Miles 1-7: Got settled in toward the front. Tom said he was going to run with me until the half turned off. The gun sounded and we were off. Started at a really comfortable pace, maybe too easy you will have to ask Tom(climbing5414). Pace was easy and the mile were ticking off really quick. The rain subsided about the time the race started. Jumped and dodged puddle for awile. I really didn't want to run with wet shoes. Nothing excited happened here just lots of runnin'. Not sure exactly when Tom turned but I wished him luck and thought about the amount of miles I still had to run!

Miles 8-14: Was in a good groove. No pain and I was moving good. Around mile 9.5 I could feel a rumblin' in my tummy. I wonder if the bordurrito I had Sat. night had anything to do with it? At the 10 mile aid station I decided I better try to use the bathroom. I wasn't hurting but I thought I might as well go anyway. Told Bruce I was going to make a pitstop and I would catch him later. Spent more time in the port-o-john than I wanted but I wanted to make sure I wouldn't have to stop later. If I remember right it was just under three minutes. Yes I'm the kind of guy that times everything! Left the facilities and was back on my way. Moving good but not super fast. Had decided that I would take my time in catching Bruce. Started passing people left and right. Still was in very little to no pain so I began thinking it was a good day. Really wasn't looking for teh mile markers I was just focusing on running and enjoying what was going on around me.

Miles 15-21: Once we got to Lake Hefner I could feel the doubts start to set in. Can I do this without stopping? About 18 I could start to feel my left quad start to tighten up. NOOO this cannot be happening this early! I still have too many miles to cover. Managed to get through the mental stuff just by telling myself that I'm not racing this I'm just covering the distance. Mentally this was a good race. Not too many demons to fight. At The 20 mile aid station the guy right in front of me took a cup of liquid. When he finised with the cup he wadded it up and tossed it toward the trash can and missed. I said "We are runners not basketball players." He replied with "Yeah the funny thing is I'm a KU alumni." He was a talker and he talked almost non stop until he had to make a pit stop at the 23 mile mark. He is a Spanish professeor at Virginia Tech. He shared some good stories both about his days at KU and at Virginia Tech. Having somebody to talk to really took my mind off of what was happening. I could still feel the tightness in the quad but it wasn't worsening. All was good!

Miles 22-26.2: I caught back up with Bruce at about the 20.5 area. He said he was hurting and had slowed considerably. He really isn't much of a talker so any time I asked him something he replied with a simple answer. Ran with him up until the 23 mile area. He said he was hurting real bad and that I looked to good to be running with him. I wished him luck and decided I felt good enough that I would try to put in a hard last 5K. By now the Half and the Marathon courses had merged back together. There were people everywhere. I was moving good and congratulating people along the way. I love encouraging people at races like this. There is no way in heck that I could walk a half marathon. These people are the real inspiration. When we made the left hand turn onto the final stretch all I could think about was my Brother-in-law. Didn't start crying but did have clear my throat a couple of time so I didn't. The only other time I got emotional was when I completed my first marathon. When I could see the finish clock I was pleased with what is said considering I wasn't pushing hard in this marathon.

Good question. I think I ran a good race considering what I was wanting to do!

Crossed the finish line and grabbed my finishers medal. The next thing I saw was a nice young lady holding a platter of Karl Jr. cheesburger. I could not pass her by. At that moment the cheeseburger sounded SO good. Made my way out the finishig chute and luckily Tom and Lisa had seen me finish and they made their way to get me! I don't know if I could have remembered where I was supposed to meet them. Went to a tent to gt a print out of my finish stats, then caught the bus back to the hotel!


Bordurrito.....Oh and Testicular Fortitude.


Awesome race! I loved the course. The aid stations were packed with volunteers. I would love to come back in the future to run this race again!