Race Recap: State #12: New Mexico

Race: Bataan Memorial Death March (Civilian Male Heavy Division)
Date: March 19, 2017
Official Result: 11:09:17.871

We're the Battling Bastards of Bataan,
No Mama, No Papa, No Uncle Sam,
No aunts, no uncles, no cousins, no nieces,
No pills, no planes, no artillery pieces,
And nobody gives a damn!
-Frank Hewlett

The Bataan Memorial Death March is a countermeasure to this poem. On this 75th anniversary of that cruel event in history, over 7200 marchers came together to the White Sands Missile Range to remember and pay homage to the Filipino and American soldiers forced to make the original 65 mile march to their POW camps. Already starved, they marched not with food or water but the certainty of death by bayonet or beheading if they were to fall behind.

Rewind a bit back to October 2015 - While riding the subway in D.C. after running the Marine Corps marathon, I struck up a conversation with a rider who noticed the finisher medal swinging around my neck.  Before getting off at my stop, he suggested I look into the Bataan Memorial March in New Mexico.  Hardest thing he's ever done.  After reading about it initially I thought the idea was insane. But now that I've participated in it I can confirm the idea is indeed insane. 26.2 miles into a desert mountain range with no sun cover and the option to carry a 35 pound rucksack will absolutely put your limits to the test. 

My cousin (and fellow Napa Ragnarian) Jeffrey was putting together a guys trip for March Madness in Las Vegas, and since the race fell on the same weekend I thought I'd consolidate both into a single trip. I just wasn't sure if I should register for the light or heavy division. I polled my Ragnar team and they unanimously said I should go for heavy, the jerks. I only ended up logging about 60 miles of training, but with 50 pounds on my back as suggested by Jessica, another one of my Ragnar teammates.

I got to enjoy my first taste of enjoying the NCAA tournament in Las Vegas, but learned that I'm terrible at picking winners. I lost all eight of my 2-team parlays, and the one that I thought I did win, I accidentally bet on first half outcomes thinking I bet on the final score (I called out the wrong numbers when placing my bet in the sportsbook). Thankfully I made that all back and finished comfortably up for the trip at the blackjack tables.

Early Friday I took an Allegiant Air flight after two chill days in Las Vegas, walking past bleary-eyed party goers heading back to their hotel rooms on my way to the airport at 4:30 in the morning. A retired couple from Utah sat across from me while waiting to board and I couldn't help but make friends with them since the woman was wearing a Ragnar jacket. Brad and Mary were both also headed to the march. We swapped a few running stories and they recommended I run a particular marathon for Utah, but I can't remember which one. By mid-morning I was wandering the aisles of a Walmart just a few miles from the border in El Paso, where I was picking up supplies for the race. I read that pickle juice is great for alleviating cramping, so I bought a big jar of pickles and carefully poured the juice into an empty Ice Mountain water bottle, leaving a big jar of pickles sans juice to roll around the floor of the front passenger seat. The original plan was to spend the next three nights at Bell Gym on the military base, but I decided to spend the night in town and spend some of my winnings on a hotel room, but not before doing a bit of sightseeing and celebrating St. Patrick's day with the best tacos al pastor I've ever had from El Cometa.

On Saturday morning I headed out north where Google maps took me to the southern edge of the White Sands Missile Range, where I was stopped at the security checkpoint. There were all these warnings of our ID's needing to be Real ID compliant, and since Illinois' driver's licenses weren't, I brought along my passport with me, but they didn't need to see it.  I was allowed to pass and drove through another 5 or so miles of blank space on my GPS map until I found the building that already had a line out the door for In Processing (packet pickup). We were led into a gym where upon showing my ID the volunteer asked me if I had been hydrating, to which I nodded. After confirming that I was in the heavy division he looked me up and down and asked if I had been training, and I had trouble coming up with a response. "Umm, as much as I could?" was all I could come with. I was handed my envelope with my bib and certificate of participation, and a cinch sack that had my t-shirt and dog tags and in them (which doubled as a finishing medal since no medal is handed out at the finish).  The Wounded Warrior booth gave out some really nice swag - US flag, a pin, bumper stickers - but best of all phone battery chargers.

