Park City Marathon! #13 Was Not Unlucky!

I will admit, I almost decided to drop the Park City Marathon. It sells out every year and since it's local, I wanted to make sure I had a spot in case I wanted to run it, so I registered. I was leery, with my recent knee tweak and the Hood to Coast relay the following weekend, I thought it might be best just to bag it. Then Teresa (who had just finished the Leading Ladies the Sunday before and who was also running Hood to Coast) had a great idea! She suggested that we do the early start with the walkers and just go super easy, in fact, let's shoot for a Personal Worst (PW) to ensure we take it easy!. Heck we have already paid for it! So we did!

We started a 5:00am with about 30 other people, including the AMAZING Marathon Maniacs/50 State Club phenoms Yolanda Holder and Larry Macon, who were both also running another marathon at midnight that night! CRAZY!!

It was pitch black when we started and the only way we could find our way was with our headlamps. It was kind of like a treasure hunt trying to find the blue arrows which marked the course. We really had no choice to go really slow or walk. It surprised us how fast the group thinned out. Most of the "walkers" did not walk from the start. A few folks got lost early, but found their way back, including Larry. He found us as he doubled back from a wrong turn. We followed a few other runners who had done the course before and made it to the "secret tunnel" at mile 4 just as the sun was coming up.

Larry, Teresa and I ran, walked and talked together for the first 14 miles. We were having a blast!

Larry Macon and I at Mile 8!

Teresa and Larry at Mile 8.

After mile 14, we said goodbye to Larry and Teresa and I went on. There were some killer hills, so we took it super easy going up. At this point I could feel my right hamstring and calf getting super tight, but once we hit a downhill section, it loosened up as we ran down.

This was a really challenging course, but we were loving it! We were going slower than we had ever run before, but enjoying every minute of it! The last 6 miles were tough on Teresa. It was super hot out by this time and the heat was making her nauseous. So we just continued to stick to the plan. We were going to run a PW if it killed us!! Hee Hee!

Cute lady at the "Bikini" water stop!

The last 3 miles we saw a young 22 year-old man walking and feeling pretty rough. It was his first marathon and he had hit the wall. We told him what our plan was and that he should stick with us for a while. He did and was so grateful for helping him get through the last miles. The last 1/2 mile he thanked us and kicked it in strong!

The finisher's medals were made of glass, handmade by a local artist.

Teresa and I saw the finish line and finished strong! We got our medals and headed towards the cold, wet washcloths they were handing out! Teresa was still feeling a little sick from the heat and went strait away to find a shady place to sit. After a short rest in the shade, we made our way to grass where we sat and waited for Bob B. and Franz to finish.

 Teresa and I at the Finish!

Bob B. & Franz relaxing after the race.

I am so glad I didn't drop this race! Yes, we accomplished our goal of running a PW, we ran 5:52:34. The slowest marathon to date, BUT, I had no knee pain and I feel great! I felt like I just did a long slow training run. I am totally recovered today an am ready to tackle Hood to Coast! Bring it on!!