Marine Corps Marathon report (long)
Chris Smith
Sunday, Oct. 27, 2002
Washington, DC and northern Virginia
My official chip time: 04:26:33, personal best by just over a minute,
better by more than 30 minutes than my injury-plagued first MCM last
year.
What a great day for a run! The Washington Post is estimating there were
17,000 runners--I think that could be slightly high, and I heard a
report that there were 21,000 registered, so clearly there was some
no-show effect from the recent shooting spree. But crowds were nearly as
large as last year and very enthusiastic. As were the runners.
Weather was a big improvement over last year's windy, low-30s start.
Today, the day broke mostly sunny and in the high 40s, and by race time
it felt like mid-50s to me, warming during sunny phases to low 60s at
times during the race, neither the sun nor the cloudy phases too brutal.
I arrived in DC Saturday midday and made quick work of packet pickup,
etc.. The expo seemed a little smaller or less congested than last
year....not necessarily a bad thing. The organizational excellence of
the MCM staff is a thing to behold. Everything from my perspective ran
on time and as it should. Enjoyed seeing a pumped-up Marine runner do 30
chinups on the show-off bar the Marines provided. He probably could run
faster on his hands than I do on my feet.
On race day, I woke at 5 a.m., having enjoyed "falling back" to get an
extra hour of pretty decent sleep. Ate a light meal of grits, a bagel,
coffee and water, a typical long-run meal for me. My wife and I stayed
at a hotel somewhat remote from the race area, out in Fairfax, but it
was a 10-minute drive to the closest Metro stop and a pleasant,
20-minute ride with a couple hundred of other runners and spectators on
the Orange Line to the Rosslyn station. Then a couple of blocks walk to
the start area, the usual clockwork MCM process of checking my
belongings in the baggage tent, making several loops through the
porta-potty lines (shorter lines this year, not sure if fewer runners or
more facilities), and gently warming up.
The view from the hill at the Iwo Jima Monument was spectacular: clear
skies, an early morning fog enveloping low-lying areas of DC across the
Potomac, so you could for a time mostly see the Lincoln Memorial,
Washington Monument and Capitol rising above the fog. That stuff burned
off well before we got to the DC side. Like last year, a Black Hawk
helicopter roared up and down the early stretches of the course near the
Pentagon, which was again guarded by a noticeably less tense military
and police presence than the one in place last year just after 9-11.
The race began on time and my starting "corral," the 4:15-4:29 runners,
took almost exactly 10 minutes to reach the START line and the furiously
beeping chip-timer mats. The relatively mild weather led me to start
without the extra weight and bother of a pullover hat and gloves; by
mile 3, I was heated up enough to need to ditch my throwaway
long-sleeved top shirt--no need for a trash bag layer this time. Left
happily with only shoes and socks, shorts and cool-max t-shirt,
sunglasses and my waist pack with enough sports drink for first 90
minutes, after which I started using the aid stations. It just helps me
get a rhythm to stay out of the water table fray for a while and provide
my own, then switch to the tables.
As is so often the case, mine was a tale of two races within the same
event. The first 21 miles went almost exactly as I had planned them,
with most miles ranging from 9:20 to 9:40 and a couple of mid-10s mixed
in due to hills and planned walk/gel breaks. Then things got
unexpectedly difficult--I expected to slow down, but not the way it
happened: during mile 22, I was struck by a sudden left hamstring cramp.
No panic, just veered off to a lucky nearby bench and gently rolled the
upper leg muscles, did a little self-massage, and was able to slowly
start back running without cramping, although it meant 22 was a nearly
13-minute mile.
Unfortunately, in miles 23-26.2, I bonked plain and simple, and had a
tough time, mixing in a couple of gritty 11s with a 12:37 and 13:35
mile. I wasn't surprised to meet the bear that the final 10K can be, but
expected to have a little more left than I did. I was never wobby or
dizzy, and kept the cramp just out of the picture by pushing only as
much as I could without feeling a twinge.....but there were periods when
my energy level was depleted in a way that I haven't felt in either of
my two previous marathons. It's something of mystery to me, although I
have some theories I'll ask about in another message. I prepared better
for this event than ever before, and in fact felt comfortable and in
rhythm most of the race.