After getting my bib I found the gym that offered free billeting for marchers on a first come first serve basis. I was able to secure a cot and as I was setting up I looked around at all the other folks spending the night in the gym and told my cousin Jennifer via Facebook that everyone around me looked like her husband Steve, a Marine.  I felt like such a fish out of water.  Her brilliant response - Now you know how Steve feels at all of our family gatherings! I was basically a reverse Steve.


I took advantage of all the programs they had planned for the day since I was staying on base for the night - There was a presentation regarding the advancement of recognizing native Filipinos who fought for the US during WWII - they were promised US citizenship and benefits but those rights were later revoked - and their roles were largely written out of US history. Only recently were they awarded the Congressional Gold Medal thanks to the efforts of the people presenting. You can learn more about their cause here.

I attended a historical seminar on this history of the original Bataan Death March presented by the ROTC. The atrocities our POW's went through put into perspective that what we're doing tomorrow and the challenges we are about to face is really nothing when you compare the two. In fact it can't even be compared.  I'm pretty sure I would have not survived. Later I met OSS Officer (pre CIA) Oscar Leonard, one of the original survivors who was kind enough to share some of his experiences with us. He was very frank and open with us. In a Q&A someone asked what he thought of the Japanese. His answer, "There are good people and there are bad people, no matter where they're from." I also checked out very cool outdoor museum of missiles and aircraft. It also gave me a chance to get used to the conditions since the same warm weather was forecast for tomorrow.

There was a pasta dinner but it was on the other side of the base so I settled on going to the bowling alley next door for a taco salad. I figured this could possibly be my last meal so it might as well be something I'd really enjoy. After dinner I watched a documentary in the theater called "Never Surrender: The Ed Ramsey Story" which was about Ed Ramsey and how he never surrendered.  For real though, it was pretty good and put me in the right mindset for the night.

Me when lights on at 0400

I found my way back to the cot at 2100 hours and by 2130 the lights went out in the gym and the murmurs of conversation surrounding me began to die out. At 2200 I heard a bugle play the song Taps, just like they do in the movies. Wow I'm really here, I thought. Now it's hard enough to fall asleep the night before any marathon within the comforts of a hotel bed.  But being in a gym with hundreds of others, I ended up spending several hours listening to how other people snored, waiting for the next cough, and hearing the crunchy sound of people turning over in their cots. I think I had maybe about 2 hours of REM sleep before the lights went back on right at 0400 hours. I woke up in a bit of a daze and thought, oh yeah. Today's the day. I left my pillow and blanket behind on my cot and packed up everything else and drove to the parking lot at the start. I got here way too early, I thought.

Highlights from the opening ceremonies included roll call of the original survivors who were present - there were eight of them who made the trip - the singing of the Philippine national anthem, the first time they've done it, and a demonstration of a pair of specialist jumpers known as the black daggers who made a precision landing in front of the stage. After a moving ceremony we were set on our way. It took another half mile to get to the start line where we had another opportunity to shake the hands of the survivors, and I'll be forever appreciative for those moments. I just thanked them for all they've done.

After a mile of pavement from the start we made the turn onto the dusty dirt trail towards the imposing mountains in the background. Much like the Marine Corps Marathon, everyone seemed to be marching for someone or was military themselves. I thought back to the stories my dad would tell me, how they had to hide in the mountains during the Japanese occupation of the Philippines. He was only five or so, and I can't imagine being exposed to the horrors of war at any age much less at that age. I thought about him a lot, and decided to do this in his honor.

