Maui Marathon - RunHalf Marathon

I did this event with Team in Training primarily to raise money for the Leukemia Society. I raised $5,300 to fight blood cancers so that children like my nephew may not have to suffer this terrible disease. I ran in honor of Devin Wyatt, cancer survivor and Aunt Sarah's nephew.

I was motivated to continue endurance athletic events after completing my first triathlon in June 2007. Removing the triathlon benefits of cross-training was a recipe for injury. My back went out and interrupted my training during 2 weeks of peak mileage, then a gross infected toe nail had to be removed and slowed me down for 2 days, and of course the knees were complaining throughout the 5 months of running. Consequently, I went into the race with a 'just finish and have fun' attitude. I had no goals of time or pace.

My strategy was to walk the first mile for warm-up, run as long as I felt good, walk when I needed to, and tour all of the port-o-lets on the course. That is pretty much what I did, but surprisingly I did not need to tour as many port-o-lets as I thought.

The TNT motto is "Go Team!" We shouted that every Saturday morning prior to embarking on our long runs together. I heard it countless times at the previous night's pasta party. During the race anytime a purple TNT shirt drew near I was sure to hear an exuberant (or drained) Go Team. The 15 coaches made their way back and forth along portions of the course and offered encouragement to everyone in the signature purple shirt. Some spectators were familiar with this mantra as well and shouted Go Team! as I ran past. Running a race with TNT was like having your own cheering squad throughout the entire race.

The course had only one small incline. I decided to use that stretch to call home and thank my best support team. My seven-year-old was interested in every detail of the start, the crowd, who was that yelling at me when they went by, what do the coaches do, etc. We chatted until I neared the turn around and had to hang up because I didn't want to miss the opportunity to run downhill!

Just after I made the turn around my coach spotted me and ran alongside me for a short distance. She checked on my nutrition, asked how my feet were doing, and wanted to know who else I had seen from our local group of ten team members.

After 2 hours I was quite ready for the race to be over. I walked until I just couldn't walk anymore then ran and walked and ran and walked and I finally had 10 miles behind me. Along this point in the town of Kaanapali some cyclists began clearing the way for the lead marathon runner to pass. I had seen this amazing athlete accepting the award for the 5k the day before. He finished it in 15:31 and I was told he would run a similar pace throughout the marathon. I knew he would pass me and I envisioned myself picking up my pace for a moment to run a short distance with him. When the cyclists neared I knew it was almost my chance. I became a little lighter on my feet. I ran a bit faster. Then, a blurry object whizzed by me that I could only assume was the lead marathon runner. It was a nice idea.

After more, seemingly endless, walking and running the finish line was visible at last. Of course I would run the last bit and my Nike+iPod coach let me know there was 400 meters remaining. I contemplated, "Do I want to run 400 meters?" "Not really." Then it was 300, then 200 and I ran. I ran for all it was worth. The sound of cheering filled my ears. It was more TNT staff, spectators and volunteers. They were blowing whistles, ringing cow bells, clapping and shouting. That was so cool I had to stop and take a picture. Apparently afraid I was near collapse, the flag-waving group began yelling, "Don't stop. You've almost made it. You can do it." Then they burst into laughter when they realized I was taking their picture.

A century bike ride or triathlon instead!!

Warm-down was the short walk to my hotel where I immediately went for a cold salt-water soak in the ocean. That was followed by a shower and a walk back to the finish line to cheer on my teammates and take more pictures. I stood in line for my 10-minute sports massage hoping I did not get paired up with the toothless, wild hairy guy. Guess what? Yep. Toothless, wild hairy guy turned out to be named Chuck and the 10-minute sports rub down became a glorious 45-minute full-body massage and Chuck became a handsome Greek god. Good ol' Chuck accelerated my recovery by about 36 hours and I insisted he take all of the $10 in my pocket.

I advised my teammates to wait any length of time for Chuck's table to become empty. They did not listen and I said a little thank you to Chuck many times the next day as I watched them struggle to walk down steps, groaning from their sore muscles.


Interruptions in training. I was very proud of increasing my speed until I was able to sustain a 10 minute per mile pace, but I lost that during my time off.


Try an event with Team in Training. The support they offer is unbeatable and it's for a great cause.
Photo #1 - The Oklahoma City TNT team
Photo #2 - Me and my cousin and teammate after the race
Photo #3 - Chuck, nuff said