Despite the ragged finish, I'm not complaining: I met my baseline goal
of an injury-free finish (no residual problems other than two sore toes
and the usual general lower-body soreness), a personal best (got it by
just over 1 minute, which sort of made the finish exciting), and a race
experience during which I enjoyed the moment more than last year, which
I was so serious and nervous about my first marathon.
Here are splits from my watch and the MCM web site, hundreths rounded so
may not exactly tally:
1 9:17 Tiny bit faster than the planned 9:30 but acceptable and
smooth
2 9:25 Settling in to a great rhythm, never tight or breathless
through mile 17+
3 9:38
4 9:12 A gently downhill mile in parts, did not press, used good
downhill technique
5 9:40
6 9:22
7 9:31
8 9:36
9 9:39
10 9:28
11 9:39
12 9:39
13 9:38 Official 13.1 chip time: 2:04:43
14 9:21
15 9:41
16 9:21
17 9:50
18 10:30 Capitol Hill, including 1 minute walk
19 9:43
30 9:40
21 10:40 Feeling a little sapped but no alarm
22 12:52 Hamstring cramp from outer space
23 11:01 The ugly experience that is the 14th St. bridge but
steadying the boat
24 12:37 Feeling blowed up real good
25 13:36 Slower than dirt, trying to regroup and asking all those
irrational questions
26 11:00 Summoned a little juice (very little) for the push to a
personal best
26.2 2:05 Official chip finish: 04:26:33, slightly over 10:10 per
mile, personal best by 1+ minute
Finished 5738 overall out of about 17,000 entrants, 4212 among men and
521 of 1042 in my age group, 45-49 men. My expected positive split of
5-7 percent ballooned to more than twice that, alas.
In mile 24 and 25 was passed by several dozen, but in 26 and especially
that wicked uphill and around Iwo Jima finish, passed several dozen of
my own and had a decent little sprint the final 100 meters, when I felt
I needn't worry about the hamstring anymore.
Despite having to drive home 4.5 hours to southern Virginia, I feel
pretty good tonight, at peace with the marathon and most of my
preparation for it during hectic time in life. Would sign up again in a
heartbeat....that is, if the lottery is kind to me.
Hope any other rec.running MCM runners are doing OK and will share their
tales soon.
Handful of favorite sights:
-a guy running easy and jump-roping the whole way, boxer style
-a guy running in a pale blue tuxedo
-two insane firemen (Canton, OH and somewhere else) running in full
fire-fighting clothing, the yellow jacket and pants and the big hard
hat. Yikes!....they passed me, don't know if they stayed ahead.
-the usual Marines and other service people running with heavy packs,
large U.S. and service flags on poles, etc.
-a guy running while juggling 4 tennis balls at mile 7
-a Marine veteran of 1952 Korea; I thanked him and told him my dad was
there with him.
-a spectator who appeared several times playing a very tuneful "Chariot
of Fire"....on the harmonica
-the amazing Marine volunteers who served liquids with amazing precision
and effectiveness, or handled crowds and runner control, coordinated
baggage and refreshments, made us laugh and made us proud.
To sleep, perchance to dream, almost certainly to ache. That was fun.
Chris
Dot
>
> Marine Corps Marathon
> Sunday, Oct. 27, 2002
> Washington, DC and northern Virginia
> My official chip time: 04:26:33, personal best by just over a minute,
> better by more than 30 minutes than my injury-plagued first MCM last
> year.
>
> Despite the ragged finish, I'm not complaining: I met my baseline goal
> of an injury-free finish (no residual problems other than two sore toes
> and the usual general lower-body soreness), a personal best (got it by
> just over 1 minute, which sort of made the finish exciting), and a race
> experience during which I enjoyed the moment more than last year, which
> I was so serious and nervous about my first marathon.
>
Chris,
Congratulations on a great run, meeting your goals, and a PR. It's
especially great that you were able to "enjoy the moment". Sorry about
the cramps and bonking, but it always seems like there's something new
to be learned in each marathon experience. As usual, the MCM sounds like
a really great event to experience.
