Marathon Update

Winning isn't whipping everyone else's ass. It's whipping your own. Kenny Moore

Last Friday June 27 was the first day of the U.S Olympic Track and Field Trials. Thousands of athletes, coaches, spectators and reporters descended on Eugene, Oregon to see some of the world's best fight it out for their place on the Beijing team. On June 27, I was a few hours drive away in Sun River, Oregon. Gretchen and I were preparing for one 42.2km race with 150 other runners and a handful of spectators. I was competing against myself.

On one level the marathon has to be the easiest running event there is. All that is required is to start at an easy, controlled pace and keep up a steady run/ jog for 26.2 miles. Cross the line. No worries. Feel like a hero. Yet I trained 4 intense months for this and it has been a learning curve steeper than Everest.

The run was gorgeous, scenic, 30+ degrees damn hot and dry. I fought blisters, nausea, dizziness and dehydration but kept shuffling along, passing a few fading runners in the final miles, motivating myself with every cheesy affirming phrase I could think of.

My goal was to finish in under 4 hours. I clocked 3 hours 56 minutes and 46 seconds. Surprisingly, this placed me first in my age group and fifth out of the women. Bonus!

But to all who crossed the line in Sun River- from 19 year old Matt to the 73 year old athletes Bob and Eugene- feel like a hero!