The Mile 8 Aid Station was the first timing chip checkpoint and the part of the course where the shorter distance heads back to base. The stretch leading up to this point was significantly uphill, and I was pretty beat up already at this point. To think that 99-year old survivor of the original death march, Col. Ben Skardon, would also complete these same 8 miles just blows my mind.  I sat down on a cot to switch out my sock as my right pinky toe was starting to hurt pretty bad. As good a job these gaiters did keeping the sand out, they did just a good job locking the sweat in. I decided not to switch out my left sock yet as it wasn't hurting as bad. I unwrapped and snacked on a pair of Nature Valley Chocolate pretzel nut bars that I had picked up at Walmart, as they were starting to melt in my bag. I also took my first swigs of pickle juice which ended up working well with keeping the cramps away.


Because the full course loops into a figure 8 around a hilltop, the fastest of the runners were already coming back down just as we were beginning to make our climb up. I was beginning to envy the light marchers/runners, and was already into unfamiliar territory as I had not trained longer than 10 miles, much less in this heat. I figured no amount of training could truly prepare me for this, so I had trained just the right amount. There were bags of rice lying along the side of this stretch of the road, as heavies were already beginning to ditch their loads. Tempting, I thought. But I just couldn't live with myself if I gave up.

A pair of runners came up behind us as I was resting at the mile 12 station, a little confused, asking a volunteer if this was the mile 20 station. "You're at mile 12," the volunteer deadpanned. "You're fucking with me, right?" These two runners were supposed to turn right at mile 18 back towards the base but looped around again and went 2 miles off course, uphill. I felt so bad for them, as their marathon just became a 50k.

The trudge to the top from miles 12-14 was a tough one. The course continued snaking upwards to its peak and the incline went from gradual to steep. A few of us were sitting on the side of the trail when a volunteer in an ATV drove by, asking if everyone was ok. "Let me think about it," said a marathon maniac next to me. He contemplated hopping onto the back of the ATV and catch a ride to the medical tent ahead, but if he did he would be DQ'd. I never entertained that thought myself. They were selling hamburgers at the mile 14 station, and I made that my carrot, if I could just make it there I can reward myself with a hamburger.

Made it to the top! Hamburgers ahead

But that hamburger line...

At the mile 14 station I found a cot next to the medical tent and took a 10 minute break. I saw that there was cell phone reception up at the top of this hill. I posted a few pictures to show that I was still alive and kicking. I received a message from my friend (and Ragnar co-captain) Courtney asking me if I had finished yet. I told her I'd be thrilled if I finished before 1900 hours my time. The line for hamburgers was craaazy. And it wasn't moving as far as I could tell. So I reached into my bag and tore into my bag of sea salt jerky like a wolverine. The taste and texture was so satisfying, chased with warm water and a few more swigs of pickle juice. The woman in the cot across from me who was doing her 5th Bataan march was telling me what to expect in the back half of the course, and was debating with another experienced marcher which part was their least favorite.

Miles 14-16 was a long stretch of downhill trail back around a hilltop we were encircling. You would think downhill would be a good thing, but I found out that it was more painful than uphill because my pinky toes were getting squished against the front of my shoe with the force of all the weight on my back. From a cardio standpoint it is easier at least. In order to stay consciously hydrated I developed a habit of making sure I had finished my 1 liter bottle of water between each water station, which were every two miles, where I would re-fill my bottle, as well as drinking two cups of Gatorade at every station. I would also sit and rest for 10 minutes at each station, which is conservative, but being here alone I wanted to make sure I would finish safely.

The trail from here didn't get any easier. Miles 16-18 had one more hill pass, and the ups and downs were more dramatic. I was already on the course for over six hours and we were flirting with record temperatures approaching 90°F. But for a few fleeting moments a small cloud was able to hide the sun and give us a break.

10 glorious minutes of cloud cover

One of the female volunteers asked us who were resting at aid station mile 18 "Is there anyone here having any issues with their feet? Because I'm a certified amputator."  That made me laugh. I couldn't feel anything in my left pinky toe anymore and was too tired to change socks so I decided to just leave everything as is for the rest of the race.

