Sometimes the Lion Doesn't Catch the Rabbit - The Story of Becca's 50th State Marathon Weekend

 “Friendship is the hardest thing in the world to explain. It's not something you learn in school. But if you haven't learned the meaning of friendship, you really haven't learned anything.” - Muhammad Ali

Every once in a while, one of your friends does something truly epic, and invites you along for the ride. Becca's been running marathons for over 25 years and has logged a mind numbing total of 104.  This past Saturday, by completing the Jackson Hole marathon, she has now run a marathon in each of the 50 US states.  

While this project dates all the way back to 2001, she got really serious about it in the past 18 months and picked Jackson Hole on 9/23/2023 as here finish line.  She then invited all of us to join her and her family for the race.  

So jump ahead to last Thursday and a whole bunch of us made our way out to Jackson Hole (many of us starting with a 4am wake up).  Amy and I caught a 6:10am flight to Salt Lake where we met up with Erin and made the drive over.   

We first met up with the larger group Thursday night for dinner, the official kickoff of the shenanigans. 

As I've done in previous posts, I like to identify the cast of characters before I finish depicting the event. 

• Becca: needs no introduction, the reason we were there in the first place and newly minted marathon in all 50 state finisher
• Joe: Becca's husband, lead organizer of the event, who ran 10 miles for the first time while we were in Jackson. 
• Becca's family and close friends: Taylor, Susan, Fred, Lauren, Kristin, Nick, Steven, Jen, Janet, Jenny
  
• The Belmont Track Club Crowd / Friends: Me, Amy, Erin, Donal, Karalyn, Lisa, Paula, Steve, Zee, Sarah, Katie
• Becca's Other Running Friends (from all over the country): JP, Byron, Bob, Oliver, Casey (and his son Brady)
  

The last few years, my friends and I have been doing a trip out west.  We are all trail and ultra runners and love doing traverses in the mountains (or canyons).  We kicked this off 2 years ago with a Rim to Rim to Rim of the Grand Canyon and followed it up with a trip to Ourey last year, where we summited our first 14k' peak, Mnt Sneffels.    

So when Becca picked a mountain town for her last marathon we were more than delighted to join and continue on our annual trail running tradition.  While we wanted to run a decent time at the Jackson Hole Marathon, we also even more wanted to play in the mountains.  It is opportunities like this that really drive my training.  

Friday morning, Donal and I headed over to Grand Teton National park to do some exploring.  Our goal for the day was to climb up to a few alpine lakes and then get up to the saddle, just below the summit of Grand and Middle Teton (we didn't need to free solo a 5.5 climb at the top).  The route was 16 miles with ~6000' of climbing.  

Weather forecast was a bit dicey Friday with rain scheduled to come in by 9am.  After driving through a bit of fog to get there, it cleared up as we reached the trail head.  We pretty quickly climbed above the cloud layer and were presented with a great view and even encountered some wildlife. 

For a while, we were convinced the fog layer was going to get us as it slowly made its way up the mountain.  Luckily, were able to hold it off.  

The first of the two alpine lakes we visited, Surprise lake, came at just under 5 miles and 2800' of climbing in.  I don't know what it is about these alpine lakes, but they are just so peaceful and serene.  I jumped up on a rock and Donal took my picture which included an almost perfectly symmetrical reflection of the rocks behind it.    

Next up, was Amphitheater lake, a quarter mile and few hundred feet up the trail.  After a quick break, we worked our way back to the cutoff and then towards the saddle.  

As we cross over the first rock section, it started to flurry a bit.  We stopped for one more picture before the clouds fully rolled in capture that fluff layer beneath us.  I have only once ever had a view like this.  It was back in 2018 when I was on La Palma in the Canary Islands.  

After that, we reached a giant boulder field (the rocks were 5-10' in length) and started to make our way up.  As the snow started to pick up, which became a constant reminder that we had a marathon to run the next day.  So without much discussion, we decided to call it and work our way back down to the car.  We ended the day with 12.3 miles and 3500' of climbing.  

Later that night, we all got together at Yeah Buddy Pizza to truly kick off Becca's 50th State Marathon weekend.  In addition to inviting us all to partake in Becca's accomplishment, Joe and Becca took care of us all with dinners and even goody bags, complete with t-shirts, cookies, stickers, and hand warmers (forecast at the start of the marathon was 34 degrees). 

