On
The Run
A
Marathon for Connoisseurs
The Rocket City
Marathon offers a Down-Home experience
STANDING BESIDE THE FINISH LINE OF THE ROCKET CITY MARATHON,
I listened to the announcers call the names of finishers along with
number of marathons each had run: Amy Saarima, fourth marathon;
Sammy Morris, 37th marathon; John Geyer, 44th marathon.
Then there was Paul Piplani with 250 marathons run. Rocket
City on a Saturday was his 72nd of the year, after which he planned
to jump on a plane to run number 73 in Honolulu the next day.
At a lecture the previous evening, I had described this early-December
race in Huntsville, Alabama as a "Connoisseur's Marathon," one most
appreciated by experienced runners, those who had a few marathon
finishes under their drawstrings and who were looking for a uniquely
different experience.
I also branded Rocket City a "Ma & Pa Marathon," a reference to
Harold and Louise Tinsley who founded and nourished the marathon,
although in recent years the leadership has passed to current race
director, Malcolm Gillis. Rocket City has a certain Down
Home feeling to it, a race small enough so that you almost feel
you get to meet all your fellow competitors. "Our parade permit
allows 1,500 runners," says Gillis. "I think we have a nice size
race. Everyone gets a good start, but there are enough runners around
you so you're not running alone."
Holding its own
Don't get me wrong. I love The LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon,
which attracted nearly 28,000 finishers this year. Megaraces, such
as Chicago, New York, Marine Corps and (of course) Boston deserve
their position at the top of the heap. Lately, there have been a
rash of "Designer Marathons," such as Rock 'n' Roll and Country
Music, which appear out of nowhere and immediately attract mass
fields. The Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon in April audaciously
has set a 10,000 limit for its first year!
 Meanwhile,
Rocket City chugs along, attracting modest fields of about 1,000.
Despite the presence of prize money, the Kenyans don't show. The
male and female winners this year ran 2:21:38 and 2:44:52 respectively,
winning $2,000 each. Perhaps a more respectable performance was
the one turned in by Gary Romesser, who at age 50 clocked
2:36:04 and earned $1,000 for the best age-graded performance. (Rocket
City is among the few races which awards master runners almost as
much as the younger ones.)
Look back several decades, however, and Rocket City held its own
among much larger cities when it came to numbers and records. Rocket
City's peak year was 1981 when 1,985 runners finished. The year
before, Chicago had only 3,624. The men's course record at Rocket
City was set in 1980 by Louis Kenny with 2:12:21; Lisa
Martin ran 2:32:22 in 1983.
Yet while Huntsville might not be able to match Chicago's Art Institute
or Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the city in Northern Alabama has
a passably good art museum just across the street from the headquarters
Hilton Hotel. The Nutcracker Suite was playing at the Von Braun
Center nearby.
Outmaneuvering
the Russians
Werner Von Braun, of course, was the German rocket scientist,
who helped put Huntsville on the scientific map. At the end of World
War II, the United States outmaneuvered the Russians and brought
more than a hundred top rocket scientists from Germany to Huntsville.
Put to work at the Redstone Arsenal, Von Braun and associates laid
the groundwork for NASA's space program. The day before the marathon,
I spent the morning touring the Space and Rocket Center, worth a
visit to Huntsville with or without a marathon to serve as an excuse.
Many of today's new marathoners may be frightened of Rocket City
because of its rolling course. The topographical map pictures a
course that seems just one degree of difficulty below that of Pikes
Peak. Yet in post-race discussions with marathoners, most opined
that the hills were more rolling than steep. Many runners (myself
included) believe that rolling courses can be more gentle on the
leg muscles than perfectly flat courses. The ups and downs offer
the opportunity to utilize different muscles. While your finishing
time may be somewhat slower, you're less likely to suffer cramps
because of repetitive use of the same muscles, and your recovery
may be easier too.
Nevertheless, I still would send first-timers to a megarace like
Chicago where, you are more likely to have company in the closing
miles along with more spectators to applaud your efforts. If you're
a connoisseur, however, you might want to consider Rocket City.
The marathon's 25th anniversary will be celebrated on December 8,
2001, a good reason to put Huntsville, Alabama on your destination
list for the year. Although I'm still not sure about running Honolulu
the next day.
V-Shirts:
Still for sale, although we're out of Extra-Large shirts for men.
More information on how to order a V-Shirt is posted on Hal
Higdon's Web site.
Copyright © 2000
by Hal Higdon. All rights reserved.
HAL HIGDON is Senior Writer for
Runner's World and a Training Consultant for The LaSalle
Bank Chicago Marathon.
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