Parents, a princess and a pirate

"Akron Marathon 2009, 1st time marathoner, MARY, 3231" I stared at my marathon bib and tears welled up in my eyes so heavily that I couldn't read the words on the bright yellow bib any longer. I was holding my bib, knowing that I wouldn't be running a step of this race due to my stress fracture that I incurred during my 1/2 marathon in May. I heard my husband call my name, looked up and he and our friends were waiting for me. I crumpled up my bib, stuffed it in my goodie bag and joined them as we walked through the expo hall.

Way back on May 3rd, the day after my 1/2 marathon, Brett, our friend Lynk and I were sitting in my living room, moaning about our soar muscles and discussing the race. Lynk brought up the idea of doing a marathon and I told him no way, I was way too sore after just 13 miles, no way I could do 26. Well, the idea grew on me and after much research and many e-mails between Lynk, his wife Nancy, Brett and I, we registered for the Akron Road Runner Marathon. The lingering hip pain that I had from the 1/2 was not improving so I went to a sports doctor, had an MRI and was diagnosed with a stress fracture in my hip and in my pelvis. So no marathon for me. But I knew I could be useful to my friends by being the all important support staffer so I focused on that, pushing my disappointment aside.

We left for Akron on Friday afternoon, drove 5 hours and went straight to the expo hall. After picking up our bibs, we went from booth to booth, spinning wheels for free stuff (I got a reusable grocery bag, Brett won a pair of 1980 sunglasses) and meeting up with one of my Sparkpeople friends, Jan, at the Teams in Training booth. I kept looking at the sale racks of women's running clothes for a good deal. I had been released by my doctor to run up to 3 miles 2 weeks prior to this marathon. So the thought of running the first 3 miles entered my mind. But I didn't bring any running clothes with me. I did buy a long sleeved tee that said "I run like a girl, try to keep up". I mentioned to Nancy that if I had a sports bra, I would love to run the first few miles of the race. But all the ones at the expo seemed pretty over priced. Brett overheard me and said he thought it was a great idea and that I should do it. So Nancy suggested stopping at Target or Walmart on the way to the hotel to buy a sports bra. I immediately lite up inside and out, thrilled to even run 3 out of 26 miles of this race. At least I wouldn't be completely stuck on the sidelines, I could wear my bib, get the rush from crossing the start line, feel part of the experience. I was stoaked. Brett and I looked over the course map and the 3 mile mark was very close to the start and finish lines so we knew it would be an easy place to stop and still get to the car to change, get the camera and get to the finish line to watch him finish. It all seemed to be lining up.

We picked up our "free" Brooks tech jackets that were included in our entry fee and left the expo to find the hotel and dinner. We stayed at a Courtyard By Marriott, ate dinner at TGI Fridays and went back to the room. Nancy and I ran up to Walmart, got a sports bra and some running shorts for me as well as trash bags and ziploc bags. We had checked the weather and it said 80% chance of rain and thunderstorms. None of us wanted to run in the rain but we were more concerned about the race being canceled due to thunderstorms as well. But weather is the one thing you can't control so we just went to bed.

Wake-up call was at 5:00 am. We got up, grabbed some breakfast and drove to the finish line, which was at a minor league baseball field, in the middle of downtown Akron. It wasn't raining but still very dark. We walked 5 block to the start line where there were 1000's of people. It's a full, 1/2 and relay race so lots of people were participating. I gave Brett a big kiss and he went to find the 3:20 (7:34 min mile) pace group. Lynk and Nancy headed to the 10 min mile area and I settled in about 8:30 min mile area. The music was cranked over the loud speakers and the feeling from the crowd was electric. The announcer said there was no rain in the forecast, only thick cloud cover, answering our prayers! I did some stretching but mainly stayed to the side so I wouldn't be in the way of the real marathoners. 7:00am came and the bell sounded, signaling the start of the race! I settled into a comfortable pace. I knew I didn't want to push too hard, my main goal was to make it to 3 miles without walking (since I didn't do that at the 5K I competed in the week before). I passed mile 1 at 9:00, hit mile 2 about 18:20 and then was happy to see mile 3 at 27:00. The course had rolling hills, nothing out of control but hills so I was really happy that I made it 3 miles without walking. And no leg/hip pain either. I pulled off to the side and a man said "Come on, Mary, don't stop!" (my bib had my name on it) and I smiled at him and said "I'm injured, I'm only supposed to go 3 miles".

I walked 5 blocks to the car where I changed shirts and grabbed our backpack with the camera, course map, smiley face balloon (so they could pick me out of the crowd easily) water bottles and other things for the rest of my crew. And I hoofed it another 6 blocks up to the 10th mile marker, which also was the start line. It was pretty crowded there, lots of family members stayed there after the start of the race. Took a little searching to find a good spot and I settled in to wait for Brett. I signed up for text messages as Brett, Lynk and Nancy crossed certain points of the race so I would have an idea how they were doing. I got one about Brett saying he had crossed the 15k (9.3 miles) at 1:10:26 with a predicted finishing time of 3:17:57! So I knew he was staying with the pace group. I saw him coming down the road, waved and snapped a picture.

Next up was Lynk and his text at 15K said 1:25:38 with a predicted finishing time of 4:00:46. I crossed the street to get a better angle which wasn't easy because security wasn't allowing people to cross for the safety of the runners. But I got across and waited for Lynk. Saw him coming from a ways away and got some good pictures of him. He stopped to tie his shoe and ask how my run went. I also told him that security was being strict so I wasn't going to stay around for Nancy because I needed to get to the finish line to see Brett. He thought that was fine so I headed out. Walked back to the car to get my new tech jacket, drop off some of the bottles of water that were weighing down my pack and headed to the stadium. At this point I get a text saying that Nancy crossed 15K at 2:00:52, predicted finishing time of 5:39:31. So I figured that if I hurried, I could make the 10 mile mark and see her. But the crowd was bigger, streets harder to cross so by the time I got to the 10 mile mark, it was 17 mins later, well past the time she would have reached 10 miles. So I turn around and head back to the stadium.

