Little Rock Marathon Writeup

Great to be back in Atlanta after marathon number 3. The Little Rock Marathon was nothing short of amazing. Excellent weather, beautiful course, amazing cheer support; one could ask for no better. The course takes you through the downtown area and through some lovely suburbs and parks. I especially enjoyed the trek through the nature preserve around mile 18 and 19. Let's get to the basics and start from the top. Mike and I got an early start of course because our hotel was a little ways away from the start line. We were up and out at 6:45 to get on the road and to the marathon. Incredibly we were able to park downtown within two blocks of the start with no issue. There were no large crowds or awful road blocks to hinder us. This made things much easier and abated any issues. We then walked past Broadway and cut to the right passing the Peabody Hotel and the convention center. Downtown Little Rock is very beautiful and traditional; not exactly big but very eloquent. We started to see some runners who were taking part in the early start. The early start was at 6AM and was for people who wanted a little more time to finish the run. Rules regarding participation in the early run were quite strict also. You had to finish in over 6 hours or you would be disqualified. My friend and UGA fellow graduate Horace Grant participated in this. Walking a little more we could see the crowd starting to build and were greeted by local firefighters. Great crowd and staging area around the start line. Headed to the restroom down by the waterfront did what I had to do. We walked around a little and snapped more pictures. 8AM was quickly approaching and I needed to get to corral C where I had been assigned. We agreed that Mike would meet me at the 6.1 mile water station. I was all smiles as I made my way to my group; here I was getting ready for number three! I wore my usual of course: My Runner's World Marathon Challenge shirt with Adidas Formotion under shirt and Nike black shorts. My Pegasus' were ready and tuned. The guy on my left and I engaged in conversation a little. He had completed nine marathons and several half marathons. Today he was participating in the half. Every state was represented in the event and there were a number of 50 State marathoners. In fact, the gentleman in front of me, no younger than 70, had his 50 state shirt on and he had completed the 50 four times over. Incredible what people can accomplish at any age. In any case I was ready, 50 is a long ways from being complete for me but I welcome the challenge. I turned on my Nike+ program and set it to marathon training. A handful of runners were in front of us, this was your seeded group. The speakers made their speeches as the crowd came to a boil. Promptly at 8AM the race kicked off amid applause and great fanfare. I kicked on the Nike+ program and music poured through my ears. I was cheek to cheek running across the start and through the blue and white streakers. One could not help but to feel like a winner already. We were off and all around me I noticed a sea of blue Half bibs on peoples' backs. Quite a few people were doing the half which is always what you have when both halfs and fulls are run at the same event. In this event however runners participating in the half wore an extra bib on their back indicating half. Across a small bridge and around a U bend we went; my strategy in this race was simple: start slow, finish strong. Proud to say that I was able to do that. I admit that I did not have the best carbo load session during the week but made due with what I could. Music pumped me up and I could feel a nice solid stride. My mind stayed focused on my objective. The first mile marker I saw was mile 2, it came so quickly it seems. Kept moving through downtown one step at a time. A number of people passed me which was all good with me. We made our way through some very beautiful and serene scenery. The first eighteen miles were quite flat which made coasting very easy. My pace was strong and my breathing very controlled. I had my saline solution on my back again and did not take my first swig until mile ten. Before I knew it I was at mile five, remembering that at the 6.1 mile station Mike would be there. Then mile six came up and I was looking left and right. I was at this time still in a large group of people but happened to make him out to my right. He snapped a couple of pics and I continued in the throng. The running was strong and paced and before I knew it the lines for half and full participants were separating which meant that I was getting close to the halfway point. My music mix pushed me to keep moving at every turn and kept me energized and focused. Before long I saw the sixteen mile marker and I was still moving strong. At this point I was running with another guy and we were pushing each other. Our pace was strong and consistent and we pushed through