Nostalgia: In 32 St. George marathons it has only rained twice, today, and 25 years ago for the 1983 St. George marathon. I was one of about 10 runners who had the pleasure of running both today’s and the race 25 years ago. For all you bloggers who now wonder what if it had been a great day, what time could have I ran? The race 25 years ago was not the same as today. It rained cats and dogs, I mean, bath tub wet before the marathon and the first ten miles. The rained then stopped and it was great to the finish. In 1983, I was trying to run a 2:50 to qualify for Boston, ran a 2:55 gun time and always wondered what if. So, I know how some of you feel today.
Pre-Start Stuff and the Start: Sylvie myself stayed warm next to the fire and managed to stay fairly dry before the race. It was fun to hang out with my best buddy. We were fooled at the start of the race, we thought the crowd was moving up after the wheel chair start, wrong, it was the start. Sylvie, rocket starter, ran a 7:06 first mile and left me in the dust after three steps. Sylvie had a very good race, 4:13 after being sick a week before the race.
The Race: The first few miles, likely 5,000 runners passed me before Veyo. I wonder if this is the biggest negative road kill ever. Maybe I did get a course record today and PR.
Veyo: almost all runners were walking. Funny thing about the back of the pack, I heard runners saying: we are walking up Veyo to save energy for later! I ran every step from the bottom of Veyo until the 11 mile aid station and counted approx. 300 runners being passed. They soon passed me back on the downhill. But, it was fun having Bracey Brent passing runners.
Running Encounters: My pre-race thoughts of talking to runners about why they are running a marathon did not work out as few runners were in a talking mood. It was an all business day against the course and the elements. I talked to a few runners and Bev ran with me a few minutes as her designated runners dropped out.
Half Way: I am not sure on my time, but, the 4:30 group passed me at half way. I wish this could have been an all uphill marathon. The downhill from half to mile 17 was not kind on the knee. My plan in running along the side of the run in the dirt did not work out as the road side was mud, water and not runnable.
Mile 17 - Rally Cap: What the heck is a rally cap if you are not a baseball fan? Well, when your team needs a lift, energy, excitement; turn the hat around backwards. Now, this was no usual Rally Cap, it had the names of very special people who had helped me much in the past and I knew would help me again. Although they were not the usual spectators, they were there helping with the rally.
Merrill: long time friend growing up. Merrill short: 7th grade gym class the coach called him a “numb nu….” Because he could not catch a football. I called the coach a couple of choice names and Merrill joined in. We were kicked out of school for two weeks and out of gym class. The old saying I got your back, Merrill had my back today.
Grand Parents: Salt of the earth, made a living from the land, passed on the hard work ethic and pioneer spirit, much missed. They may have not understood a silly marathon, but, they surely supported the hard effort of the day.
Kevin and Karen: some day we will be running the best marathon together, younger brother and sister.
Lou: my father in law, he always called me chief, loved to hear about the Navy, much missed and I’m sure he helped rally the troops today.
Myron: we served together for 15 years, I was his NOC. Myron deserves a big shout out for past and present day support. South Carolina marathon, we had the weekend off from “Training school” in Athens. I had wanted to run the Carolina Marathon, same course as the Olympic trials for women earlier that year, no “A” standard qualifiers as they picked such a darn tough course. Myron drove me for 4 hours, stayed in a junky hotel and supported me while running the marathon. It was like running TOU last 8 miles, for 26.2 – darn tough course.
Last Nine Miles: As I started walking, the knee was ok with walking. But, as soon as I started walking, I also started getting cold for lack of generating body heat. I had stripped down to just my singlet (shorts also). I was then on a mission to find a garbage bag. I soon found one at an aid station, full of garbage, dumped the garbage and put on the bag. I did not care about the banana stink, just had to stay warm.
Not Yet: If you have seen the Robert Downy Jr. film: where he is helping ghosts finish that one last thing before they move on to heaven; in that movie, the darn bus driver keeps showing up too early to pick up one the souls for the trip. During the last several miles I was walk/running on the left side of the road to take pressure off the knee. I had two vans and an ambulance stop and asked me if I was quitting. I kept thinking this running sole is not ready; I have a marathon to finish.
Brent Slow Walker: Sylvie has given me my Indian name as Brent Slow Walker. This worried me, Brent slow walker had to walk as fast as he could go to get under 6 hours. Brent slow walker proceeded to walk and shuffle run to the finish (mission accomplished).
St. George Support Crew: I cannot say enough good things about the volunteers who hung in all those hours to help everyone, especially the back of the packers. I stopped 4 times to have Icy Hot on the knee. As I said thanks, the guy thanked me, for being there so he could put icy hot on me.
Back of the Packers: Now, we may have thoughts about these runners, did they not train hard enough? Are they injured? What gives? Regardless of why they are at the back of the pack, I saw no slackers, they were all trying to move with hast, no waste, to the finish. You could nick name these runners as Hobble Crew (Cody nick name for my running crew that day) Sheldon, one member of the run left me at 17 and finished his 10th St.George, Colleen decided to not start the race because of injury.
Cheers of the Crowd: With amazement, there were still a few supporters along the course cheering and saying good job as I went by, thanks much. Thanks very much to the young girl who ran out on the course to give me a high five, lifted my spirits.
The Finish: It was not exactly a sprint to the finish; it was an 8 min. pace for the last stretch, left turn to the finish. It was nice to have some people left to cheer. A special thanks to an older gentleman who place the medallion around my neck and said well earned, you are a champion. For the moment, what a thought and special thing to say.
Ten Year Club Banquet: We can’t turn down a free meal, also, nice to see the new members. We talked to James for a few minutes and said hi to some other runners. Special tribute to Carlos Valle, we met him 4 yeaars ago at the banquet, great runner and holds old course records for an age division passed away this year. His son ran his first marathon in tribute to his dad and said great things about St. George and how his dad loved this marathon.
Blogger Party: Very nice to meet some of the runners I have not met to include: Michelle, Christi and T-Bean. Also, cannot leave out Tarzan and her chest pound yell. It was also great to talk to old blogging running buddies.
Reflections: I really enjoyed being part of the day. I had no tale of splits or PRs. But, being out there grinding, working and the “great” weather; gave me a memory, a story to tell and with the hope to run another day. | 