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FLRC Newsletter - Dec 2003 |
| 8th Annual Steamtown Marathon | |
The 8th Annual Steamtown Marathon was fantastic! The weather was great and the crowd support was fantastic from the start in Forest City to the end in downtown Scranton, Pa. I can't imagine another marathon having better support from start to finish. I can't emphasize enough the great support this marathon has throughout the entire course. The 8th annual event started at 8am on Sunday October 12th at the Forest City Central School and proceeded through many different towns and municipalities
The 1st 13 miles were a blur working our way downhill through Forest City, into Vandling, Simpson, Carbondale, Mayfield, Jermyn and into Archbald. There is a steep drop at the beginning and it's gradually downhill through this part of the course. I spent the first half trying to resist the temptation to go too fast and stuck to my goal of an 8:30 pace for the 1st half. I enjoyed this part of the course as it was a beautiful day and I was feeling good.
A little after14 miles we turned in Archbald to hit the “Rails to Trails” which lasted until mile 17 and found us in Peckville for a mile. We turned into Mello Park and ran around the track at mile 18 and into the woods again until mile 19 which found us in Olyphant. This is the express way to get from Peckville to Olyphant.
We weaved our way through Olyphant to the famous 20 mile mark which means: 10K of agony and the crowd on the Olyphant bridge cheering you on as you proceed into Dickson City.
Mile 21 had us turning into the Industrial Park proceeding into Throop. This is a methodical straightaway that's uneventful (OK, it's boring!) until you hit the 23 mile hill after which you turn and proceed up another hill into Green Ridge. You then turn left at a funeral home and then proceed up yet another worse hill (starting to get the picture yet!). You hit the 24 mile mark and get rewarded with a downhill toward downtown Scranton with your quads screaming at you (they were actually revolting). Once you hit the bottom of that hill it's automatic pilot until mile 25. After that it's up the final hill on North Washington not seeing anything and unaware of the surroundings. The last downhill at the end is OK as my quads knew the end was in sight.
From mile 18 to the end was very challenging. I was humbled again by the 2nd half of Steamtown finishing in 3:51:14. My mind was telling my legs to go faster but the legs didn't hear or didn't listen. Would I do it again? Yes, I love the challenge and the thrill of finishing a marathon. What a rush! Same time next year?
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