{"id":3073,"date":"2016-06-14T12:56:44","date_gmt":"2016-06-14T16:56:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.runkevinrun.com\/?p=3073"},"modified":"2016-06-14T12:56:44","modified_gmt":"2016-06-14T16:56:44","slug":"june-5-2016-rapa-nui-marathon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/runkevinrun.com\/?p=3073","title":{"rendered":"June 5, 2016 \u2013 Rapa Nui Marathon"},"content":{"rendered":"

June 5, 2016 \u2013 Rapa Nui Marathon<\/strong>
\nLast night the course overview and pasta dinner was a disaster. It was scheduled to start at 7 pm and we thought we would therefore have plenty of time to eat and head to the show for 8:30. We were told it was a fifteen minute walk but with Mom\u2019s knee playing up I wanted to budget some extra time. Still, a course overview and a plate of pasta should’ve been imminently doable for an hour.
\nUnfortunately, Rodrigo didn\u2019t start the course overview until about 7:20. He would speak for several minutes in Spanish regarding the course and provide instructions and then would offer the most cursory English translation. This went on for approximately 20 minutes. Ultimately, the course details were, \u201cyou run out to the beach, turn around and run back.\u201d It would\u2019ve been laughably bad if it were so bad. Admittedly, as you\u2019ll soon see, I\u2019m inclined to view Rodrigo in a very negative light so I\u2019m not sure I\u2019m entirely unbiased in my review of his overview\u2026 but I\u2019m certainly unbiased on what happened next.
\nRodrigo introduced the first Chilean and indeed the first South American, to reach the summit of Mt. Everest. The gentleman spoke in Spanish and Rodrigo said he would translate at the end so as not to interrupt the flow of the presentation.
\nAfter about 35 minutes of Spanish and three slides projected behind him, Mom and I looked at our watches and saw it was 8:15 and had to decide on a course of action:
\nWe still hadn\u2019t had any pasta dinner and had no idea how much longer the presentation in Spanish would be\u2026 and then assumed the English translation would add a significant amount of time to the proceedings. We were on the opposite end of the pasta buffet line so even if things wrapped up quickly I\u2019m not sure I would\u2019ve had any time to get to the food so we could make it to the show; even if I did get food, I\u2019d have to scarf it down and that wasn\u2019t going to be any fun.
\nWe opted to make a graceful exit as the Chilean ascent to the summit droned on. Jacqui gave us directions to the show location but I still hadn\u2019t had any food. Given that I was running a marathon tomorrow, I needed to eat something. And I wasn\u2019t about to grab and go something. There just wasn\u2019t any time to eat and then make it to the show. Rodrigo has essentially set us up for disappointment and failure \u2013 I\u2019d either have to skip dinner to see the ceremony I should have been able to see previously or I would have to once again forgo the ceremony so that I could get some carbs into my system for the race the next morning.
\nI made the runner decision to go for dinner. Mom and I wound up once again at Mamma Nui\u2019s, just up the road from our hotel, and split a vegetarian pizza. A few pisco sours and a super tasty pie lead us from a crappy pasta dinner debacle to a pleasant food and drink coma. We heard later that the Chilean presentation lasted another 10 minutes or so and then Rodrigo summarized in about 5-10 minutes the preceding 50 minutes of Spanish. The pasta dish was a small tapas size serving of noodles and red sauce (just marinara sauce, nothing in it like meat or peppers or anything). It was described to us as a less than stellar serving. So maybe Rodrigo did us a favor for once again messing up our itinerary and plans.
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\nI spent the evening drafting an email to TravellingFit voicing my frustrations, disappointment, and sense of abandonment at this race event, going so far as to rightly call this the worst running tour package I\u2019ve ever done; they outdid the organizational snafus and screw-ups of The Great Wall of China Marathon and surpassed the missed Australian Outback Marathon which I only blame Virgin Australia for mucking up.
\nOn the morning of the race, June 5, 2016, I had a breakfast of champions \u2013 cr\u00e8me brule. Multi-cr\u00e8me brules, to be honest. Mom suggested I should stage a Raiders of the Lost Ark style shot glass \u201cPistori!\u201d moment and thus here\u2019s a photo of the post-meal remnants:
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\nI had every intention of going to the Rapa Nui spoken Mass at 9 AM before the race, if only to hear the language and experience a bit of the culture. But after the interminable and incomprehensible Spanish presentation, I thought I wouldn\u2019t get much out of it. Instead, Mom and I went down to the start line and snapped a few photos\u2026 including some with my Big Giant Head (BGH) cut-out.
\nAs Mom would later point out, people seemed to really get a kick out of the BGH, which is odd given the plethora of Moais on the island.
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\nIndeed, the official race photographer asked Mom where I was so he could get a photo of the three of us \u2013 Mother, Son, and BGH.
