Umstead Marathon 2009

So y’all probably think I am insane. I ran 26.2 on hilly, rocky, roots everywhere terrain with named hills like “The Wheels Fall off” and “Devil’s Spine”. That was the 6th annual running of the Umstead Marathon. It’s not a qualifier because it generally takes even elite runners more time to get through the hiking trails and up and down never-ending hills. And this was my first marathon.

Prior to running a marathon I never considered myself a runner. An athlete, yes, but I only ran if it was after a ball (soccer and field hockey), someone was chasing me (soccer, field hockey, tag) or it started raining when I was on a walk. It just didn’t really interest me that much. Then, when I got into triathlons I began running a very minimal amount. Everything was in 5k races, so I only had to go 3.1 miles. the first time I ran that far without stopping I definitely felt it. Now I think of that has a mere jog in the park.

I started training for this in November, and dedicated 18 weeks to building up stamina and speed, sticking on cross training and weight training, adjusting my diet to compensate for long workouts (like 8 miles + strength training) and then, on Saturday morning at 6 a.m. on 3/7/09, I was up and trying to determine if I was really ready for this. They say when you start tapering is when you start doubting your own ability to physically accomplish this and that was the truth. Never in my life have i wanted to run as much as I did during those two weeks. I had stopped drinking caffeine and alcohol and yet I was as jittery as if I were downing several large pots a day. I would run five or six miles and feel like I should be doing 10. It was crazy.

So Saturday morning at 7 a.m. found me watching sunrise in Umstead Park. This was the great part. Even though I was chilly (was wearing a sleeveless top in preparation for temps in the mid-70s). My last long run had literally been in the snow so I was drinking mroe water than normal, knowing that I would dehydrate faster than if I had been training in warm weather all along.

At 8:58 a guy finally called out “Hey, y’all, looks like we’re set to start in-” (here he looked down at his wrist)- “two minutes! Should they get up by the start line?” he asked a coordinator, who nodded. “Get near the line!”

At 9 a.m., they yelled go and we were off. Definitely the most casual race I have ever been in. there were no timing chips, no fancy signs everywhere, just a single banner that said finish, a cabin full of food for later, and people heading out on mountain bikes to support us, our numbers carefully safety pinned to the front of our shirts. I had gel packs tucked into the convenient zip pocket on the front of mine. 🙂

It wasn’t until about Mile 10 or 11 that I really began to question the higher purpose of running this marathon. What was I trying to gain? Insight into my life? Better procrastination techniques in regards to my master’s paper? Some kind of Buddhist revelation that would forever change how I saw my fellow man? It was all kinds of complicated. And ridiculous. And I kept on going.

I think that what makes a marathon great. Is that you are given this opportunity to push your body far beyond what you would consider normal limits. I ran until I could run no more and then i kept running. And when I finished I was literally delirious from the moment of having accomplished something that people strive to do, of having dedicated myself to long runs and early weekend nights, and occasionally running in the dark or the rain or snow or whatever it took to get in mileage for the week. I ran when I was on vacation, when I was at friend’s houses, when i went home for Christmas. I ran and ran and trained and trained and did it for this. For this morning and early afternoon of proving to myself that I could do something amazing.