Running among the Spuds–Skagit Flats Half Marathon
The Skagit Valley has been my home since 2007. My wife and I were lured to the area by its natural beauty, rich agricultural heritage, and easy access to outdoor recreation. We had spent too much time in the big city (although we were both raised in smaller communities) and looked forward to becoming part of a much smaller and welcoming community. As longtime active runners we immediately joined the Skagit Runners participating in their social runs and sponsored races and serving as board members.
The annual Skagit Flats Marathon is one of our club’s signature events with its inception going back to the running boom of the 1970s. I have periodically run in it alternating between the half and full marathon over the years—while my wife has volunteered. It’s a great community race with lots of local support and proceeds going to local trails, parks and scholarships. It’s completely flat making it a good Boston qualifier. And it showcases well our region’s strong agricultural base. I opted for the half (13.1 miles) this year as I had a hard hike coming up the next day—research for a book I am currently working on.
As a Team Potato runner the course couldn’t be any more appropriate as it traverses and passes nearby some of the county’s famed potato farms. While most of the state’s potato crop is grown in Eastern Washington, Skagit County is no small potato when it comes to spud production. More than 12,000 acres of the county’s farmland is planted with potatoes each year—generating more than $60 million in sales making it one of Skagit’s biggest crops. The county’s crop is particularly known for its yellow, red, white, and blue specialty potatoes.
This past September 8th, I donned my Team Potato jersey and headed for the start line. I was soon signaled out (that green spud jersey has a way of doing that) by a fellow Team Potato member! It’s always fun to meet fellow potato runners, but this Team Potato member wasn’t just any ole potato, he stood out from the batch! It was Ignacio Marquez, a Washington State Potato Commissioner! He had come over from Eastern Washington to run this race. It was great to see one of the commissioners on the course. The last time I ran with a potato commissioner was in Idaho! And the Idaho Commissioner was happy to have a Washington Team Potato runner participating in their sponsored race!
After the American and Canadian National Anthems were sung (we always get a handful of British Columbians at our event), the race began. Within the first mile a runner met up with me after noticing my Team Potato jersey. He turned out to be Dan Gundersen, a sixth generation Skagit County farmer and also a member of the Washington State Potato Commission.
Dan and I ended up running together for almost 6 miles, in which I could no longer keep up with him. But within the miles I did, the time flew as we talked about running, potatoes, farming, Skagit County and a myriad of other topics as well. For much of our tenure together I got a personal tour along the course as Dan pointed out landmarks to me.
We ran past the Skagit Valley Farm/Valley Pride fresh food processor. It sits surrounded by some of the most productive farmlands in the country including Dan’s family farm, Knutzen Farms. The Knutzens have been farming in Skagit County since 1894 when Danish immigrant Jess H. Knutzen homesteaded in the valley. Potatoes have been grown in Skagit since 1853 with the arrival of the first European settlers.
As we passed several farms, Dan pointed out to me which crops were being grown and gave me some background info on the crop and farm. The majority of the farms in the Skagit Valley, like Dan’s are family owned. And nearly all of the 250 potato farms in Washington are family-owned.
It was a very humid day that had me feeling like I was running on the other coast. But I kept a decent pace as I took plenty of water at each aid station—and making sure it not only went down the gullet but over the head as well! The climate is normally mild here and along with the rich alluvial soils makes for excellent potato growing conditions.
At the half way turn around Dan was feeling strong and we parted. I soon spotted Ignacio who was also moving along at a good clip. One of the hardest things for me to accept as I have grown older is slowing down. I used to run my half marathons 20 to 30 minutes faster. When I start getting down on myself I give myself a swift mental kick in the butt. I’m still running and staying healthy and that in itself is something to celebrate! You never know what tomorrow will bring, so celebrate what you can still do and don’t lament what you can’t.
I ended up coming in at 1.52.36 which landed me a second place in my age division and a finish in the top 25% of the field. Dan finished a full seven minutes ahead of me meaning he ran negative splits—a strong run finish. Ignacio was four minutes behind me and took third in his division. It was a good day for Team Potato!
As an ultra-runner (distances greater than a marathon) I like to joke that half marathons are short runs! I use them mainly to get some speed training. I’ve accepted that I can no longer run fast, so now I’ve been focusing on distance and endurance instead! Last fall I ran my first 100K (62.1 miles) race and decided that it’s time to take a crack at the 100 miler next. I have one targeted for next summer—so I have a good 10 months to train and see if my body will allow me to go the distance. Next up is a local 50K trail run, then next month I head to Kansas for a 50 mile run! I’m looking forward to representing Team Potato in the Sunflower State!
