Prologue
The day began like a lot of other marathons, an early morning bus ride out to the middle of nowhere. Everyone on the bus thinking and talking about the journey they are about to undertake.
After the bus ride and the wait, it’s time to warm up and get ready to run. As I peel off layers, I notice a lot of people in tights, long sleeves, gloves and stocking caps. Was I optimistic wearing a singlet, shorts and ball cap? The temperature is in the low 40s and you can see your breath but the skies are clear, it is Tucson and yesterday it warmed up into the 70s.
The announcer gives a five minute warning and everyone starts to move into place. I line up about 5 rows from the front not wanting to get sucked out at the start but not wanting to have to weave too much. As I’m waiting, I over hear a runner talking about trying for three hours. Looking around I see he’s wearing a bright safety green singlet.
Act 1 – The First Half
The starter counts us down, three, two, one and then nothing. No gun, no whistle, no GO, nothing. Everyone is standing around and a couple of seconds pass. Finally the announcer yells GO and everyone is off. A couple seconds later, the gun goes off.
The course starts with a half mile climb and the starting crowd is like any other marathon with people going out too fast. I settle into my pace and try to take the climb easy. After a few miles, the crowd has thinned out and I notice the bright green singlet about 50 yards away. I decide to close the gap and over the next couple miles I catch up to him.
After a mile or so to relax and catch my breath, I pull even and say hi. He’s checking his Garmin so I ask if he has a goal. He (from Phoenix) says his goal is three hours and I know I have the right runner. I then notice another runner (Detroit) at my side and I ask his goal which he states as 2:55. Another runner (Atlanta) joins us and his goal is also three hours.
With three runners going for three hours, it’s time for the a decision, do I stay with these runners and try for three hours or do I drop back to a more comfortable pace. I decide to stay with the group and see how it plays out. The miles start to click off and we go through nine miles in just over an hour. We pass the halfway point in 1:31 and the pace is feeling good.
Act 2 – The Lonely Miles
Somewhere over the next couple miles, Detroit picks up the pace, or maybe he just held the pace and the rest of us slowed down. I decide to go with Detroit covering his move and over the next couple miles both Phoenix and Atlanta drop off the back.
Around mile sixteen, Detroit starts to fade but I still feel comfortable with the pace. I look ahead and there’s a runner ahead of me with a blue singlet. I decide he’s my new pace partner and I move to close the gap. He’s a bigger runner so I decide to use him for a wind block. I noticed a pretty good headwind and there’s no sense fighting the wind alone.
Act 3 – The Real Marathon Begins
Blue guy is holding an even pace and we hit the twenty mile mark at 2:15. The saying is that the marathon starts at twenty miles and now I find myself only forty-five minutes and ten kilometers from a sub-three hour marathon. I’ve run both stand alone and triathlon 10ks under forty minutes so I know I have the ability. I just need to hold my pace and I should make it.
Blue guy starts to fade but he did pull me up to another group of runners; another blue guy, shirtless guy and Ironman guy. I tuck in next to the new blue guy with shirtless leading the way and Ironman hanging on the back. Ironman is breathing heavy and I wonder how long he’ll hang on.
With five kilometers left, Ironman has been dropped and blue is starting to fade. He’s slipped of the back and surged back a few times but I think he’s done. I focus on shirtless and just hold onto his pace. We only have five kilometers to go and we have twenty-five minutes to get there.
At the twenty-four mile mark, it’s just me and shirtless. We have around twenty minutes to go only 2.2 miles. I pull even with shirtless and ask what his goal was. He wanted to go 2:50 but with the headwind, he thought that a sub-three marathon is a good effort. He has no doubt that we will break three so all I have to do is hang in and not break.
Bearing down and focusing, I climb the last hill and take the turn towards the finish line. I hear Manuel and Susie yell out surprised to see me so soon. As I cross the finish line, I notice the clock rolling over to 2:58 as the announcer calls out my name.
Epilogue
I can’t believe it I’ve broken three hours by almost two minutes. When I first started running marathons, I thought I would break three but after the first few, I thought it was a pipe dream. Three hours was the rare air that real marathoners breathed. Here I was in that same exalted company. Dreams can come true if you just relax, prepare and let them come to you.
The day began like a lot of other marathons, an early morning bus ride out to the middle of nowhere. Everyone on the bus thinking and talking about the journey they are about to undertake.
