Prairie Fire (Wichita, KS) Marathon

On October 13 I did the third race in my personal three-race series, which was the Prairie Fire Marathon in Wichita, KS. This gives me state #39, and I just figured out that it was my 49th marathon ever. Pretty cool. So next weekend in Grand Rapids will be #50.

Why Wichita? Well, I didn't have any big preferences as to which race I did in Kansas, and my friend Ken Chestek wanted to do that one because his parents were both from Wichita. I thought it would be nice to hang out with friends at one of these races for a change, so Wichita it was.

We stayed at the Fairfield Inn, which was one of the two race hotels downtown (other one was the Hyatt). Both were pretty close to the start, but the Fairfield Inn was a little cheaper plus had free breakfast and parking (and you don't get that at the Hyatt). So even if the coffee was not as good, at least it was free.

I flew in Saturday afternoon and the Chesteks picked me up at the airport. We headed back to the expo, at the convention center that was also close to the hotel. An okay mid-sized expo with several running vendors. Ken had to buy GU but nobody had the Vanilla Bean he preferred. I didn't buy anything, but in retrospect, I wish I had picked up one of those sparkly pink skirts to wear in Grand Rapids with my Diva shirt.

I talked Ken and Robin into joining me for the pasta dinner at the Hyatt. Turned out to be a pretty nice one. Buffet style, with a nice tossed salad, choice of white or wheat pasta, and meat and alfredo sauces, and good breadsticks. But better than the food was the company. We would up at a table with the Race Director, a representative from the main sponsor, and the guest speaker. So we had a little more interesting dinner conversation than most.

After dinner, the Race Director passed a microphone around the room and we all had to say where we were from and how many marathons we'd run. That was fun. Lots of experience in that room!

I have found these pasta dinner speakers are often surprisingly good, and that was the case for this one. He was a young man from Wichita who was in a horrific car accident in 2005 (hit by a drunk driver going very fast). He was burned on over 50 percent of his body, and his young wife (high school sweetheart) did not survive the crash. He told us about his fight to recover, which involved many surgeries and intensive therapy, but mostly depended on his realization that he needed to recover for his family and friends, and to honor the memory of his wife (he has established a foundation in her name).

He recovered, and now he runs marathons, and his foundation does good in the community. Very upbeat guy, and really put things in perspective for all of us. How lucky we are. How trivial most of our problems are.

Only bad thing about the dinner was that there was no dessert!

After dinner, we walked around the river area, where there was a fountain/light show set to Elvis music. We watched that for awhile. It was like fireworks without all the noise.

Back at hotel, I picked up a cup of ice cream from the lobby, which would have to do for dessert. We decided to meet in the lobby at 7 am to walk over to the start.

I got up early to get my coffee and have some breakfast. Fortunately they opened the breakfast bar at 5 am. I had some scrambled eggs and an english muffin. Then I had a lot of time to hang out in the room and get bored.

Selfie in the room before heading out to the start

Robin walked over to the start with us and took some pics. Ken said I could pass him during the race unless it was the near the very end. We took our place in the crowd. Somebody did a terrible job singing the Star Spangled Banner. Couldn't hit the high notes but also didn't know the words!

What about the race? I liked it. The course was flat but very scenic. We ran through a number of lovely neighborhoods with a lot of shade. Overall, there was much more shade than I expected. One of the nicer courses I've run on in an urban setting.

Ken pulled away from me immediately at the start but I was sticking to my plan. I had learned my lesson at The Mill Race. And it worked out. I think this was the first time that I ran the second half faster than the first. Not only that, but my last 10k was faster than my first 10k. Felt pretty good the whole way, and just snuck in under five hours.

Here are the splits:
1) 11:32
2) 11:57
3) 11:06
4) 11:41
5) 11;13
6) 11:28
7) 12:41
8) 11:24
9) 12:17
10) 11:33
11) 11:38
12) 11:34
13) 11:56
14) 10:28
15) 11:10
16) 11:09
17) 11:55
18) 10:39
19) 11:07
20) 11:09
21) 11:21
22) 11:05
23) 11:51
24) 11:09
25) 11:06
26) 11:24
26.2) 2:26

I didn't know that I was under five hours until I saw the results, because I started my watch with the gun and it took like 1:20 to cross the start and I wasn't doing the math. But I knew I was negative splitting and that fueled me to keep it up in the last few miles.

