Bakersfield Half Marathon

Bakersfield Half Marathon

Bakersfield, CA

17 November 2019

“Sweat cleanses from the inside.  It comes from places a shower will never reach.” – Dr. George Sheehan

“How many of you that sit and judge me ever walked the streets of Bakersfield?”  About as far west from Nashville as one can get, masses of runners congregate on the coast of Bakersfield for its annual November marathon giving me the opportunity to walk the streets of Bakersfield and reflect upon the Bakersfield Sound. 

The Bakersfield Beat, and the first category of country music, became one of the most popular and influential country genres promoted by noted pioneers such as Buck Owens, Merle Haggard, Dwight Yoakam, Marty Stuart, The Desert Rose Band, and The Flying Burrito Brothers, to name a few. 

Finisher medal collection

The fourth annual running of this marathon personifies the legacy, tradition and remembrance of the Bakersfield sound.  Finisher’s medals characterize the large influence on the West Coast music scene and the small guitar companies that set up shop in Bakersfield back in the day.

I believe it’s important to keep the traditional sound of country music alive and recollecting the irreplaceability of country music legends.  As the song goes, Who’s Gonna Fill Their Shoes?

The marathon begins and ends on the campus of the California State University, Bakersfield (CSUB) off Stockdale Highway on the west side of Bakersfield just off the banks of the notorious Kern River; “screaming quiet and startling you alive,” as Merle Haggard described it.

The Expo/Packet Pick-up

In years prior, Buck Owens’ Crystal Palace offered space to host the expo and packet pick-up.  However, this year, Bakersfield High School played host to the expo.  Surrounded by bleacher seats and basketball hoops, several vendors and other merchandise companies packed together on the school’s gymnasium floor.

My wife and I secured our race bibs and supplementary swag bags at the legacy runners table positioned near the entry door.  In addition to the standard long-sleeve tech shirt, legacy runners also received their own unique shirt complete with the name of each legacy runner blazoned on the backside.

Let’s do this

The two courses are basically identical to previous years.  However, instead of the start line being on Don Hart Drive West in front of the Dorothy Donahoe Hall building, organizers moved the start/finish line to Don Hart Drive East in front of Parking Lot J.  The start line relocation forced organizers to create a short out-and-back segment off Stockdale Highway before Mile 2.

Fresh off a great pacing performance in Fresno, I was again bestowed the honor of being a 2:10 half marathon pace leader, equating to a 9:55 pace.  About a half-hour before start time, pacers assembled in front of the starting line gantry for the traditional photo-op as runners began filtering through the orange-colored portable fencing surrounding the start area.  I placed myself a fair distance from the starting mat adjacent to the 4:20 marathon pacer (as we have identical pace times) holding up my pace sign above my head as a host of runners began to gather around me.  Promptly at 0700 (without the national anthem as was customary in previous races), the starting pistol sounded.  At last, we were off and running.

Waiting to begin

This is the fourth running of Bakersfield and my fourth year running this event, continuing my legacy status.  The event has continued to grow and has become one of the south valley’s premier autumn running events.

During the year of its maiden run, and on an uncharacteristically hot autumn day, I succeeded in grinding out the full marathon distance.  I believe that first year burned an unpleasant and indelible impression in my mind and since then, I’ve chosen to run the less strenuous half marathon, serving as a pace leader for the past three years.  But, I can’t let fear dictate my running.  Perhaps one day, I will run the full course once again, but maybe not as a pacer.  By knowing the course – the good, the bad and all the ugly parts sandwiched in between – I’m able to offer first-time runners some advice about what to expect.  

Half marathon course map

I’ve paced many half marathons in my running career, but never seem to hit the perfect pace goal time.  To me, finishing within in a few seconds of the goal time is technically ideal, but doesn’t really count.  

The most efficient way to run a half marathon, or almost any other race distance, is perfect pacing.  Each mile exactly as fast as the one before and the one after.  So, if my perfect pace is 9:55 per mile, it’s perfectly acceptable to run one particular mile in 9:54 and another mile in 9:56, but to maximize results, a pacer shouldn’t stray too far off the elected pace.

