Jerry's Kids at Tulsa Route 66 Marathon

Jerry Faulkner moments before his 2:27:19.

Time: 91:16
Distance: 16 miles

Yesterday evening Scotty D. and I traveled to T-town for the Route 66 Marathon. We jammed out to José Melendez in the mix with his Wild Workouts at Noon courtesy of the 94.9 podcast. The trip went smoothly and after some goulash at Connor's house upon our arrival to Tulsa, we were ready for some big time pacing duties.

Jerry Faulkner works at the OK Runner in Edmond and he was the reason for our trip up to the marathon. Jerry has a 2:32:xx pr to his name and an OKC Memorial Marathon title too. However, he has struggled his past few 'thons and requested a bit of help from his fellow Team OK Runner mates. The plan was to keep the pace even and under control for as long as possible. Scotty and I are both coming off injuries and weren't sure how things were going to play out, but I hoped to run either 10 or 16 miles. Why such the gap? Well, if you ran any distance in between you would be left way out in Jenks.

The race unfolded pretty much as planned. The relay runners were well ahead by mile two and all the high schoolers had dropped back from their ferocious opening 800 meters. Scotty D., Jerry, Tommy Manning (2nd overall) and myself settled into a rhythm about 25 seconds behind the marathon leader. He was a bigger dude and was lumbering along out in front with a huge target on his back. I felt good clipping off 5:40s for most of the way. Our splits were:
5:57, 5:43, 5:41, 11:33 (2 miles),
5:48, 5:47, 5:41, 5:40, 5:38 (57:33 at 10 miles),
5:49, 5:41, 5:46,
5:26, 5:28, 5:30 for 1:31:16 at 16 miles.

Myself, Jerry, Scotty, & Tommy

Dizzle dropped out at 10 miles shortly after we ran down the leader. Chuck Engle (3rd place) hung tough through 8 miles, got caught, joined the group and then faded starting about halfway, but still managed 2:35:06.

I was pretty committed to getting the group to 16 miles on pace to run sub-2:30. I broke the wind on the way out and maintained a steady tempo until about 12.5 miles when my right hamstring started tightening. I think everybody was hoping to make it back to Riverside feeling fresh because the slight wind (~8 mph) would help during the latter stages of the race. At about halfway Jerry started figuring out what he was going to have to run the second half to run under 2:30. While he was figuring 74 minutes, he immediately dropped the pace significantly which took me from a couple strides in the lead to a few strides behind. I was not feeling compelled to surge to 5:20 pace and the shift in pace shocked me a bit. I recovered the next 800 meters and made my way to the front by the time the course took us out of Jenks and back along Riverside. Despite only having two miles to run, the boost from the runners heading out was big and I'm sure Tommy and Jerry used it to their advantage. I was able to hang on to the pace until 16 miles, just before stepping off I wished Tommy and Jerry good luck and my day was done.

I shuffled back to the car with a sore right hammy, jumped in the car and Scotty and I made our way to the finish line. The final 4 miles of the race feature a few hills and we weren't certain if Jerry was going to maintain the pace. I think we were both a bit surprised when we spotted the all black Team OK Runner singlet round the final two turns with the clock eclipsing 2:26:xx. Jerry was going to have a huge pr and a much deserved one. A fist pumping Jerry (see photo) stopped the clock at 2:27:19. Great race. I guess he broke Tommy around 19-20 miles as Jerry was able to squeeze the pace down to 5:20s for the remainder of the race.

male participants
2117	Jerry Faulkner	2:27:20
666	Tommy Manning	2:30:55
2262	Chuck Engle	2:35:06
2146	Adam Cohen	2:42:59
1425	Tom Brennan	2:44:41

female participants
1022	Gail Brooks	3:02:46
1750	Elizabeth Travis	3:12:05
1378	Allyson Weimer	3:16:35
2074	Lisa Butler	3:23:26
1868	Katie Kramer	3:23:46

The post race festivities were fun in Veterans park. I chatted it up with a number of customers who had competed in the 1/2 marathon or marathon. Jerry was sore but in good spirits. He was chumming it up with a beer in one hand and a Gatorade in the other. Upon returning to Norman, Scotty and I headed over to El Cerrito for Gustavo's 63rd birthday celebration. It was a good outing and a great way to cap off a successful day.

