Redding Marathon - RunMarathon

It was raining and pretty cold.

Actually train to run that far.

It was raining so I got in the car,drove home climbed into the tub.


Lack of training...plain and simple.


The race started at 8:00am, it was raining and about 42F. The field was a mix of relay racers and regular 26.2 racers like myself. As I mentioned in the BT forum, the first three miles were downhill and paved and I wanted to keep my speed to 8:15 per mile. I ended up doing 7:30 the first mile just because I was caught up in the flurry of the event and people passing me like I was stopped.

I regained my composure and slowed down to 8:30, then 8:45 and then finally settled into 9:00 minute miles. By then we were running on a muddy fire road with small potholes filled with water. I slipped on some larger rocks and my right foot went into a hole and my shoe was instantly filled with muddy water.

Things were going fine, I felt good, but noticed I was still getting passed and I was not passing anyone. I ignored it and then settled into my final target pace of 9:06 per mile. After about mile seven, I noticed some pain in my small toes on my right foot (the one that went into the water earlier).

As I approached mile nine, which was when we had some substantial climbing, noticed that I could no longer manage 9:06 miles and drifted into 9:35’s and finally 10:00s. By the time I hit mile ten, I felt the slight nagging feeling that I might not make the full 26.2. So I slowed down again drifting between 10:30’s and 10:50’s.

At 13.1 I was pretty sure I could make it at the current pace but I was running far slower than I had planned. My hands were so cold I could not get my jell packs open, so I was forced to stop at the water aid stations and ask them to get them open which they did happily.

From mile 20 to the end was what everyone explained as the halfway point in terms of pain and suffering, I concur with that assertion.

As I approached the last four miles, I thought I could pick up the pace and shave off a few minutes, but just couldn’t muster the will or energy. When I caught a glimpse of the finish line, I had a brief emotional moment but was able to run thru it without anyone noticing.

The last fifty yards were the best part of the race as my family, friends and complete strangers cheered me on and I knew that I did not have to run anymore.

I finally crossed 26.2 at 4:34 (34 minutes slower (+12.5%) than planned) and was sore, tired, very cold and wet to the bone. My family and friends treated me like a hero; it was a terrific feeling of accomplishment. I finished 80th in a finishing field of 165 and 7th in 14 in my age group 50~55.

After some rational thought, I have decided that middle of the pack was not terrible result for someone that has never run 26.2, has only run 13.1 one time and only trains fifty miles per month. A plan to finish in sub four hours with my training was probably not realistic even in good conditions.

When I got home, I inspected my body for damage and found that I had some black toenails on my right foot. I am not sure what happened, but I will surely lose those nails. No blisters or other problems to speak of. Most of my pain is located from just above my knees spreading up my thighs to my hamstrings. Thankfully, I did not suffer from knee, hip or side stitch pain. I ate a burrito, had a quick bath and shower and a few hours later we went to a good friend’s house for dinner and beers. It is nice to have great friends to share time with.

In retrospect, when and if I intend to run more Marathons, I will need to spend much more time running and run much father each session. The gradual onset and steady increase in pain and suffering of running that far in those conditions was something I will be thinking about for a while.

I would like to thank BellinghamSpence a BT member that sent me several informative inspires, Baowolf who is also a BT (I think he finished 13th in 3:19) member that gave me great course specific advice. Also, Wes at the “Bike Shop”, Darin at Fleet Feet, and my good friends John Rooney with his family and Larry and Deanna Davis that stood in the rain right next to my wife, children and father as I finished the race .

And last but not least, I appreciate all the great advice from BT members.