HUGE thank you to all
the amazing volunteers

The long stretch of downhill pavement took us underneath the Route 70 overpass and some much needed shade.  This was some prime real estate as there were many marchers camped underneath. I sat down on the curb to take a picture when a bearded marcher who sat down near me started dry heaving and rolled over onto his back. Before I could help him one of the other marchers went over to check on him and he said he was going to take the bus back at the next aid station ahead.  

At mile 20 I sat down on a cot with my pack still on, and because it was angled on a slant along the road I almost tumbled backwards right out of it. "Try sitting on the other side," a volunteer advised me a little late.  "Thanks." As I went to the other side of the cot to sit down, pain shot through my side from my hip to my armpit and I had to stand up right away to stretch it out. It was the same pain I had described when I was sitting in the car in Mississippi after running the Gulf Coast Marathon.  I decided it was best to not sit anymore and just keep going.

I stopped taking pictures at this point because I couldn't hold my phone anymore.  I needed both of my hands to help keep the straps off my shoulders which were pretty raw at this point. After hitting another timed checkpoint we turned away from the direction of the base towards what is lovingly known as The Pit, a two-mile section of ankle deep loose gravel/sand that gives no traction and feels like you're just walking in place. I felt alone in my despair. But I just put my head down and somehow got through it.  

Clearing the pit, which I thought was just slightly worse than the hill climb between miles 16-18, we made a turn back towards the base. "That breeze feels pretty nice," A very tall brunette in full fatigues and rucksack with "HEALEY" on the back of her cap declared. We chatted for a good mile, which helped pass the time, but at a pace I was struggling to keep. An army captain, she carved out a career as a social worker and as such loved to talk (her words not mine) and shared her story with me over the next half hour. A 19 year veteran of the army, this was her fourth Bataan march, and each time she finished one she would, by happenstance, get a promotion in rank. Here's hoping it works out for her again. She was interested in running the Chicago marathon but was a bit hesitant.  I reassured her that the Chicago Marathon was cake compared to something like this. Finally by mile 23 I told her to pull ahead as I needed to slow my pace and off she went into the horizon.

I pulled off to the side to give Mae a call so she knew where I was. I asked her to put the kids on the phone so I could hear some encouraging voices. "Don't die dad," was all Miles would tell me. The final few miles had us wrap along the outside of the base with a six foot high stone wall on our left. I've heard from other marchers that this stretch is so mentally defeating because for miles you can see the base, and when you do make it back to the base, you have to turn right and around the water towers which look like they're a mile away (they are). But I used the remaining distance to picture how far away from my house I would be if I were running my usual neighborhood run and that helped me clear the distance.

Finally I saw the finish line, 10 minutes before 1900 hours and with the sun just starting to dip below the mountains. I pulled out my phone to take one last picture so I could remember the moment. The marchers around me started to run, and I threw my backpack on again and started to sprint to the finish. I thought I would seize up, but the opposite happened - I hadn't used my running muscles all day and it actually felt pretty good! I caught up to the guy in the red backpack pictured and crossed the finish to the cheers of many who were still waiting for their loved ones to finish.

Since I didn't weigh my backpack prior to the race, there was this sick feeling that I would get DQ'ed for bringing in an underweight sack, but when I took the pack off my shoulders for the last time and saw the volunteer struggle to handle the weight I knew I'd be safe.  He hung my bag on the scale and called out the weight - "Forty three pounds." It was official, I had finished. I opened up my bag and donated my 20 pound bag of rice and 10 pound bag of beans to an excited volunteer, 30 out of a record 27,500 pounds that were donated to RoadRunner Food Bank in Albuquerque and Casa de Peregrinos in Las Cruces.

I called Mae to let her know I had finished and was so overcome with emotion I couldn't even talk to her. I pulled off my shoes to put on my flip flops and saw my left pinky toe was purple with blood flowing inside a blister encasing it.

