on the spot.  Needless to say, I was very disappointed in the organization of the dinner.  So, we hightailed it to a downtown eatery.  We settled for a pizza dinner at Abella Pizzeria on Pacific Avenue across from the Washington State Historical Museum.

Bridge of Glass

After our delicious pizza dinner, we strolled over the Bridge of Glass spanning I-705 linking the shorefront with the Museum of Glass.

The bridge consists of thousands of glass-art masterpieces created by a local glass artist to make up the Venetian Wall, Seaform Pavilion and Crystal Towers. 

The museum was designed in the form of a lopsided conical building, which houses glass blowing demonstrations.  There are also several other outdoor exhibits including the water forest, reflecting pools and a waterfront promenade in the vicinity.

After our visit with the shorefront attractions, it was getting late and the sun was beginning to set, so we strolled back to the hotel for some much needed rest for Sunday’s marathon.

Sculpture at Tollefson Plaza

In the early Sunday morning hours, it was time to gather up our things and gear bag for the walk down to Tollefson Plaza across from the Art Museum to board one of the many shuttle buses lined up to transport runners to the start line at the Tacoma Narrows Airport.

The first buses left at 0430 with the final departure at 0600.  We boarded a bus about 0530 as we didn’t want to catch the last bus for fear of not finding a seat.  It was not recommended to wait for the final bus.  Naturally, transportation was by means of school buses.  I don’t fit well in the seats of a school bus, so this led to an uncomfortable ride.

The bus ride took us onto I-5 to Washington State Route 16 passing by Cheney Stadium (home of Triple-A baseball team, Tacoma Rainiers), then over the Tacoma Narrows Bridge to the Tacoma Narrows Airport, a single runway general aviation facility on the Kitsap Peninsula.

Everyone, watch out!

The Tacoma Narrows Bridge is a pair of twin suspension bridges spanning the Tacoma Narrows strait of Puget Sound between Tacoma and the Kitsap Peninsula. Historically, the name "Tacoma Narrows Bridge" has applied to the original bridge nicknamed "Galloping Gertie" by the construction workers.  The bridge opened in July 1940 and collapsed the following November.  A replacement of the original bridge which opened in 1950 still stands today as the westbound lanes of the present-day twin bridge complex.

Engineers and scientists have hypothesized the collapse was due to resonance behavior from the high winds through the strait, but later determined that to be incorrect.  The actual cause was determined to be a phenomenon called aeroelastic flutter.  Today’s bridges provide mechanisms to damp oscillations so catastrophes like Galloping Gertie don’t happen again.

When we arrived at the airport, the weather was clear, breezy and a little chilly.  A nearby hangar building with a couple of single-engine aircraft under maintenance was open and available to runners serving as a shelter against the outside elements.  We went in and found a place to keep warm before the 0700 start time.

Present day twin-bridge complex

As gun time drew near, approximately 900 runners made their way to the start.  The half marathon runners started an hour later.  After the playing of our national anthem and a few parting words from the announcer, the horn sounded and off we ran down the tarmac and in between some aircraft to the airport’s exit to 26^th Avenue NW for an out and back segment before beginning our journey over the Narrows Bridge and into the City of Tacoma. 

As I started to cross the Tacoma Narrows Bridge, the spectacular snow-capped Mt. Rainier was the governing feature on the eastern horizon.  After the short descent off the Narrows Bridge, runners made their way on to the Scott Pierson Trail through War Memorial Park, a 2.5-acre grassy park honoring the sacrifices of the area’s military men and women and features the bell from the cruiser ship USS Tacoma.

Five-Mile Road

From there, it was a scenic run over the Skyline Drive Pedestrian Bridge with a great view of the Narrows Bridge into easy rolling terrain of North Tacoma’s Proctor District.  Then, a gradual descent through Ruston took me to the half-way point of the marathon in a time of 1:57:07 for an 8:56 pace.  For another mile or so, the route took runners onto Pt. Defiance Park’s Five-Mile Road into a cool, shaded forested area complete with hiking trails, beaches and picnic areas within old growth conifer stands and a variety of broadleaf trees, such as rhododendron and maple.  Even though I did not see it, the park is home to a giant sequoia tree (Sequoiadendron giganteum).  These giant trees are indigenous to regions in California’s Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks in the upper elevations of the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range and can live to be 3,000 years old. 

After I exited the park, it was back through Ruston and along the waterfront for the final 10K to the finish line venue at the Tacoma Art Museum.

It was an atypical day for Tacoma area weather.  There was a noticeable absence of clouds in the sky and the temperatures were rather warm.  I guess the organizers of Tacoma’s rain festival postponed their weekend event.  As I made my way on to the waterfront’s Ruston Way, it was getting hot.  As temperatures climbed, I accepted the fact the final 10K was going to be tough for me.

For a short while, I endeavored to use Jeff Galloway’s run-walk-run method, but that proved to be a pointless effort, so I did more walking than running as the miles passed by.  Between Marathon Miles 21 and 22, I approached a police officer along the side of the road rocking out with music from Van Halen’s 1984 album blasting out of his cruiser – I’ll Wait was the song playing as I passed by.  I wanted to stay and rock out with him, but I had a mission to complete.  I couldn’t wait, however.