Unfortunately, we do not live in a Utopian society, and with marathons, half marathons, 10Ks or whatever distance, we often encounter hills, winds, twists, turns, curves and sometimes that obnoxious runner who cuts you off leading into a turn forcing you to break stride or swing off a tangent causing you to lose a second or two, or that crowded aid station as one attempts to fuel that internal machine with calories, water or electrolytes.  To compound the problem, if your half marathon of choice has hundreds of other runners crowded together with you on the starting grid, it is very difficult to hit the first mile or two exactly on pace.

So, we pacers do the best we can.  It’s easier said than done, but the best strategy seems to be to relax for the early miles and be willing to give away a minute or two off the perfect pace, knowing you can regain lost time as crowds around you begin to thin.  I can’t tell anyone whether they should run 8:00 or 9:30 or 10:00 or even 11:00 miles, because conditions differ from race to race.  I do know that if I relax, focus and let the race carry me along, at some point, I will achieve that perfect performance.

That was my chosen pre-race strategy, but as I began, hubris dictated my running.  Within the first half-mile, I caught myself cruising along at a 9:30 pace.  Although relaxed for me, it may not be so for those wanting to exploit my expertise.  With that in mind, I took my foot off the gas, coasting to around 10:10 per mile, clocking the first mile at 9:46.

Over the next five miles, I maintained a solid uniform pace fluctuating between 9:45 and 10:00 per mile as I ran alongside two marathon runners targeting a 4:20 finish.  We advanced upon the Bakersfield High School campus and the ten-kilometer timing mat stopping the clock at 1:00:22 – a little too fast, perhaps, but within an acceptable range.

Shortly after the 10K split, we deviated left onto H Street for a short, but welcomed, downhill jaunt, under a railroad overcrossing, then back uphill for a left turn onto 18th Street into the heart of uptown. 

At the Mile 7 aid station, I paused for a moment to wolf down a packet of a berry-flavored concoction containing simple and complex carbohydrates, electrolytes and amino acids to keep me feeling strong and energized.  The momentary pause gave me the opportunity to spend some of my banked time and to re-charge my legs for the all-important second half.  

A flamboyant and verbose runner a short distance behind me exclaimed, “Thank you for stopping.  Now I can catch up.”  Funny, I passed him about 100 yards back as he sashayed down the middle of the street.  I invited him to join me for the remainder of the race, but once I resumed running, he immediately fell behind.  Again, he cried, “Please slow down, Mr. Pacer.”  I don’t know if he was trying to be funny or not.  I wasn’t amused.  I was on pace and I couldn’t afford to give up any time just to appease him.  By the way, there was a 2:20 pacer a few minutes behind, and if that was too fast, a 2:30 pacer.

At around Mile 7.5, marathoners and half runners diverged and went about their separate ways at 19th and Elm Streets.  I bade good luck to my fellow running mates as they continued their trek up the bluffs to Bakersfield City College.  We halfers looped the block circling around to Beach Park and onto the Kern River Parkway Bike Trail, under State Route 99 and through Yokuts Park for the final homestretch. 

Even with a plethora of runners in my immediate vicinity, I felt myself running alone, continuing a steady pace, resisting any urges to push it too much.  But, I had to remain firm as others may conceivably be covertly keeping me in their sights.

The flat section of the bike trail parallels the Kern River providing runners with sights of oil well pumpjacks, river sediments, debris flows, willow trees and low-flow trickles of water once impounded behind the Corp’s Isabella Dam in the Sierra foothills, soundlessly meandering along the river’s thalweg.  As my mind meandered, I recalled Merle’s description of the Kern, “screaming quiet and startling you alive.”  Quiet?  Yes, but I wasn’t startled.

I caught myself creeping back to around a 9:45 to 9:50 pace through Mile 11 and along the shores of Lake Truxton as several fishermen sat stone-faced patiently waiting for a fish to snag their bait.  I didn’t fathom the prospect of palatable fish living in that lake fed by the waters of the Kern River.  I carried on, passing a few fatiguing runners, some of them muttering, “Oh no, that’s the 2:10 pacer!”

Nearing the finish line

My pace hovered around 9:58 for the final two miles.  I sensed others behind me were using me as their stimulus to manage any feelings of drudgery and a motivation to finish strong.  I gave some fist bumps to some cheering spectators as I neared the final turn onto a bridge spanning an irrigation canal, through the Stockdale Highway intersection, passing the Mile 13 flag and onto Don Hart Drive East into the CSUB campus. 

