"This 50+ year old man is going to seriously kick my butt", a thought I never would have imagined I'd be thinking in today's marathon, or ever for that matter, but it flooded my thoughts today. And no respect to his age but I consider myself to be a very fit, very healthy tough competitor; a strong experienced runner. Well, so I thought before I met this particular man. I had parted from the crowd at the start line and was into my solid first kilometer when we crossed paths. He came up to the left side of me and then stayed there well into the 34th kilometer in today's marathon.
There were numerous running teams participating in today's marathon and he appeared to be a part of one of them. With his short shorts on and running club tank top, he looked pretty buff and appeared to be an experienced runner but he also seemed to be well beyond me in years. When I first noticed him to the left of me, I turned to catch a glimpse of his racing bib number.
Runner 488.
We were still on our first kilometer and I knew I was running much faster than I had anticipated and much faster than I should be but I was determined to not let this particular runner beat me. I had set my goal pacing to stay under 5:40min/km but we were flying at 5:07min/km and didn't appear to be slowing down.
Leading up to today, I had made several goals for myself:
1. Finish before Black Skinny.
2. Outrun Rocket.
3. Stay under 4 hours and 20 minutes.
I had an ultimate goal too, to finish before 4 hours, but I kind of kept it to myself and only told a few friends because I thought I was aiming a bit high with it being my first marathon.
Other goals I picked up today, before and during the marathon:
1. Don't let that 200km ultra marathon runner pass me.
2. Keep up with Runner 488.
3. Don't turn around to see if the 4:20 and 4hr pace markers are coming up.
I knew going into this marathon that my biggest challenge would be that of the mental challenge that comes with pushing myself non stop for how ever long it'd take me to finish this marathon. That's where Runner 488 proved to be the hero of my marathon story here. At first I thought nothing of it that he started running beside me, it was a race and I was bound to have runners run beside me, but then he just didn't go away. Then, whenever I appeared to be slowing down a bit, he'd wave his hand to motion for me to catch up. At one of the water tables he took two cups of water and passed me one; it was then that I realized we had somehow committed ourselves to not only this race but to running it together. This continued throughout the race, us waving to each other to hurry up or watch out for whatever big puddle was up ahead, passing each other bananas and cups of water, and staying side by side. We ran so close to each other that every once in awhile our elbows would hit and we'd say sorry to each other.
At the 33rd kilometer my shoe lace untied and I stopped to tie it. The sudden stop in running mixed with squatting down quickly to tie it and the half choco pie I just ate was a rough mixture and resulted in me puking right there on the spot. We were turning the corner when it happened so Runner 488 didn't see what had just happened but, when I resumed running, I looked up ahead and there he was, looking back and forth and behind to find out where I was. He slowed down so I could catch up but then, in the 34th kilometer, he suddenly stopped running and started walking. It was the third time he had stopped, the first being because he had to pee and then once because the difficulty of a steep hill and the fumes of traffic beside us that left us both choking and very lightly jogging through it. But this time it was different. He urged me to continue without him. I made a bit of a fuse, insisting we stay together and finish together, but he yelled at me to continue.
I continued.
Every so often I'd turn around, hoping he'd be right behind me. I could see that he was in fact behind me but far behind me. I was sure he'd catch up to me though. Going towards the 38th kilometer it was like I had hit a wall. My legs felt like concrete and I needed the reassurance of Runner 488 by my side to continue. He hadn't yet caught up to me, I couldn't even see him behind me, and I started to seriously regret not staying with him after all he had tried so eagerly to keep me running strong and fast.
I cried a bit at the 38th kilometer marker. I cried over Runner 488. I cried and ran.
He was my running buddy. I didn't know why and I didn't know how it had become as such but it had and now I was left to run by myself. My pacing in the the next three kilometers definitely reflected my struggle to push myself.
I had been listening to music the whole time but had my MapMyRun application going so I was fully aware of what kilometer I was on, what my average pacing was and what pacing each split was. When I reached the 42nd kilometer, I felt instant relief. I was almost done. But then I realized the massive stadium to which I was suppose to run through to cross the finish line was no where to be seen.
"Why the heck don't I see the stadium?!" I yelled out.
As it turns out, due to mainly the rain and consequently the massive puddles it formed on the sides of the roads, I did a lot of weaving during my run. I had picked up extra mileage so when I thought I was almost done, I wasn't. I still had almost another two kilometers to run. Of course I didn't realize this until after the run so you can definitely imagine my frustration with not seeing the stadium.
Then Runner 513 slapped me on the back and proceeded to push me.
"Go, go, go" he yelled at me. He had come up beside me right when I yelled out about the stadium and though he didn't know a word of what I had said in English, he could clearly sense my frustration. It was nice to have a second running buddy in the marathon. He was no Runner 488 but instead was more aggressive. He just absolutely refused to let me slow down and so he continually placed his hand on the middle of my back to literally push me forward. I had no choice at the point because it was either be pushed flat on my face or do what this man was yelling at me to do, run faster.
So I ran faster.
I crossed the finish line with Runner 513 by my side and then I hugged him. Snickers urged me to change out of my soaking wet clothes but I insisted I stay there. I had to not only wait for my Hulk teammates but I most definitely had to wait for Runner 488, to thank him. So that's exactly what I did. I stood there and, at the sight of Runner 488 approaching the finish line, I clapped and I yelled for him. Then I ran to hug him.
Snickers says this race was all my doing but it really wasn't. It was Rocket who got me into this race in the first place, who got us to do weekend long runs. It was Black Skinny who had taken on the race and posed it as yet another race for us to be each other's competition. It was Snickers who drove me out to my weekend long runs and sat in the truck waiting for me and it was him who treated me to my post long run meal and helped me stretch. It was my Hulkies and friends who encouraged me throughout my training, incredible friends who bombarded my phone and email with encouraging messages, and my main sponsor Wow who constantly checked in and offered advice. And of course there are those who made this race run as smoothly as it had -- the police and others who stopped traffic and kept us safe, the student volunteers who kept us hydrated and fed during the race, the other volunteers and spectators who stood roadside to cheer us all on, and the young girl who offered to untie my shoe at the end of the race because I was in too much pain to untie it for the time chip attached to it.
But Runner 488 and Runner 513, they played such unexpected important roles in the success of my marathon today, beyond that which I can even begin to explain in words. So to Runner 488 and Runner 513, thank you. You helped me kill all the goals I had set out for this marathon.
Sunday, April 19th, 2015, my first full marathon -- 42.195kms at 3:55:54.
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