I was as shocked as anyone when my friend Todd said he’d join me for the Knoxville marathon. I thought he was crazy since he hadn’t run longer than a half marathon in about 4 or 5 months and crazy to give up a fast run on a fast course for a very likely new PR in the Monument Ave 10k. I was even more surprised when he told me he was planning to run both – with a detailed schedule that called for a fast run out of the A corral / quick drive home / quick shower / ready to roll. It fit with my schedule, so what the heck. Knoxville is not at all close to Richmond, so it was great to have Todd and Ashland Dave (via podcast) in the car. We had some trouble understanding why a two year old podcast showed up with us – Dave had republished a podcast on mental toughness. It was well placed for me, Knoxville was the most difficult weather that I’ve raced in and Dave’s thoughts were in my head.
Knoxville is gorgeous and it’s pretty clear as we approach our hotel (at the start line) that we are indeed going to get to run some hills. I put it just behind Baltimore for hills, with much less poverty and a better plan for starting the half runners with the full runners. After we check in, I walk into my room and immediately wonder where the barbeque is … I’ve landed in a recently rebranded smoking room, there are still three ash trays – when was the last time I’ve seen those stinky things. The smell is noticeable, but not the end of the world – if I can’t get a non-smoking room, I had already decided that I’m staying put, but it can’t hurt to ask. Answer: No other rooms available.
Knoxville is clearly a college town – lots of young people trying to look good for all the other young people. At dinner, Todd spots the guy (Michael Wardian) who beat me out for the National marathon the week earlier – I didn’t recognize him because he was so damn fast. I was just 2:14 behind him in DC, so I figured I had a good shot at winning this one since DC is closer to his home and Knoxville closer to mine.
We head out on the course, it is hilly. They used different color bib backgrounds to identify full / half / relay runners. It’s difficult to check, but most of the participants seem to be running the half. We crossed some train tracks and ran past a sewage treatment plant – that could have been a lot worse than it was – I’m thankful. As we get back to the area near the start line, about mile 13, I get the clear picture that it’s going to be a much lonelier second half than first. I met up with a guy around mile 15 who is running his first marathon – he lives in Knoxville and has done the half before. We chat about the finish, into the Tennessee football stadium, he explains that it holds just shy of 105,000 people – I’ve never seen a stadium that big and we get to finish on the 50 yard line. We run past the group of people in costumes – I remember the redneck (with toy gun) and the hot dog. The hot dog sticks in my head because the dude had an actual dog (live version) on a leash … and the dog is working hard to drop a log. The hot dog guy is laughing and that made me laugh too – I’m pretty certain this area is full of college students and I doubt they finished the Saturday night party … this is just a part of their celebration. Good fun!
The weather forecast was for “strong storms” around 2 hours into the marathon – as I hit mile 19, we’ve not seen rain, but it’s definitely going rain before I finish. There is an out and back section from 20 to 23 where I keep looking for Todd – I finally give up and assume he’s more than 3 miles ahead of me. It was a huge lift to see Todd – smiling … yes, that’s right, in person, I saw Todd Crider smile while running a marathon. Within the next 5 minutes, the clouds open up – the rain drops are gigantic and the wind is very strong. The street has about an inch of water. My Knoxville friend catches up and advises that the hill we are about to begin is pretty long, he’ll need to walk – I dig deep to climb the hill and cross the bridge. We run back through the main part of town with a few more cheering crowds huddled under awnings. The rain has let up, but it’s still pretty unpleasant. The temperature dropped at least 15 degrees – if I stop, I know I’ll get cold fast. We pass the start line (and our hotel) just before mile 26 – that’s kind of cruel, but worse is that the course takes you down a hill meant for hill repeats – I opened up to a glide then noticed at the bottom that we go right back up the same type of hill and still on the course. I held it together until 26.1 but I need a break lest I walk across the finish (as if) – short walk of 10 paces and I put together a stiff guy jog. We hit the entrance to the stadium and the adrenalin flows, I break into a sprint and pass one more guy. I cross the finish and forget to stop the Garmin. I just looked up like a kid in New York City gazing at all the skyscrapers. There are seats forever up to the clouds. The guy I passed thanks me for pushing him – he picked me out a few miles back and was stalking me. I finally notice the HUGE jumbo-tron with the finish line showing – that is pretty cool.
