Detroit Free Press Marathon - RunMarathon

I started off with the 3:30 pace group and within the first 2 miles or so, my legs felt unusually tight. I brushed it off since I didn't get a warmup in and kept on with the group. We were a few seconds down since the start was slow due to the crowd. It seemed like we booked it up the bridge and I remember someone saying that we were going at a 7:30 pace down the bridge which I wasn't happy about. I didn't want to run that hard, especially downhill. I had to pee at about mile 4 so I made a speedy pit stop at a porta-potty and tried to hang onto the back of the pace group. My stomach was not settling well at this point and at about mile 6 I hit the next porta-potty and went number 2.

From there, I made the mistake of trying to catch back up with the pace group since I thought that all of my problems were over and I could keep that pace throughout. I proceeded to book it through the rest of Canada and through the tunnel. This turned out to be a a terrible idea and coming out of the tunnel I started to feel some fatigue from the speed burst. I abandoned that plan and decided to just keep pace from where I was.

By the halfway point, my legs weren't feeling 100%, I was going a little slower than I intended, and my stomach was acting up again. I could tell that it was going to be a rough race. Since my last porta-potty stop I decided to hold off eating my Shot Blocks(In training I took 1 every 15mins on long runs) and water(I usually only take a small sip) to try to fend off more stomach issues until I got into a good rhythm. By mile 16 I had to hit a porta-potty because my stomach wasn't right and I wasn't sure which end it was going to come out of. I didn't rush it in the porta-potty and it ended up just being number 2. I had to walk from there until my stomach settled because I was hurting.

That was one of the turning points in my race because when I was in the potty, I was calculating splits and I realized that my 3:30 finish wasn't going to happen today. Going into the race I was really confident and now I was really bummed out. As I was walking though, there was a group of women cheering on a front lawn and a woman with a microphone got onto the road and started walking with me and cheering me on. A switch clicked in my head and I thanked the woman and just smiled. It was truly a humbling experience to be one of the people you see on the race recap that's was to walk periods of the race for some reason. You never think that you'll be the person that gets slow clapped or the one who has to overcome their malfunction body. The support of that woman brought me out of my gloomy state and made me realize that this is what endurance races are all about. Everything can't be perfect all the time. All you can do is make the most out of what you have on race day.

I eventually worked back up to a slow run but by mile 18 my calves, quads, and hamstrings all started to cramp horribly. I had to stop numerous times to squat and try to stretch out. I tried walking but that just made things worse. I pushed through until the Belle Isle bridge where I told myself that I could walk until the crest and then I'd run the rest.

By this time, my legs were cramping so much that I was in excruciating pain. I eventually made it of the bridge and sat down in the grass to stretch out. For the next half mile I had to sit down and stretch probably 5-6 times. At that point I had just reached mile 20 and I was in a bad place. The race had turned into a mental battle of weather or not I should DNF. I told myself that I would walk until the next group of volunteers or police and then reevaluate. Volunteers and police could see that I was in pain and kept asking me if I was alright. What kept me going though was the fact that none of them ever asked me if I wanted to quit. Had they asked, I'm not sure what my answer would have been. I wasn't sure weather I was going to finish, but I knew that I had to get off that damn island.

I quit taking stretching breaks and told myself that I would just take it one step at a time and see how far I could go. A very nice guy walked up next to me and asked me if I wanted a salt pill since I was cramping so bad and he could see that I was hurting. This was another turning point in the race for me. Up until this point all I could think about was how there was no way that my body would allow me to finish. Suddenly, it was as if someone had just delivered to me the Holy Grail. That was another example about what these races are all about. They are just filled with kind people that are all hurting just as bad.

At the next water station I popped the salt pill and started to consume more water and Gatorade. I decided that since I was going to just walk the rest of the marathon I might as well consume as much as I wanted.

After mile 21 I was in a much better place. I was no longer the only one walking and I took the time to encourage others to just keep pushing through. I took in the sights even though I just wanted off the damn island. My legs started to feel a little better although they were still cramping severely.

About 2/3 of the way off the bridge Amanda came up next to me and it was obvious that she was hurting as well. I had already decided that I was going to walk the rest of the way since I wasn't sure what would happen if I tried to run even one more step. She told me that I couldn't walk anymore and that I had to run the rest with her. At this point there was only a sliver more than 5k left and I figured that she was my only hope of running any more of the race. We were going at a slow pace that varied at times and we both had to rely on each other's motivation at several points to keep from walking.

At about 1.5miles left, I was passed by the 4:20 pace group which was very humbling as well. I was very excited for them because they were cruising compared to our pace. I cheered them on with what little energy I had left. Shortly after, some chick caught up to us with an mp3 player that was playing loud enough for me to hear. I got a short-lived second wind when I heard "I like It" by Enrique Iglesias and I would have danced and sang if I had any spare energy.

The last mile through the city was simply exhausting. With each step I could feel my muscles and joints being battered. I grimaced with pain and had to overcome my body's desire to walk.

We finally turned the final corner and exclaimed our final FMLs when we say the finish line which seemed like another marathon away. We picked up another struggling runner just before the finish line and all ran in together. The last 100 yards seemed effortless; like we were being pulled by a magnetic force. It was a very emotional finish; we were so glad to be done running! And then I hit the floor!

This was truly a humbling learning experience. It reminded me exactly what these races are all about. I'm really happy for everyone that finished and those that helped me get to the finish line. I think it's kind of entertaining that I came into the race very confident in my training and that I was the only person out of all the people I knew doing the race that had a specific time goal and every single one of my friends beat me. :D

Run a LOT more at race pace intensity.
Better nutrition?
Not eating any breakfast?
Not starting so hard?

After crossing the finish line, I could no longer walk so I sat down and rested for a few mins. Amanda and I went to the massage tent and I layed down in the line because I couldn't stand. The massage felt simply amazing and It allowed me to walk ever so slowly to the car after.


See above.


Awesome race venue. Plenty of volunteers and heavily organized.