Pitting It Out at Pittsburgh

Three weeks after running the Queens half-marathon described above, I drove the beautiful landscape that is America - Pennsylvania actually - and arrived in Pittsburgh the afternoon before Marathon Sunday. I suppose most if not everyone reading this has already heard that the 2000 Pittsburgh Marathon was sunny, hot, humid... so I'm not going to belabor this point except within the context of my story.

I meant to run this race two years ago, first, because I had heard it was a good race, a fine course, and second but just as important, I wanted to visit Pittsburgh. Instead, I went to Boston, for that city's marathon, as I have a sister, a twin sister there that I hadn't visited in a long time. Boston is/was a great race. It's too bad I was unable to perform in the Pittsburgh marathon as I was prepared to do, as I had expected to. This was the result, of course, of the heat and also to some extent my not being acclimated to it. Before tapering, I had been running in temperatures of 30s and 40s, breezy and often without sunshine.

I went out at a really relaxed pace. My 85th place for most of the first half, the latter stages of which includes the course's biggest uphill climb, was indicative of how most of the runners responded to the heat rather than any great showing on my part. Being small, with a large surface area to mass (or lack thereof) ratio, the heat doesn't seem to affect me greatly. However, all the sports drink (the pink/orange stuff) I had at almost every fluid station, combined with the gel and water I also consumed two or three times - that eventually did. I sat down under a tent on the nineteenth mile, vomited... and watched people running by.

It was not until 35 minutes had elapsed that my nausea subsided and I felt I could keep down water that I attempted to re-enter the race. I was stiff and my stomach cramps resumed until the final one to two miles. So I finished about an hour late rather than the fifteen minutes I thought I would, at most, when the race began.

But not being so terribly fatigued and focused upon my running allowed me to sightsee to the very end. Pittsburgh is an old city, rich in history and diversity. The dozen bands that played along the course enhanced my enjoyment of the place. The music was great! Sure, it's sort of gimmicky, but this isn't just a race. It's an event, and good music truly enhances the whole experience. At the very least it entertains the audience who might otherwise get bored watching people run (I mean, just run - no balls, no bats, no goals except for that of finishing) and cheer. I clapped at almost every venue as I passed, and the musicians took appreciative notice.

Some notes: Though the sports drink was not good for me and, I've heard, many others, the fluid and aid stations were good in terms of number, size, and volunteers handing out cups. The temperature of the fluids was overwhelmingly good - that is, not too cold. I also thought the crowds, though rather spottier than expected, more than made up for this (which actually isn't all that bad as far as I'm concerned) with their sense of good taste, enthusiastically expressed. As engaging as the musicians, really. The course was to my liking: a little sleepy, quite a few turns, too many hose-showers for the purpose of wetting the runners whether they wanted it or not, but most importantly- more on the level than anything hilly- and I already made mention of water stations.

Afterwards, food, water availability, and restrooms were a pittance. Get with it, race organizers! The park, though, was very nice.

These are my personal observations. It doesn't get an overwhelming endorsement from me (like Steamtown for example, which is closer after all, as is that other Pennsylvania marathon, Philadelphia), but I had a good time. Maybe next spring I'll do Boston again.

-- Jeffrey Juran