PPR Marathon Relay

On Saturday, I participated in the 4th Annual PPR Marathon, Half-Marathon, and Relay. Daytime in Palau is not an ideal running environment and the nights are not much better, so I'm not that motivated to run. But, I've been playing ultimate frisbee twice a week for the last two months and that has gotten me into decent shape. I am not a marathon runner, nor am I in good enough shape to attempt a half-marathon, but I knew I could run a leg of the half-marathon relay. It was a bit of a last minute decision, but the track and field association was nice enough to find a team for me and put me on a four leg relay team. I didn't know my teammates beforehand, but I really wasn't there to be competitive. I was assigned the third leg. It was a half-marathon relay, so each leg should have been about three and half miles each.

To avoid some of the heat, the race started at 5:30 am. That meant I had to arrive at the PCC track at 4:30 am. The marathon began in Ngardmau and the half-marathon began in Ameliik up on Babeldaob. We arrived early so they could shuttle the participants up to the starting lines. Being the third leg, we had less to travel, so we didn't leave until the race had already began. I waited around at the track with Phil, one of the people I play frisbee with who was also running the third leg. When the time came, we hopped into the truck and drove up across the KB Bridge to the KB Shell just past the bridge. There we waited for the first runners to arrive. By that point in the race, the runners were pretty spread out so they began coming through sporadically. The half-marathoners would grab some water and then continue while the relayers handed off. The Kregenows were there volunteering at one of the earlier exchanges and made it to our exchange before I left. Shortly after that my teammate Sista arrived and I was off and running. I soon crossed the bridge, which provided a gorgeous view of the islands at sunrise. I've seen plenty of sunsets here in Palau, but not many sunrises and it was a really beautiful sight. Just after the bridge and its causeways, I began the uphill to reach topside. I've driven that stretch often and knew it would be tricky, but I did not realize the length of the uphill climb. The sun had risen and the temperature was rising, which didn't make the climb any easier. I persevered and made it up the hill without stopping, passing a few runners who had stopped to walk. Once I reached the top of the hilly area, it was all downhill from there. However, it was definitely longer than a 5K. We later figured the third leg was the longest of the four at around 6.5 km. I finished strongly at the final exchange at the Post Office. While I didn't time myself and never asked for my time, I was very happy with how I ran, especially with no preparation. I ran it purely for fun and it was enjoyable.

After recovering a bit, I walked over to PCC, picked up my car, and drove it to the finish line at PPR. They had the finish line set up on the beach itself, so the final hundred meters was along the waters edge to the end of the beach. My team finished in the middle of the pack. I knew some of the other runners and cheered their finish. Only one man attempted the marathon and he finished in about 4.5 hours. The women's half-marathon was won by Sarah, a peace corp volunteer who is one of the regular people I play frisbee with. After the race, PPR provided a great buffet breakfast on the beach. While not as fancy as their regular buffet, it hit the spot after a run. They had a raffle with a few prizes and then announced the winners. They also handed out the most important part of the run: the t-shirt.

After the crowd left, I stayed at PPR lounging on the beach chatting with Phil and Sarah. They are not PPR regulars, so they enjoyed spending time on the beach. We were later joined by another frisbee regular, Jurka. PPR has a nature trail that goes up the hills surrounding the resort and we decided to explore. We climbed up to the top and had a terrific view of the resort, Pincher's Cove, and Ulong in the distance. The trail has signs next to various trees and I learned the names of some of the trees I had encountered. We found a marked poison tree and engaged in a vigorous debate about its signifying characteristics and tried to spot others nearby. Either it doesn't affect me or I have successfully avoided it because I have made it six months without getting a poison tree rash. We returned to the beach for a little swimming. Dave and the boys had returned, so we joined them in the pool. I finally left PPR in the late afternoon after a long day.