Photos from 2010 Marine Corp Marathon

Here are a few photos from the Marine Corp Marathon on Sunday, October 31, 2010.....


The pre-race family - all bright-eyed at 7:30am (ugh!)



I think this was taken shortly after mile 10,
I carried a small flag in my visor - that's what was
flapping behind my head

This was around mile 18 on the Mall
in downtown DC. I was running even
though the photo looks like I'm walking

This is the finish photo taken in front
of the Iwo Jima Marine Corp Memorial -
it'll be hard to top that feeling!



Need Inspiration??? - The GroundPounders Have it in Spades!!!

Image via Wikipedia

Here are four brief yet truly inspiring biographies about non-traditional athletes that I came across at the web site for the 2010 Marine Corp Marathon. If you've had difficulty getting moving or starting an exercise program, these might help you get moving! I promise you'll at least throw out all the leftover Halloween candy in your house....

"In 1976, the first Marine Corps Marathon welcomed nearly 2,000 runners to the start line. Only four of those original runners have participated in every MCM. They are affectionately named "the Groundpounders". Known for their dedication to the sport of running and their allegiance to "The People's Marathon", the Groundpounders are staples on the course, rich with history, memories and the spirit of the MCM."

My Legs Hurt Today Because of Those Bloody British Royals!!!

Queen
Alexandra of
England, 1908

I guess I should take some responsibility for the fact that I’m walking (ok, it’s more like a shuffling motion that’s posing as walking) like an arthritic 85-year old man today.

It could be argued that it was ultimately my decision to sign-up for and run in a marathon this past Sunday – I mean no one held a starter pistol to my head and forced me to run 26.2 miles.

Regardless, the lingering race-generated lactic acid overdose in my quads, hamstrings and calves this morning has me hobbled as badly as James Caan’s character in the movie Misery.

However, in typical Generation-X fashion I would prefer to blame someone else for my pain and that someone else is the British Royal family – specifically Queen Alexandra of England.  Hear me out on this one….

35th Marine Corp Marathon - Mission Accomplished!!!

DC Mayor - Adrian Fenty

Sorry for the writing hiatus, but there’ve been big doings of late that pushed my spare time into the negative column and that’s the column where this blog happens to live for now.

The primary time glut has been preparations for the yesterdays 35^th Marine Corp Marathon, which covered 26.2 miles ranging from Arlington national cemetery; two treks across the Potomac River; a jaunt down Hayes point; a lap of the National Mall with an uphill sprint to the finish at the U.S. Marine Corp Memorial (Iwo Jima Monument). Here's the race route map if you're interested.

More than 30 thousand runners signed up for the race and 22 thousand of us finished. My official marathon completion time of 5 hours, 21 minutes was posted this morning at www.marinemarathon.com, which means I averaged nearly a 12-minute mile the entire race.

Despite my lackluster performance, it should be noted for posterity that I crossed the finish line before 39-year old Washington, DC mayor and marathoner Adrian Fenty [see photo insert above], but I still got smoked by a 69-year old speed walker. I know that because the back of his sweat-soaked shirt read, “I’m 69 years old and if you can read this I’m not in last place!”

While my actual race result was ok at best, I was thrilled about how good I felt at the end of the race and that I was able to run the entire course without walking at all – I guess those are the celebratory milestones of a middle-aged man trying to outpace death. 

Regardless, it was a perfect day for the marathon with crisp temperatures and zero humidity. I’m still trying to process everything that occurred and that I experienced – but hope to share more in the coming days.

Suffice to say for now that of the four marathons and handful of half-marathons I’ve completed during the past two years – the Marine Corp Marathon has been my favorite and will be the most memorable.

Mainly because my wife and two girls accompanied me to the race, yet somehow managed to pop-up at miles 10, 16 and 26 to cheer me on!  It’s hard to describe what that means, but I will certainly try in a future post.

More to come including photos....

Official Training for the 2010 Marine Corp Marathon Starts Today

This year's Marine Corp Marathon in downtown DC and Arlington, VA is held on October 10th, 2010, which is just about 18 weeks away or so. I've been running consistently since finishing the Frederick, MD Marathon at the beginning of this month - which spurred me to launch this blog!

Regardless, pasted below is the running schedule that I'm going to follow that was developed by marathon-training guru Hal Higdon, it's free and listed on his web site.

If you're interested in a great book by Higdon, I've inserted an Amazon link here but much of the same content is listed on his free web site, which can be accessed via link after you click the "Read more" button.