Posted: November 16, 2005

Running: Marine Corps Marathon - A Personal Recap

By Tim McNamara

I usually try to write a brief recap of each race that I do since as time goes on, memories seem to fade. We remember the time it took us to complete the race, any dramatic events that happened during the race, but the details seem to slip through the cracks of time. After having just run the Marine Corp Marathon in Washington DC earlier today, I wanted to get it down on paper while everything is still so fresh, so here it goes;

Sheraton hotel, Washington DC - Sheryl and I were watching the news yesterday morning when we see a special interest story. Over 1,000 people will be walking the marathon to raise money for charity. I can’t remember which charity it was, but I do remember Sheryl asking, "You can walk a marathon and still finish in enough time?" Yes, as long as it's a fast paced walk. We had signed up to do this race in February, and started our training on Monday April 4th. Training was going quite well, and I thought that Sheryl might even be able to qualify for the Boston Marathon. She did every workout, and always wanted to do more. She soon learned that sometimes less is more when it comes to running.

Saturday August 6th, a beautiful sunny day in Central Park. Sheryl and I start our long run @ 6 AM. We ran for 2 ½ hours, her longest run so far. Fast forward a week to Monday August 15th, the day in which we ended up in the Emergency room, forcing us to take 6 weeks off of training, only to learn that she was to be diagnosed with MS.

Sheryl started working out again 6 weeks later, but it was different. There would be good days, and we had some pretty bad days. I was able to focus on my own training and had 6 great weeks of high mileage training, but we really didn’t talk about the marathon, it was swept under the carpet. I signed up for the Las Vegas marathon and planned to give it everything that I’ve got. We didn't cancel either race registration, and I wasn't sure if I was going to run the marathon by myself. As of last Thursday, I was still on the fence about this race.

I did this race in 2002, and loved it which is why I suggested that Sheryl sign up for it. We were going to train for this race together, and this was going to be Sheryl's 1st marathon. The Marine Corp Marathon was going to be Sheryl’s marathon and I kept thinking if she wasn't able to do it, why should I? I don’t need another finisher’s medal. I've run 8 marathons and throw away my finisher medals. Memories are better than medals in my opinion.

Last weekend Sheryl ran 90 on the treadmill and her legs were sore after only 75 minutes, but she was determined to run 90 minutes. The plane tickets had already been purchased, and I thought it would be nice to see my brother who goes to school in Washington. We were going to Washington and I was going to run the Marine Corp Marathon.

Friday afternoon - I had to go and pick up my race number, t-shirt, and timing ship at the expo. Since we didn’t cancel Sheryl’s race registration, I wanted her to bring her confirmation card, and get the race T-shirt so I could have an extra one. She brought the card, but ended up getting a t-shirt in her size. She held the shirt up and saw the words “competitor” stitched into the fabric. I could see a tear starting to form in the corner of her eye. This was her race, not mine. I wasn’t sure how to handle it, or what to say, so I simply asked if everything was OK. We got back to the room, and she threw away her race number since it wasn’t going to be used. While she was in the bathroom, I pulled the race number out of the garbage can with plans to use it as a motivation tool for a future marathon.

After seeing the special interest story of those walking the marathon, Sheryl then asked, "You can walk a marathon and still finish in enough time?" Yeah, as long as it's a fast paced walk I replied. And then she dropped the bomb, "Do you think that I can do it?" I had to think of something quick, but I would be doomed if I do, or doomed if I didn’t. Either way, there was nothing that I could say that was going to be the correct answer to this question. "You could have done it if we weren't in the hospital for 2 weeks this summer, which then forced you to take 6 weeks off." Would she be able to run some of it, and then finish the rest by walking? Well, if she could run 90 minutes on a treadmill, I was pretty sure that she would be able to run at least 90 minutes, and probably even a little further due to the excitement and adrenaline that cheering fans provide.

We both agreed that this was her race from the start and not mine; the decision was made, we were going to give it a shot. The plan was to run as much of it as possible, then finish by walking, but the key word to remember is FINISH. Since Sheryl had not planned on running, she didn't bring any workout clothes, or sneakers. We shifted into high gear, we had a mission to accomplish and we didn’t have a lot of time to get it done. We returned back to the expo to start shopping. The tear that had formed in the corner of her eye on Friday had now turned into fire. I could see that Sheryl had grabbed the reigns and had taken this race back.

We had to get her a complete race day wardrobe. Starting with sneakers, and ending all the way up with a headband. We had to find the right type of tights, the right sports bra, and to complicate matters, it all had to match. As the saying goes, “It doesn’t matter how well you do in the race, it’s how good you look crossing the finish line.” We made it out of the expo around 11 and had some catching up to do. It was time to start carbo loading, and we were off to Chipotle for a huge burrito. Just when Sheryl finally felt her stomach again, it was time to fill it up again with noodles, rice, and everything else that you might find @ the Bangkok Bistro.

With our tummies were filled to the brim, it was time to get some sleep. Race morning came, and we both of us were quite relaxed. When your goal is to simply finish, you really don’t stress about not living up to anyone’s expectations. You are either going to finish, or you aren’t. There is no would have, could have, or should have. You either cross the line running, walking, skipping, hopping, or crawling, but there are only 2 options - you either cross it, or you don’t.

The weather was absolutely perfect for a marathon. We both realized that today was identical to the day in which Sheryl’s training was paused. On Saturday August 6th, we both ran together in the cool crisp autumn air in Central Park for what was Sheryl’s longest training run. On Sunday October 30th, once again we both ran together in the cool crisp autumn air for what was Sheryl’s longest run. Today, Sheryl ran 26.2 miles.

5 hours, 27 minutes, and 58 seconds. Most importantly, she accomplished her goal, finishing. As we passed the 26 mile mark, I could once again start to see the tear forming in the corner of her eye, but this tear was so very different from the one I saw on Friday. We still had to cover the last .2 miles, and after .1 miles, another tear began to form in the corner of her other eye. We started our final steps down the finish line chute. With only 10 feet to go, I grabbed her hand, raised in high into the air, and watched someone learn that anything is possible.

The pain will soon be forgotten, blisters will heal, and Gatorade will start to be replaced with glasses of Merlot. The one thing that will never be forgotten is that anything is possible.