Interesting day to be sure. Up at 4:45 to get out to the marathon course by 6 to serve as a marshal on the last 0.1 mile of the course. Of course, the guy I was supposed to report to at 6 didn't show up until 7:15, by which time the 5K was well underway. Had to juggle barricades between the 5K and the half marathoners, then positioned myself on the median of LaHarpe Blvd, where half-marathoners would pass on one side, marathoners on the other. My job was to keep the course clear, to keep people from standing on the median, and, oh yeah, to encourage the runners. I quickly found that runners liked hearing they had only 200 yards to go; that quickly brought smiles to their faces. So I repeated it over and over. Saw quite a few people I knew -- fellow Crackheads, online acquaintances from RWOL, and even a few Facebook friends. One of my Crackhead colleagues won the women's marathon, which I really enjoyed. By 1:15 p.m., I'd been on my feet for more than 7 hours, and my back was shot. So I kinda, uh, sneaked off, after determining that there were enough other marshals in place and that there was no threat of mass chaos on the course. After four or five hours' rest, I felt like running, so I went to the club for a TM recovery run. Dividing my likely pace into the amount of time left before the club closed at 8 p.m., I determined I could run 8 miles. Which I did -- and finished at 7:57. Good, steady pace, nothing difficult, legs left pretty good considering 20 miles yesterday and seven hours' marshaling today. The volunteer stuff was interesting, but I don't know that I want to be a course marshal again -- unless I bring a chair. Maybe next year I'll volunteer to work the expo or stuff packets or something less wearing on my back. Or maybe I'll run the darn thing again. | 