Grandma’s Marathon was all they said it would be. The course follows Lake Superior for many of the miles. The view is spectacular. After about mile 19, the course brings the runners through cute neighborhoods, and into town. The crowds were fabulous. People had their hoses hooked to the top of a ladder and left it on for runners to run through and cool off a bit. Kids were out giving high-fives and everyone was cheering.
But the weather was less than optimal for physical activity of this sort. It was hot. I heard 88 degrees and wondered why it felt like it was in the 100s. The humidity is why. It was about 80 percent I am told.
Not far into the course the first person when down. She was about my age and was having a seizure. She must have bit her lip because her emesis was mixed with blood. It was a horible sight. I slowed down to assess the situation. The people helping her seemed to be doing exactly what I would know to do. I continued on, and then felt guilty for not stopping for the next few miles. Later in the course others went down and out. Ambulances were passing frequently and I knew that I had just forget my BQ goal today and just stay safe. I wasn’t keeping pace anyhow, so it wasn’t a hard choice to make.
No matter how many marathons I do, it is never “easy.” Today was just a reminder to me of the magnitude of how physically demanding marathoning is.
I finished in 4:36, per the race clock, and just wandered in complete numbness. I felt so empty and alone. My clothes were soaked through and I am wiped out. To top it off, Verizon Wireless apparently could not keep up the demands of the 9,000+ runners making calls in Duluth – the network died. So I couldn’t call my family for a much needed Hello until I finally dragged my way back to the hotel.
Now, it is time to rest up. My flight leaves at 5 a.m. tomorrow.
way to go on the grandma’s marathon! It’s been pretty icky with the humidity this past week up here! I have had a hard time running outdoors!
Julie, way to hang in there in (way)less than ideal conditions. I’ve never heard anything but good about this race, unfortunately Mother Nature is out of our control. Have a safe and uneventful flight home.
Congratulations!I think you made a wise decision. Those certainly don’t sound like BQ conditions.
oh, that sounds HARD! yeah, i know they’re never easy, but that humidity can really get you, but whatever: YAY YOU~!!! In my little world, that is an awesome time!! Here’s to BQ’ing next time ’round, under better circumstances.
You did the right thing by holding off on the BQ pace in those kinds of conditions. I hope those that went down are back up again. Running by that type of scene can really play with your head. Congratulations on the strong finish.
A big congratulations!YOu finished in an amazing time! I dream of one day completing a marathon.
Juls, I’m so sorry that you didn’t meet your Boston goal. This should have been the race! The weather was just impossible. I’m sure that was disturbing to see that girl struggling. But would one more person really have been able to help? And the race was set up to deal with emergencies, so try not to beat yourself up. You weren’t needed. If you had been needed, you would have stopped. Because that’s the kind of person you are.I hope you had a nice reunion with your family on Father’s Day.
julie,you ran the race set before you and made the right call to back off. you have plenty of other opportunities to knock of a bq, it makes no sense to kill yourself in the process.well done in harsh conditions!i still have a feeling that i’ll see you in april. races like these have a way of pissing off us runners and making us even more focused.