Marine Corps Follow-up

[dan]

All - I am planning to do a big article on MCM and all other fall races from our Striders for a future Sports Magazine.

If you competed in a race this fall (MCM or otherwise), please respond with the following information:

1. Name
2. Race
3. Finish, Place, etc.
4. Comments, feelings, reactions, etc.

I hope to assemble these for a great article featuring all our active Striders and others in the running community who competed this fall. Please share with anyone who you know who has competed and doesn't have access to this site.

I will try my best not to miss anyone, but my time for research is limited. I will appreciate any help I can get.

Thanks,
Dan

[woody]

Name: Woody Snoberger
Race: MCM
Finish: 85th 2:51:28
Comments: I felt horrible very early in the race and was holding on for dear like for the last 10 miles or so. I really did not like the rally that crowded up the metro teh day before the race making in very difficult to get to the expo which kept me on my feet much longer than i wanted. I did however, enjoy the race start and the organization of the race was very good.

[Justin]

Name: Justin Taylor
Race: MCM
Finish: 3:46:21
Comments: With less than ideal training coming in to the race I had pretty low expectations for time. I was primarily looking to run a smart marathon for once by not going out too fast. I accomplished that and was with the 3:40 pace group until about mile 23 when I faded. I much prefer the fade as opposed to the wall I usually hit and will use some lessons learned on this run to plan future races better when I am hopefully more fit for faster times.
I had a good experience, and it was really nice having a group down there instead of the solo trip I made last year.

[burgrunner]

Jeremy Rice
MCM
3:02:20

Very disappointing. My training went well and I was pretty confident with chances of running 2:35 or better. As the race unfolded, I was a little slower than I wanted to be. I was 1:20:30 at the half and I wanted to be in the 1:18 range. Although I was slow, I felt great and I really liked my chances of coming back with a negative split to be under 2:40. As a matter of fact, I remember thinking to myself at the half that I don't feel like I haven't even started yet and 13 miles should be pretty easy. Coming off of Haines Point and around mile 15, my right calf started to go. I have a throbbing stabbing pain that progressively got worse. Around mile 20-21 (the bridge headed into Crystal City) I finally had to walk. From there on in, I jogged/shuffled as far as I could and then walked for a few minutes. I could not find a medical tent so I figured that the quickest way to make it back was to continue on. I did find someone along the course with a cell phone so that I could call my wife and tell her that I was coming but it would be a while.
Although I am living with the disappointment of the let down, I am glad that I didn't try to push myself too much as I am convinced that I would be a lot worse off than I am. Fortunately two days later (aside from the calf) I felt back to normal. I still say that the last 10k is the part that makes you so sore and beat up afterwards.
It was a learning experience and one that I can build on. Now it's time to heal up, recover, and then move on to bigger and better things.

Bill Rodgers said it best when he stated: "The marathon will humble you".