Hartford Marathon ~ October 13th 2007
Moving Smoothly ~ By Danny English
The question really is; where do you start a story like this? Maybe it should begin with my desire to run the London Marathon for many years but never making it through the ballot system, or maybe the day when I decided that marathon running really wasn’t for me, or I could start with the day that I decided I was going to run the Hartford Marathon. All wonderful starting points for a running story, and crucial events leading up to me eventually taking on the Hartford Marathon But I think the only place to start is at the end, that is the beginning of the end, the day of the actual race!
Some people may look at the starting line of the Marathon as the beginning, but one of the many things that I have learnt on this enlightening journey is that the race is merely the final destination, the closing chapter to what has been a wonderful story to take part in.
My alarm rang a 5:45am; unbelievably I had just experienced the best night's sleep in days. The excitement of the race had kept me awake for 3 previous nights and limiting me to 5 or 6 hours.
When the alarm woke me with the sound of “Johnny Cash” (always have been an oldies fan) I jumped out of bed, wiped the sleep from my eyes and staggered into the bathroom. I was sure that this would not be the only staggering I would be doing all day, but before the staggering I had a race to run, and I must run it well if I’m to achieve what I had set out to do.
I had laid out my kit the night before, sneakers, socks, shorts, shirt gloves, fuel belt, gu gu’s, heart monitor, gps, watch, race number 470, and 4 safety pins, wow, I could have done with a Sherpa to help me carry all this around the course. As I looked at my equipment I realised that it had all played a part in my training and although running is an individual challenge these material items where the only team that I had to work with to get around the course.
The warm shower was enough to bring me to life; I scoffed down a bowl of porridge and washed it clean into my stomach with a huge cup of green tea. This has been my staple training meal and race day was certainly not a time to change!
I packed up my things and said “cheerio” to my room. I ran downstairs and loaded the car just in time to see the “Runners shuttle” arrive outside the hotel.
Now the next event may be the one most motivating events of the morning. As I went to board the bus I was told by a race organiser that the shuttle was for “Elite Runners” only!!!
“Then maybe next year I should train extra hard” I replied.
He didn’t seem impressed but I pleaded with him to let me ride with the “Elite” and eventually he agreed. I boarded the bus and looked around, all these people on the bus were capable of winning the race today, they had earned a place on that bus with their dedication and years of training, something that I admired each and every one of them for.
Looking around at these people they had an air of seriousness to their persona, they weren’t here for the ride they were here to win. And what did they have that was different to me? We all had 2 legs, 2 lungs, one heart, and one goal………to do our best. Today I was going to do my best!
We jumped out of the warm bus into a cold and clear morning at Bushnell Park, I felt my body begin to shudder with the cold then realised I had an hour before the race. I started walking around the park, teeth chattering and body shaking but with a huge smile. Converged on a small piece of grass in the centre of a major US city were thousands of runners and friends who had come to cheer on their loved ones. Suddenly, from the heart outwards, I began to warm up.
I began to run a little, stretch a little and try and take in as much as possible. There were stalls after stalls handing out food, beverages, offering massage, selling shoes and all types of running apparel. I was happy that I was all set and feeling prepared.
I eventually made my way to the starting line at 7:45. The announcer informed us all that we had 15 minutes to the starting gun. I looked around me, there were many people of different sizes, shapes, races, and ages all with one common passion, running. Standing in front of me was a guy with an orange and black all in one lycra outfit, a black visa, green sunglasses and iluminous green earphones. To my right was a tall thin guy with long dark hair and a beard he was wearing a string of Hawain flowers around his neck, he looked like he was on his way to the “Mardi Gras” not a marathon!
There was music and a march by the guards, then the national anthem, then a word from the mayor (come on get on with it, we are dying to get going, I thought) then a word from the sponsors and then, it was time to begin!
There was a count down 3, 2, 1, and a horn sounded the start of the end, the final chapter in my marathon story.
