February 2003 Newsletter

30 States and D.C. Completed

On Thursday, December 5 my daughter and her husband and I were very happy to leave Central New York and be on our way to sunny Arizona so I could run the Tucson, Arizona Marathon. Arriving early in the afternoon allowed us time to see the Phoenix Botanical Gardens and State Capital.

Friday was spent touring the Tucson Desert Museum which is one of Tucson's most popular attractions. Later in the afternoon was packet pick up and buying running treasures at the huge expo. To finish the day we drove the downhill marathon course.

Friday was a full day of touring which included the San Xavier del Bac Mission and is known as "The White Dove of the Desert." We continued on into Nogales, Mexico where there are bargains galore to be bargained for. On the return trip a stop was made in Tubac which is internationally known as an artist colony. We returned just in time for the delicious prerace past dinner where I won several boxes of Luna Bars. I feel I have enough now to last through all the remaining marathons and beyond. The speaker finally told me I had enough and not to raise my had to answer any more questions. It was early to bed because the buses left at 5 am to take the marathoners to the start. No family members or spectators could take runners to the start due to the very small town with limited parking. It certainly was an interesting experience using a porta potty in complete darkness. I was on one of the first 3 buses to arrive and they made all of us get off one hour early and stand in 34 degree temperatures because these buses were designated baggage buses for the runners. I found the generator which powered the lights at the start line throws off lots of heat and helped keep my legs warm.

The sun came up and we were off and running at 7:30. The only spectators for the first 13 miles were the cactus due to the narrow roads. At 13 and 19 miles my daughter and her husband were able to see me and then again as I finished. It is very hard on the legs to run a down hill marathon. About mile marker 24 the course became flat and then the last half mile seemed like Mount Everest as we climbed the hill to the finish line. My time was 4:38:51 and my excuse for running so slow was because I wanted to stay some extra time out on the course to enjoy the sun and the warm 67 temperature at the end.

We all had a wonderful time and wished we did not have to return to cold, snowy Central New York when the telephone rang and it was the airlines telling us the flight back had been canceled. They then continued on with the bad news that they had already booked us on a flight later in the day. Houston, Texas is the next marathon on January 19.

Happy running,

-- Ruth Ripley