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FLRC Newsletter - October 2004 |
| Monster Marathon: A Thunderhead Tackles the Monster | |
Having run the 25K at the Finger Lakes 50s last year, I was willing to take it on in 2004 with a little less trepidation. It went reasonably well, and for once I was in town to run Frolic. The Madness 30K followed, my longest race up to that point. Madness was tough—very tough—on the hilly Finger Lakes Trails. In mid-August I ran an 80-mile week almost entirely on trails (editorial note: see Tim’s accompanying account of his week at camp), and that set the foundation for my decision to take on the full Monster in early September. I don't like running in the heat and humidity; so, if any summer in Upstate NY was to be the year to make an Englishman enjoy his running, then this seemed to be the one!
Two weeks before Monster I ran Triple Traxxx, at which Tom M asked if I was having insane ideas of doing anything but the half at Monster. I said "no way," and meant it. Just a few hours later that thought had become one of those things that won't leave you alone—I told myself if I could run 80 miles in a week then why couldn't I run 26.2 at one time? After all, lots of others have! I had already signed up for Pud's Run, which was the week before Monster, and it just seemed like perfect timing that I should run a marathon seven days after a 5K! I had never run Pud's before, but a number of runners helped me understand the course; I had an exhausting race battling with Katie D as she pushed me the whole way on a very warm morning.
The week leading up to Monster had my mind going from every thought of failure to thoughts of what it would be like to actually do what for decades I had never thought I would—or could. I had tried to keep it quiet that I had signed up to do the full marathon, but in a listserv email Joe D let all my fellow runners know—and the pressure was on. Thanks a lot Joe!! There was no backing out now.
The day dawned foggy, and thankfully it stayed cloudy most of the morning. I was given a 13-minute start ahead of zero hour and I set out very, very slowly as Katie D had advised me to do. That advice was probably what saved me for the next four hours. The first half of the race found me kind of having fun! The course was muddy in places, but I felt strong. With passing a few people who set out ahead of me, I was pretty upbeat. Then on the first return trip I started meeting the half-marathon runners who yelled support at every opportunity. Back down to Tone Road, and I was dreading hitting it in full sunshine. But it was still cloudy at the halfway turnaround, and I grabbed some drinks and an energy bar out of my car. I was about 1 hour and 50 minutes into my marathon. I had almost never drunk anything on a run before and certainly never eaten anything. But I knew I probably should; for next two or three miles back up the hill and beyond I consumed the whole bar, luckily with no ill effects. I started to meet the encouragement of the half marathoners on their return trip, and my seriously flagging energy level was again brought back to life for a short time.
Around two miles from the last turnaround at Stonepile Junction, my aching body parts started to really hurt. I was into new territory, a distance I had never run before—and I was feeling it. I arrived at 19.5 miles and the stonepile and drank Gatorade and water by the cupful not even really aware of what I was doing. A little earlier I had passed Joe R who had told me to "drink, drink," and I think the words had finally sunk in. With some encouraging words from Gillian S and the monsters, I headed back the last six-plus miles. I had just one goal, nothing else but getting to that finish line. I was definitely suffering, but I kept moving. I met Lorrie M who informed me that I was going to be hurting the next day, thanks Lorrie! I was walking up a lot of the steeper hills now and trudging the level and downhill sections. Indeed, I was very happy to get back to Bob T and the gang at their water stop. With more encouragement from them, and being told I was about to see a Lama on the trail, I was approaching the top of Virgil Mountain for the last time. Then the hurt really began! Going down that slippery wet muddy mountain trail after 24 miles made my legs want to collapse under me with every step. Finally, finally, I got down to the level road and was with it enough to know that I had less than a mile to go. I just needed to keep putting one leg in front of the other and I would accomplish something that for a very long time I said I would never take on. Up the final grade on the road, and I could hear the welcoming committee at the finish line, oh, what a sweet sound!
My running time was just short of 4 hours, not exactly a world record but that wasn't what I set out to accomplish. It was all about finishing my first marathon. Maybe this personal achievement will inspire one or two others to take on something that they never thought they would. Thank you so much Becky, Joe, and everyone else who gave up so much time so that I could achieve something that I will remember forever in the little running world that I live—I will always be grateful.
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