Race Report: Bataan memorial Death March

White Sands Missile Test Range, March 30, 2008

Official Race Web site: http://www.bataanmarch.com/

My family and I ran in the 2008 Bataan Memorial Death March down at the White Sands Missile Test Range in Southern New Mexico.  My two younger brothers, my wife, Susan, and I ran as a coed team, the rules for which required that we all run the entire marathon distance together, “leaving no man behind!”

Photos at my web site: www.durt.org/runs/bdm2008/

The history of this run is a tribute to our national History.  The web site has all the background, and I recommend reading the short history as a reminder of the cost of our freedoms of today.  In short, this marathon is a memorial event organized and carried out to pay tribute to the men and women, both civilian and military, who suffered the Bataan Death March in 1942 during the Second World War.  The larger percentage of runners, known as “marchers” in this race, are active duty military.  They run or march in full battle uniform, and it is inspiring to observe.

There are two basic categories for this event, heavy and light.  Those participating in the “heavy” march must carry at least 35 pounds of weight in a backpack for the entire distance.  Those in the “light” category can go it in running shoes and no added weight on their backs.  Since I have a number of races that I’m training for in the weeks and months ahead, I decided that we’d run in the “light” category and save my legs for more races.  The 35 pound pack on a rugged course can take a toll on your wheels!

Speaking of the course, it is a full marathon distance.  About half of the course is on pavement, but the other half is on sandy desert trails and four-wheel-drive roads (I should have worn gaiters!).  There are about 2,500 feet of climb along the way, so, all things considered, it’s not a place to set a marathon PR.  And the funny thing about running as a team whose members must stay together at all times (no more than 20 seconds separation allowed!) is that the team moves at the pace of the slowest runner.  That means that each individual’s weakness ends up having a significant effect on the progress of the team.  Individual strengths do not apply!

The temperature that day, March 30th, was a warm, dry 82 degrees by noon.  Having trained on roads in the local Northern Utah environs over our snowy winter, this was quite a shock to our system, but it was nice to be a little hot for a change.  Our team, aged and ripened as we are, finished in 4:58:09.  That was good enough for third place in our division (coed team light) and sixth place out of a total of 102 “light” teams.  There were no age groups for teams, but I would estimate from the faces of the other runners that we were one of the oldest teams on the course in any category.

This was a fun race with a really great (a genuine “goose-bumper”) opening ceremony in tribute to the Bataan Death March.  Some of the original survivors were present, and being able to give them a “high-5” as we ran by them was an experience I will not soon forget.  I highly recommend this event to others who are looking for a marathon with distinction, something different from the usual road race in Anytown, USA.