There were a couple of remarkable aspects to the race. The first is that we ran the entire race below sea level. According to my Garmin, we finished at 400 meters below sea level. That means we started at about 300 meters below, since our starting point was not far up the mountain in the direction of Amman. Second, we started at least 30 minutes late. This was due to a combination of poor organization by the race organizers (lack of announcements about bus location, start time and lack of signs to buses and baggage truck, and finally a lack of sufficient buses to the start line) and our own lack of preparedness. We know better than to rely on information from only one source and should have triple-checked everything.
At the end of the day, I am very glad to have run. I'll be missing two Iowa races this spring, both the Drake Half and Dam-to-Dam, so I am very glad to have this one under my belt. In addition, running at the Dead Sea was interesting, even though the race wasn't very well organized. Perhaps non-runners don't know this, but long races are a good time to visit with fellow runners. Of course, there are times in a long race when we don't want to talk, but usually there are times when it is a good way to pass the time and take the mind off of the difficult task at hand. Finally, from the point of view of fitness, it is always good to have another long run on my legs. And now a question. How does running below sea level affect the performance of a runner? I am curious.