passing a number of people. Around mile 18 he dropped off to one of the stations but soon caught up and eventually passed me around the nature preserve (mile 19). There were a number of downhills in this area which I am not particularly crazy about just because I do not like to go bounding downhill. Nonetheless great scenery, pace dropped a little on the downhills but no issues. Then things leveled out a little bit and I was back on task and turning into a very large park. The park was a turnaround that ran the gamut from mile 20 to about mile 23. It, for me, was very treacherous and I could feel my pace dropping. Mitch Otaki was right; 'the real race starts at mile 20.' I trudged on through the park and literally right at the bend I ran into Horace who was also rounding it. It was good to see him and I kept on; I could feel the salt on my face as one young lady greeted me. My pace was slow but I was still moving which is always a good feeling. Around this point I noticed many run/walking and told myself that I did not want to be the next. Around mile twenty-three however enervation took me and I moved to a quick paced walk. Instantly I could feel the relief in my leg muscles as I did this but I knew that I would not finish like this. I continued run/walking and continued pushing forward. My resolve grew greater because I knew that I would perform even better than I had at Birmingham. A couple of women stayed around me; they were actively run/walking so they would drop and then race ahead of me, so on. One tall, young woman who I had passed earlier made her way past me. Do not know why she stuck out so much, very nice pace. Then I saw the exit out of the park, the same way in. It was a relief, somehow I found that park to be the most draining thing about the whole experience. I think the large trees and shade played on me more than the proverbial wall. Making my way out I could see many more making their way into the park and all I could think of for them was good luck! One step at a time the finish got closer and closer. At this point there were two older gentlemen just ahead of me; they too were run/walking. One of them was Alan from Michigan who was running with his sister in law. We met at mile 24 and when I stopped to walk he encouraged me to run with him because I had motivated him to run in the earlier miles. His words pushed me to keep running so we headed off together with a sheer promise to keep running even if it came at a slow pace. It was just after this meeting that we hit the last two hills. Gigantic hills they were rising out of the ground and taxing our persons. Nonetheless he said to me 'you pull me and I'll pull you' and we hit that damn thing hard. One down, one to go! A guy on a loudspeaker was cheering people on. Alan and I chatted the whole while and kept each other motivated. Soon we ran across Tom who was walking and he joined our merry band. Running with these two re-emphasized to me that there is much comradery in running. Ordinary people pushing themselves at every physical level and even when they seem to be at their end all it takes is the right push. I was honored to be running with these gentlemen. Alan kept us moving forward and before long we were right back in the heart of downtown and close to the finish. Mile 25 passed quickly and before I knew it our band of three approached the mile 26 marker. I looked at Alan and asked if we would go for a strong finish. He told me to go right ahead. At this point I heard Mike to my left and he was running with me, I simply yelled to him to keep up with me. I gave much thanks to Tom and Alan and my body turned towards the finish. Energy rushed through my person and I pushed out everything and kicked to the finish. My legs moved unbelievably under me as I hurled to the finish. I threw my arms up as the crowds on both sides applauded me and rushed me to the finish line. And wouldn't you know that a familiar face was their to usher me across! Bart Yasso of Runner's World was the finish line MC and saw my Runner's World marathon challenge shirt and pointed me out. It was an honor and a privilege. I crossed the line and saw the clock at 4:15; I did it, I came, I saw, I conquered. Number three was completed and I made my way to the medal handout to receive the latest addition to my collection and the largest by far! Little Rock has been the most impressive and best yet and I am grateful to have been a part of it. My dreams are coming to fruition everyday and that is the greatest thing of all. Thank you.

Review:

Organization: 5 Great job, everything went off without a hitch!

Course: 5 Tough and demanding but also very scenic. No looping here which was a relief.

Awards: 5 The largest medal on the circuit! Enough said.

Overall experience: 5 Awesome, my best and favorite yet. Amazing crowds that stayed to cheer everyone to the finish. You have to do this one.

Recommend: Definitely!