T-town Shuffle

Time: 70:53
Distance: 10 miles

The crew of pub runners and myself stayed at Holly's last night and in the morning we decided to go for a little run. The run started out with Dizzle, Holly and Skolnick but it was quickly down to myself and the two Scotty's when someone's knee flared up. Holly showed us a run that wandered around the streets of Tulsa. I didn't realize how hilly the town was, but it was fun getting to run on hills again. Unlike running in Norman where you have to seek out hills, in Tulsa the hills just come to you. We ended up doing a half lap around LaFortune which is a site where a ton of walkers/runners come out to enjoy the outdoors and then we ran a few barefooted laps on a soccer field at Holly's old high school. The run was good and company was great.

McNellie's Pub Run

Race Time: 19:37
Distance: 4 miles (really more like 3.75)

Billy Grona, Stu & Holly post race.

Scotty and I arrived at Holly's house this afternoon where we prepared our stomachs for the McNellie's Pub Run. We met up with Spencer "Spenis" Hunt, Andrew "Skolnick" Call, Scott "Holly" Hollingsworth, and Jessica Eldridge for the race. We headed over to McNellie's Public House where we found several hundred runners and beer drinkers mingling around the entrance to the bar. The characters whom I was with wanted to do an actual warm-up for the race which seemed like a logical option, but terrible idea. My legs weren't tired from the run this morning but I was not wanting to run any unnecessary distance. I think we ran for a little over 12 minutes which could be called 1.5 miles.

Everybody got their costumes on before making the walk up to the starting line. Just moments before the race we spotted some potential hitters and spoilers of our sweep. We spotted Chuck Sloan, Ryan Ripley and Phillip West doing some strides before the race. Strides!? I mean seriously, this was really about the beer.

I should give a little background information about this Pub Run before proceeding with the post. First, Scotty D is the two time defending champion of the race. Second, this race is now in it's 3rd year, but has used different courses each time. Third, Holly is fit and can drink. The rules are fairly simple for those competing in the Guinness Challenge:

GUINNESS CHALLENGE 4 MILE RUN A special category for those walkers and runners who would like to drink their beer before the race is over! Guinness Challenge participants will have to FINISH three 12 ounce Guinness pints during the 4 mile run; one at each water stop and one at the finish line. Male and female Guinness Challenge winners will win $300 (1st place), $150 (2nd place), and $50 (3rd place) house accounts at McNellie’s Pub.

So now that is out of the way I'll get to the race. I lined a bit to the right next to a little older dude with a sweet 'stache and a "got beer?" camouflaged hat, while our Tulsa Run competitors were to the left. Sloan and Ripley got out well and were followed closely by an ambitious Skolnick. I was surrounded by some decent runners including Phillip West, Scotty D., Joel Stansloski, and Stuart Lisle. The first beer station was just after 1 mile, but I caught a glimpse of my watch and the mile mark which read 5:10. Normally that would be a pretty comfortable mile split, but considering it's the fastest (or fattest) I've run a mile in several months, things had the potential to turn pretty ugly. I had my doubts running in for the first Guinness, but luckily I was incredibly dehydrated and my mouth was nearly made of cotton. I was in a group of guys tied for 4th going into the drinking station and I emerged definitively in 3rd. Holly drank the first beer like he needed the nutrients to sustain life while Sloan managed his pint respectably. I had forgotten how thick a Guinness is and really had to concentrate between breaths to get my first beer down. I looped the turn-around cone and reeled in Sloan who was gagging uncontrollably. I immediately lost a bit of respect for this champion triathlete and mountain man from Montana.

Scotty and I just after the first beer coming up on a gagging Chuck Sloan.

Scotty and I were about 30 meters behind Holly at this point and were trying to string things out. Phillip West was right there in the mix with the two Team OK Runner athletes. I think Ripley made a strong push to catch the group of runners challenging for the prize money midway through the 1st and 2nd beer stands, but I can't confirm this. Ripley eventually finished 5th and out of the money, so did Sloan as he was back in 6th.