Dot
Roger 2k
>Marine Corps Marathon
>Sunday, Oct. 27, 2002
>Washington, DC and northern Virginia
>My official chip time: 04:26:33, personal best by just over a minute,
>better by more than 30 minutes than my injury-plagued first MCM last
>year.
>
>What a great day for a run! The Washington Post is estimating there were
>17,000 runners--I think that could be slightly high, and I heard a
>report that there were 21,000 registered, so clearly there was some
>no-show effect from the recent shooting spree. But crowds were nearly as
>large as last year and very enthusiastic. As were the runners.
>
>
>Chris
Glad to hear it went off without a hitch and you even set a PB.
As for the missing runners, I'll bet they canceled their flights before the
latest news, or maybe some were injured and had to cancel.
I wonder how many substitute runners they had, I mean a runner using someone
else's bib number.
Thanks again for the report,
Roger
Anthony
through with a PR.
Anthony.
Doug Burke
while eating breakfast after an easy seven miler.
You did great though and the weather was perfect. I think it was about
14,000 runners officially but I could be wrong. Don't think the sniper thing
had a lot of impact. I live in the DC burbs and Thursday I could really
sense a collective sigh of relief and Friday everyone (school outdoor
sports, gas stations, school bus stops etc) had a pretty much normal day for
the first time in a while. The weekend saw everyone out..
Great race though. Nice effort.
Doug Burke
spud
Never mind the bonking near the end, you met your goal and came away injury
free!!
Thanks for a great report, enjoy your recovery,
(Hey, no hassles with the ITBs either!!)
Cheers,
Phil
"Chris Smith" <cswr...@adelphia.net> wrote in message
news:3DBCBB0D...@adelphia.net...
lustig
> As for the missing runners, I'll bet they canceled their flights before the
> latest news, or maybe some were injured and had to cancel.
I would venture a guess that *all* major marathons (and
especially those with an early registration) have a fairly
high percentage of DNSs. A case in point - and the only
one I have the numbers readily available:-) - would be
this year愀 Stockholm Marathon with 18% DNS (and 9% DNF).
> I wonder how many substitute runners they had, I mean a runner using someone
> else's bib number.
Isn愒 the registration in these events usually "strictly
non-transferable" (so that any substitution would be
"highly inofficial")?
My hunch FWIW is that the number of friends, acquaintances
or relatives who jump in to run under an entrant愀 name
must be quite negligible.
Anders
Roger 2k
>Isn愒 the registration in these events usually "strictly
>non-transferable" (so that any substitution would be
>"highly inofficial")?
It still happens. I don't know about MCM, but I know about Chicago.
I didn't know if I'd be able to run at Chicago until about three days before
the event and I had a few people keep asking me about my number. Their
story was, it happens all the time and I believe them now.
The only complaints I've ever heard about somebody else's number being used
were:
1. When the "substitute" runner places in the wrong age group and the one
that sold the bib is not allowed to be in that race anymore.
2. When the "substitute" runner, paid someone for their bib number, ended
up injured and the insurance did not want to cover the claim..
I know the "Race Directors" can not openly promote bib transfers, but if the
transfer is because of an injury, it can get the numbers of the starters up
and quite possibly the numbers of finishers up. In other words, it might
not be entirely bad.
As for gettting the "number of finishers" up. Well, at Chicago, I know
someone that suffered from real bad cramps and finished a few minutes after
6 hours and they did not close the course on him. It seems they gave people
more time to finish than they did last year.
>My hunch FWIW is that the number of friends, acquaintances
>or relatives who jump in to run under an entrant愀 name
>must be quite negligible.
I've heard at Chicago, that they even have a special place for
"acquaintances" to finish. I can't quite tell where it is, from the picture
I took of the finish line, but I've heard they have one.
In my photo of the finish line, they certainly had a lot of people standing
there like they were watching for people without bib numbers. Maybe the
"acquaintances" are just escorted out of the finishing line area without
being able to get any food.
>Anders
Roger
Mike Tennent
Nice race, Chris.
I was in and out of the expo a couple of times and looked for your W&M
hat, but never saw it. <g>
My wife and her friends had a good day, considering their training
wasn't what it was last year for Disney. They had on matching salmon
colored t-shirts with "The Whine Sisters" on the front. On the back
were their whines " "Too Old, New Mom, Bad Knee, and Kidney Donor."