I get another text - Brett crossed 25K (15 miles) at 2:01:15, predicted time of 3:24:30. That was strange, he was 4 minutes off of the pace group. I say a quick prayer, hoping that his knee wasn't bothering him. Next up was a text about Lynk, 25K at 2:29:47, finishing time of 4:12:34. He was slowing down as well. Hmmm. I get to the stadium as the 1/2 marathoners were starting to finish up. I grab a seat and see the winner of the marathon cross at 2:28 - amazing. See the first woman finish at 2:44. I get a text - Brett reached 30K (18.6 miles) 2:42:59, predicted finishing time of 3:54:13. Oh crap. How/why did it take him 40 minutes to go 5k???? He normally does 5k in 21 minutes. He has to be hurt. Or maybe he couldn't keep up with the pace group, slowed down and was planning on finishing by 4 hours, which was his backup plan.

I get another text saying that Lynk passed 30K at 3:12:45, predicted finish of 4:36:36. I sadly watch the 3:20 pace group come in. I get a text about Nancy, she crossed 25k at 3:26:49, predicted finish of 5:48:42. The cut-off time is 6 hours so I worry and hope that she stays at that speed. The lady behind me tells me that no texts are sent after 30k until the runner crosses the finish line. So I was in the dark from mile 18.6 to mile 26.2. There is a lot that can go wrong in those 8 miles. Hour 4 approaches and I'm on the edge of my seat, watching for Brett to come into the stadium. They had it set up that the runners came in from right field, ran down a tarp to 1st base where they crossed the finish line. I watch runner after runner cross, waiting to see his white long-sleeved tech shirt and 10 year old gold athletic shorts come down the stretch. And I wait and worry and pray. Four hours passes. I start thinking "Ok, he didn't fill out the emergency info on the back of his bib, how will anyone reach me if something has happened to him? He'd call if he was unable to finish so I wouldn't worry, wouldn't he?? Please, please let him finish soon."

I text Nancy to tell her that Brett and Lynk were not finished yet. She lets me know that she hurt her hip back at mile 2.5 and was in pain but determined to finish. I get a few phone calls and texts from family members wanting to know how Brett was doing. I just tell them that he hasn't finished yet, I'm worried and will call when I know something.

Finally, at 4:45 (11:45am) I see Brett running into the stadium. I scream as loud as I can, take some pictures, scream and wave and cry as I watch him cross the finish line at 4:45:49. He doesn't see or hear me. I run up the stadium stairs and push through the crowd, trying to get to the runners area. I dash down another set of stairs and start screaming his name and waving the smiley balloon like a mad woman. He finally sees me, smiles and points for me to sit down. I quickly text a few people to let them know he finished and wait for him to get out of the runners area. He walks up to me with his mylar blanket around him, medal in one hand, food bag in the other. I give him the biggest hug and kiss and cried telling him how worried I was but how happy I was. He sits down and tells me about his calfs cramping up terribly at mile 15 (right when I got the text that he was slowing down) and his calf completely locking up at mile 18. He goes to the bathroom to get sick (too much Gu and water). Suddenly I get a text saying that Lynk crossed the finish line at 4:57:25, I missed watching him finish. But I got some pictures of him walking through the runners area. So he met up with us and he and Brett quickly started swapping race stories. Lynk cramped up partway through as well so just took his time finishing. He wasn't worried about a finishing time so he was really happy to just be done. Brett was extremely disappointed in his performance, especially since he had never cramped on any training run. I was just happy to have him safe. They continue to talk and we move down to the better seating area and wait for Nancy.

It's about 5:45 and no sign of her. Brett and Lynk decide to walk up the road to find her and help bring her in. I wait to get pictures at the finish line. I watch the minutes tick by, knowing that the race is over at 6:00. The stadium is nearly empty but the 100 people that where there started cheering very loudly for every finisher at this point. I start getting really nervous at 5:55 and start crying at 5:59, knowing that she wouldn't have time to cross the finish line before it hit 6:00. The clock hits 6:00. Then the announcer says that the last person didn't cross the starting line until 7:05am so they were giving everyone an extra 5 minutes to finish. Whew, she can still make it. The clock is ticking. I'm not taking my eyes off the entrance. Suddenly, I see Nancy and Lynk come around the corner. Lynk points me out to her and steps off the course. Nancy starts running down the tarp to the finish line. I'm screaming her name and taking her picture. She crossed the finish line at 6:03 but had an official finishing time of 5:59:53 - she made it with only 7 seconds to spare!!!!! What a rush.

Within a minute of her crossing the finish line, the skies opened and started to pour. God waited until all 3 finished before letting the rain come. While Nancy is cooling down and gathering her stuff, I head to the car to pull it up to the stadium. Everyone slowly piles in (we actually had a police officer stop traffic so they could climb into the minivan) and we head back to the hotel. Much race talk ensued. Nancy said the 6:00 pacer caught her at mile 18 and she just started bawling. She knew that if he passed her, she would be picked up by the sag wagon. So he talked her through the next 8 miles and got her across the line in time. He even gave her his pace sign as a momento.

After showers and resting, we headed to Texas Roadhouse for an early dinner. There were plenty of other runners there, all limping and proudly wearing their medals or marathon jackets. We all looked each other in the eye and congratulated each other. No matter what your time was that day, you still reached a goal and that's something to be very proud of.