Ann Arbor Marathon

The Ann Arbor Marathon started out good. I was hanging with a pace group and was feeling good. The pace leader, Heather, told me that the first 14 miles were really hilly. Besides the course being really hilly, it was very humid. The humidity was about 70% or a little higher.

I ran with a handheld bottle for the first time. It was nice having water with me. But I really wanted to conserve my water. For the first couple of aid stations, I drank from my bottle. I drank from the aid stations for the rest of the race. Besides water, I did drink Powerade and I had Honey Stinger chews with me.

Heather was correct. This course was so hilly. The entire course felt like one giant hill. As soon as we ran a downhill another hill was right ahead of us. I was thrilled that I was running the hills well and staying in step with Heather. I kept thinking to stay with her and I could run a great time. I was doing that until mile 10. When coming to an aid station, we would all slow down and get fluids. After drinking the fluids, we would all group back up and run together. I was right behind Heather. I first grabbed a cup of water and drank that. I then grabbed a Powerade. I started to drink it and started choking. I got the fluid down finally, but Heather already sped up and left the aid station. I managed to get a step or two behind her and she ended up pulling away. When I lost the group, I was a little sad. My goal coming into the marathon was to stay with a pace group the entire way. I just failed my goal. The group was getting farther and farther away and there was nothing that I could do to catch up.

Once I was out of the group, I found myself alone. Other people were around, but I wasn't running with anyone. I ran by myself for 16 miles. Along those 16 miles, I did manage to pass some people. These were the people who ran by me earlier. Even though I wasn't with the group, it felt good to still pass a few people. It did lift my spirits.

During one of the long hill climbs, a paramedic crew riding bikes passed me. I really thought of stopping and asking them for a ride back to my car. I was tired and the long hill climbs were not fun. I ran up all of the hills. I figured I would finish the race faster by running instead of walking the hills. When running up the hills, I looked about 5-10 feet in front of me. Always staring at the street. I only glanced up once or twice to see how long before I crested the top of the hill.

The last six miles felt the longest. Knowing you just had a 10K left felt really good, but 6.2 miles is still a distance away. The miles clicked off slowly and we ran up many more hills. Around mile 24, I ran by my car. It was parked across the street from Michigan Stadium in a high school parking lot. I thought of just skipping the last two miles and heading straight for my car. I desperately wanted to stop running and just sit down. But I didn't. I didn't because I don't quit anything. I was two miles away from the end. I was going to finish and get my medal.

I was running with a couple of guys during the last mile. We all were side by side. It was nice to run with someone again. When we hit the last turnaround, I passed many more people. Most of them were walking. I wanted to join them in walking, but the finish line was less then a half mile away. I just kept plugging away. There was no sprinting into the finish line. I was just running the same speed I ran for the second half of the race. I was so happy to see the finish line. I was even more happy to run over the timing mats. I was done. I finished the race in 4:50:07. This time was 10 minutes slower then my last marathon. But with all of the hills, it is understandable.

I drank some water, grabbed a banana and half of banana nut muffin and started walking the 1.1 miles back to my car. A guy came and walked beside me. He said "great job" to me. I said thanks. He said I pulled away from him at near the end of the race and he couldn't keep up. I didn't even realize that he was that close to me. It made me feel a little better to know I ran away from someone at the end of a grueling race.

Finishing time: 4:50:07
Overall place: 407/580
Age Group: 22/36