Off in the distance, the inflatable red, white and blue-striped finish line banner signaled the end of the race.  I stepped-up my pace to around 9:45 passing a few struggling runners, some with painful expressions on their faces, others with a sense of relief their run was concluding, in their quest of personal validation rather than a competitive victory.  I didn’t hesitate to offer some needed cheer, praise and encouragement to those I passed.  I glanced at my watch, then the finish line, then my watch again.  Suddenly, crowds formed on both sides of the street hugging the finish line chute, multiplying the total amount of spectators I had seen all day by ten-fold.  The race clock ticked away, as the race announcer said, “Here comes the 2:10 pacer!  Looks like another spot-on performance.” 

   

Done (me in the background)

I stopped my Garmin to find a time of 2:10:00 – I was amazed.  Perfectomundo!  A little Spanish lingo there.  Though I did not bring in any one runner to the finish line, I was proud of my pacing duty, nonetheless.  

RACE STATS:

Distance: Half marathon (13.1 mi).  My Garmin measured 13.12 miles.

Date: 17 November 2019

Bib No.: 2588

Weather at start: 48°F, clear sky with southerly breeze at 3 mph

Gun time: 2:10:37

Chip time: 2:10:00

Average pace: 9:55 per mile

Average cadence: 161 steps per minute

Overall rank: 311 of 851

Gender rank: 202 of 373

Division rank: 26 of 47

Elevation: 62 ft gain / 62 ft loss

Age graded score: 52.40%

Age graded time: 1:51:25

Garmin splits: 9:46, 9:55, 9:59, 9:50, 9:45, 9:53, 10:02, 10:07, 9:57, 9:49, 9:50, 9:59, 9:58, 9:43 (remaining 0.12±)

LIKES / WHAT WORKED:

·         Very well-organized event from packet pick-up, immediate online results, the well-stocked aid stations along the course.

·         Nicely organized expo and lots of merchandise.

·         Very cool weather in November.

·         Flat course and Boston qualifier.

·         Attractive finisher’s medal, personalized bibs, post-race breakfast burritos, bags of pistachio nuts, halos, free beer at the beer garden, live post-race entertainment, hot-fudge sundaes, long-sleeve event tech shirt.

·         Super friendly volunteer support.

·         Great spectator support.

·         Great traffic control and course monitors.

·         Easy and ample parking race morning.

·         Race-day packet pick-up.

·         An all-around great experience!

DISLIKES / WHAT DIDN’T WORK:

·         Final three miles along the bike path may feel a little long.

·         One noteworthy climb under a railroad overcrossing.

Since I had a couple of hours to kill before my wife finished the marathon, I turned my attention to the “runner’s village” to take a load off my achy dogs, enjoy the California sunshine and to partake in some post-race sustenance consisting of breakfast burritos, halos, cookies, beer, iced tea, locally grown pistachios and hot-fudge sundaes.  

The live entertainment kept everyone in a festive temperament as the band played cover music from a hodge-podge of musicians and genres, but focusing on local notables such as Buck Owens, Merle Haggard and Dwight Yoakam.  Got to love it.

Final thoughts

The final miles of any half or full marathon can be awful no matter how good one feels and the feeling a runner gets from finishing such a race never gets old.  Today, I found a happy medium in the half marathon distance.  I expected to phone it in by dialing my time to be within thirty seconds of my 2:10 goal time.  Running even mile splits is incredibly difficult, if not impossible, but finishing spot-on is something that will probably not happen again.

The aches and pains in the legs of some behind me certainly bore witness to the struggle a half marathon can have on the body.  I wasn’t killing myself and I hope others following me didn’t either.  It was, dare I say it, fun.  Bakersfield is certainly a great race, put together by enthusiastic volunteers and local supporters who were cheery and happy to be out on the course.

I doubt that I’ll have another perfect pacing performance.  Perhaps when I carry another pacing sign, I should add an “-ish” next to the time.

I leave with a quote from an Old Irish Blessing, “May the road rise up to meet you.  May the wind be always at your back.  May the sun shine warm upon your face…”  

Onward and upward.