NC Marathon 2010

The NC Marathon is only in its 3rd year so the numbers are still small; there are pluses and minuses to that. Registration and setup was quite easy as we didn’t need to get there too early and even got to use actual inside restrooms pre-race. Toeing the starting line a couple minutes before 8am there was about 350 marathoners and 1,000 halfers. The sun was still low and the temp in the high 40’s- great weather. The first mile was a little congested but not too bad and the roads opened up nicely after that. Mark and I settled into our 8:40 pace which we would hold for the first 18 miles fairly consistently: some mild ups and downs with the rolling elevation of the course but not much deviation from the planned 3:45 finish.

I realize this was only my second marathon, but I came to a couple conclusions. One of which is 40% of this race distance is quite boring. The first six miles you are weaving through traffic and taking early inventory as to how the day might progress. Miles 16-26 are a countdown, trying to have enough gas in the tank for a decent finish without leaving too much out on the course. Miles 6-16 just seem to be there. Thank goodness for someone to run with or else I may have been bored out of my skull. The mind and the eyes wander for something interesting….
About mile 3 we passed a garage sale on a street that was completely blocked off to cars (interesting sales strategy). It was tempting, but Mark and I decided that neither of us needed a new PC monitor. Barefoot/socked guy was there and we chatted with him for awhile- he was supposedly headed to Tobacco Road the day after, so maybe Savage or Erin spotted him too. There was an inspirational runner of the day, for me atleast- a guy we approached about mile six. He looked like a bulletin board with all kinds of index cards safety-pinned to his shorts and shirt. Gotta talk with this guy and atleast see what his deal is. The words were too small to read so I inquired what the get-up was all about. He responded that this was his first half and they were inspirational quotes from friends and family. Having sharpie’d a couple inspirational things on my own forearm, I found a soft spot in my heart for this guy. I can’t say exactly but I think he had a mild form of Cerebral Palsy as one arm was not so functional; fortunately for him, his gait seemed to be pretty decent. He was still doing a respectable pace so I have a feeling he did OK and accomplished his goal. Mark and I chatted with him for a minute and did our best to encourage him for the day. But like a lot of things in life, I think we received more from him than we gave.

Hit the half mark at 1:54 and change, so things were panning out as planned thus far. My plan was to inventory at 16 and dial it up a little if I could, then do the same thing at 20. Everyone can run a 10-k right?? 16 came around and Mark and I had become accustomed to all the unmarked police cars that were guiding traffic on the course, so now it was time to start paying attention to the task at hand. Two miles later Mark’s body betrayed him and what had started out as a promising marathon turned into a solid 18 mile pacing run. He graciously told me to go on ahead; no way I would have run as good a race as I did without his help. Mile 20 came and my Katana flats finally had 26 miles on them (6 pre-race miles the week before). Still doing good head-to-toe, although the temps were reaching mid-to-high 60’s by 11am and the sun was high in the sky, so shade was scarce. The do-rag came off at this stage, the shirt followed a couple miles later, and an extra water cup was grabbed at each station to douse the head. I decided to forgo the fuel belt at the start, subsisting on dried mango squirreled away in the running shorts and some jelly bellies and gu at the aid stations. Spaced approximately every 2 miles, I had been taking a cup of water and a cup of gatorade at each station. By mile 20, I was very happy to have done so as the heat and sun were now a factor. Two 5-k’s sounded easier than a 10-k, so ….

My first 5-k was not too bad, paces in the low 8’s. My 340s goal was pretty much a certainty at this point and it was looking like I would beat Michelle’s 345 as well. My 330s pipe dreams were starting to look out of reach, but that was fine as that was my absolute best case scenario for the day. Mary’s 343 was my new goal. Second 5-k was also going pretty well. Lungs felt good and the legs were doing decent. Being pushed no doubt, but no major problem areas. The last 1.2 miles were close to all-out and ended up 9 minutes flat. As I rounded the last corner, I heard a “Thanks for takin your shirt off!” that gave me a nice little kick for the last straight. Nope, didn’t see her, but she sounded of age: who knows, maybe even cute. And yes, my outfit did match that day Michelle! 3:43:41 at the finish, so as of this writing I still do not know if I beat Mary’s time (a matter of seconds either way).

Grabbed a cold washcloth and proceeded to wait around at the finish line for Mark, not knowing it would be another 30 minutes before he would cross with a still respectable 4:11. After a couple of minutes I recognized one of the other runners milling about and said “Hey Charlie, good to see you here today!” He was pretty personable and we chatted it up as other runners would cross the line. We had a running conversation going about upcoming races, hometowns, and the like as he greeted and encouraged finishers. You could see that he not only encouraged runners but was encouraged by runners. 30 minutes later as Mark crossed the line, I greeted him and introduced him to Charlie. We talked for a couple more minutes and then it was off to grab some food. Sometimes we are fans of people until we actually meet them, but in this case I became an even bigger fan of Charlie Engle after meeting him. We had talked about Western States, Barkley, Badwater, running for 24 hours, running across continents, Ray Zahab, Kevin Lin, chiropractic, massage therapy and where we grew up among other things. All this while he greeted finishers encouragingly. He’d been doing this since he finished his half-marathon at 1030am, pacing a friend to a 2:30 half finish. When Mark and I left at 115pm, he was still out there greeting finishers and chatting with fellow runners. Honest about his successes and failures, he’s a genuine guy, inspiring as a human being and a runner.

Great end to a great day for me; ready to go out and run another, maybe even thinking about how and when I might be able to get a buckle. Generally well-supported run (though a couple more signs at the marathon/half split would’ve been super), not too bad on the cost of the race and easily within driving distance. Probably not a PR course, but the elevation sticks between 800 and 900 feet the entire way, so “rolling” is appropriate. I’d recommend it and would certainly consider doing it again, although couches at the finish line would be a nice touch next year.