Report from The Eugene Marathon

In a previous blog (What I learned training for a marathon ) I promised you a report on how The Eugene Marathon went.

Here is my report:

It is the morning after the Eugene Marathon. My feet are blistered, my toes are bruised and black and blue. My legs ache from ankle to hip. But I am content.

The weather was terrible the day before–44 degrees and  pouring rain. The forecast was for more of the same during the race the next day.

My wife Susan was also running in the half-marathon. After a nice “carbo-loading” dinner we went to our hotel to get ready for bed. With the race starting at 7:00 am, we set our clocks for 4:00 am to give us time to eat, dress out, and catch the shuttle for the starting line with time to warm up.

We caught the shuttle bus to the starting line. As we rode to the starting line, I noticed I was trembling with nervous energy. This was unexpected, but not uncommon. All the months of hard training now comes down to how I perform over the next four hours.

To our delight, the morning was  overcast but dry and pleasantly cool, and remained that way the entire race– a perfect running morning.

I had several cascading goals for my run, each one building on another.

1. Finish the Race
2. Finish under four hours
3. Finish at or under 3 hrs 50 min
4. Finish in first place in my division (Sure!)
5. Qualify for the Boston Marathon ( yeah, right!)

After warming up, I lined up in the corral for my estimated finish time. The Oregon University drum corps was playing, pumping up the racing crowd of six thousand .

After a pause for the Star Spangled banner, we were off.

I started comfortably, trying not to trip others or be tripped as we negotiated for a lane that first mile. I then picked up my pace and settled in for the long run, trying not to start out too fast as is often the temptation in a large run.

I had a pace-band on my wrist to check my pace throughout the race, but since I wasn’t wearing my glasses, it was useless — I couldn’t read the small numbers. So I just listened to my body and took whatever it would give.

The first half of the race gave me what I hoped for. I beat my personal best for a half-marathon in those first 13.1 miles. But I would pay for it very soon!

A runner who had been trading positions with me back and forth for the first seven miles came up next to me and started a conversation.

“I really like your pace. Do you mind if I hang with you?”.

“Of course not.” I said.

He then asked ” What’s your goal for the race?”

“3 hrs and 50 min..”, I replied.

He gasped and said, “Do you know you are running at a 3 hr 32 min pace?”

I felt an ominous tone in his question. One warning I came across over and over again the past few months was “Don’t go out too fast–You will pay for it later in the race!”

The warnings proved to be true.

From mile fifteen to twenty-three I had a number of stretches in the race where my legs ached, I felt exhausted, and I was tempted to just walk. It was during these times I had to depend on my upper body and my arms to carry me through –concentrating on pumping my arms, running upright with my head straight, and breathing out hard so I could refill my lungs with each breath. After a mile or two of this, I began to recover and return to my goal pace.

I knew I was losing some time from my first half. I just hoped it would not be so much that I would miss my goals.

Then, at mile twenty-three, I knew that I could finish the remainder of the race on pace and strong. I drew on my experience from my long training runs, where I always kicked it in high gear the last three miles, I simply envisioned the remaining miles as the end of my training runs through my own neighborhood to home. It was no different than that.

As a result, I got back to and above my goal pace those last three miles, passing runner after runner who were lagging at the end.

The beauty of the Eugene Marathon in particular is its last two-hundred yards when you enter the famous Hayward Track and Field stadium–where track heroes such as Steve Prefontaine were made. Due to its rich heritage, Hayward Field is popularly dubbed as Tracktown, USA. It is being rebuilt after this season, so this was the last year the Marathon will be finishing in this prestigious stadium.

As I entered the stadium and stepped onto the soft red track surface, I heard the roar of the stadium crowd as they cheered all the runners coming into the finish line. I then caught a glimpse of Susan, who had already finished her half-marathon. She was on the sidelines waving to me. I made a start towards her, but she waved me away, knowing herself how even seconds mattered in reaching my goals.

I am now happy to report back to you my friends and readers that I finished the race in 3 hrs, 46 min. In doing so I met all five of my goals; I came in first place in my division, with a time that qualifies for the Boston Marathon.

I will be submitting my results to the Boston marathon committee. I will still need to be invited, so we shall see.

I just wanted to say thank you to my well wishers and let you know the outcome. If I go to Boston to run in 2019, I will surely let you know.

Your prayers and well wishes have worked, and I am very grateful for them.

Thanks Again,

Kind Regards,

Bob