There was no way I was going to spend another night in that gym - after I found my car (only took forever) I left my blanket and pillow behind and made the 50 mile drive back to El Paso and went back to the Home2Suites I stayed at on Friday. A full day of drinking liters and liters of water finally caught up to me on the way back and I had the urge to go so badly, which was good because it kept me awake, but ultimately had to pull over on the outskirts of town.  Protip: a jar full of pickles and pee looks just like a jar full of pickles and pickle juice. Since I didn't get any food at the finish I went to the Arby's next door to the hotel and inhaled an Arby's Max (a tradition revived!) and large curly fries as my first and last meal of the day.

This was an incredible experience. The hardest thing I've ever done. JFK said we don't do things because they are easy, but because they are hard. I would do it again.

About the Marchers
This was the first year they've sold out. Out of 7200 marchers, there were 629 participants in the Individual Male Civilian Heavy Division, 492 (78%) who finished.  Compare that to 138 Female Civilian Heavy, where 111 (80%) finished. Way to crush it ladies.

My Gear
Backpack: I used a Kelty Redwing 50 ($99) to carry my load. This is my all time favorite bag, and will use this as my travelling bag forever and ever. So many pockets and has an aluminum frame down the middle of the bag that helps put the weight on your hips taking the load off your shoulders when rucking.

Hiking Shoes: After going on a 10 mile ruck in running shoes I definitely needed more support, and went with a pair of Merrell Ventilator hiking shoes ($89) I found at DSW.  I also bought a pair of Dr Scholls Gel Sport Insoles ($12), but made the mistake of slipping them under the original insoles instead of taking them out.  That left less room in the toe box and my pinky toes have yet to recover.

Gaiters: To help keep sand out of my shoes I bought a pair of Salomon Trail Gaiters ($25).  I was skeptical but these worked really well. The sand stayed completely out of my shoes the entire day.

Registration:$117.85
Flights:$67 Allegiant Air LAS -> ELP, $198 Delta ELP-> ATL -> ORD
Rental Car: White Ford Fusion $166.80 Avis
Hotels: Home2Suites El Paso ($204 total for Friday, Sunday)

Race Recap: State #11: Florida

Race: Walt Disney World Marathon
Date: January 8, 2017
Official Result: 6:00:37 (moving time: 5:30:20) 

My Disney Princess

"Orlando!" Exclaimed the ~5 year old boy sitting behind us on our flight as we touched down early Wednesday morning ahead of Sunday's full.  I wish I could say I equally shared his excitement as we whisked ourselves directly to the ESPN Sports Complex to get all our race packets straight from the airport. But I was worried I would be exhausted before even reaching the start line with all the things we would be doing in the four days leading up to the race. We took advantage of the timing to make this a big family vacation with my sister Ann Marie's family since the kids were still on winter break in the week leading up to the marathon weekend. She and Mae had meticulously coordinated our families' vacation over the last few months and had left very few moments to waste.

Coming down from Chicago besides my sister's family, who was staying on property, we also shared our off-property town house with a few fellow Ragnarians and former co-workers, Dianne and Annie, who were running their first half and first full respectively.  This helped bring the costs of staying in Florida way down, and made our stay way awesome, since they have been good friends for many years now.  I highly recommend renting through All-Star Vacation homes, as this was our second stay with them and their accommodations both times have been top notch.  Their website pictures are exactly what you get when you arrive. Blaine and Liz were also in town from New Orleans to run the appropriately named Goofy, where runners take on both the full and half.

The walk from the parking lot to the Expo was all my batteries for my GoPro gimbal could handle, and it abruptly died and couldn't hold a charge for the rest of the trip. So much for my family home movie. We arrived just as the Expo opened at noon and although the lines were long, it moved quickly.  I effortlessly picked up my bib as well as the kids' bibs and shirts while Mae split off to get her bib and shirt which was in the next building.  We met back up and checked out the merchandise to get my shirt, but since we had lunch reservations at Be Our Guest in the Magic Kingdom at 2 pm, we didn't spend much time at all there and went straight to the park.

