I'm drawn to unique marathon courses-courses that offer a bit of tourism of the area-a showcase of the character of the people and the land. For that reason I don't shy away from them if they are challenging. This course, summed up in one word, is a BEAST. The course starts in Harper's Ferry West Virginia, does a small loop through Murphy Farm, then crosses the Potomac River into Maryland, descending onto the C&O Canal via a spiral staircase around mile 5. Miles 5-15 are flat miles along a gravel trail until the runners depart up and onto the undulating terrain of the Antietam Battlefield. Miles 15-21 contain the steepest of hills, but offer stunning views of the battle fields, littered with old artifacts and memorials of the Civil War's bloodiest battle. The final miles, heading back into West Virginia via Sharpsburg, contain rolling hills with a finish on the 50 yard line of the University's stadium.
We had an unusually humid summer that left me with little confidence in pulling off a decent marathon time, and combined with my Iowa meltdown in June, I was flat out scared of this one. The forecast was proving to be typical; unseasonably warm and humid, and there were so few water stops that I'd have to factor in multiple stops to refill my water bottle, so my only goal was to try to break 4:30 (four and a half hours). In fact, we're all running marathons in 4-6 weeks, so we used the term "training run" to explain what our goals were, but in reality I was and always will give it all I got come race day. I just knew I didn't have a lot to give!
We had yet another HUGE group for this event, including Karen and Candy coming in from PA, but only 5 of us in for the full:
 |
| Toby, Mark, LSP, and Jamie (on the ground) |
Right away things got interesting. We went from asphalt (my precious favorite) to rocky gravel and then grass terrain. At one point we were traipsing across a grass field around cones as if we were in a cross country event. We looped back to the starting area then (whew) back onto asphalt as we made our way towards the canal. This was a beautiful stretch of road that allowed me to finally settle in for the ride. I was still seeing glimpses of LSP and Jamie in front of me, and sometimes I could see Mark ahead of them, so all was good. (Toby was nowhere to be seen of course).
The bridge across the Potomac River was pretty, although tiny with fencing on one side only, and I'm pretty sure the spiral staircase is the most unique thing I've ever "ran" on, but it all seemed a bit precarious, so I didn't exactly run any of this with ease.
We were led onto the C&O canal, and at first it reminded me of Iowa's course with finely crushed limestone, but as we continued it narrowed and became more shaded with stretches covered in leaves, sometimes hiding roots and rocks. I could feel the muscles in my back tightening up as I nervously watched the ground in front of me with every step. I've never been much of a trail runner, and after I broke my foot by rolling it on a rock I have been paranoid of trails ever since. Before too long I found myself in a very bad place mentally. 10 miles of this agony! My head hurt! Yes it was pretty, but because we were so spread out I also found it a bit creepy. And it was so stifling and humid in there I felt like I was running in a terrarium. I had a drained water bottle and hadn't come across water for several miles as well. I had anticipating building a buffer for my 4:30 quest, but couldn't run as fast as I wanted--just had to accept that and everything else and remember my mantra of the day: Gratitude and Attitude. It really helped to center me and allow me to make it through this stretch.
Mark popped out of a porta potta at one of our rare water stops, and we ran together briefly, which helped, but you couldn't really run side by side because of the trail tracks. At one point they were so narrow I tried running on the grass mound between them (fail), until FINALLY we were led off the trail back onto asphalt! (People did trip and fall, including my friend Richard).
Yes, we were led straight up one of the steepest hills of the course, but it felt so refreshing to be out in the open air with cool breezes for a change. I saw Mark refilling at a water stop as I started up, and I put my music on and said time to get to work. The hardest part of the course was before us.
I can't adequately describe the profound "epic-ness" of what we ran through. Every hill summit afforded a more majestic view, cannons in the distance, monuments lining the roads, the wooden fences, the historical markers. It almost felt wrong to be running through such a somber place.
 |
I tried to run as much of the hills as I could, but some were just so ridiculously steep I had to walk. Still, I was within my sub 4:30 goal and was feeling surprisingly ok for most of the battlefield portion. Somewhere around miles 21 or 22, after leaving the battlefield I started struggling with the urge to walk. My legs were feeling it, that all too familiar wobbly feeling. Every walk break chipped away at my way too tiny time buffer. I would desperately get myself moving again because of it. Luckily there was an older guy in the same boat, and as silent partners we carried on down the road together. He walked faster and I ran faster. so back and forth it went. That helped. The back of his shirt said 50 sub 4. This wasn't his first rodeo. On the last mile he smelled the barn and off he went. I looked at my watch and saw that it was getting close to noon, 4:30!! I was close, but not quite close enough. I entered the campus as the church bells were ringing over head. I was circling through the buildings as they clanged! I swear I felt like Cinderella! So close!
Before I rounded into the stadium I took one last walk break and as I turned the corner to my surprise all my peeps were there screaming and cheering for me! They shamed me into running again. Haley decided to run along beside me, telling me to move my arms like this (because for 26 miles I've been doing it wrong), and I couldn't help but laugh. It was a great finish for sure!
Right away people were asking me about Mark, so I reassured them that he was ok. To be honest I never saw him again after mile 15 but the thing is this: when I had my Iowa meltdown and realized I was going to be coming in a lot later than normal the thought that Toby and Jamie were worrying about me really ate at me. Odds are Mark was not dying somewhere on the course and was simply having a bad day. Please don't worry about us! And sure enough he came in not too long after I did.
I had to lie down for what seemed like an eternity until my head stopped spinning, but it passed and I was able to rejoin the masses and share war stories with everyone.
My official time was 4:34. I'll take it.
Toby ran a 3:27, 2nd in his age group.
Jamie and LSP actually ran together until around mile 23, finishing in 4:19 and 4:23, respectively.
LSP got 3rd and I got 5th in our age group.
Mark's time was 4:40.
All the half marathoners had their own crazy stories to tell. Even Haley's 10K was a beast.
The Bavarian Inn had a great post race party across the street from the campus. I have to say that was one of my favorite post race parties, especially since the weather was at least pleasant enough for hanging around outside. Our entire gang was reunited at last!
Would I recommend this marathon? Hmmm...It's tough! There's lots of trickery; the slick grass, bridges, a spiral staircase, a narrow rocky little ledge, 10 miles of trail, hills with grades of 4-5 %, and only 7 water stops, but the Antietam Battlefield is worth seeing. Also, there's a lot to see and do in the area. We had a blast!
