2014 Soldier Marathon Recap

  

The date… November 8, 2014.  The place… Columbus, Ga.  The weather was a brisk 40 degrees and the sun just breaking over the horizon.  It took four months of 4-5AM training runs, hours spent in the gym, and many many hours of mental leap frog.  But now is the time, the place... Race day!!!  The scene was set for what was sure to be a perfect event.  The Soldier Marathon is a relatively new marathon, celebrating its 5^th year; this race has a small town feel with a big city flare.  The race director, the soldiers at Fort Benning, the Infantry Museum, and people of Columbus rolled out the red carpet and put on a top notch race event.  With this being my second go at this marathon I was pretty familiar with the course, but as any marathon runner will tell you 26.2 miles is always a test regardless of how familiar you are with the distance or the course.  One can never know what the outcome is going to be until you get in the thick of things.  

The race was scheduled for an 8AM start, for some reason or another there was a delay.  But soon after the pomp and circumstance and all the pageantry we were ready.  Set, go, queue the cannon… BOOM and we’re off.  Adrenaline and arms pumping, I make my way down the Avenue of Flags.  At the start I see and wave to my ASR buddies Clay, Shari, and Yvonne… then I notice Anthony.  It was pretty cool that they came down to support us.  Especially Anthony, with a boot on he came down to support the crew – very nice.  Any runner can tell you...run support is huge, especially in a marathon.  Banging out mile after mile can not only be physically hard but it can also take a tole on a person mentally.

Miles 1 through 7 takes place on Fort Benning.  The first couple of miles were mostly a shakeout run… getting settled in and getting ready for the hill where the drill sergeants come out and scream and yell at you, “Get up that hill… Keep moving”.  Pretty cool to see it in action.  After getting over the hill, I see a group of runners bunched up ahead so I ease up to them and just latch on… kind of felt like jumping in a car and going for a ride.  At the 3 mile mark a couple of them begin to carry on a conversation…  I’m like really… All I can do at this moment is focus on breathing.  Soon after, I guess they realized the idle chatter wasn’t productive… either that or they noticed another hill was coming up fast.  I paired up with another runner and we pretty much stayed together after that.  As we pass the 10K split, I only hear one beep.  So, I ask her if that was for her or me… sure would be a shame to run all this way and it not count.

Miles 7-10 go by pretty quick, Cody and I pretty much stay stride for stride most of the way.  Which, by the way, I only learned her name because as we’re running everyone is saying, “Go Cody”.  Which after the first time I was like cool she got peeps here too.  Awesome… then I begin to notice… Every turn, mile 7, 8, 9… “Go Cody”.  Cody even has a dude on a road bike riding ahead taking pictures and one point gave her water.  What the heck… I’m running with Columbus royalty.  Moving on… Get to a bridge, I see Anthony… this was the third time I seen him.  I begin to be impressed and started to wonder… how the heck is he able to get around to these spots so fast with a boot on??  I digress.  Cody and I get to mile 10 and this is the point I notice she’s running only the half.  We wave say our goodbyes.  I looked up her time… she finished 1^st overall female, 1:25:41.  Not bad at all.

With my new friend making the turn home, I was now on my own.  Miles 11-24, a modified out and back, goes along the river walk, snaking through Columbus and Phenix City along the Georgia and Alabama state line… at one point we actually cross into Alabama.  About mile 13 I see a runner ahead so I begin to focus on him.  Pulling past him, I begin looking for the next runner but I only see two bike riders.  I think to myself nice, why are they out here.  Another mile goes by I then realize these are the race pace bikes… OMG, I’m in the lead.  Through miles 13-20 a myriad of things go through my head… what the hell, oh cool, look a band, oh wow there’s a parade going on.  OK Rome focus.  About mile 18 I run through a group of dancing cheerleaders and a band for a brief moment and then jump on a path and taken by surprise when I see what appears to be an elaborate tree house of some sort.  I say to myself, what the hell are they doing on this course.  

OK, let's go... I pass mile 19, still feeling good but now I hear feet from behind.  Mile 20, I check my splits and still all seems fine… but 2 runners, working together, go by as if I’m standing in mud.  Oh well… about a 10K to go, I figure I’ll just stay calm and keep moving.  Mile 23, I see Karen, then Margo, then Miranda.  They all say hi, I muster a smile, brain said to speak but only thing I could do at that point was breathe.  I managed enough energy to hi five Miranda.  I also had a flashback to math class... If runner A is at mile 21 and runner B is at 13 how far apart are they??  OK focus...  Keep running.  Wait are those two guys running a marathon with tubas?  Is this race not done yet?  

I get to mile 24… and is that… yes, that’s Cristal.  Deep breath… tap tap, hey Cristal, bye Cristal… 2 miles to home.  All I had was focused on just making the turn towards the hotel.  I think back to a year ago, this is where I saw Geri and others coming in to the finish.  Then my thoughts quickly shift again… we aren’t done yet?!  Whew, there’s the turn… up hill… There’s Andre, there’s the Avenue of Flags… keep breathing… make the turn… keep running… whew I’m done!!  Hey Steve… Hey Heather!!  Beer, massage, food…. Yes, that order.

Overall… Even though I couldn't hold on, I learned some valuable lessons.  I had a great adventure.  Got to connect with some running peeps, meet some new running buds, and best of all set a new PR… Final time… 2hr 56 min, 4^th overall, and 1^st Master.  Not a bad day’s bit of work.  Next up… Lookout Mountain….

Until the next time remember... life's purpose is to have a purpose.  Set a goal... make it big, make it grand and remember 1 mile at a time, lace them up and…

Keep Running!

Run Peeps - http://youtu.be/-2H_OweL4Dk

Coming into the finish - http://youtu.be/7uHAIf3whPs