A Special Marine Corps Marathon
I got lucky this spring and "won" the MCM lottery, thereby getting a chance to revisit the marathon I ran once before in 1989. The course was better than in the past with Hains Point death march replaced by a nice 4 mile out and back on Rock Creek Parkway. Weather was excellent, cool, sunny and breezy, kind of like this year's Wineglass and, with all the turns in the course, there was plenty of opportunity to experience both head and tailwinds.
One thing I can say about the race is that it was pretty big (~15,00 runners). I'm not used to figuring how to navigate through the crowds to get some water. I ran slower than I wanted, but ended up with my typical 4-ish hour race (~4:09). I felt fine the whole time and especially strong at the end, so it was a great running day.
The organization was excellent and the runners were treated well. The crowds were also very supportive with lots of cheering and high fives. I thanked various spectators and especially course workers because they make all it possible. Many of the Marines working the course responded with: "Thank you, sir, for running." That felt good. I also asked a policeman who was guarding the course for information before the race (it's a long story) and told him how runners appreciate the police that protect the course. He said: "Thank you, it's good to know that, and we appreciate you coming here to run" (or something like that). Just a good vibe all around.
There was a lot of emotion at the MCM for obvious reasons. When the national anthem was sung, everyone I saw was stockstill and totally attentive and many runners shed tears. Another emotional time was when we ran around the Pentagon. The amount of destroyed building is incredible. Pictures do not give a sense of how deep the destruction extends into the Pentagon and how massive the structure itself is.
I wish there was an image of how the crowd of runners all seemed to turn as one toward the Pentagon when the damage came into view. We passed it a number of times, and each time it was breathtaking.
One funny thing happened about mile 19. A runner pulled out a cell phone and started a long and loud conversation about where she was and how she was feeling and so on and so on. It was intrusive and seemed very out of place. At one point, I guess her connection went bad because she shouted into her cell phone,"Can you hear me?" About ten nearby runners shouted, "YES" in unison. I saw a number of runners with cell phones and 2-way handsets communicating with others. I guess that will all be coming our way soon.
Beyond the general high level of emotion tied to the September 11 events, MCM was special for me because, thanks to connections made by Diane Sherrer, I was given the honorable mission of carrying the picture of a WTC victim when I ran the marathon. The picture is of Christopher F., a runner (and father of three) who had planned to do MCM and whose family wanted him to experience it in some way. I pinned a sweat-proofed copy of his picture to my shirt right above my race number so he was there for the entire 26.2-mile experience.
At the end of the marathon, I was running well and I pushed hard up the long circular path to the finish. During this time, when it seemed as if I was really flying (though maybe it looked like I was crawling), I knew that I was honoring Christopher's memory by feeling so strong. I'm glad he was along for the ride. At the finish, I requested a finisher's medal for Christopher, explaining to the Marine with the medals why I was asking. She responded positively to my request and said something like "Yes, sir, that is the right thing." Clearly she understood that "we" had finished the race together.
The 2001 MCM was a special event in many ways. The main reason for me is that I was able to pay honor to one of us who had fallen so tragically.
-- David Weiss
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