The lined up in the 5:00 - 5:30 corral and two (my wife and Chris -
too old and bad knee) finished in 5:12, the other two had a bit of a
harder time and finished around 5:45.
They all had a very positive experience and were effusive about the
race organization and the crowd support the whole way. We lived and
worked in DC for several years and Toni really enjoyed running the
route, especially the Rock Creek Park section.
The guy plan to hop about on the Metro and see them worked great
(thanks for the tips) except we just missed them on Constitution Ave.
If we'd come out of the subway and turned the right way, we would have
been OK. Other than that, we saw them right where we told them we
would.
I had fun as we waited for them at each point, high fiving lots of
runners, telling the guys to "hang tough" and the girls to smile, or
"give me a smile." Most changed their grimace to a smile, if ever so
briefly.
One barely did (this was at about the 18 mile mark near the
Smithsonian), and the look of pain or fear that returned was so strong
that I jogged along with her for a bit and gave her a little pep talk
about finishing no matter what. I hope she made it.
Your cramping was not unusual, from what I observed. I helped a couple
of guys work out cramps on the side of the road. I guessed that the
cool conditions fooled some folks into not hydrating quite as well as
they needed and they were paying the price. When my wife finished and
I saw the salt caked on her neck, my suspicions were confirmed.
I was very impressed with the race organization - the Marines do an
excellent job. Clearly, the race is important to them and every man
and woman involved was courteous, efficient, and professional.
I'll pass along one story from a previous race that a fellow Ironman
told me last week at GFT. A lady friend of his did the race last year
and got progressively sicker as the race went on. Finally, she found
herself on the side of the road on all fours, puking. When she had
finished throwing up, she noticed two spit shined boots directly in
front of her. Looking up, she saw the most handsome young Marine she'd
ever seen standing over her. "Are you all right, ma'am?" he asked.
"I am now" was her reply.
Mike Tennent
"IronPenguin"
Rico
>lustig wrote in message ...
>>Isn愒 the registration in these events usually "strictly
>>non-transferable" (so that any substitution would be
>>"highly inofficial")?
>
>It still happens. I don't know about MCM, but I know about Chicago.
If you know far enough ahead at MCM you can defer to the next year.
Rico
>Marine Corps Marathon
>Sunday, Oct. 27, 2002
>Washington, DC and northern Virginia
>My official chip time: 04:26:33, personal best by just over a minute,
>better by more than 30 minutes than my injury-plagued first MCM last
>year.
>
>What a great day for a run! The Washington Post is estimating there were
>17,000 runners--I think that could be slightly high, and I heard a
>report that there were 21,000 registered, so clearly there was some
>no-show effect from the recent shooting spree. But crowds were nearly as
>large as last year and very enthusiastic. As were the runners.
>
>Weather was a big improvement over last year's windy, low-30s start.
>Today, the day broke mostly sunny and in the high 40s, and by race time
I don't think it ever got that cool. Cable channel 8 in the Crystal City
area had the temp around 57 at dawn.
>it felt like mid-50s to me, warming during sunny phases to low 60s at
>times during the race, neither the sun nor the cloudy phases too brutal.
Not brutal, but warmer then I had expected. In truth I think it might have
slowed me just a bit (though I'm slow anyway, so a couple of minutes here
or there is meaningless). I honestly think I'd have been about 5 minutes
faster if it had been a little cooler.
>
>I arrived in DC Saturday midday and made quick work of packet pickup,
>etc.. The expo seemed a little smaller or less congested than last
>year....not necessarily a bad thing. The organizational excellence of
>the MCM staff is a thing to behold. Everything from my perspective ran
>on time and as it should. Enjoyed seeing a pumped-up Marine runner do 30
>chinups on the show-off bar the Marines provided. He probably could run
>faster on his hands than I do on my feet.
>
>On race day, I woke at 5 a.m., having enjoyed "falling back" to get an
>extra hour of pretty decent sleep.
