Cool Running

At the beginning of the year Guthrie announced she wanted to attempt a road marathon after 2 frustrating years battling injuries. During those years I had busied myself with 1 unsuccessful and 1 successful attempt on the Grand Slam, and though hey, why not try something different. Running marathons wasn’t new to either of us, but it had been a while since we last did one.

Over the winter months Guthrie followed a set training plan, while I dipped in and out as work, inclination and the distraction of an unfinished bathroom refurbishment (over 12 months in progress) allowed. Since Wasatch last September, I confess that my motivation to log long mileages had struggled. We also acquired Diesel at the beginning of the year, and running with a 63 pound muscular dog strapped to you added to the training distractions.

The Exeter Marathon is a new event. It requires entrants to meet a qualifying standard similar to Boston and being new is a small field. Over the preceding months the RD bombarded registered runners with daily email updates. Course changes, accommodation availability, details regarding aid station setup seemed to change constantly. But finally we found ourselves heading off to RI. Diesel had been packed off to the Brooms, his first time away and we hoped he wouldn’t disgrace himself.

The race was indeed small, just over 50 entrants, the weather was chilly and damp as the set out five minutes after 8 am. Joining us at the race was Maureen Terwilliger,a long time running friend and desperate to complete a sub three hour marathon. Her previous best effort was just a few seconds over 3 hours!

From the start we all got into our respective strides. Maureen galloped ahead, I settled on a 7 minute mile pace with Guthrie a little behind. At 10 miles I was still locked on the same pace, at 20 miles the pace was no different. A little earlier though as we turned at the half way point on the out-and -back course, I started to feel distinctly tired. Two runners I had been running with, took off and I assumed I was falling back when clearly I wasn’t. Briefly, I caught sight of the girls. Maureen was running alone up ahead, while Guthrie was a little back running with a guy who coincidentally ran the Bluff in 2008. The main part of the course was a long slog on a straight 5 mile stretch of highway. It was exposed and in the light windy, chilly. With each step my legs felt heavier and heavier, but I drew from the experience of the last 2 years and focused in just the ground no more than 4 or 5 paces ahead. The mile markers slowly slipped by and soon we were into single digit miles to go. I feared that runners behind were catching me, but a race volunteer at 22 miles  pointed out there the runner behind was out of sight.

The lead in my legs got heavier and heavier, but I followed the mantra that ‘everything is temporary’ and stubbornly refused to yield to tired legs that screamed to stop. One mile from the finish I was amazed to see a runner ahead, I slowly tried to close the gap – he got closer, but the finish came before I could close and overtake. I crossed the line in 3:07 hours.

Wondering into the parking lot to look for Maureen’s husband Gary, who had my car key, I discovered his truck with a huge dent in the driver’s side. It turned out that shortly after the start he had been involved in an accident that now required the truck to return to CT on a flatbed because of the damage. It was fortunate that no-one had been injured and it created a slight dampener on Maureen’s impressive 2:56 finish. Ten minuted behind me Guthrie sprinted out the final mile, it hadn’t been her best marathon but she had battled her way to the end, seemingly ending the injury blight of the past 2 years.

During the last couple of miles, I reflected on running this race. To some, running just one marathon is an event of a lifetime, to others the training and discomfort it creates seems just plain nuts. To me, I think it just plain cool. It is cool to be able to do it (more than once). It is cool that despite not being too diligent in my training, my time still wasn’t too shabby. It is also cool a few hours after wards to sit, tired and hungry, to enjoy a meal with someone else who also been blessed with the ability to experience the same thing.

Maybe, I’ll have to try another one, only this time focus a little more on the training – maybe that elusive sub 3 hour target is something I could still reach?

Finally, the last runner to cross the line, finished in 4:32. At 71 he was the oldest competitor in the field – that is pretty cool too!

Full results here