Weather was pleasant. Sunny but not too hot, and a nice breeze occasionally (although it was mostly a head wind, and that did cost me some time at the end).

Besides the pretty neighborhoods, I will remember:
The Dianetics water stop at mile 4 (was a little afraid to drink that water!)
Running near homes that looked like the one Ken had posted on Facebook where his grandparents lived
A couple of funny little sharp turns, one which took us almost through somebody's yard
Running along the river and passing the museums in the later miles
Passing a few people in the second half

I caught up to Ken right around mile 24, and he finished about 5 minutes behind me. Saw Robin around the corner from the finish. Nice to see a friend at a race for a change!

Post-race, we had some chocolate milk and cold pizza (which I couldn't really eat). After we got cleaned up, we drove out to the Cowtown museum to walk around. Cowtown is a collection of buildings from the early years of Wichita that they have gathered up and deposited in a little village arrangement, so you can walk around and learn about what life was like in the 1870s there. Ken remembered it as a fun place he used to go with his grandparents when he came to visit them 50 years ago. It is still fun!

I had a grand vision that I would somehow get myself over to the Old Town section of Wichita for more touristing and dinner, but instead I joined Ken and Robin for dinner at a Texas Road House near the airport. I was really too tired and hungry at that point to go out on my own, and again, it was nice to have company.

I spent a quiet evening relaxing in the hotel---kinda bummed that the lounge was closed because I would not have minded hanging out and having a beer by the fire pit---and departed the next morning.

In the results, I was 14 of 18 in my age group and 485 of 626 marathoners. The medal is on the large size and not especially attractive. This whole bigger is better craze on the part of marathon medal designers has to stop! Smaller and nicer is better.

Big medal, not pretty but somewhat distinctive.

The Mill Race Marathon

This is about the second race in my personal four race series. The Mill Race Marathon was a new race in Columbus, Indiana.

Columbus is just a little south of Indianapolis, and it's just a little under two hours drive from Cincinnati. At first I thought I was jut going to drive up and back on race day, but at some point I realized that maybe I should spend the night before at a nearby hotel. And then I figured out that I had enough points to get a nice room at the LaQuinta that is just a couple miles from the start for just $15. Was quite nice, newly remodeled facility, I had a fridge and microwave.

Drove up the afternoon before and hit the expo. Downtown Columbus is quaint little small town, mostly, with some cute shops and restaurants but also a little bit of authentic run-downness, like it is not quite all the way back yet, and then there is also the Cummins engine world headquarters, which is all big and modern.

The expo was in a sort of convention center place that seemed to also have some tie to Cummins, maybe it was more like their corporate meeting space? Anyway, it was small but there were places to buy whatever you might have forgotten. The running vendors had some nice merchandise but no great deals so I wasn't tempted. I did buy a hat from the Cummins shop.

Am wishing I had easier way to incorporate photos into this blog. Would share photos of hat and the race shirt and the medal.

Not much in the packet as I recall but the shirt is longsleeved technical in red (which seems to be the color of this year for race shirts). There was also a 5k and a half-marathon and they had similar shirts but in different colors. Also, the race medals were all similar, I think, but the neck ribbons were different colors. The medal is a combination of a rather basic design with a an image of the Cummins engine stuck on the bottom of it.

Crossing the finish line a day early :-)

Left the expo and walked back to my car. Passed by the "fancy" Italian restaurant and decided to make a reservation for 6 pm. Was gonna go to the microbrewery that was across the street from the expo but it looked a little seedy, so decided to go with upscale Italian. headed over to hotel to check in, then back to restaurant.

Dinner was not bad. I had lasagna and a roasted red pepper soup, and tiramisu for dessert. They didn't have good beer, so I had a glass of red wine. It was all pleasant enough.

Next morning, left hotel around 6:45 to arrive at start by 7, which is what they had recommended at the expo. They let the marathoners park in the Cummins corporate garage, which was right next to the finish line and a couple blocks from the start. Very nice. Can't remember the last time I've parked that close to a marathon finish line.

Garage filled up pretty quick behind me.

Temp at start was a little cool, and I wondered why I never remember to bring more throwaway clothes.  I did have a throwaway long sleeve cotton shirt.

They did not have pace teams in this race but they had people holding pace signs at the start. Did not do much good, though, because these people were apparently not runners and did not know that 7 minute pace is faster than 10 minute pace, etc. They did not take their positions until just before the gun when off, and they took the wrong positions.