Too many nerves, up at 4:30 (hotel was a block from the two mile mark)
> Ate a light meal of grits,
Does anyone on the DC area know how to make a decent bowl of grits?
Emabassy Suites in Crystal City had a great breakfast every morning I was
there, but they don't know how to make grits. They had cheese and and
mounds of butter (and it looked and tasted like some milk) in them. Had to
pass on them race day and stick to the bagel and some wheat toast. Also had
a banana which I usual eat after rather then before.
Looked to me like a lot of people had trouble on the 14th street bridge. I
was probably 5 minutes behind you at this point (4:32, started with the
4:00 pace group - though I knew I would fall back). Looked like a lot of
leg and cramping issues.
> I wasn't surprised to meet the bear that the final 10K can be, but
>expected to have a little more left than I did. I was never wobby or
>dizzy, and kept the cramp just out of the picture by pushing only as
>much as I could without feeling a twinge.....but there were periods when
>my energy level was depleted in a way that I haven't felt in either of
>my two previous marathons. It's something of mystery to me, although I
>have some theories I'll ask about in another message. I prepared better
>for this event than ever before, and in fact felt comfortable and in
>rhythm most of the race.
I think the sun and heat were more then you think and that's why you were
more tired at this point then you expected. I ended up sunburned.
So you were the guy I needed to beat to move up in our age group <g>. If I
had only known.
> My expected positive split of
>5-7 percent ballooned to more than twice that, alas.
>
>In mile 24 and 25 was passed by several dozen, but in 26 and especially
>that wicked uphill and around Iwo Jima finish, passed several dozen of
>my own and had a decent little sprint the final 100 meters, when I felt
>I needn't worry about the hamstring anymore.
I was angry with myself here. I had too much kick going up that hill. I
wish I could have used that energy somewhere out where the ground was
better (flatter). Might have been able to knock a couple of minutes off my
time that way.
>
>Despite having to drive home 4.5 hours to southern Virginia, I feel
>pretty good tonight, at peace with the marathon and most of my
>preparation for it during hectic time in life. Would sign up again in a
>heartbeat....that is, if the lottery is kind to me.
>
>Hope any other rec.running MCM runners are doing OK and will share their
>tales soon.
>
>Handful of favorite sights:
>-a guy running easy and jump-roping the whole way, boxer style
>-a guy running in a pale blue tuxedo
He finished around 4:12, had some friends nearby when he crossed. Amazing
when he passed me I asked if he was hot, said his quads were on fire.
>-two insane firemen (Canton, OH and somewhere else) running in full
>fire-fighting clothing, the yellow jacket and pants and the big hard
>hat. Yikes!....they passed me, don't know if they stayed ahead.
Yes, they finished within a couple minutes of the guy above. They would run
a good clip, stop shed the coats for a few minutes, work on legs and then
start back at a hard clip.
>-the usual Marines and other service people running with heavy packs,
>large U.S. and service flags on poles, etc.
>-a guy running while juggling 4 tennis balls at mile 7
>-a Marine veteran of 1952 Korea; I thanked him and told him my dad was
>there with him.
>-a spectator who appeared several times playing a very tuneful "Chariot
>of Fire"....on the harmonica
Never saw him, must have been in a daze.
>-the amazing Marine volunteers who served liquids with amazing precision
>and effectiveness, or handled crowds and runner control, coordinated
>baggage and refreshments, made us laugh and made us proud.
Those kids were amazing. Not to get into politics, but I was pretty much
opposed to the shrubs war, after spending a day around those wonderful kids
I am now firmly against it. It would be a crime to put those fine young men
and women in harms way just to keep the shrub's poll numbers up. But that's
politics. Those kids were nothing short of amazing in how helpful they
were. I wish I had the power to bump each one of them up a grade in rank
this week, in my book they all earned it. Before I flew out Monday, went
back up to the Iwo Jima monument, amazing how fast that area had been
cleaned up. They weren't finished, but from the mess Sunday I thought it
would take at least a couple of days.
>
>To sleep, perchance to dream, almost certainly to ache. That was fun.
>
Only minor complaint was the little cups at the Odouls truck had been
larger. But can't blame that on the Marines.
For me, I'd do that one again in a minute. It was my first Marine Marathon.