Todd and I meet up. I kept him waiting for about 25 minutes. Wardian was third – still more than 2 hours in front of me. We walk over for an awesome post-race “party” – I think of it as food, but whatever. I love that they separated the marathon food from the rest, there is still plenty to eat and plenty of room. Todd and I hustle back to the hotel and head out of town. Our conversation in the car is almost entirely about the run, the weekend, future running plans – all the important things.
Fast forward two weeks – this is a different set up. The Kings Mountain Marathon was conceived of as a replacement for the Myrtle Beach marathon. When Myrtle Be-atch cancelled, there were some Marathon Maniacs and 50 Staters who were pretty upset – the cancellation forced them to change plans. The chief complaints were from two gentlemen who were planning to finish their 50th state on 2/13/10 at MB and one very nice lady from Nashville who was on track to finish 50 states before turning 50 with her last planned for Kona, Hawaii on 6/13/10. A very nice college track runner at Clemson offered to organize a race and barely met the qualifications of web site notice of 30 days or more about the race / named race director / measured course of 26.2 miles or more / published results. I knew the race was different when I got an email from one of the other participants looking to line up a pasta party with everyone. I explained to my wife that this would be a different experience with only 14 runners in the marathon, I was right on target. Most of the runners were 10 or more years older than me, so I actually thought I had a shot at winning this thing and finally, Wardian wasn’t trying to run in MY race – I guess that whole run across the desert thing was more important to him.
My wife and kids made the trip with me and we decided to camp. The race started in a South Carolina state park – so camping allowed me to walk up to the start line. I spotted the Race Director about an hour before the actual start. As people started rolling in, the RD allowed two people to start early – great flexibility. I spot a very fit guy who is just about my age. We start the race and I chat with the gal who is running her 43rd state today with a target of getting Alaska for 49 then Hawaii for 50 in June – that’s right 7 more states in 2 months – talk about a Marathon Maniac / mid-life crisis. The course is tough right at the start with a quarter mile plus climb. Diane falls back and I talk with the fit dude – Lee True. Lee tells me he led the 3:50 pace group at Shamrock a month earlier and he’s run a 3:10 PR – so I know I’m not going to finish first today. He really pushed me – we ran together from mile 1 to mile 20. The course followed roads in the state and national park switching from paved to gravel roads. One of the racers had shoe gators on to protect against the gravel (and keep pebbles out) – I’ve never seen that before. The course was a mix of rolling and killer hills – the toughest course I’ve ever run.
Lee tells me that he ran Seashore in December 2009 to a 5th place finish. He shared some great stories about the challenges from the weather / course on that day. Lee was using this as a long training run as a lead up to a 24 hour race in two weeks. As we were climbing a hill around mile 15, I just needed a walk break. Lee was in the middle of a story about his run in Boston. He stopped and I told him he was stronger and should carry on … without missing a beat, he said “not now, I’m in the middle of a story” … that was a real boost for me. We took a short walk, then back to the run. He finished his story and we continued running together for another 5 miles. We had seen dogs along the route – at mile 18, however, I saw a pit bull. As we approach, the pit came over to check us out. He seemed particularly interested in me. He came up behind and then I felt his cold, wet nose deep between my cheeks. He batted at my legs then left me alone. My son later asked me what that felt like – I explained that I was convinced that I would get to feel his teeth, so mostly, I was relieved. Of course, no one wants to have their ass sniffed.
The highlight of the run for me was as I approached the campground at mile 22. My 9 year old, Eric was waiting for me about 1/10 mile before my wife and older son, Brian. Eric ran with me (and was easily as fast). That was a big lift for me and great timing. He told me that I was in 2nd place – they were more surprised than me. They all headed back to the start / finish while I wrapped up a short out and back. I met him at 26.1 for the last push across the finish line. I was crowned Prince of the Road – with an actual plastic crown (pictures to come). We hung around for about an hour while others finished. I really enjoyed the personal attention in the super small race. Only one person in the race is not in Marathon Maniacs, so no one thought much about my marathon a month string.
Knoxville Marathon: 4:13:48
Knoxville Map: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/28526049
Kings Mountain (SC) Marathon: 4:22:36
Kins Mountain Map: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/29785793
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