Chatted with a local gal who was running her first marathon, and who sounded like she had about the same slow pace goal that I had, which is to say, just to finish.

Wore my regular Soleus chonograph for this one, since we've learned not to rely on the Nike GPS.

The first half or so of the course is very nice. You start out running around The Mill Race park pond (found out that "Mill Race" actually has a meaning that has nothing to do with running), and then there are some pretty areas to run through. But, it was a sunny day and there were some long stretches where we were running right into the sun, which is never good. Encouraged by my results from the previous week, I went out a little too fast. Need to remember to keep it very easy in the first half. Regardless of my splits, if I feel like I'm pushing, then I probably am.

Second half of the race (and especially after the half-marathoners left us around mile 8) were somewhat boring and painful. It's flat, sure, but there is not a lot of shade and there was a bit too much running on concrete for my taste. We ran through a couple of neighborhoods where people were sitting out to cheer for us sort of half-heartedly, and I felt like the aid stations were just a little too far apart on this hot day. So my performance really dropped off in the second half.

I have splits! Because I wore the Soleus! So here's the first half:
1) 10:47
2)11:05
3) 10:56
4) 11:26
5) 10:57
6)11:07
7) 11:26
8) 11:21
9) 11:57
10) 11:07
11) 11:19
12) 11:57
13) 11:59

And right about there is where the wheels came off.

Did have nice chat in first half with another Maniac about Grand Rapids. She said it was her favorite race, talked about how cool the RD is, said she does it every year.

Now, by contrast, here is the second half:
14 & 15) 24:18
16) 12:32
17) 12:43
18) 12:22
19) 13:07
20) 12:44
21) 13:20
22) 14:35
23) 14:14
24) 13:29
25) 14:35
26) 14:45
26.2) 3:02

Bright spots in second half: met a woman from Mason, OH who was also struggling around mile 22. We encountered one guy in the neighborhoods who was serving up ice cold cups of blue Gatorade (with ice). I almost hugged him. This unofficial aid station was the best one of the race.

Somewhere in the second half, I think? I try to look good for my pic.

Then ran into fellow Maniac who first mistook me for someone else, then insisted on running a few steps with me. Local guy. We ran through the airport and he said it was surprised because this was his first marathon running through an airport and I said that I was surprised they had an airport. We were actually right out on the tarmac and little planes were taxiing around. No shade out there, obviously!

A mile or so before the finish I caught up to the woman I had met at the start. She was struggling but in good spirits. She had to make a lot of pit stops. Anyway, she pulled ahead again and finished just before me.

Still smiling!

At the finish line, got my medal but no need for a space blanket. Was surprised that all they had to eat was bananas. Headed to car and grabbed bag and cash and then back to the finish area, because there was a big party going on with food. Oh yeah, and the big gimmick of the race, they were raffling off a big Dodge RAM truck with a Cummins diesel engine that was worth $50k. Everybody who ran the race was entered but you had to be present to win.

The good thing about taking so long to finish the race was it meant less time waiting around to see if I had won the truck.

I bought a pork barbeque sandwich from a stand operated by the people who ran the microbrewery I had not eaten dinner at. Wasn't great so I think I made the right call on dinner. I had hoped they would be serving brew, but instead you had to go with the mass market beer under the tents. I had a Michelob Ultra, which I figure I need for some UnTappd badge maybe. Did not drink a whole lot of it.

Not my choice of beverages

Still had some time to kill so went into old timey ice cream parlor. Lots of people had the same idea. Good thing was I could use their bathroom to change clothes. Had a hot fudge sundae with mint chip ice cream (what else would I have?) and then it was just about time for the drawing so I headed back outside.

I earned this.

It was a festive atmosphere. They had a local band playing. Then they had a bunch of speeches thanking us for coming and talking about Cummins and bragging about how proud they were of the engine on this truck and blah, blah, blah. Finally they drew the name and it was won by a young woman who had run the half. Glad it wasn't somebody who did the 5k! I think they should have limited it to the marathoners and you should have to have finished, not just entered. But at least she ran the half.

Crowd hanging out after the race.

We are all hoping to win the truck!

And then it was time to go home.

My official time was 5:23:12, quite a bit slower than the week before. I was 15 of 21 in the age group and 137 of 257 women. Not sure about overall. These race results websites leave a lot to be desired.

For a first time race, it wasn't terrible. Not my favorite and I'm not planning to return but I've run worse.