After the bus ride and the wait, it’s time to warm up and get ready to run. As I peel off layers, I notice a lot of people in tights, long sleeves, gloves and stocking caps. Was I optimistic wearing a singlet, shorts and ball cap? The temperature is in the low 40s and you can see your breath but the skies are clear, it is Tucson and yesterday it warmed up into the 70s.
The announcer gives a five minute warning and everyone starts to move into place. I line up about 5 rows from the front not wanting to get sucked out at the start but not wanting to have to weave too much. As I’m waiting, I over hear a runner talking about trying for three hours. Looking around I see he’s wearing a bright safety green singlet.
Act 1 – The First Half
The starter counts us down, three, two, one and then nothing. No gun, no whistle, no GO, nothing. Everyone is standing around and a couple of seconds pass. Finally the announcer yells GO and everyone is off. A couple seconds later, the gun goes off.
The course starts with a half mile climb and the starting crowd is like any other marathon with people going out too fast. I settle into my pace and try to take the climb easy. After a few miles, the crowd has thinned out and I notice the bright green singlet about 50 yards away. I decide to close the gap and over the next couple miles I catch up to him.
After a mile or so to relax and catch my breath, I pull even and say hi. He’s checking his Garmin so I ask if he has a goal. He (from Phoenix) says his goal is three hours and I know I have the right runner. I then notice another runner (Detroit) at my side and I ask his goal which he states as 2:55. Another runner (Atlanta) joins us and his goal is also three hours.
With three runners going for three hours, it’s time for the a decision, do I stay with these runners and try for three hours or do I drop back to a more comfortable pace. I decide to stay with the group and see how it plays out. The miles start to click off and we go through nine miles in just over an hour. We pass the halfway point in 1:31 and the pace is feeling good.
Act 2 – The Lonely Miles
Somewhere over the next couple miles, Detroit picks up the pace, or maybe he just held the pace and the rest of us slowed down. I decide to go with Detroit covering his move and over the next couple miles both Phoenix and Atlanta drop off the back.
Around mile sixteen, Detroit starts to fade but I still feel comfortable with the pace. I look ahead and there’s a runner ahead of me with a blue singlet. I decide he’s my new pace partner and I move to close the gap. He’s a bigger runner so I decide to use him for a wind block. I noticed a pretty good headwind and there’s no sense fighting the wind alone.
Act 3 – The Real Marathon Begins
Blue guy is holding an even pace and we hit the twenty mile mark at 2:15. The saying is that the marathon starts at twenty miles and now I find myself only forty-five minutes and ten kilometers from a sub-three hour marathon. I’ve run both stand alone and triathlon 10ks under forty minutes so I know I have the ability. I just need to hold my pace and I should make it.
Blue guy starts to fade but he did pull me up to another group of runners; another blue guy, shirtless guy and Ironman guy. I tuck in next to the new blue guy with shirtless leading the way and Ironman hanging on the back. Ironman is breathing heavy and I wonder how long he’ll hang on.
With five kilometers left, Ironman has been dropped and blue is starting to fade. He’s slipped of the back and surged back a few times but I think he’s done. I focus on shirtless and just hold onto his pace. We only have five kilometers to go and we have twenty-five minutes to get there.
At the twenty-four mile mark, it’s just me and shirtless. We have around twenty minutes to go only 2.2 miles. I pull even with shirtless and ask what his goal was. He wanted to go 2:50 but with the headwind, he thought that a sub-three marathon is a good effort. He has no doubt that we will break three so all I have to do is hang in and not break.
Bearing down and focusing, I climb the last hill and take the turn towards the finish line. I hear Manuel and Susie yell out surprised to see me so soon. As I cross the finish line, I notice the clock rolling over to 2:58 as the announcer calls out my name.
Epilogue
I can’t believe it I’ve broken three hours by almost two minutes. When I first started running marathons, I thought I would break three but after the first few, I thought it was a pipe dream. Three hours was the rare air that real marathoners breathed. Here I was in that same exalted company. Dreams can come true if you just relax, prepare and let them come to you.
Official Time: 2:58:14, Chip Time: 2:58:07
1/2 Time: 1:31:32
19th of 1149 Finishers, 19th of 705 Men, 5th of 116 Men 40 - 44
