Marathon #4: Marine Corps Marathon, 1996

Enter the discovery of glycogen replacement, such as the magic of "GU"...a new era began...

The Las Vegas Marathon had left its mark. I stepped away from the marathon distance and went back to focusing on shorter distance races and too, did my first team relay race at Hood To Coast the summer of 96. I fell in love with the relay! We had a team of 12 runners, called "Texas Roadkill", who would run a total of 200+ miles from Mt. Hood Oregon to Seaside Oregon in just under 24 hours. I had never in my life had so much fun with running. It was during this time that I learned the importance of "energy replacement" in the form of carbohydrates, or "carbs". This endurance event brought me to a new level of training too--realizing that faster wasn't always better--more miles were the key--slower, easier miles.

Once again, the seed was planted in my brain to run another marathon, as my new friend and team-mate Kris started talking about qualifying for the Boston marathon. She was eyeing the Marine Corps Marathon in Washington DC as her target race because it was rumored to be a relatively flat course. Amy (yet another friend from the NYC marathon and now a fellow team-mate) and I got on board with this idea, but I can't remember many details as to our particular goals. Qualifying for Boston meant we would have to run the Marine Corps Marathon under a certain time-frame based on our ages. I think Kris had to run a 3:40 time, I had to run a 3:45 time, and Amy had to run a 3:50 time, but I can't be sure. My best time was 3:57 (at Las Vegas), but I felt I could run faster than that. Could I run a 3:45--I wasn't so sure. My mind-set going into the Marine Corps Marathon was to run my fastest time ever, regardless of making the qualifying time, and to enjoy the event.

Amy, Kris, and I

I looked forward to returning to yet another "big" marathon after my ordeal in the desert. With a grand tour of DC this marathon would not disappoint. We would run past the Pentagon, the U.S. Capitol, the White House, the Lincoln Memorial by way of the reflecting pool, a jaunt along the Potomac river, and lastly, the Iwo Jima Memorial near the finish in Arlington Ridge Park.

Fast forward to race day morning. There was excitement in the air as approximately 19,000 runners were heading to the starting line. One thing we didn't count on though, was the unseasonably warm and humid weather. It had been just two years ago that Oprah Winfrey had famously ran this race in the pouring pain. We would have none of that today. We started off the race in jog bras and shorts! Kris and I stayed together while Amy stayed further back (I can't remember why, because she was faster than us), and for awhile Dallas runner Frank Moore was with us too, giving us tips and mantras along the way. But early on he looked over at Kris and commented on how "wet" her head was. It was then that I realized Kris was in trouble. The humidity was getting the best of her. She needed to slow her pace, so I went on without her. Obviously, the initial goal of qualifying for the Boston marathon was thrown out the window! This would be a survival run, where we'd have to pay a  lot of attention to fluid intake, especially as the day grew warmer.

Frank Moore stayed with me for several miles, and it was comforting, as he was a veteran marathoner, and kept saying things like, "At mile 20 I thought I was dead. At mile 22 I wished I was dead. At mile 24 I knew I was dead. At mile 26.2 I realized I had become too tough to kill." That's still my favorite! Even with the bad weather I was finally getting it right, taking in "GU" gels for energy and keeping my pace at a reasonable level, and most importantly, not getting to that point where I wanted to sit on the ground and refuse to get up. Before I knew it I was cresting the Iwo Jima "Hill" as spectators, a lot of which were military veterans, were shouting out at us, urging us to not stop and walk. It was the highlight of the whole race for sure! I crossed the line with a time of 3:51, taking 6 minutes off my best time, but more importantly, the last 10K wasn't total torture as it had been before.

As soon as I crossed the line I was so excited I made a beeline to the photo area to have this picture taken:

Then I hurried back to the finish line to catch Kris and Amy. Amy finished, and had a story as to what had happened to Kris. She said she passed Kris on the course and Kris was feeling sick, so Amy had her sit down on a bench for a moment, and when Kris started feeling better Amy continued on. So we waited with worry, until Kris finally did arrive! She had a grand story to tell! She had gotten sick--I think she even threw up on a policeman's shoe! They put her in an ambulance and were packing her in ice, telling her that her day was done. She sat up and said, "I came all this f*cking way to get that medal, and I'm going to get that f*cking medal!" She got out of the ambulance and started walking. For awhile they sort of followed her until they realized she wasn't getting back in! She would walk, run, get sick, walk, run, etc. until she made her way to the finish line!

Later that night we hung out in our hotel room with Amy's friend Michael and his friend and drank way too much wine. I have no recollection as to why we never made it out on the town! The next day we played tourists before heading home.

Room service hated us

Amy insisted that I wear my medal ;)

We had a wonderful time in DC, and the marathon was a great experience, but to this day it is not one of my top marathons. It was way too crowded, especially at the start, and from what I hear that is still an issue. (Actually, it's more of an issue now because it is even bigger). Today's course, although flatter (I forgot to mention that this course was not as flat as advertised), it does not get as close to the monuments or the White House, for obvious security reasons. In fact, since 9/11 and the Boston marathon bombing the security needed at this marathon has in some ways ruined it, sadly, at least for me. I will keep my fond memory though!