Fly Fight Win---US Air Force Marathon

I am returning to try to finish up this report weeks after the actual event. Maybe I have to write real fast and not in complete sentences or it will never get done.

On Saturday, September 21, I ran the first race of my little four race fall marathon challenge. It went pretty well, overall, and I am recovering quickly and not worried about the next one. (Well, as of today I am actually looking forward to # 3 already because I am way behind on these reports). I knew that once I got through the first race I would feel better about things.

I have to admit, I did sort of lose interest in this project once I realized that it was not going to work out for me to do it as a fundraiser. I've kept running all summer because that's what I do, but I pretty much gave up on the training once it was time to get serious about long runs. Also my knee was bothering me so I also gave up on the speed work. I concentrated on just staying healthy and not getting any more decrepit.

As the day of this race approached, I was really regretting my choice of this event. This was due to a combination of factors. I was bummed about missing a lot of other things that I could have done this weekend instead. Like the Hamilton agility trial. Like the Hudy 14k race. I have to do that one next year. But one of the biggest things bothering me was the stuff I was reading on the race's web site and Facebook page about how early they wanted us to arrive to avoid congestion driving in to the Air Force museum site. They were saying you needed to arrive an hour and a half before the race. This did not fit too well with my idea of this race being an easy way for me to get a marathon in without traveling too far from home.

I know, I do tend to want to arrive early for things. So what was I complaining about? Well, you know, if you tell me an hour and a half, then I start thinking maybe I need to be there two hours ahead of time, or three hours. Because I like to be early. So if 90 minutes is recommended, what is someone like me supposed to do? If I had not other info, I probably would have tried to get there an hour before.

Anyway, I was stressing out about it and thinking that even though this race was the closest to home and should have been the easiest logisitically, it was actually shaping up to be the toughest because of these warnings about the need to get there so early, blah, blah, blah.

Since I am now hurrying to write something about this before it disappears from my memory banks, here are a few quick thoughts:

With the lack of training and the focus on the long range (four race) goal, I had an excellent race. I managed to keep the same slow but steady pace the entire way, finished feeling fine, and felt fully recovered within a couple of days.

What's Cool About This Race

The military thing. The course marshals in military uniforms. Running through the Fairport "Fly Zone" and the residential area with the alien theme.

What's Boring

The course itself is kind of boring but you don't mind so much because there are so many people running. If you were all alone out there it would be different.

What Makes It a Good Race

Very well organized. Aid stations where they say they will be and fully stocked. Decent crowd support in sections. Lots of people to run with. Good expo with nice assortment of stuff. While it is not the most scenic or exciting course in the world, it is not bad to run on. A few hills but mostly fairly flat. I would recommend this one highly.

Why I Probably Won't Run It Again

I don't have any particular connection to the Air Force and there are always plenty of other things happening on this particular weekend. It is just a little too far from home to make it an easy choice to do repeatedly for me. I wouldn't rule it out, though. If I had some friend or family member who wanted to do it, I'd go back. If I suddenly developed some connection to the Air Force I'd go back. If it fit into some larger plan, I'd go back.

What I'm Sorry I Missed

The pasta dinner, which I understand is something special. I didn't find out in time and by the time I did, it was sold out. Almost sounds like it would be worth just signing up for the pasta dinner and skipping the race next year.

And here are some more details:

Thursday Afternoon at the Expo

I drove up to the expo on Thursday so I wouldn't have to make that drive (an hour and ten minutes each way) two days in a row. The expo was held at the Nutter Center on the campus of Wright State University. Funny that I've been living in this area for like 28 years and I had never been there before. Wright State, I will say from my limited exposure, has a very community college sort of feel about it. Sorry if I am insulting anyone.

Anyway, from all the pre-race hype about crowds and arriving early and on and on, I was surprised that getting in and around the expo was totally no big deal. I could park right in front of the Nutter Center, walk right in (nobody checking our bags for weapons or explosives) and get my stuff.

Just like they do at so many expos, you had to walk by all the vendors before you could get your packet and bib. The vendors were arranged in the lobby running along the outside of the arena. They had a good assortment of all the usual running gear. If you had traveled to this race from out of town and forgot something, you would be able to pick it up here. In my case, this was not an issue. So I was just looking for unique items and great deals. I made a quick tour of the shops and headed down to the arena floor to pick up my packet. Again, no big deal, just had to show ID and pick up your stuff. The race shirt is in a long-sleeved tech fabric and ok looking. I was very excited to see that our packet also included a hat. Unfortunately, the hat was too large for me so I have given it to Tommy.