After two trips to Magic Kingdom and about 45k steps the last two days, Friday had arrived, which was the day of Mae's 10k and the boys' Mickey Miler and Maya's 200m dash. I drove Mae to her 10k at 4:15 am for her 5:30 start time and slept in the car until 7:00 when she was expected to cross the finish. I got a feel for the magnitude of this weekend since all the big races were set up to begin and end here and walked around while waiting for Mae to finish. She did great despite her nonexistent training and we made it back to the house before the kids were even up.  After breakfast we took the kids to their races at the ESPN complex and had a great time watching all of the kids there run their races. Both boys broke 10 minutes for their mile and Maya was the first girl to cross the finish for her race (4th overall)!

Avocado Margarita

The rest of the day was spent at Epcot and after going on Soarin' a guy pointed at my Mississippi Gulf Coast Marathon shirt and said, "Hey I ran that!" We talked about the race for a bit and both agreed that the headwind sucked.  Later that evening we were having an amazing dinner with Annie and Ann Marie's family at La Hacienda de San Angel in Epcot when the news broke - because of the presence of lightning in the area and lack of cover on much of the course, Disney decided to cancel Saturday's half marathon race.  I felt so bad for Dianne who had gone back to her room earlier to rest up. To their credit they provided one of four options to the half runners: 1) registration refund in the form of a gift card, 2) Two one-day park hopper passes, 3) Deferment to any future Run Disney half race, 4) Entry into Sunday's full. To our amazement and gentle coaxing Dianne chose option (4) and decided to run 26.2 on less than two days notice.
  

Brown Derby Wagyu Burger

After spending a rainy Saturday at Hollywood Studios we stopped by Target and grabbed what we needed for a spaghetti dinner featuring Mae's homemade sauce.  I also picked up a Disney shirt as a souvenir slash extra layer to run in as well as a knit hat and gloves from the boys department since the forecast called for wind chill temps in the 20's. All the runners must have already cleaned out all the adult sized winter wear. I wasn't feeling well after a bit of day drinking at the Brown Derby for lunch (the Wagyu burger is hands down the best. burger. I. ever. had.) followed by a Star Tours ride that made me feel every year of my age... At least my steps were down to about 13k for the day. After being treated to a nice homemade dinner though I hit the bed around 8 pm and was out cold until my alarm got me up at 2:30(!!) in the morning.

Staying warm before launch

After dreaming about having to run a race that would take me all the way to Wisconsin, Dianne, Annie and I left the townhouse a little after 3:15 am, and the GPS had us orbiting the park several times due to the road closures.  We pulled into the lot around a half hour later and I elected to stay in the car as long as possible and said goodbye to the girls since they wanted to check in their gear bags and get into their corrals.  Annie submitted her half marathon time and was placed in H, I submitted nothing and was in J and Dianne was assigned to K. I went back to sleep in the back of the car and woke up around 4:45 and headed out to the race entrance. I spent a few minutes huddled around a propane heat lamp as temps were in the 30's with a bitter wind and I listened to a veteran dole out some sage advice to a first timer and also spent way too much time in line for the porta potties - the locked one in front of me never opened up. Picking the wrong line is my special talent. My jaw dropped when I saw two young, very cold Asian women shivering in nothing but tank tops and short running skirts, their bare midriffs exposed pass by. I don't think they packed properly for this trip, or lived to make the start.

Lines for character pics

It was another half mile to get from the gear check and security entrance to the start line corrals, and the walk was a nice warm-up. But once I got there even as the race got underway at 5:30 it was still a bit of waiting until we got rolling. Each corral was sent off on their way in 5 minute waves by Mickey Mouse himself and their own set of fireworks. I was able to find Blaine and Liz who were also in corral J and I considered putting on a pair of sweat pants that were hung on one of the side barriers since my legs were cold. There were lots of reminders to toss the mylar blankets before starting since they interfere with the chip timing. I saw a few Bank of America Chicago marathon blankets being cast aside. 

