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Published: September 28th 2011
Thunder, lightning, pouring rain and hail. By mile 10 everyone was drenched. It reminded me a lot of the LA Marathon I ran in March of this year. I would have put that one at the top of my "worst marathons ever" list had it not been for the group of friends I was running with. This marathon, however, I ran alone and with the miserable conditions and nobody to talk to, I'd have to say it wins "worst marathon" award. Only because of the weather, of course, because the scenery through Blacksmith Fork Canyon was/is spectacular.
There were a couple of noteworthy moments during this marathon that you might find interesting to read about. The first was an older gentleman who lived in a nice home around the 15 mile marker in Blacksmith Fork Canyon. He was on the side of the road in front of his home with a large stack of black garbage bags and was handing them out to the cold, wet runners. I had been shivering for a few miles and was so grateful he was there, even though it meant standing out in the rain himself. I was already soaked to the skin but
the garbage bag kept the wind off and I actually felt warm once I had it on. Thank you so much, Blacksmith Fork Canyon Resident, for being there for us.
Shortly after receiving the garbage bag, I came upon a young guy who was walking with a limp. He appeared to be in a great deal of pain and was in very low spirits and ready to quit the marathon by the time I reached him. I stopped running and walked with him for about a mile. At this point the thunder and lightning had stopped but the rain was still coming down fairly heavily. He told me he started out too quickly and was pretty sure he had a slight fracture in his left foot. Medics had wrapped his foot tightly and given him Ibuprofen but he still had shooting spasms of pain every few steps and was very unhappy.
If this young guy had not been a former soldier, I might have wished him good luck and kept going. Once I found out his Army connection, however, I felt a strong sense of urgency to compel him to stay in the marathon and just take the
remaining 11 miles one step at a time. We talked a lot about his time in the Army, grueling training runs he had completed and the positive mental attitude it takes to get through life's struggles, including marathons. The rain was wearing him down but I reminded him he was stronger than the rain and it was just rain.
Rain ends and fractures heal but the satisfaction of crossing a marathon finish line lasts a lifetime.
I left him with 10 miles to go and later that night when the results were posted online, I looked him up. He finished in just under 7 hours.
DLF > DNF > DNS
(Dead Last Finish > Did Not Finish > Did Not Start)
Many people might not understand this desire to complete what was started, regardless of our physical condition...to never give up. It helps to be surrounded by hard-core athlete friends who also believe in having a positive mental attitude.
Run if you can, walk if you can not run and crawl if you must, but never, ever give up.
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Tot: 0.184s; Tpl: 0.012s; cc: 14; qc: 56; dbt: 0.0711s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
Ed
non-member comment
Terrific Pitures!
OGOW: You didn\'t mention this was a 100 mile/36 hour race at altitude over passes. I had a guest staying at my Off-Broadway Studios guest house who competed, this year. It blows me away that people are able to get in shape to accomplish the task. Well Done. Thanks for the nice pictures that better show the local scenery than the I-80/I-15 desert shots! BTW, this race comes on the heels of Speed Week out on the Salt Flats for those planning for next year.