After I got my packet I went back through the vendors. There were not really any deals to be had. I did pick up a new pair of Snuggbudds because they were there and it would save me from having to order them online and pay shipping. One of the dogs had just ripped apart my favorite pair the day before. I don't wear them when I run outside, just on the treadmill, or when I am out in the backyard playing with the dogs. I don't listen to music with them, either. I listen exclusively to podcasts. I know, I'm weird.

I also stopped at The Boeing Store and bought shirts for me and Tommy. Because how many other races have a Boeing Store?

Getting in the Marathon Mood

Friday night I made Tommy take me to Bella Luna for pasta so I would get more in the marathoning mood. It's not like I particularly need more carbs. It really was more of a psychological thing. I had the lobster & crab ravioli and Tommy had the steak canneloni. We had pumpkin bread pudding for dessert. I even managed to try a new brew that I could log on Untappd.

I got up at 4 am for coffee. Also had some plain yogurt mixed with wheat germ and a banana. It was going to be a long morning. Left the house a little before 5 am in heavy rain. I was glad I had picked up a plastic rain poncho. The temperature was in the 60s but it was supposed to rain pretty much all morning. Great.

I wore my new yellow Marathon Maniacs singlet and fairly new pair of black shorts. Had to go with two belts, one for my race number with the little pouch on the back that holds a car key, and the other one to hold my GUs. I was planning on GU every 3-4 miles depending on where the aid stations were.

The drive up was not bad but as I approached the base, I became glad that I was arriving early. It was already getting fairly congested. I was trying to read the printed directions I had to what looked to be the most convenient parking area, but ended up just following the cars ahead of me. Ended up parked in a grassy field that was quickly filling up with cars. It was still pouring down rain. I sat in the car in the dark for a few minutes. No reason to go out and stand in the rain any longer than I needed to. I was still having those feelings of regret about having selected this race to run, not wanting to be there, just wishing the whole thing was over with.

Time to Stop Whining

I got out of the car for a second and asked a bunch of guys who were parked in front of me how long a walk it was to the start. They were a big vague but said it was maybe a quarter mile. I noticed that one of the guys was a double amputee. At that point I decided it was time to stop whining.

It still seemed a little early to be heading for the start, but everybody parked around me was going, so I did, too. I was a little chilly with just the rain poncho on over my singlet, and was wondering why I didn't think to bring throwaway clothes. I decided to carry my shoes and vasoline up to the start, so I would maybe be able to at least start out with dry feet. I had worn something else for the drive up. I didn't know how far we were going to have to walk in the wet grass.

I saw some flags and tried to remember the number that corresponded to where I was parked.

The walk to the start was closer to a mile than a quarter mile, but we did hit pavement fairly fast. I could have worn my race shoes and left the other ones in the car. Oh well. About halfway to the start we hit the museum, which had some benches outside where I could sit down to put on my shoes.

Even though it was dark and raining, the mood of the crowd was light and positive. It was hard to stay in a bad mood for long. Soon I too was looking forward to what the day would bring.

After what seemed like forever, I arrived at the start area. First thing to do was get on the portapotty line. Hardly any line, plenty of portapotties. Then I went off to check my gear bag. Met up with a fellow Maniac and chatted a bit. Saw some more Maniacs but did not get in a group picture.

The Danger Zone...Or Not

Joined a bunch of other people standing by the Northrup Grumman trailer, which had a video monitor on one side which was showing some sort of homage to the B2 Bomber. Basically, it was that "Danger Zone" theme from Top Gun with footage of the B2 dropping bombs on stuff. The explosions coincided with crescendos in the music. I'm really not that much of a liberal anymore, and I support our military, and as we always say in my family, the military-industrial complex has put food on the table for a long time, but...this film was a little off-putting. And the B2 is a seriously ugly thing, anyway.

The second half of the video was an episode of that show about the guys who make the custom motorcycles, in which they are hired by Northrup Grumman to make a bike that is also an homage to the B2 Bomber. The end result looked to me like a giant kid's cycle with a big plastic hunk of B2 Bomber (again, ugly!) bolted onto the handlebars.

So I stood around and watched this, periodically looking around to see if anybody else felt the same way i did about it, but if anybody did, I couldn't tell from looking at them.

