Avenue of the Giants Marathon

The date was May 5, 1974. I was a 19 year old sophomore at the University of Oregon having transferred from Eastern Michigan University (Gordon Minty era). Pre was still alive. Rudy Chapa and Alberto Salazar were still high school students, not arriving at UO until 1976. Nike had barely begun its existence. The 1974 Avenue of the Giants Marathon would be my 4th attempt at the distance. My first marathon, while a senior at Silverthorn Collegiate (high school) in Etobicoke, Ontario, Canada, was the Boston Marathon in 1972 (2:50:55). In February of 1974 I had placed 17th in 2:31:03 at the Trail's End Marathon in Seaside, Oregon. The Ave race started west of Avenue of the Giants at the Albee Creek Campground on Lower Bull Creek Flats Road, going west briefly, then returning to the starting point and continuing farther east to the Avenue. We then crossed over the south fork of the Eel River on the Dyerville bridge and headed south on the Avenue towards Weott. It was somewhere along this stretch that I heard a loud cracking sound a little distance into the forest on my left. As I watched, a large redwood tree fell to the ground with a heavy thud. For the next several miles I was on the lookout for any more dying redwoods that might decide to drop onto the course itself! From Weott, we headed farther south towards Myers Flat until we turned around to begin the north bound return. Crossing the south fork of the Eel River again, we turned west to finish at our original point of departure. Chuck Smead was the overall winner in 2:21:06. I successfully achieved my goal of running under 2:30, placing 4th overall in a 19 and under course record of 2:29:40. Yesterday, again on May 5th, I celebrated 50 years of holding the under 19 course record by running the 10K, placing 4th yet again, only this time in the 60-69 division. What a beautiful day to run under the lush, evergreen redwood forest: 40 degrees, fog rising through the trees, the Eel River running strongly from recent rains and the sun breaking through at the end with its warming embrace. This is definitely one of the most beautiful marathon courses in the US, run under the canopy of the Northern California coastal redwoods. Put this one on your marathon bucket list - you will not be disappointed!

This was a gorgeous race, a bucket list item for me and well worth the wait. We only ran the second half twice out and back, because the Bull Creek Trail portion was washed out. Either way, it did end up being overall fairly hilly, with rolling hills and, oddly, with the strange feeling that you are going downhill (an optical illusion, referenced by another reviewer as well). Some parts of the course are steeply cambered and hard on knees, etc. Getting to the Ave of the Giants area is no picnic, especially for me, coming from East Coast (5hr drive from SFO), but once there, it was very easy bib pickup, easy and well organized parking right at the start/end, and really great volunteers. I didn't sample any food after the race, and carried my own. There was one stop for gels (clif shot) along the way at the 1/2 marathon mark, and aid stations had water and gatorade. It is a smaller race so fewer spectators for sure. Plan your lodging well ahead of time. We stayed in an AirBNB in Fortuna, but there are overall slim pickings and you'll certainly have to drive a bit the morning of race to get here. We spent the next day after the race sightseeing and walking on nearby trails. One odd thing: I had signed up for a medium Tshirt and received a tank, which was not what I'd expected. The large sizes for women came in T-shirt model rather than tank top, so I sized up, but the short or long sleeve is standard for marathon swag. Thanks for a great race!