\nAs the countdown clock continued, more and more runners arrived both from the mass at the top of the hill and from the surrounding hotels. Mom had staked out a bench and was a de facto gear check for some folks at our hotel running various distances. She was sitting with Tom Casey, the latter cheering on his wife Bunny in her 10K and their son Sean running the full marathon. Unfortunately, we found out too late that we had staked out in the wrong direction of the starting line and therefore the runners would be running away from the bench, not toward it. The best laid plans\u2026 all befitting this particular race I suppose.
\nStill, I snapped away some start line pics of friends and fellow runners:
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\nThe starting gun sounded and we were off. Mom had left Tom temporarily in charge of the makeshift gear check and had made her way to the other side where she was able to catch me running at the start. It was great to see her and she captured a few great photos of me:
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\nI should perhaps just say the course was out to the beach, we turned around, and ran back. But I believe the details matter so here\u2019s a few notes from the road:
\nThe water stops were every 5 KM. I thought that would be sufficient but I had underestimated the humidity, the hills, and my starting dehydration level. That\u2019s on me as the race organizers had been upfront and clear about the aid stations.
\nThere were ZERO portapotties on the course. While the race organizers didn\u2019t say there would be portapotties, I had assumed there\u2019d be one or two along the way.
\nThe first half I was really moving. We ran through town, including the \u201cmain\u201d street that featured this unique business \u2013<\/p>\n

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\nRent A Car Souvenirs. Ah, remember that time we rented a car on Rapa Nui \u2013 I\u2019ll always cherish these fuzzy Moai dice.
\nThere were times when the course was awfully lonely \u2013 just you and the road\u2026 and the occasionally wild dog or wild horses. I had one sleeping dog that I gave wide berth to, perfectly intending to let him lie \u2013 but something happened to spook him as he snarled and chased me a quarter mile, nipping at my heels but never quite scratching, biting, or catching me. I suppose that\u2019s one way to ensure one keeps moving in a race.
\nThe views were quite spectacular. At one point the road itself crested a hill and seemed to vanish into the sea.
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\nBut wild flowers and wind were the order of the day, as well as this Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs style spooky tree on the edge of a turn.
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\nAfter running essentially across the island, we were approaching Anakena Beach, the turn around point for the marathon. There was a long downhill stretch that was fun\u2026 until one thought about it and realized that this \u201cfun\u201d downhill meant an incredibly \u201cunfun\u201d uphill on the road back. Like my water intake, I had underestimated the challenge.
\nI did stop and try and snap a few Moai pics around the beach, at least from a distance. Not sure how well they came out but \u2026
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\nIt was on the way back that I really felt the dehydration kick in \u2013 I had odd chills and not just because of the wind and occasionally moments of drizzle. The hill proved a serious obstacle to time and I saw my pace quickly erode\u2026 yet I would still try and cheer on runners as I went, shouting, \u201cMuy bien!\u201d and \u201cvaya, vaya!\u201d
\nAs I hit what I thought was the crest of the hill, I came upon several Marathon Tours runners and snapped some photos:
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\nI even spotted Jacqui on her bicycle supporting her group and told her this hill wasn\u2019t kidding around. She smiled and told me, \u201cI\u2019ve got some bad news, Kevin. There\u2019s still more to come\u2026.\u201d And as I looked at the remaining 1\/3 of the hill\u2019s incline that lay before me, I\u2019m pretty sure a curse word echoed throughout Easter Island.
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\nAs the miles piled on and my pace continued to slow, I struggled ever onward. It was nice to finally hit the crest of the hill but I had walked a fair portion and even then was feeling cotton mouthed and could tell a cramp was forming in my side.
\nI ran on, as that\u2019s what one does.
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\nPassing the airport, I knew I was getting close to the finish. The runway itself is supposedly 3.5 KM long so I started mentally clicking off the Ks and zeroing in on the finish. The final mile was along the seaside and the gusty winds buffeted me and my spirits.
\nBut I ran on, as that\u2019s what one does.
\nStruggling up the small incline past the Santander bank and the restaurant Mom and I had already decided would be our celebratory dinner that evening, my spirits were raised at the sight of my new friends and more importantly my Mom near the finish line. With my BGH in one hand and a cowbell in another, Mom is, was, and always will be the ultimate RunKevinRun cheerleader. We snapped a selfie just before I crossed the line:
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\nI thought I finished 8th but later somebody said I was 5th. Whatever the case, I grabbed my medal and bypassed the bruised bananas for a couple of glasses of water, desperate to begin rehydrating.
\nAs I\u2019ve found throughout my experience with Olimpi Chile, the finish area proved disappointing and frustrating. The ink on the yellow ribbon of the race medal bled off and stained my shirt. Mom went so far as to ask for another one but this one\u2019s ribbon was even more smudged, smeared, and stained. Changing into my fresh from the packaging Rapa Nui Marathon shirt, I noticed there was a hole and stain on the sleeve. That\u2019s in keeping with the Murphy\u2019s Law of the Easter Island Marathon experience.
