Thoughts From an Ordinary Novice Runner...: Grandma's Marathon Weekend!

Well with all the work and anticipation Grandma's Marathon has come and gone! We stayed in a cabin about an hour north of Duluth and took in many of the state parks and sights on the day before. I would have loved to do more hiking but I wanted to stay fresh for the morning.

On Saturday I was up around 4:45 to get ready for the drive into Two Harbors, MN to make it to the bus in time. The buses transported everyone to a scenic stretch of highway on the coast of Lake Superior. Festivities started around 7:15 when the held a moment of silence for Wesley Ngetich who was a two-time Grandma's Marathon winner that was killed several months ago in his home country. After the moment of silence there was the national anthem and a flyover by 2 F-16 fighter jets.

I lined up near the 4:15 pace team and wanted to stick with them until the finish. The first 10k flew by at a 1:00:06 which was on pace with the group. Despite the race course being on the coast in an isolated area there were people up and down the highway. I even saw comedian and senate hopeful Al Frankin along the way cheering on the crowd! I hit the 13.1 mark with a time of 2:07:43 and was able to stick with the group. Around mile 19 the scenic highway opened up to packed Duluth streets with people cheering on both sides. Its also the time that I hit the wall.

I hit the 20 mile mark at 3:17:41 and at this point I was hurting. I started cramping in my quads about every half mile and I would be reduced to a walk/ slow hobble for about 1/10 of a mile before the cramps subsided. I pushed through the last 6.2 miles with cramps through the legs. I lost the pace group at this point but I was more concerned with just pushing and getting through. As I hit the 25 mile mark at 4:14:08 I knew I could finish. I kept pushing and as I turned the corner and saw the finish line a quarter mile away all pain disappeared and I ran. I don't know how fast I ran but I moved and pushed. I finally crossed at 4:27:22! It was a little slower then I hoped but I knew I gave it my all and left all I had on the race course!

Fulfilling a lifetime dream was an amazing experience and I am grateful that I had so many family members there to celebrate it! As of now I will be taking a week off and letting the legs heal. I have to walk down the stairs backwards until the quads improve! Time to figure out what race is next on the calender!