I ran in my second marathon this past Sunday. Sometimes I feel "like a runner" and am ready to attack whatever road is in front of me and the rest of the time I feel like a fat junior high kid trying out for the USA Olympic Track Team. For the first 22 miles on Sunday, I ran like a runner! And actually if it weren't for the final 6 miles being uphill and windy (up to 40 mph gusts), I feel like I would have torn up the entire thing! I finished with a time of 3:35:11 and 96th out of a field of 2407 finishers. I am really proud of my time (even if I did miss my goal by 5 minutes) due to the condition and that I beat my first marathon's time by over an hour!The Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon is special, though! The memorial is really inspiring and pretty spooky at 5 am! Prior to the race, the race director calls for 168 seconds of silence to remember those who lost their lives in the very unfortunate bombing in the mid-1990s. This silence is so different than the energizing bells and whistles so many other directors choose to use in order to begin their races. I loved feeling like I was running for a purpose: to let others remember that good defeats tragedy!
In the meantime, I am going to train to attempt a Boston qualifying time and get two marathons in by next February.
Great story! Congratulations on your accomplishment. I'm 49 and have decided to do a 1/2 marathon. Maybe I'll manage a full marathon on down the road. I'm looking at the next Little Rock 1/2 marathon. WB
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on a great time, especially with those tough conditions.
ReplyDeletestan
I'm proud of you, Evan. You have accomplished so much in the last year. And shaving an hour off of your time is quite an accomplishment! I love the OKC Memorial-that is an awesome way to start the race. I look forward to hearing about your future races.
ReplyDeleteJessica