Over the past few months I have received many many words of advice. One piece of advice that came time and time again was “Don’t start too fast.” This is easily said but I think everybody tells you this because no matter who you are you just can’t help yourself!!
Your surrounded by thousands of runners, all fuelled with adreniln coursing through their bodies, eager to set off of an epic adventure. The horn blows and like a horse being let out in to the paddock on the first day of spring, you are free to run. You can’t help but run fast, those endless hours of training alone in total solitude, and now you are running with a pack and you are running fast and it feels great!!!!!
By the 3rd mile things had settled down and I had found my pace. I found myself in a staggered group of runners, the pack had dispersed. Up ahead where the “Elites” who I had shared a bus with earlier and behind where the joggers. And then spread out in between was me and maybe 50 others, not quite quick enough to be with the “Elites” but focused and pushing hard. The third mile is as important as the 13th or the 23rd, when you are running 6:45 minute miles you really don’t want to drop off the pace, it’s hard to pick back up.
Mile 4 passed nicely but something had come to my attention that wasn’t quite right. I was feeling a sharp rubbing pain on the lateral side of my left foot. It felt like the beginning of a dreaded blister!! Surely not!!!! I have ran over 200 miles in these shoes and never got a blister, these socks are designed to prevent blisters…………there must be something in my shoe………….maybe it will go away??
I continued on knowing that maybe I had a problem, could I stop? Should I stop? My stride felt good, I felt strong, did I want to risk stopping? I continued.
Mile 5 came and went and what felt like a hot ember in my shoe pressed harder and harder, my foot burned and burned, there was nothing I could do I must stop and remove whatever it was that was in my shoe. I moved over to the side of the road and hastely poked my finger down the side of my shoe to feel for a crease in my sock or a small stone that had fallen into my sneaker. I found nothing, I jumped up and rejoined the race, I probably lost 10 seconds. I regained my stride and realised that my pit stop had been in vain, if anything the ember burned hotter
As I ran bye mile six I was joined my a talk lanky guy, he approached me from behind and sat on my shoulder for a while, I thought he was going to pass but he seemed content in running with me. My pace quickened and his also, just ahead of us was a female runner and we gained on her pretty quickly. As we converged in a small group he looked over to me and asked me,
“What time are you hoping for”,
“2:55” I replied. “But I’m a little ahead of that at the moment”
The female runner said she was also aiming for 2:55 and suddenly we had found a common ground and we could work together.
It was great to be back in a pack even if it was a small one. We ran close together buffering the wind from one another.
The guy who’s name I don’t know, went on to tell me that we was one of the only people to have run the Hartford Marathon every year since it began in 1983. He explained a little about the course and the 3 mile uphill that we had coming. With the ember burning hotter with every strike I knew I had to do something before the uphill or risk paying the price later in the race.
I moved to the side and stopped. This time I had to do a proper job, I wasn’t stopping again that was for sure. I knelt down untied and removed my shoe, then removed my sock I wiped clean my foot, un-creased my sock, and emptied out the shoe. I refit everything tied my lace and leaped to my feet hoping that surly this time it would feel better……………it didn’t! And that is when I made the decision, I was going to put it out of my mind and focus on something else, if I don’t acknowledge it, then it doesn’t hurt, I told myself, and quickly regained pace. The 2 people I had been running with were quite a way ahead, I think I lost about 30 seconds in total. I quicken my pace and by mile 9 I was back with them.
Mile 10 felt great, the road we were running was beautiful. It was covered with bright coloured trees and many people had come out to cheer us along, play music and sing. I passed a band, Jamaican drummers and a group of line dancers to name a few. These people had woken early on a Saturday morning with good intentions to cheer people along and be a part of the marathon. As I passed every band and singer, and drummer and dancer I clapped them and thanked them for they were the real heroes out there on the course!
