Well, it happened! Hubby Tom FINALLY ran his first marathon. This from the guy who swore that he would never, ever run a marathon. Too late sucker, now you're hooked!
We drove down to DC the day before the race (Saturday). My niece decided to join in the festivities so we picked her up from Staten Island first. The drive to DC was easy, with minimal/almost no traffic. We made it there in a little over 3 hours.
PACKET PICKUP:
Our first stop was the expo which was set up at the Armory. We parked at RFK Stadium and headed across for packet pickup. And then there was the line! Holy Hannah, what a long line. We knew we were in trouble when we saw food carts following the direction of the line (which wrapped around the building).
The line moved pretty quickly though and before we knew it, we were going though baggage check. One guy tried cutting the line. Big mistake buddy! Once inside, Tom headed to bib pickup while Julie, Caitlin and I headed over to Brooks for a little shopping.
Tom wanted a Marine Corps Marathon windbreaker and swore they would be sold out by the time he got there. Luckily they had plenty in stock. He bought his windbreaker, a tee shirt, and he bought my niece a shirt as well. We wandered around the expo, bought a few more items and then headed to the hotel.
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| The coveted MCM bib |
HOTEL:
We stayed at the Hamilton Crowne Plaza which was located less than a mile away from the White House. The room was simple...2 double beds and a bathroom, but we weren't planning on spending a lot of time there anyway. The hotel was very nice, clean and the staff was very friendly.
We relaxed then headed out for some sights. This turned out to be a mistake. We walked around DC, saw the White House, the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial. DC requires a lot of walking which was a big mistake before a 26.2 mile run!
We went to The HardRock Café for dinner and had to wait forever for a table. And I mean forever! By the time we finished dinner and got back to the room, it was almost 10:00 pm.
START LINE, HERE WE COME:
We woke up super early and were at the train platform by 5:30 am. The metro was located across from our hotel so we took the train to the Pentagon Station...along with a million other runners. After exiting the train, we walked about a mile to reach "Runner's Village". Tom wasn't sure if we were allowed into Runner's Village, but we were. As long as we went through baggage check.
No problem! I get it!
Once inside Runner's Village we waked with Tom to the corrals. It was a chilly morning so Tom wore a throw away sweatshirt which kept him warm until the start of the race. Julie, Caitlin and I walked past the start line and found a hilly overpass where we could watch the start of the race.
The Marine Corps Marathon is filled with all the pomp and circumstance you can imagine. As we waited for the cannon to fire (yes the race starts with a cannon fire), we realized the hand cyclists and wheelchair bound individuals would start out with a 15 minute lead. It was truly an amazing sight to see them set off for their 26.2 mile quest. We cheered, clapped & rang our cowbells!
Next an airplane flew overhead. We saw a group of Navy SEAL parachutists jump out. As they approached land, each parachutist unfurled an American flag. Two large Osprey aircrafts did a fly by and before we knew it, the howitzer fired and the runners were off!!! It was so awesome being a spectator for a change. Thousands and thousands of runners charging downhill, ready to complete their 26.2 mile journey. We clapped, we cheered, we held up signs and rang our cowbells with enthusiasm and pride!
Tom wasn't far back from the start, so we waited and cheered as he ran by. He looked happy. After cheering for the runners we headed out to find a Dunkin Donuts. It was a long, long walk but we finally found one near our hotel.THE RUN COURSE: I'll let Tom himself describe this:
As you head past the start line and into the city of Arlington, you're quickly met between Miles 1 and 2 by your first challenge of the day: The largest hill on the entire course. Crowd support is great here and you charge up and over the hill - for better or for worse. After you crest the hill, you head back down the grade but are soon met by a several smaller hills as you travel through the spectator-lined streets of Arlington, across the Key Bridge over the Potomac River and onto the Rock Creek and Potomac Parkway in Georgetown. This tree-lined roadway is an out-and-back section of the course and also has many spectators cheering you on. It eventually takes you down towards one of the mentally-tougher parts of the course, Hains Point, which you come to between Miles 10 and 11.
The next four miles on the National Mall are a highlight of the race. You begin near the Lincoln Memorial and head east past the Washington Monument and the Smithsonian Institution, to the U.S. Capitol, where you turn around and head back west. This area is probably the most densely packed with crowds of spectators holding signs and cheering you on. It should be noted that, if you look at a map of the MCM, this section of the course is shaped much like a penis, with the Capitol itself sitting at the "head". This leads to a plethora of humorous signs in the crowd stating that variations on the theme of "You've Reached The Tip". Unfortunately, it was shortly after passing the tip when the wheels began to come off for me. Slight cramping in my right leg that I had begun to feel at Mile 18 now had become much more severe and was now affecting my left leg too. Somewhere before Mile 19, both legs seized up and I basically had to "hop" like a demented Easter Bunny quickly to the side of the road to stop. There, several spectators asked me if I was OK and a husband and wife even offered to massage my legs. I thanked them, declining the offer but I did take a bottle of Perrier the wife offered as I began what could best be described as a limp/run/limp that would carry me the remaining 7 miles or so of the race.