And then it was almost time to go. Funny how fast it is fading from my memory. I tried to line up in the back with the slowest pace group. Somebody sang the Star Spangled Banner. I think it was a creditable job. We started without too much more fanfare, as I recall, and it took me a bit to cross the start line. The rain had stopped, but it was still a bit cool so I kept the rain poncho on for awhile.

Five Hours of Cruising Around

My plan was to just jog at a very comfortable pace, whatever that turned out to be. Oddly enough, I was assisted in this by the fact that my GPS watch died before we were even a half mile into the race. I thought it was fully charged, but apparently not. Oh well, it would just be a good test of my ability to judge my pace. This did not stop me from occasionally looking down at my watch anyway. And every time I would think, duh, fooled me again!

My goal was simply to finish the race under the allotted course time and without sustaining any lasting damage.Since we had seven hours to finish, I wasn't really worried about that part.

The first few miles of the race follow the Loop Road in Area B of the base. Although most of the race has only slight changes in elevation, the second mile seems to be entirely uphill. This did not bother me. Since my watch wasn't working, I instead counted out the seconds to myself as I took my walking breaks each mile. I found that I didn't need the constant feedback from my watch. It was enough that they had clocks at each mile. As a result, I've decided that I am going back to using my old chronograph watch for racing, at least for the longer events. I don't need to know my pace continuously. And I don't need to know the distance, as long as there are mile markers out there on the course. I'm better off just checking on my pace once a mile, which I can do with the chronograph and the mile markers.

I could tell from the clock times that I was holding a steady 11-minute pace.

Okay, even more time has gone by now and I still haven't finished this, so let's go stream of consciousness about what else i can remember, and then I am going to do the same thing to write quickly about the other races. Because it is nuts try to write a book about each of these things. No time for that. It is supposed to be a blog post.

So what I remember is that there are a few hills but nothing too bad, and its not especially scenic but you do run by a lot of green spaces (like a golf course), and some military buildings that probably mean more to people who know the area than they did to me.

One of the most fun parts of the race is just before the half, when you run through the downtown Fairborn area through what they call the "Fly Zone." This is the main place that you see spectators to cheer for you. It's an out and back along the main drag. And the middle of the race contains a fairly long out and back and it was fun to cheer for the other Maniacs and get cheered on myself.

The other fun part of the race was going through a residential area where they had an alien theme to the aid station. People dressed up in alient constumes, signs that said things like "Aliens Crossing here" and "Humans Crossing Here," just a wry little nod to the rumor about the aliens being housed in the infamous hanger at Wright Patt.

As the miles clicked by, I began to realize that I was possibly going to break five hours, which would be a pretty good result considering my lack of training. Somewhere around mile 18 my watch mysteriously turned itself back on---just the clock part, not the GPS---and this helped me as i tried to keep my pace under 12 minutes per mile. Helped my psychologically. They did have a clock at each mile (much appreciated) which was more helpful in controlling my pace, but with the watch working I could look at it and say, okay, maybe a half mile to go until the next mile marker, let's see.

The last few miles retrace our steps from the beginning, and it was nice to run back down that hill from mile 2. There was another fun aid station in here with a "minions" theme from Despicable Me. I guess it was there in the beginning too but I didn't notice it then.

And then we finished back where we started, outside the museum. Don't remember too much about that now but the sun was out. Got my medal and my space blanket, picked up my gear bag (why did I bring all that stuff with me?), thought about going to the beer tent but I didn't see it right away and knew that I was facing that long walk to my car and also I had to drive home, so I skipped the beer.

I found the field where the cars were parked but it took me a bit to figure out where my car was. I had to go back in my head to before the race and try to remember which direction I was walking when I left the car in the dark. Yeah they had those number flags but I now realized that they had multiple sets of flags that were color coded, and I had no idea what color my flag was because I didn't notice that in the dark! Anyway, it didn't take me too long.

I changed out of my wet singlet and sports bra but otherwise did not change because there were too many people around. No problem with traffic exiting the parking lot and an easy drive home.

In the end, my time was 4:59:23. I think I probably ran 11s the first half and 12s in the second, which is pretty even for me. I ws 30 of 90 women in my age group. Not sure about the other placements, but there were 1047 women in the race and 3126 marathoners. About a third of the marathoners were active military, which I think is pretty cool.

I would do this one again if i had a reason but otherwise probably won't, mostly because of the need to get there so early. It is a very well-organized race and I'm glad I did it.