I, along with West, eventually caught Holly about a half mile from the 2nd beer station. We ran together for a little bit and then I felt the need to shake things up so I took off with a little surge to the front. I was a few seconds up by the time we hit the second beer stop. Holly's training served him well as he drank the second beer quicker than West and myself. He was back to the front with a 20 meter lead while West and I worked together to close the gap. As we rounded the turn near the pub I saw a large overpass that I was convinced was where the course would take us. I was sorely wrong as the lead police officers waved us on to the finish.

The third and final beer was 10 feet in front of the finish line. Holly had a good lead and was almost guaranteed the victory with a solid chug. I was in a good battle for second with West and it was going to come down to who could finish the beer the fastest. I was still hurting from beer number two when the finish line seemed to get thrown at us. Normally a runner wants the finish line to come sooner, but during this race I would have rather had the finish line be a half mile farther off. It was important for me to get second because our crew was relying on a sweep and no worse than a 1-2 finish for a lump sum bar tab of $400. I managed to hold off West and cross the line in second, actually I thought I had a shot at first when the first half of my last beer went down pretty well.

After crossing the line I felt some of the Guinness coming back up and I had the luxury of tasting beers number two and three in my mouth again. I spit my mouths contents out in a trashcan a little fearful of being dq'd but all was good. The team from Nompton safely claimed 1st and 2nd for the third year running. Unfortunately, we couldn't manage a sweep as Scotty was back in 4th, though considering his state of fitness 4th is very respectable. Our attention soon turned to the women's race as we were hoping for Jessica and Cat to finish 1st and 2nd because that would turn things into an $800 bar tab. Things didn't work out as well for the women as both Cat and Jess struggled after beer two. Oh well. Next year.

The rest of the night was a great time. We all enjoyed a few more Guinnesseseseses (Guinnessi?) but in a much more casual way. The laughs were enjoyable, the football was great, the food was good and everybody was happy to partake in the day's challenge.

Me feeling pretty unfantastic post race.

MALE GUNNINESS CHALLENGE

Place Name                   City            St Age Guntime Chiptim
===== ====================== =============== == === ======= =======
 1 Scott Hollingsworth    TULSA           OK  23   19:36   19:35
 2 Jordan Kinley          norman          OK  24   19:39   19:37
 3 Phillip West           TULSA           OK  26   19:48   19:47
 4 Scott Downard          Norman          OK  25   19:59   19:59
 5 Ryan Ripley            Tulsa           OK  24   20:23   20:22
 6 Chuck Slaon            the village     OK  31   21:14   21:13
 7 Brian McKinney         Tulsa           OK  37   21:20   21:18
 8 Cailean Carlberg       TULSA           OK  24   21:28   21:26
 9 Billy Grona            tulsa           OK  26   21:29   21:28
10 Joel Stansloski        TULSA           OK  23   21:38   21:37
11 Lisle Stuart           Oklahoma City   OK  25   21:45   21:44
12 Christian Ballard      norman          OK  36   23:20   23:19
13 Watson Aaron           Ponca City      OK  32   23:51   23:51
14 Andrew Call            Norman          OK  36   23:59   23:57
15 Stillson Darryl        Broken Arrow    OK  50   24:33   24:32

FEMALE GUNNINESS CHALLENGE
Place Name                   City            St Age Guntime Chiptim
===== ====================== =============== == === ======= =======
 1 Jennifer Johnson       tulsa           OK  31   24:22   24:19
 2 Lisa Butler            Tulsa           OK  35   24:37   24:35
 3 Lisa Oliver            Tulsa           OK  25   24:38   24:36
 4 Odell Catherine        Oklahoma City   OK  23   25:35   25:35
 5 Lisa Clark             Tulsa           OK  40   25:39   25:37
 6 Jessica Eldridge       broken arrow    OK  23   25:42   25:41
 7 Renine Stanloski       TULSA           OK  24   26:01   26:00
 8 Eichor Caren           Tulsa           OK  29   27:37   27:34
 9 Patricia Codenhead     Tulsa           OK  46   28:46   28:44
10 Janice Podpechan       Tulsa           OK  46   28:47   28:40
11 Muge Park              tulsa           OK  33   29:21   29:18
12 Kristi Perryman        Tulsa           OK  35   29:44   29:38
13 Staci Benton           TULSA           OK  41   30:55   30:49
14 Landrum Lauren         Tulsa           OK  23   31:20   31:01
15 Renee Chilton          Tulsa           OK  43   31:25   31:21