Finally the J corral was off and running and I got a quick lock on the satellite this time with my new Garmin Forerunner 230 watch. The battery on this is incredible; and was lucky to have it delivered in time just before our flight.  I made a deal with Mae that I can buy it as long as I don't say anything negative during the whole trip! The first five miles running through the darkness were a bit unremarkable. There were a few characters such as Captain Jack Sparrow and Lightning McQueen but the lines were so long I decided to run past them. I just focused on holding a 12 minute mile no matter how slow I thought it felt. The most memorable part of this first stretch was running through the parking gate where I almost knocked over a runner in front of me who stopped to take a picture without giving a warning sign.

Activate Beast Mode!

So there's a third way to get into the Magic Kingdom besides the Ferry and Monorail - you can get there by footrace! The scenery really picks up as we entered the Magic Kingdom at mile 5. I really felt some good vibes running up Main Street with the cheering crowds and Cinderella's castle still lit up as the sun was yet fully out. The pace of the runners drastically dropped all around me as the course narrowed and phone after phone was pulled out by all to record the experience. After Main Street we veered to the right through Tomorrowland and in the blink of an eye we ran through all the other lands before looping back to run through the castle back to front. I stopped to fall in line for a picture with The Beast, and met a few other runners from the Chicago area, namely Hindsdale and Naperville. We talked weather and how great the temps were this morning. There was also an opportunity to pose in front of the castle but the line was a bit too long for me. I really liked how at each photo op was manned by a professional camera as well as a second person that took your picture with your phone. I'm used to seeing maybe three or four photographers along any given marathon course, and this race had over fifty spots, easy.  But it seemed like every time I saw a photographer they were always changing something on their camera or taking someone else's pic. Just have to be at the right place at the right time I guess. I know they missed me running through the castle - and I considered turning around and trying again!

After leaving the kingdom, miles 6-11 were set on tree-lined service roads between the parks which occasionally had a character here and there, and bits of trivia. I learned there were 167 miles of private roads on Disney property. I had put only 8 miles of training runs on my new NB 1080's and during the 80k steps I took over the last 4 days I felt a hot spot on the top right side of my foot. I started to feel it, but it was nothing too bad. Miles 10-11 had an out and back, and on my way back I saw a guy cut that mile from the course. That put a sour taste in my mouth. But that was quickly forgotten as we came up on a display that had many retired vehicles from rides of yesterday.

As we entered the Animal Kingdom approaching the 13.1 mark, I got to take a few pictures with some of the birds that lived there. I also got to see the hangar where they keep a bunch of floats there, and they had a dragon out for us to see. It was great getting a glimpse of things behind the scenes that you just don't normally see. I got a pic with Timon from the Lion King and took a selfie with the Tree of Life. I didn't think I was going to make it back to this park so I took in as much as I could while I was here. 

I was getting texts from Mae letting me know that they were in
the parking lot after mile 14 and I didn't want them waiting too long for me, so I decided to skip the line for the Expedition Everest ride. Plus I had just crossed the timing mat for the half already and didn't know if I would mess up my timing if I went back over it to go to the back of the line.  Now I regret not going on it - how many chances will I ever get to go on a freaking roller coaster in the (literally) middle of the race?

