RACES
lots of people I recognised going in the opposite direction, already several miles ahead of me. By the time I was off the bridge I was
“At mile 14 I was starting to have serious doubts abut finishing, I was soaked, miserable and in quite considerable pain from my right ankle.”
assorted goodies was great! Afterwards I headed downtown to the Seattle Marathon Expo which, at the Westin Hotel, was straightforward enough, plenty of things to browse around, and got my number and nice technical shirt which I wore the next day.
Day Three Ghost of Seattle T Marathonhe course was two loops up and down the side of Lake Washington and Seward Island Park. Seemed as flat as a pancake compared to the day before but by now my legs were really tired. I was beginning to see the same faces again and again by now so the days got friendlier and friendlier. My favourite memory of this race happened on Seward Island - I was out on my own and saw two raccoons, who ran alongside me for maybe 30 seconds, I wouldn’t have minded so much but then they effortlessly pulled away and trotted in to the trees. I’ll be honest, at this stage I wasn’t going very quickly! A huge medal at the finish which doubles as a bottle opener and another finish line feast.
Day Four Seattle Marathon
For most normal people this of course was the main event of the weekend! The start/finish is near to the famous Space Needle so it’s straightforward to head towards the right area and the finish/ baggage area was in Memorial Stadium. We’d all arranged to meet for
a group picture, which was handy as that also provided some shelter from the rain. Ah, the rain! The forecast before I set out for the US was poor and I had reasonably got away with it so far. Unfortunately it was made up for on the last day! Did it rain? I suppose we were lucky that at the start it wasn’t too much more than a sprinkling, so as we headed off into downtown Seattle it wasn’t too bad, but within thirty minutes or so the tap was turned on and when it rains in the Pacific Northwest, it rains… By now my legs were done, in fact
there was a little slope no more than half a mile from the start and I was already walking to get up it. Whist I had done a Quadzilla before this was probably the toughest marathon I’d encountered. The legs were dead, the rain was pouring and I was also feeling a bit off colour too. As we headed out of downtown we
went along a wide turn, up a freeway ramp and I could see this long line of people in front of me, and as I looked behind me, disturbingly few in that direction! After a few more miles we mercifully were in a long road tunnel which, whilst killing the GPS signal for my Garmin, was a welcome respite from the weather. Unfortunately on the other side was a long out and back on the bridge across Lake Washington, fully exposed to the elements with a nice bit of extra spray from the passing traffic (we were in the express lanes). The only positive was that I got to see
pretty much dead on my feet, and having already done this part the day before it somehow seemed endless! At mile 14 I was starting to have serious doubts about finishing, I was soaked, miserable and in quite considerable pain from my right ankle and shin (I’d thrown up a couple of times by now too). I decided to do something I’d never done before, and went into a medical tent! I refused a blanket and asked for some tape so I could strap up my shin, I did that and then perhaps did the most difficult thing I’ve ever done. I just sat there looking at the pouring rain, the wind whipping it at an angle of maybe 45 degrees and one of the medics asked if I wanted a lift back to the start? I’d be lying if I said I didn’t think about it.
At about mile 17 I was in another tent, this time taking off the tape, my ankle now hurting more than my shin and a medic advised me to pull out as they thought I was beginning to suffer from hypothermia. At mile 21 I was back in another tent taping up my shin again as I decided I could live with the ankle pain but not the shin as this was being helped with tape. At least by now the rain had eased but I was quite near the back of the field and beginning to doubt if I would make the cutoff. Oddly though as sometimes these things happen, I started to feel a bit better and had some reasonable miles before the legs utterly gave up on me and I marched myself home, 5:45 in the end which was quite surprising bearing how much time I had spent sitting! I was very pleased to have finished I can tell you! Steve Walters (who was organising the Quadzilla) was there to hand me my special medal, which was much appreciated. Job done!
www.runningfreemag.co.uk ■ 35
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64