Another Marathon

Preparation before the start. The start.

Another year, another marathon. This was my third one and it was tough. Weather conditions were just perfect: bright sunny, temperature around freezing point and no wind whatsoever. The surface however was a different story; in places there was a layer of powdery snow which makes it feel like you are running in sand and forces you to always look for a better spot to run. Very tiring. Support was the same as last year (some refreshment stands along the way and some mobile support crews that were able to hand stuff from the runners personal bag that they were carrying in the vehicle. I didn't need any of that since the weather was good and I was carrying my own supplies) with 1 noted difference; This year Sheri was one of the support staff and so I received special encouragement and hugs twice (out and back , the second time accompanied by remarks from me to remind me never to do this again ) along the way.

I was doing quite well up until the final 2 miles of the race, when my legs totally cramped up to the point where even Sheri's encouragement couldn't get me to continue running longer than 2 minutes at a stretch. My final finish time was 3 minutes slower than last year.
Afterwards we were rewarded with a nice after party featuring food and drinks and a volunteer giving massages.
All in all there were:
23 full marathon runners
6 full marathon skiers
24 half marathon runners
6 half marathon skiers

My marathon times:
2006 (first marathon ever) 5:20
2007 4:18
2008 4:21



Dedicated to Pam for encouraging me to run my first marathon and inspiring so many people to run and dedicated to Sheri for supporting me and joining me during my training.