Exiting Animal Kingdom had us wrapping around the parking lot and I spotted my family across from a team of drummers. I stopped to hug them all and it gave me a nice energy boost. Out of all the amazing views I had already experienced, seeing them was the best part of the race. I love seeing them on course.

omgomg

There was what I thought was going to be a quick out and back shortly after mile 17, but when I peeked at the mile marker going the other way it was mile 21! We turned into the ESPN Sports Complex and our route took us through many of the 30 fields they had there, including around the track and the baseball stadium, where upon exiting I had to pull my shoe off and dump out the loose gravel that had gathered in there. As I crossed Mile 18 I pledged to not stop running until Mile 19, but that plan was ditched as I saw there was a line for a picture with Minnie and Mickey. It was at least a 10 minute wait, but worth it. When I got to mile 19, I pledged to not stop running until Mile 20, but that plan was ditched as I just had to get a picture with Goofy, as well as Joy and Sadness.

As we neared Hollywood Studios near mile 22 there was a relatively steep ramp we had to run up which broke many runners' gaits to a walk. There was a green army man barking orders at us to make it up the hill over a PA, and even made a runner to do some push ups. As much as I loved seeing that, I didn't want to do push ups so I made it up to the top as quickly as I could. At the park I fell in line to get a pic with Oswald, but when it was almost my turn he had to leave for a few minutes for an undisclosed reason. Nooo! At least I got to chomp down on a full sized pack of Crispy M&M's that were graciously being handed out while I was waiting.


The run through Hollywood Studios was very quick and before I knew it we were in the Boardwalk and Yacht and Beach Club resorts. I had never been to this area before and marveled at how picturesque the scene was. I want to go back! I also chuckled at a man holding a very un-Disneylike sign saying "Keep going, almost there! (that's what she said)"  Almost all the other spectator signs I read pretty much just said "Just keep swimming."

It's OK Sadness, I love you too!

Since we didn't have much time to spend at Epcot I really enjoyed my loop around the World Showcase at mile 25. I honestly didn't want it to end. I high-fived every cast member and spectator I could and stopped to take so many pictures. The golf ball was getting bigger and bigger, and my race was coming to an end. I had paced myself perfectly, never felt any cramps, and even though I was walking about a quarter of the time in the back half, never felt like I hit a wall.

The Boardwalk

I couldn't believe how much energy I had, and as I turned the corner to the finish and saw the crowd I had enough juice to take me across the final 100m with a sprint finish.  Without crumpling to the ground in a ball of cramps! My watch clocked me at 12.6 mph and I raised both arms in victory across the finish line. A volunteer medalled me and I got my mylar blanket and box of goodies (gogo squeez, some nachos, an oreo cookie and a few bananas). I met up with Annie who finished almost an hour before me and hung around the finish with her until Dianne, Blaine and Liz finished minutes within each other. I was so happy to see that all my friends had finished their first full, especially Dianne who was only trained for the half. Amazing! I also was able to find Blaine and Liz, the latter who is convinced this is her first and last full.  I guess we'll see... Blaine will be running the Little Rock full later this year so now he has a benchmark.  Good luck guys!

Congrats Annie and Dianne!

I broke my daily steps record with 70809 that I previously set at the Marine Corps Marathon since we spent the evening having dinner at Blaze at Disney Springs and checking out all the shops they had there, but not before celebrating our achievement with a glass of champagne back at the townhouse.

Congrats Blaine and Liz!

This course is easily the best race for helping you forget that you're actually running a marathon. Even though 20 miles of the course takes place on their service roads and parking lots between the parks, they peppered the course with so much entertainment and characters that there was always something to look at or listen to.  Obviously this is not the place to PR, but if the marathon is a one and done bucket list for you, then Disney would be the place to do it... and it would be a PR no matter what time your finish is. I thought I would be completely bonked during the race because of all the stuff we did leading up to it, but it may have had the opposite effect. This may be a great year for running if this race was an indicator of things to come!

Registration: $191.88
Flight: $147.99 (Frontier down, Spirit back up, excluding bags)
Car Rental: $39.34/day for $196.71  (Avis)

Gas: ~$15
Townhouse (7664 Fitzclarence): $150.95/day for $754.75 (our share)

Bling!

My sister Ann Marie and our families.  A true sibling rivalry!