"Beat The Bridge." This is the mantra of the MCM. Located at Mile 20 is the 14th Street Bridge that takes you from Washington, D.C. back into Virginia. If you don't get over the bridge by 1:15pm (which would equate to running roughly a 14 minute per mile pace), you are taken off the course and placed on a "sweeper" bus, ending your race and denying you a finish (and the prized finisher's medal). There are no spectators allowed on the bridge and the police are actively patrolling it to ensure that only runners with bibs can cross. Up until the cramping began, I was holding onto an average pace of approximately 9 minutes per mile and had an outside shot at finishing in less than four hours. Now, as I limped towards the bridge, I was still more than two hours ahead of the sweeper bus but I knew that my hope for a sub-four hour finish was over. It was here on the bridge where I saw many others also breaking down, some battling cramping like me, others appearing to be dealing with breathing issues or nausea. As other runners passed by, those of us among "The Walking Dead" trudged across the mile-long bridge, finally reaching Mile 21, with the relief of knowing that, as long as we could at least walk, we would be able to finish.
The next three miles are an out-and-back through Crystal City, where there are again crowds of spectators lining the streets there to cheer you on. I continued my limp/run/limp gait throughout, getting encouragement from the spectators and even taking a small Dixie Cup of beer from some college students who I had read always make an appearance at the MCM. As you head north out of Crystal City, it's only a little over two miles to the finish. Here, near the Pentagon, you have few spectators but the volunteers and the Marines are there to continue to cheer you on. Shortly you pass by the Runner's Village where the day began, which seems like forever-ago, and head towards the starting line, where the crowds are once again waiting. You run through a long line of spectators lined up on both sides, several-people deep, screaming and cheering you on. Here's where I finally saw Arletta, Caitlin and Julie again. Arletta stepped out and ran with me for a few seconds as I limped/ran/limped past the 26 mile mark. She gave me a quick hug and an "I love you" and told me she'd see me after I finished. I was disappointed that they had to see me limping towards the end but it definitely lifted my spirits to have them there.
The final 0.2 miles are exactly what you would expect from the Marines: A steep climb up a hill. Even here, at the very end, they make you earn that medal. I decided to ignore the cramping and try to run, getting to about 10 feet or so of the finish line before having to revert back to my Easter Bunny "hop" as I crossed over the timing mat. 4 hours, 43 minutes and 27 seconds after I had begun, my marathon was over. I then proceeded towards the famous Iwo Jima statue, through lines of newly-minted young Marine second lieutenants (both men and women, all looking sharp and squared away) who shook our hands and congratulated us and where one young female lieutenant placed a finisher's medal around my neck. As it says on the back of the medal: Mission Accomplished.
One last note: Throughout the course, the support and enthusiasm of the volunteers and the Marines was evident. At water and food stations, both civilian volunteers and Marines (enlisted men and officers alike) enthusiastically handed out water, Gatorade, food, etc. and cheered/encouraged the runners on (there was even one station which was manned entirely by young women from the U.S. Naval Academy). And throughout the entire course, there were Marines standing by cheering us on. It's clear that this race is important to the Marine Corps and they take it - and their roles in support of the runners - very seriously. This race is truly a credit to them and I'm proud to have done my small part to pay honor to them and to their service. OORAH! and Semper Fi.
THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY:
* We pre-purchased metro cards in advance. That was a good call!
* I do not recommend doing a walking tour of Washington DC the day before the marathon! Your body will pay a price on race day.
* As New Yorkers, we found DC to be a bit strange. A lot of stores and food places (especially quick serve food places) are closed on the weekends, especially on Sunday. We should have pre-planned our Dunkin Donuts route before we started wandering around town trying to find an open DD shop.
* DO NOT WALK THROUGH PARKS! Walk around a park, across from a park, but NEVER THROUGH A PARK. There are a LOT of homeless people throughout DC. Some will be obnoxious, intimidating and follow you asking for money. If walk through a park your just asking for it.
* Hydrate more throughout the week.
* After the race, the lines getting into the train station was insane! The line for the taxi was insane! Had we stayed at a hotel in the Arlington section, we could have avoided the crowd and stayed to enjoy the after party. Next time, we're staying in Arlington.
The MCM is an AMAZING experience for both the runners and spectators! I honestly can't say enough great things about this marathon! They don't call it the "People's Marathon" for no reason. Someday in the future, we will run the Marine Corps Marathon...together.
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