So here's my marathon story:
TCM set a record yesterday for being the hottest race ever. And it was. The temperature at the start was in the mid-70s and the dewpoint was in the90s. 10 degrees warmer and they would have cancelled it. 7215 people finished. 900 people who started didn't finish. The Chicago marathon, also held yesterday, was cancelled 3.5 hours into the race due to heat, and the temperatures there were not as hot as they were here.
My friend Mark was working as an emergency radio operator at the Mile 9 Aid Station. He said that there were 24 ambulance calls and 300 drop-outs - and that was just between mile 9 and 18. And - apparently the sweep bus (drives along at a 6-hour pace to pick up slow runners and those who want to quit) left 7 people behind at mile 17 because she was going "too fast". A woman ended up picking them up in her own personal van. One of the radio guys that Mark worked with said that this race had the highest drop-out rate of any of the 20 TCMs he had worked on. Also, they ran out of water at the water stop at mile 23 at 11am. I didn't get there until like 1:00. They were pouring water from nasty, muddy, half crushed milk jugs into cups, and people were standing there, in chunks, waiting for water. MMM...muddy water at mile 23. So refreshing. I'm thinking they were filling them up with somebody's hose or something.
I placed 6252 overall, 2334th out of 2829 females, and 405th out of 485 females in my age group.
My offical chip time was 5:31:04.
If you all remember my Grandma's marathon story, a certain old codger by the name of Burt Carlson (in his 80s, has run 4,000 marathons, my arch nemesis)reared his ugly head again. I couldn't shake him. We were neck and neck...finally I pushed him to the ground, spit on him, and finished a full 9 minutes and 14 seconds ahead of him. Seriously this guy is awesome. I think he was the oldest entrant...not completely sure on that one, but there were only 4 "over-80s" in the race who finished. 2 of them beat me. You better watch it next year Greg Prom and Lloyd Young! If you have a next year. Is that mean? I'm just kidding!
Also I'd like to point out that Mary Akor, or the woman exactly my age who won Grandma's Marathon this year, dropped out at mile 5. I guess she just didn't have what it takes to be a champion, like me.
They busted a guy cheating at one of the lakes, apparently he tried to take the short way around. Dummy! Or maybe he just took a wrong turn? I think if you're going to cheat, you ought to remove your race number when exiting the course. At least that's what I do.
I had a very good run overall. I beat my time from Grandma's by 2 minutes. I stayed very hydrated throughout, and other than being extremely sweaty, the heat didn't affect me too badly. My major complaint aside from having to walk down the stairs backwards is that I have three huge blisters, so huge that I technically have 13 toes today. The one on my pinky toe looks like lego-man hair. I can hardly walk, and did nothing today except watch the entire first season of 30 Rock on DVD.
Oh, by the way, you've heard of these guys who get bloody nipples from their shirts chafing them? Well, we saw a guy with a bloody nipple on his back. Or a mole. Whatever, it was gross. I felt so bad for the guy. Also, is it too much to ask the water stop people handing out water not to stick their fingers IN the water you're about to drink? If you ever want to run a marathon, you have to get over any germ issues quick. You're wiping sweat off your face every five seconds, and sometimes snot, and then some little kid wants a high five. If I had a kid, and we were watching a marathon, I would kabosh any high fiving real quick. FYI to you parents.
Special thanks to Jim Crandall, my running buddy, for staying with me every step of the way and helping me run a very difficult race. I forgive you forwriting JIM so big on your shirt that nobody even noticed my little KADY, thus eliminating any "GO KADY!" cheering.
Here's a link to my photos.
http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=16pedly5.7xjaybap&x=1&y=gx16jk
Kady
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