Marine Corps Marathon - RunMarathon

I feel like there is a lot that happened and things I noticed that must have been interesting, but I remember only a few things about this race. I was in a pretty decent zone most of the time. The things that really stand out were:

- How crowded it was
- The couple of times it was peaceful on the course
- The times I was in pain


This race is always crowded, but it seemed more so to me this year. It was shoulder to shoulder most of the time through mile 5. It opened up a little and just as I got a chance to start zoning out and not worrying about running into people, it got really crowded again.

I remember hitting mile 10 or 11 thinking 'when am I going to get some room?' Things slowly opened up, but it wasn't until mile 16.5 when we hit the nice, wide streets of Constitution that I got some real breathing room.


The weather was nice and the spectator support was incredible. The crowd really helps pump me up sometimes. The couple of places we hit with little crowd support sticks out in my mind though. The first was Hains Point. There are never many spectators out here, it is tough to get to. In past years, this section came later in the race and could be a tough stretch, particularly when it was windy. This year it came earlier in the race and the weather was great. I found this section to be really peaceful and when we hit mile 13, I was able to really concentrate on how I was feeling and how I wanted to proceed.

The next section that stood out because of the silence was mile 20.5 - 22 on 395 and the 14th street bridge. It grew dead quiet on this stretch, I only heard one person say anything. This is where a bunch of people started having trouble and began walking. I don't mean this in an obnixous way, but it felt good to run by them.

I felt good and my pace felt just right most of the race. I had two tough stretches, miles 17-19 and 24-finish. My left foot and lower leg started to really hurt around mile 17. About a 1/2 mile later I got a side stitch in my left side and got really worried. I was hobbling for about two miles and must have looked ridiculous, but I was able to stick it out and things eventually got better. My foot continued to hurt the rest of the race, but was not that bad.

I was pretty miserable the last couple of miles of the race, but who isn't at that point? I tried to block all negative thoughts and put myself into a box that never extended more than a few hundred yards. Don't ever want to do another marathon? Just make it up that hill and then decide what to do. Want to slow down or walk? Make it to the next aid station and then decide what to do. How can you want to do another IM if this marathon is so miserable? Get to the finish and then make that decision.

It just sucked, but I didn't stop and I bet I passed a couple of hundred people those last few miles. Right after the last aid station at mile 25, a guy asked me something. I couldn't speak to answer him and I don't remember what he asked. Sorry dude.

That final hill to the finish line was cruel as it always is. I hurt so much those last couple of miles and finishing that race felt better than I can describe.

Got my picture taken and tried to stretch a little. I got my little bag of food and ate most of it. In years past, there has always been so much more food at the finish. I was dying for a bagel or something more than the airline sized bag of pretzels.

I wandered past the Crocs booth and saw that they had big tubs full of ice for your feet. There was almost no line and I jumped in. They put plastic bags on your feet and you sat in a chair and put you feet into the ice. They had Sticks and you could work on your legs while your feet soaked. Nice!


The crowded course slowed me down, especially the first few miles.


A really well run, organized race. My only complaint was the lack of food at the finish.