The mile marker for mile 11 was a hairpin turn that my Marathon veteran friend had warned me about. I took it well but that is where our trio broke and I moved ahead. I ran alone back down the hill at a good pace. I felt great and it wasn’t until mile 13 that my hips and quads began to realise that they were in a Marathon.
Throughout my training I have learnt that running long distances hurts. 8, 10, 12 miles are normally pretty good but then your muscles begin to burn and ache a little. This is where I found my self and it didn’t surprise me or faze me, it was part of the process and one that I must embrace without letting it slow me.
At mile 15 our threesome was reunited, I had been running fast and they caught me which made me happy, they must have found a second wind. We pushed on together and the miles came thick and fast. When I saw the mile marker for 16 I thought there must have been a mistake it hadn’t felt like a mile. I lost our trio again at mile 17 and didn’t see them again, they dropped off but I was feeling strong and pushed on. Mile 18 came fast and then 19 and as I headed back into the city the cheering and motivating words of encouragement from the crowd drove me on. As I passed the 20 mile mark I thought to myself, “I’m nearly there, only 6 more miles” but then a voice came into my mind and reminded me that these weren’t any regular 6 miles, they were the last six miles of a marathon, and somewhere in there I could come up against the dreaded wall!!!!
The wall is a term that marathon runners use to describe the moment that the Glycogen stores in the muscle run out (normally after 2.000 calories) and your body turns to using fat as fuel. Sounds pretty straight forward right, but the troublesome part is that it can take 10-20 minutes, if at all, for your body to make the switch. The time in between can be pure hell for a runner. They call it ‘The Wall” because they say it is like running head first in to a wall.
Mile 21 took me back into the city where I was greeted by Sarah and Deidre who had come all the way from NH to cheer me on. Seeing them gave me an extra boost and I carried the endless cheers from the crowds with back out of the city and along the river.
Mile 22, 23, 24 and 25 where the loneliest miles of the race. No spectators, no other runners and a small quite track alongside the river. I could see a runner maybe 300 meters ahead and I decided that I was going to pass him, it was enough motivation and focus to keep me fixed on a goal for the later stages of the race.
As I ran alongside the river it was peaceful and quite and by now my legs were very sore. I looked at my watch and it told me my pace had slowed I didn’t feel like I was slowing down, I realised that I was staring the wall right in the face!!!!!
At mile 23 I hit the wall but I wasn’t willing to give up on this, I had overcome the blister and I was on track to make my target of 2:55. I had worked too hard to falter at this point. I pushed on and on, a new drive came from deep within me. My body was telling me no, but my spirit was not going to be so easily persuaded. With each hill I found an extra drive and soon I passed the guy that I had fixed my sights on.
As I passed the mile marker for the end of the 25th mile I knew I was almost there. I could hear the crowds and the music in the distance. I was entering back into the city, I had almost done it. Bushnell Park suddenly appeared in front of me and I knew I was almost there, I passed another runner as I came around the east side of the park and the famous towers were in view. I was overrun with emotion at this point and I had to hold back tears, where they tears of joy? Relief? Pain? No certainly not pain. As I closed in on the finish line every muscle that had hurt was now rejoicing for the end was nigh.
The clock read 2:54:05 as I passed underneath. I had done it!!!! I have searched for words to describe how it felt but I think it is impossible to explain. Many people where there to see what it was like to finish a marathon but only those who have dedicated hour upon hour to training and final put in everything they physically have to overcome the gruelling yet inspiring final journey of the race, can really “feel” what it is like to run a marathon.
Today I am nursing the ugliest blister I have ever seen, I feel like somebody has implanted rocks into my calf muscles and if my quadriceps and hips had the energy to scream at me I’m pretty sure they would. But in a day or two they will be better and stronger than ever before and the only lasting effect that the Marathon will have left is the soaring spirit and courageous heart that is within me.
I started this story by saying this was the beginning of the end but after I have completed my first marathon I believe that we may have only just completed the prologue.
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