\nMom and I hung around to see Sean finish around 4:20\u2026 and to partake of communal fries with the trio of Kathey, Ailene, and Russell.
\nA few more finish photos and we decided an early dinner was in order.
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\nI didn\u2019t see a need to grab anything major for the late lunch \u2013 the race started at 10:15 AM so folks could attend mass and so after waiting for Sean to cross the line it was almost 3 PM. Instead, we went for a double cup of gelato.
\nMira, a chocolate and vanilla swirl was delicious, and we thought the second scoop was a French vanilla chocolate chip; instead it was a yellow-ish seeded fruit confection. Still tasted good though:
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\nAfter a quick shower and email check, we headed out once more to Haka Honu for our last dinner on Rapa Nui. After sampling several others, we decided the best pisco sours on Easter Island were here. As a result of mentioning this to the proprietor, they gave me a free one to celebrate my marathon finish.
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\nThe awards ceremony was scheduled for 7 PM in the communal gym so I took the opportunity to mail off a post card I had bought the day before, complete with $600 (Chilean) air mail stamp. I also bought Mom a bottle of water and me a Diet Coke as I wasn\u2019t sure how long the awards ceremony might last.
\nA miscommunication over the price of a Rapa Nui Marathon jacket (I swear he said \u2018diez y siete US dollars\u2019 and after horse trading with some American friends I came back with $17 only to have him throw it down in disgust and having another patron explain, saying, \u201c$70\u2026 Seventy.\u201d). Needless to say, I did not buy a jacket. It was just another example of rude, ridiculous organization \u2013 why they wouldn\u2019t have a sign if the person running the concession stand didn\u2019t speak English yet wanted US Dollars is beyond me. A simple sign, just as a sign in the hotel listing what events were happening that day, could have prevented MANY misunderstandings.
\nAs for the awards themselves? Comically bad\u2026 as opposed to the pasta dinner bad. It was all in Spanish so maybe I was finally just giving in to the whole \u201chey, thanks for coming English speakers who make up at least a third if not more of the field but screw you!\u201d vibe. The opening remarks lead to the introduction of the house band and a Polynesian traditional Rapa Nui dance troupe. We finally got our opening ceremony show at the closing ceremony.
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\nThe male dancer\u2019s loin cloth did NOT seem structurally sound and the female dancers shook their coconuts for all they were worth.
\nFollowing this 20 minute dance interlude, we got to the awards themselves. Each event had age group awards, so we started with the kid 5K awards and then headed into the female and male sprint triathlon age group winners, followed by female and male half-triathlon age group winners, followed by gender specified mountain bike age group winners, and ending with male and female marathon age group winners.
\nAs names were called, winners received bronze, silver, and gold moai medals\u2026 and then each person was met by a Rapa Nui dance troupe member who handed them a bottle of water. Was that their prize I wondered? A bottle of water? In fact, it was the same brand of bottled water that I had just purchased for my Mom. I guess they were a sponsor of the events and wanted some branding possibilities in the victory celebrations but it was a weird, weird moment to see each person be presented a medal and a bottle of water.
\nAs I was sitting with several new friends from America, we made snide comments and jokes. My mom held her \u201caward winning\u201d bottle for let\u2019s say \u201cBest Spectator\u201d and gave a low-voiced acceptance speech, thanking her coach and the Moai heads that inspired the BGH photo.
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\nOur friends from the hotel who ran all three events placed in their age groups across several events, sometimes winning it as the ONLY people in their age groups. Each time they\u2019d go up and get a medal and a bottle of water. By the end of the night, they had their own case of water.
\nDespite finishing in a respectable time, I did NOT wind up placing in my age group. Too many guys 35-39 ran faster than me so by the end of the night, I walked away with nary a bottle of water. But we laughed quite a bit and that\u2019s not nothing.
\nHeading back to the hotel, I reflected on the general crappiness of the Rapa Nui Marathon experience but the positive Rapa Nui memories I got to share with my Mom.
\nBefore heading to bed, I checked my email and had a cursory note from TravellingFit. I responded, tapping out a final note on my final night:
\nIt is what it is. I just need to run on, as that\u2019s what I do.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

June 5, 2016 \u2013 Rapa Nui Marathon Last night the course overview and pasta dinner was a disaster. It was scheduled to start at 7 pm and we thought we would therefore have plenty of time to eat and head to the show for 8:30. We were told it was a fifteen minute walk but […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[404,725,520,4,682,681],"class_list":["post-3073","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-awards","tag-course","tag-hill","tag-marathon","tag-nui","tag-rapa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/runkevinrun.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3073","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/runkevinrun.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/runkevinrun.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/runkevinrun.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/runkevinrun.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3073"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/runkevinrun.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3073\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/runkevinrun.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3073"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/runkevinrun.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3073"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/runkevinrun.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3073"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}