When I first found out about this event, I decided that I was going to give a speech at it.  This was kind of like a wedding reception and I've never had the chance to be in a wedding party (other than mine) and thought that I could have some fun with it.  

Becca and I have now known each other for about 7.5 years, running together almost every day, having shared over 10k miles together, and have become extremely good friends. I tried to keep the tone of the speech light, joking many times (i.e how she gets lost on nearly every run), and telling the story about how we met at a meet and greet, primarily with kids, just before she won the World Marathon Challenge in 2016 and consequently became famous.  But the fact is, it is hard to joke too much as she is always there for me (and many others in the room).  

Ever since Nat's Neurofibromatosis diagnosis that same year, she has always been our top supporter; fundraising, running, biking, and evening putting on running camps for kids. 

I ended the speech with a funny quote I heard recently, “How do introverts make friends?  An extrovert found them, liked them, and adopted them” which I think perfectly describes Becca and a lot of her friends.  

 
Race day started with a 5:45 wake up. We made our way down to the center of Jackson for the start around 7. Today was the big day.  I was Becca's official pacer and tasked with:

1. Getting her to the finish line
2. Ensuring that she was the top female
3. Trying to get her a new PR (sub 3:09).

I told her I would do my best, but wasn't sure what I had in me having run 12 miles with 3500' climbing the previous day and racing at 6300' elevation.  As expected, she ignored me, and when the race started we shot off the line at 6:40 / mile pace.  After about a quarter mile, we settled down a bit, but still held around 7 minute page for the next 8 to 9 miles.  The course was almost entirely on a bike path that looped around Jackson before heading over to Teton village. 

Just before we started, I had one of those existential moments where the last 7.5 years of my life flashed before my eyes.  From first meeting Becca, to winning her 5k race, to the Wellington Fun Runs, to Ninja Feet running camp, to the donut runs and the 3am starts, to running across the state overnight (twice).  It was kind of crazy to think about all the things that we had done together. 

My goal at the beginning of the race was to hold sub 3:08 pace for the first 13 miles and then go mile by mile after that.  We hit the half in 1:33:35 still feeling pretty good and were greeted with a few hundred runners just beginning their half marathon.  The next two miles were a bit difficult as we weaved in and out of the runners.  

 Becca's family and friends provided on course support and cheering the entire race.  Their make shift water stops and cheering was incredible and greatly appreciated.  Every time Becca's brother in law Nick drove by, I would hear "Go Becca ... and Scot."

As we reached that death zone (miles 16-22 when people struggle) slowed down to about 7:20 pace and I slowly pulled away from Becca.  

By mile 16, I had built up about a 20-30 second lead and was starting to feel the affects of the altitude, previous days run, and general fatigue of travel.  While I was happy that I had stayed with Becca this long, I really wanted to finish with her.  Over the course of the next 9 miles, I just plugged away convinced that Becca would blow by me any minute.  My pace first slowed to the mid 7:20s and then after mile 20, the mid 7:30s.  

I decided that mile 25 would be the beginning of my victory lap.  That point where I was strong enough to over power my mind if I needed to kick it into the finish.  I turned around to look for Becca and was
surprised that I didn't see her.  I knew she couldn't be too far behind, so I made my way into the finish to get ready to cheer for her with everyone else.  I hit the finish in 3:12:52, my fastest marathon in the last 4 years, good enough for 8th overall.  

Becca came around the corner a couple minutes later (thankfully still as the first female) and the crowd went wild.  Her daughter, Taylor, joined in for the last 20 yards and her father and husband held up the custom 50 state marathon finishing tape.  It was quite a site to see.

A few minutes later I walked over to congratulate her and she took the finishing medal from the volunteer and handed it to me to put over her head. I already felt honored to be part of this event and was completely touched by this gesture.  

Soon the rest of the cast made there way in: Casey and Brady, Karalyn, Lisa, Sarah, Donal and Zee (with an 11 minute PR), JP (completing his 50th marathon), Steven, and Bob.  

All and all everyone had a great day.  A few hours later, we all met back up at Snake River brewing to celebrate.  You really couldn't have asked for a nicer day with such an awesome group of people.  

The next morning before heading out, a few of us drove back to Teton National Park to watch the sunrise.  It was a bit chilly, 22 degrees, but really fulfilling to be in such a beautiful place and get one last breath of the fresh mountain air.  

Special thank you to Becca, Joe, and everyone else that made this such a memorable weekend.  

- Scot

 

Anxiously awaiting the announcement of what Becca has in store next. 
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