Racing During A Pandemic
Kendall Mountain Run - Race Report
By: Sean Abeyta
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| A rare 2020 finish line moment - congratulation, Sean! |
2020 has not panned out
to be the year many of us expected. A lot of us earlier this
year, myself included, looked at this being a milestone year for racing
achievements & adventures. It was supposed to be an Olympic
year! This all came crashing down when COVID-19 started rapidly spreading
throughout the United States causing "shelter in place" orders in
March to help mitigate the spread. Shortly thereafter we started to see
the snowball effect with sport's seasons being cancelled, school/business closures,
travel restrictions, etc. And in the running world races started getting
postponed or cancelled. There hasn't been a single person in the United
States, let alone the globe that, hasn't been affected to some capacity by the
coronavirus. Along with the many social and economic challenges this
pandemic has brought to our daily lives, you can also layer on a civil rights
movement. I think we are all wondering what we can do to help contribute
to society in a positive and impactful way. One thing the group that
makes up the Dukes Track Club has in common is their ability
to communicate and connect with others through running.
In May the U.S. seemed
to have made some progress as a number of states began slowly implementing
re-opening phases. This came with a number of restrictions, but it
allowed society to start moving forward again, safely. Then in late-May
Aravaipa Running got the "green light" and the necessary permits to
host the Silverton Alpine Marathons & the Kendall Mountain Run in Silverton,
CO on July 11th & 12th. This was to be
their first race using their newly proposed race format that abided by the
local safety protocols. The Kendall Mountain Run was a race that I had on
my original race schedule before all the cancellations, but in all honesty it
wasn't on the radar as I don't think anyone was expecting any races to get
approved.
I'm not going to lie,
registering for this race was a bit impulsive. But in all fairness the
information that was being presented around that time was seemingly shedding
some light on the fact that we might be progressing into better times.
Along with the registration packet was a contract that all participants needed
to sign that basically had them agreeing to follow social distancing and safety
protocols outlined by the City of Silverton & the San Juan National
Forest. In addition to the new contract was a course reroute at the
summit of Kendall Mountain to further support social distancing
guidelines. None of this seemed arduous, all I needed to do was quickly
get into a training block as the race was only 7 weeks out.
In mid-June it seemed
like all of our progress towards flattening the curve came to a sudden
halt. Positive coronavirus cases were starting to see record spikes and
the threat of another wave of restrictions and business closures was
rumored. The daily anxiety of whether or not the Kendall Mountain Run
would be cancelled as well as whether or not it was worth following thru with
it was a lot to take in. I wanted to race, but at what risk and at what
cost? Would the city of Silverton even allow somebody from
"out-of-state" lodge without record of self-quarantining for 14
days? I did as much research as I could to ensure I was as prepared as
possible. I even got tested the week of the race for a bit of "peace
of mind" and potentially a back-pocket way of proving I was healthy.
I also needed to weigh out the hardship that might come from self-quarantining
for 14 days when I returned back to Albuquerque.
My test results came
back negative and although I knew I wasn't in "race shape" I knew I
put in enough training to still be competitive and finish with a satisfying effort,
so I ultimately made the decision to make the trip to Silverton. The
amount of support I received from family, friends and the running community
throughout my training block leading up to the race was humbling. It
set a desire to not only race for myself, representing the Dukes Track Club,
but to also race for them. The race was on a Sunday, July 12th so my
wife and I decided to drive up that Friday to hopefully get a bit acclimated to
the higher elevation as the city of Silverton sits at around 9k' which is about
4k' higher than Albuquerque.
The course started in
downtown Silverton and connected to a jeep track that climbed Kendall Mountain
to a single-track trail near the summit that you needed to scramble up another
300 feet. You then lollipopped around the summit, eventually linking
back into the same jeep track and descended back to downtown Silverton finishing
at a nearby park. The race was 12 miles and the total elevation gain was
just under 4k' topping out at the Kendall Peak which sits at 13,066 feet.
Everyone's race packet was pre-packed with a sticker that listed their wave and
race start time. I was fortunate to get grouped in the first wave, the
elite men's group, with a gun time at 6:30am on Sunday, July 12th.
Like most races, I
didn't get a lot of sleep that night due to pre-race nerves. I geared up,
masked up and headed out for my warm-up. Afterwards I headed back to my
hotel room to stretch, go through my pre-race routine and then headed out to
the starting line which fortunately was only two blocks away. We were
asked to not meet at the starting line any earlier than 10 minutes before our
designated wave starting time to avoid forming a large group and you had to
arrive wearing a mask. Since there was no drop bag area you also needed
to arrive at the starting line ready to race. Everyone in the wave got
their temperature checked and the gun promptly sounded at 6:30am where groups
of 10 were sent off in 10-minute intervals. Shortly after leaving
the starting line we were able to remove our masks, but you had to keep it with
you as you also needed to wear it at the park where we’d be finish. Upon
finishing we could grab any needed hydration and nutrition and then we were
politely asked to leave the area so they could maintain a safe headcount while
other participants arrived at the finish line. Podium winners were
asked to come back at a later time for a private ceremony.
The Kendall Mountain Run
was really hard, but the course landscape was breathtaking. There
were moments where you forgot you about how relentless the course was by the
surrounding beauty of San Juan’s. The scramble to the summit was
hands down the toughest part of the course, but also the most rewarding as atop
the summit you had a 360 degree view as far as the eye can see that you simply
can’t capture in a photo. Aravaipa Running did an excellent job
hosting this race. They did their best to meet and exceed all
required safety protocols while being practical so they could lend a positive
experience to all the participants, staff, volunteers and the local
community. They made a point that without the local community’s support
and good graces this event would never have been possible. In the
end, all participants were also representing Aravaipa Running and were
encouraged to safely support the local businesses and thank them for their
hospitality.
Although it was an unconventional
race format coupled with an unconventional training block I have zero
regrets. I raced hard and considering all the variables, I put out
the best performance I could have on that day. I definitely feel
it’s worth an encore…
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