Tunnel Light Race Recap - The Travel Oracle

This last Sunday I completed the Tunnel Light Marathon in Snoqualmie, WA. Having just registered for the 2026 Boston Marathon a few days prior, this would be an attempt to qualify for the 2027 race.

Pre-Race Prep?

I was feeling pretty good overall health wise heading into the race. I had some concern how the legs would hold up after running the Sydney Marathon two weeks ago and pacing my friend Rob for 34 miles just six days ago.

Man in running gear, standing in front of the Sydney Opera House in Australia. He is holding up the medal from the Sydney Marathon. — Stephen at the Sydney Marathon

Two runners embracing at the finish line of the Woodstock 100 mile race. One is seated and the other is leaning over. — Stephen at the Sydney Marathon

Race Morning

Got to the start line around 7 am and spent the next hour getting ready. Watched the end of Vision Quest, hit the porta john a time or ten, and made sure I had everything I needed for the 26.2 mile trek to the finish line in North Bend. This included a 16 oz water bottle with LMNT, four U Can gels, and my tactical flashlight.

Not a Fan…of the Cold

The weather conditions for the day looked pretty ideal. Temps and dew point were both in the low 50s and sun definitely wouldn’t be an issue. Since I don’t like being cold before a race I was of course wearing a bathrobe right up until go time. (Cue the Stephen doesn’t like the cold montage!)

Man wearing a hoodie that goes past his knees that reads “Dog Mom”, sweatpants and a knit hat — The “Dog Mom” hoodie

Grown man wearing a Grinch onesie, with a hood — The “Dog Mom” hoodie

Last Minutes with the Fam

At about 7:45 I took my first gel and got a picture with my brother Ron. Jill then walked me over to the start line and hung out . Since it’s a smaller race, I believe there were around 500 finishers, I was able to give her a kiss and hand her my bathrobe about two minutes before the gun went off.

Two men in running gear, wearing race bibs, standing arm in arm in front of a mountain range and pine trees — Race ready bros

The Goal

Since the goal was to get a BQ (3:30) I was shooting for a ten minute buffer, which would mean I’d need to run under 3:20. With the ten minute penalty this race incurs starting in 2027, I really needed to run under 3:15. I was feeling pretty confident overall and positioned myself in front of the 3:15 pace group.

And We’re Off

Runners taking off at the beginning of the Tunnel Light Marathon, behind them are the Cascade mountains — Starting the Tunnel Light Marathon

At 8 am the first wave set off. I turned on my running playlist and was just focused on trying to create a little personal space before entering the 2.25 mile long Snoqualmie Tunnel. Within about a quarter of a mile I dropped my water bottle and had to turn around and pick it up. I was hoping this would be the only glitch in today’s mission and felt happy to get it out of the way early.

Screen shot of Stephen’s running play list — Running playlist motivation

The Tunnel of Doom(ish)

Having run this course a couple of times previously I knew what to expect entering the tunnel. It would be dark, cold, and moist. My tactical flashlight did a great job of lighting the way as I attempted to stay centered on the highly cambered trail whilst avoiding the ruts and puddles of water.

Tunnel at the Tunnel Light Marathon. The ground is dirt and is divoted. The walls are gray concrete and the in the distance, is pitch black. — Pretty stinking dark in there

To run a 3:15 marathon I’d need to average 7:26 per mile so the goal from the beginning to was have all splits under that number. Although the gps isn’t very accurate in the tunnel my Stryd foot pod seem to do a pretty good job of coming close. I hit the first two miles markers in the tunnel in 7:12 and 7:07. After exiting the tunnel relatively unscathed, I dropped my flashlight in the collection bin and hit 7:14 for mile three. The paces were comfortable and my heart rate and breathing were right where I wanted them to be.

Approaching the other side of the tunnel at the Tunnel Light marathon. — Seeing the light!

Then the “gentle” Downhill

The last 23 miles of this course are on a gentle downhill grade of crushed grave with epic views. I knew the downhill would help keep my heart rate down but was a little worried about the toll it would take on my already tender quads. The split for miles four and five was 7:03 so I was ahead of schedule. I was trying to build a little bit of a cushion in case my legs rebelled later on and the wheels fell off the bus.

Group of runners at the Tunnel Light Marathon — Making my way

I took my first gel of the race after mile five and continued to sip on my LMNT at every mile marker. There are almost no spectators on this course and I spent most of the race running by myself so I was happy to have my running playlist to keep me going. All the songs in it are at 180 bpm to keep my cadence up which I knew would be extra important as the legs became more fatigued.

The next five miles were uneventful. I was still feeling good and my splits were 7:02, 7:03, 7:02, 7:07, and 7:04. I tried to really look around and enjoy the beauty of the trail and focus on how lucky I was to be in this place doing what I love to do.

Heading to Halfway

Heading into the halfway point my splits were 7:03, 7:10, and 7:09. I hit the halfway point with a time of 1:33:30. I like to do mental math when I’m racing so I figured I could run the second half in 1:41:30 and still finish in 3:15. That meant as long as I average 7:45 per mile the rest of the way I would still hit my goal.

Runner at the Tunnel Light marathon, giving a surf’s up sign. — Surf’s up at the Tunnel Light marathon

The splits for miles 14 and 15 were 7:13 and 7:22. I took gel number three here and felt like the going was definitely getting tougher. The legs were feeling a little like I was wearing cement shoes. My split for miles 16 was 7:26 and that’s when the rain came. Being a glasses wearer makes running in the rain less than ideal. It was coming down pretty hard which made it hard to see my watch and also to see the trail. With this course, being able to see one’s footing is pretty important. Between the crushed gravel and the ruts in the trail, it would be pretty easy to twist an ankle.

Be Brave

One of my mantras when I’m racing as of late is “Be Brave”. I try to remind myself that it’s important to give my all and not settle for less than I am capable of. So even though it was now raining and I could sort of put it on cruise control, I wanted to make sure I was giving my best effort on the day. I dialed in the focus and managed to split the next four miles in 7:10, 7:09, 7:12, and 7:24. Having passed mile 20 I was fairly confident I would hit my goal so although I was physically hurting I was in a good mental place.

Mile 21 to the Finish

Shortly after hitting mile 21 with a 7:21 split, we made a right hand turn onto the Snoqualmie Valley Trail through a leafy second-growth forest, which would take us to the finish line. The ground was now a bit softer and the rain had let up so I was finally able to see again. I was hurting pretty good at this point but treated the last miles of the race like a Ragnar Relay leg. Instead of calculating what pace I needed to maintain to hit a specific time I was now trying to get as many “kills” as I could before the finish. I’m not sure how many people I passed but if i ended up catching everyone I could see in front of me.

My last five mile splits were 7:23, 7:27, 7:22, 7:23, and 7:28. I turned my headphones off for the last quarter mile as I could hear the cheering at the finish line and managed to pick the pace up to 7:01. I didn’t see Jill but I heard her cheering for me as I crossed the finish line in 3:11:05. I snagged my BQ for 2027 but more importantly I ran a race I was proud of.

Man coming in to the finish line, with his arms spread wide in victory and relief — The thankful finish

BQ’d, Baby!

Two runners post race. One is holding a sign that reads “Going to Boston” and the other reads “I BQ’d”. — The BQ Bros

If you’ve made it this far thanks so much for following along. I’m super excited to not be running 26.2 miles for a few weeks when I’ll pace the Twin Cities Marathon in Minnesota on Sept. 5. If you haven’t already, subscribe to the Travel Oracle for free to follow us on all our future running and travel adventures.