The direct sun and heat was really taking its toll on my body.  I was so tired, I even walked the downhill portion of an overcrossing spanning the railroad tracks where Ruston Way changes to Schuster Parkway.  As I was on the overcrossing, I noticed the SS Cape Island and SS Cape Intrepid moored at the dock which caused me to momentarily disassociate from the pain and discomfort I was experiencing.  Even though I wanted to see more of the naval ships, I had to keep laboring along.

With roughly 5K remaining, my wife caught up to me.  She tried to motivate me to finish with her, but I was too drained.  I told her to go, as I was running my own race at that point.

Finishing push

Much to my surprise, as Marathon Mile 24 approached, around the proximate vicinity of the Museum of Glass’ conical shaped structure, I suddenly developed a second wind and started running again.  Maybe it was from the energy of the glass or from the delight of the last two miles.  My guess it was the latter of the two.  When the Marathon Mile 25 sign came into sight, I could hear the finish line announcer and the cheering crowds as runners ahead of me were crossing the finish line.  I knew I was close and I found enough energy to stay the course.  I worked my way around the wide sweeping curve of Dock Street for a right turn to East D Street, another right turn to Puyallup Avenue crossing under I-705, and the a final right run to Pacific Avenue.

The final push up Pacific Avenue was long and torturous and seemed endless before veering off towards the back of the Art Museum for a final sprint to the finish line venue in the museum’s parking lot.

My medal!

The tenth anniversary finisher’s medal depicted the Narrows Bridge towers with a bottle opener at the bottom attached to a yellow ribbon signifying the Maniac color.

I was exhausted, sore, stiff and happy the marathon was over.  With a salty-crusted face, I finished my sixteenth marathon (and fifth state) with a respectful time of 4:30:58 for a 10:20 overall pace.

Age graded score: 50.87%.  Age graded time: 4:09:19.

After looking around the parking lot and checking the bag drop area, I wasn’t able to locate my wife who had finished about six minutes earlier I later found out.  It turned out that she was enjoying beer and pizza in the Maniac tent reserved for Marathon Maniac members.  I completely forgot about the Maniac area as I walked around and would have appreciated some pizza and beer.  But, oh well.

I killed time by eating some pizza, fruit and guzzling plenty of cold water hoping she would show up.  Not doing so, I thought maybe she went back to the hotel, so I painfully made my way up a flight of stairs and an uphill walk to the hotel room.  After all that hard work, when I arrived and opened the door, she was not there, so I cleaned up and took some ibuprofen for the aching pain I was experiencing.

Now that I was feeling better, I left the room to make my way back to the finish venue, and as I approached the elevator, the doors opened, and she was there.  What a relief as the last thing I wanted to do was to walk back.

Check out time was nearing and we still had a 30-minute drive to Sea-Tac Airport.  We gathered up our belongings, checked out and walked back to the car for the drive back to Seattle.

We became hungry as we were driving through Federal Way, so we stopped at Red Robin on S. 320^th Street.  The large juicy hamburger, ice cold beer and bottomless fries hit the spot.  Once we were satiated and back on I-5 north, it was a short 20-minute drive to Sea-Tac’s rental car facility.  From there, we hitched a ride on the shuttle back to the JetBlue terminal.

I was proud of my achievement and wore my special Maniac finisher’s medal until we boarded the plane.  By then, my stiffness was subsiding and I was feeling more relaxed and it wasn’t too excruciating maneuvering myself into those cramped aircraft seats.  This was a time I needed an exit row seat.

JetBlue take-off

Soon after the flight attendants closed the cabin door, we pushed back, listened to the same dog and pony show that comes with every flight, and quickly departed Runway 34R via the Mountain Seven departure procedure for the non-stop flight to LGB.  After the 2h 40m flight, we approached the southland via the Tandy Three-Fillmore Transition arrival to LGB Runway 30 over Avalon (Catalina) to Seal Beach and in to Runway 30.

Overall, I had a great experience running the Tacoma Marathon and would recommend this race to anyone.  The course combines scenery with a great deal of spectator and crowd support.  I, being the engineer I am, got a buzz running across the Tacoma Narrows Bridge.  Knowing the original structure’s history and ultimate demise, crossing the bridge was well worth it.  Some may think it’s no big deal – it’s just another suspension bridge.  To me, it was a big deal.  I could say equivalent to running across the Golden Gate Bridge as I ran the San Francisco Half Marathon.

The peacefulness and shaded roadway within the park was a hailed bonus, but seemed to last for only a short time.  Once runners made their way along the shoreline, the views of Commencement Bay, the shoreline and the cool breezes off the bay quelling the heat, made the last 10K a little more enjoyable. 

Although the marathon is a net downhill course, there were some rolling hills during the first half and throughout Pt. Defiance Park, but as runners left the park, the course was relatively flat, with a few exceptions, of course.  The unusually warm weather on race day was a handicap for me, but I was proud of my accomplishment, nonetheless.  I always am no matter the time.

The volunteers staffing the aid stations, the police department’s efforts for providing traffic control to ensure the safety of runners, and the numerous spectators along the course were awesome.

The only complaint I had was the unorganized pasta dinner.  Why the Maniacs didn’t employ a better system to manage a catered dinner, the world may never know.