On the train to the start of the Jim Thorpe Marathon in April, I saw the 4:15 pacer in the same car as mine, and I was thinking, I’m going to see her back a lot today, hopefully all the way to the finish line! My BQ time is 4:20, so, to be able to actually run the Boston Marathon, I’d need probably at least 4:15, based on recent trends in registration for Boston.
The Jim Thorpe Marathon, which finishes in Jim Thorpe, PA, is advertised as very BQ-friendly. The point-to-point course from White Haven to Jim Thorpe has a “slight, steady 0.5% to 1% downgrade nearly the entire way.” The course is on trails that follow the old D&L and Lehigh Gorge railroad bed, through the Lehigh Gorge State Park.
There were two ways to
get to the start of the race in White Haven. One was to drive there and then
take a free shuttle back after finishing. The other was to take the scenic
Reading & Northern Railway from the Jim Thorpe Station to White Haven at
6:30 am for the 8 am start (recommended!). My registration receipt combined the
cost of registration and train ticket, and I don’t remember how much was for
the ticket. But, it was reasonable.
Historic Jim Thorpe Station /Visitor Information Center,
Jim Thorp, PA
Reading & Northern Railway train, the scenic way to get to the start of the race
On the train to the start of the marathon
The temperature was in the upper 40s when we got off the train at White Haven at around 7:30 am. Perfect, I was thinking and was feeling quite hopeful. It was a bit chilly in the shorts and T-shirt I had on. Bag drop was done by leaving it on the train, to be taken back to the finish area. So, I was glad I brought one of those emergency thermal blankets (that, folded, could easily fit into my hydration vest) for the half hour or so wait before the race began. The start was at the D&L Trail White Haven North Trailhead next to and east of the train stop. The course goes north for a two-mile out-and-back before returning to the Trailhead at around Mile 3 and continuing south to Jim Thorpe.
I crossed the halfway
point at ~2:06 so was on track for a runnable BQ (i.e., actually being able to
run Boston 2025). I kept up with the 4:15 pacer through M14. My pace slowed
just a bit over M15-16, though still keeping the 4:15 pace group in sight. Over
M17-20, though, my pace slowed significantly. There were also intimations of
leg cramping. So, instead of trying to keep running at an increasingly slowing
pace and possibly having to start walking, I tried a new run-walk combination over
the last six miles.
This run-walk enabled
me to finish with a 35-minute improvement (4:45) over Wineglass 2023 and Honolulu 2023. In
this version of the run-walk, for each half mile, I walked the first 0.04 mile,
which was how far I walked the first time until I felt sort of recovered, and
ran the remaining 0.46 mile. This way, the walk time was not long, and the run
was at a pace that, though slow (~12-13 min/mi), did not decrease precipitously as
was the case in Wineglass 2023 (~15-20 min/mi). So, I’m happy about the 4:45 in
that sense; though, of course, it's still ~30 minutes shy of a runnable BQ.
Looking back, everything leading up to the race went well. There were no interruptions during the 16-week training period. I got to the start line healthy. Planning for the race weekend was right on target. What I wore was just right, before and during the race, including the emergency thermal blanket for the wait before the start. And, I was glad I decided to switch from parking at the Jim Thorpe Area High School and then taking a shuttle to the start (both free) to parking in the municipal lot next to the Jim Thorpe train station/finish area. The latter option was not free but was much more convenient both before and after the race.
Though my time was slow, I don’t think I left much on the course. The 4:15 pacer ran Miles 2-6 too fast (by 10-30 sec/mi). It did get warmer for the last third of the course. But, neither of these affected me that much. Jim Thorpe was my third marathon since before COVID; so, it could be that I still haven’t regained my racing rhythm. (My time for the last pre-COVID marathon, Harrisburg 2019, was 4:05.) Mentally, there was no real problem. I think, physically, I just wasn’t prepared enough from my 16 weeks of training. I think my training volume needs to be higher than the 30-40 miles per week I ran. I may go back to the plan that I’d used to run my marathon PR and first BQ at Pocono 2016 (3:55), which peaks at 60 miles per week. Of course, I’d modified it to account for an eight-year older body. 😊
So, the bottom line: it’s
still a matter of training--just more of it.
The Jim Thorpe course
has few easy vehicular access points. So, kudos to the race logistics and all
the volunteers for setting up the aid stations every two miles or so! Jim
Thorpe is a relatively small race, this year with 533 finishers. After the
first few miles, if one was not with a pace group, it was basically like a weekend
long run. And, because of the limited access to the race course, there were few
cheering crowds along the way and, thus, less of a race effect. So, I
appreciated the smiling helpful volunteers at each aid station even more than
usual.
Overall, this was a
really well-organized race, from registration to the finish line, including the
unique train ride to the start. One nit I do have, though, was the pickup of my
bib and train ticket at the “micro-expo” located next to the railway station.
Parking at the adjacent municipal lot was $15 for the five minutes or so needed
for the pickup. This was the Saturday bib pickup. The main one on Friday was at
a local coffee shop; the parking situation there could be better.
"Micro-expo" next
to the railway station (basically pick up bib and train ticket).
Again, the train ride to the start was a really nice feature of the race. And an integral one: it’s prominent on the finisher’s medal and race shirt. And, everyone’s favorite? A restroom in every car, so no long wait lines for porta potties!
Jim Thorpe the borough (“borough” in PA is similar to “town” elsewhere) is a popular tourist destination, for its scenery, opportunities for outdoor activities, and history (esp. railroads).
Clock tower in historic downtown
Jim Thorpe, PA, near the train station
About a mile northeast
of his eponymous Borough is the Jim Thorpe Memorial. How
Thorpe, who grew up in Oklahoma, ended up in PA has been controversial. He never
set foot in Mauch Chunk (name of the Borough before being renamed to Jim Thorpe
in 1954). He did go to the Carlisle
Indian Industrial School (about a 100 miles to the southwest), which is on the official list of 417 federal Indian
boarding schools that was the subject of a recently released report
of the Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative.
NB: Race shirts for Jim Thorpe were not provided at bib pickup. They were available only at the finish. But, I was so used to picking up shirts at race expos that, even though I saw a lot of people at the shirt tent near the finish line, it didn’t register that I should go there and get mine (!). 😊 Fortunately, when I wrote to the race director, Michael Ragozzino, about it, he helpfully mailed it to me. Not just because of the latter, but I do plan to run Jim Thorpe again. Besides increasing the training mileage, I have a few other ideas on how to better prepare, physically, for the race.
