Duke City Marathon / Half

Runner Don off and running his 69th marathon in his 49th state: New Mexico

Sweet Pea and I started, downtown Albuquerque, at the back of the pack, running the half marathon. Streets were clear of traffic.

Big spider on a house, one of the fun Halloween decorations along the route
The Day of the Dead (Mexican "All Saints Day") preparations were evident.

I appreciate running through neighborhoods: interesting homes, hope of a little shade, a few spectators.

The 10K race was overload for the trail, and no delight to us slower half marathoners.

The New Mexico sun was clear and bright and seemingly relentless.

A huge hats off to organizers for CLOSING THE STREETS. No sharing the road with speeding SUVs.

Route 66, familiar to us from the Tulsa Marathon races

Pottery shop

Back in the hotel room, I searched the internet for altitude sickness symptoms... in Albuquerque, checking off all but one.
I recall sitting on the curb crying with Sweet Pea in the Denver half marathon, of similar altitude. Then we picked ourselves up and finished the race. Denver race course went past the capitol and through parks: nice!

In this race, water could not quench my thirst, the sun burned my eyes though the sunglasses, the 7 or 8 miles of totally treeless trail was depressing, my body ached all over, matching the symptoms on the internet.

Gratitude to the organizers for providing a New Mexico race! Some runners had a fun time.
We appreciated getting the state.

In Albuquerque Sweet Pea handled the altitude better and was chief of cheerful attitude for finishing the race.


PS
Our hearts go out to the people in the path of Hurricane Sandy. As we like to say, "We ran there."

We have run a marathon or a half marathon in each of these Atlantic states up the coast: Fort Lauderdale in Florida, Kiawa Island of South Carolina, Outer Banks North Carolina, Virginia Beach (next March), western West Virginia, Annapolis Maryland, Rehoboth Beach Delaware, Asbury Park New Jersey, Marine Corps Marathon in DC and Virginia, New York City (we 3 all ran the NYC marathon in all 5 boroughs!), Hartford Connecticut, Providence Rhode Island, Boston Marathon (just Don ran; we cheered), Hampton New Hampshire, Mad Mountains of Vermont, Portland Maine.

We ran on the board walk in Asbury Park.

Our best wishes and prayers