While several of you were busy running the mean streets of L.A. last Sunday, I took a different path. For several reasons (variety, my poor L.A. marathon experience in 2002, meeting up with my family, etc.), I chose the Napa Marathon for one of my early-season marathons this year. My wife, six-month-old baby and I drove up to Calistoga on Friday, where we checked in at the Silver Rose Inn. There we met my dad and stepmother, who were running Napa for the 14th time. They discovered this B&B 11 years ago and have been staying there ever since. One of the great things about the Silver Rose Inn, aside from the complimentary Merlot and Chardonnay every evening (served with cheese and crackers), was its location: 100 yards from the start line!
Friday was pretty much lost to the driving; it took about 3 hours longer traveling with the baby – 10 hours! We had one stop with friends in Novato, greeted my family, had some Silver Rose Merlot, dinner in town and right to bed.
Saturday was a day of relaxing and visiting the Expo. The Napa Valley Marathon Expo is smaller than most marathon expos but still worthwhile. For example, there were as many wine-related organizations represented (one, Silverado Trail Wineries Association) as there were running shoe companies (Asics)! One of the “goodies” that all marathoners received as part of their registration was a silver nylon clothing bag to commemorate the 25th anniversary of this event. Quite a nice touch! After a carbo-loading pasta lunch and nap, we again had dinner at the Calistoga Inn. Then it was off to an early bedtime.
As previously mentioned, the B&B location was a real advantage. I awoke at 5:00 and had a small breakfast, which was set out specifically for marathoners. Then, back to bed for an hour or so. I got myself ready and left my room at 6:50 for the 7:00 start. After absolutely no fanfare (except for the herd of 25+ corralled horses running alongside us for the first 100 yards), the race started.
The weather was cool (~40 degrees) and cloudless. The race starts (and mostly stays) on Silverado Trail in Calistoga at the north end of the Napa Valley, and ends at Vintage High School in Napa. While running down Silverado Trail, you are running down the heart of the wine country. You pass row after row, field after field, mile after mile of dormant grapevines. Alongside these vines you see huge fans that serve to prevent frost from ruining the harvest. You also see beautiful homes and wineries, big and small, featuring all different kinds of architecture. It is an awesomem but also a hilly course. I really wasn’t expecting that much elevation change, although in terms of other marathons I’ve done, the hills were small. It was more the number of hills and how long they extended , not the actual grade, that stuck out to me.
As the race progressed, I was feeling really good, as the aforementioned hills were providing alternating patches of sunlight and shade. The aid stations were placed two miles apart, and sparse, yet well operated. Gatorade was the sports drink of choice. There were pockets of spectators, as family members and other interested people were instructed to drive down Hwy. 29, on the other side of the valley, and cut across to Silverado Trail at several points to cheer for their favorite racer. A few spectators had brought banana and orange slices with them which they were glad to share. Being as the race organizers limit the field to “only” 2,200 (as opposed to 22,000+ in L.A.), the race had a very quaint feel to it. This feeling was reinforced by an incident I witnessed wherein a female runner chased down a male runner in front of her to return the $20 bill the man had dropped while fishing for a packet of Gu in his pocket! By about mile 23, I was really wearing down, but the small cups of lemon, raspberry and pear sherbet that local residents were handing out were a refreshing treat. Nearing the finish, an enthusiastic crowd of several hundred people lined the street and gave the finishers a rousing welcome. I was pleased that the announcers got my name right as I crossed the finish line, and then I headed over to lie down in the grass for awhile. I bypassed the soup and bread which was being handing out and went over to meet my wife and child.
We all had a wonderful time in one of the most beautiful parts of California. Napa is a race that seems really laid back, from its ties to the wine industry to its setting, but in the end is quite challenging. It is definitely a race I would recommend to those of you who may be looking for an out-of-town (but not out-of-state) marathon. Next, we’re off to Big Sur in April and another drop dead beautiful course (and the celebration of my dad’s 100th marathon!).