>Chris
>
Leo Reed
Wonderful job, Chris. Terrific first half
splits as well.
Maybe next year I can plan my trips to DC a little
better and be there to cheer.
Again, great job and thanks for the report.
Leo
Ron Natalie
"Rico" <rico...@hotmail.com> wrote in message news:urtfk75...@corp.supernews.com...
> Does anyone on the DC area know how to make a decent bowl of grits?
No. Northern Virginia isn't really the south. While we've heard of grits here,
nobody actually eats the damned things. Same goes for moon pies.
As for the temperature, high-50's sounds about right. I wasn't running the race
(I'm doing New York), but I ran around the course to catch friends go by.
It was way too hot for the long sleeve cool max I was wearing when I was
running, but got quite cool when I was standing still.
This was a new experience for me. I've either volunteered or ran before, this
is the first time I've actually got to watch a race.
Leo Reed
Chris Smith wrote:
> Marine Corps Marathon
> Sunday, Oct. 27, 2002
> Washington, DC and northern Virginia
> My official chip time: 04:26:33, personal best by just over a minute,
> better by more than 30 minutes than my injury-plagued first MCM last
> year.
>
Chris,
For some reason I dont think my earlier "cheers" got posted.
Bottom line....Great job. What a difference a year makes.
Wish I could have arranged my schedule to cheer this year.
I might look for a DC race this weekend, as I will be in the area.
Again, congrats.
Leo
lmmr
ran it for the 6th time. As always, a first class race.
Just some brief thoughts/comments:
- At first I did not like (or understand would be a better word) the
"corral" system. Never ran in a race before that did that. But it worked
amazing. I hit my splits at the first mile. Which never happens in a race
that size. I since rescind my critism about it.
- Like the Rock Creek addition and the Haines Point deletion. Anybody that
ran the MCM when the race took it out to Haines Point for miles 18.5 to 22,
know there is no lonely place on earth than those miles.
- I think one result of the sniper situation, I did not notice any High
School bands this year. In the past, IIRC, I remember several throught the
course. Same goes for the Georgetown section. I remember more bands and
music there.
- The 14th Street Bridge seems to get longer and longer every year.
- There is something about a Marine, putting a medal around my neck and
telling me "Great job, sir", that gets me everytime. I simply ran a race,
and they are defending our freedom. The Marines do an awesome job every
year.
A few complaints, and not necessary about the MCM:
- If your intention is to walk the whole race, fine. No problem here. But do
not start anywhere but at the end. There was way too many walkers from the
1st mile that was walking 2, 3 or more abreast. Which is a major safety
issue.
- The Galloway run/walk principle. Once again, fine, no problem if that is
what you want to do. BUT, when you run the mile then walk - DO NOT STOP
wherever you are and walk. Move to the shoulder of the road. This was a
major problem in the earlier miles, where there were groups of 10-20
runners, stopping after the mile and then walking, causing the runners to
stop and go around. Once again very annoying and unsafe. We came to a
complete standstill at mile 3 because of this.
Roger 2k
>In article <QWuv9.12151$VJ5.7...@bgtnsc05-news.ops.worldnet.att.net>,
"Roger 2k" <nospam...@att.net> wrote:
>>lustig wrote in message ...
>>>non-transferable" (so that any substitution would be
>>>"highly inofficial")?
>>
>>It still happens. I don't know about MCM, but I know about Chicago.
>
>If you know far enough ahead at MCM you can defer to the next year.
Chicago does something like that. I mean if you cancel early enough you can
get guaranteed entry into next year's marathon, but you still have to pay
for both years.
Layne Wallace
On Mon, 28 Oct 2002 04:18:10 GMT, Chris Smith wrote:
>Marine Corps Marathon
>Sunday, Oct. 27, 2002
>Washington, DC and northern Virginia
>My official chip time: 04:26:33, personal best by just over a minute,
>better by more than 30 minutes than my injury-plagued first MCM last
>year.
>
[report snipped but appreciated]
Congratulations on the PB! That's a bummer about the bonk but you certainly
handled it better than I have. I went back and reread your 2001 MCM report. I
hope that I can come along as well as you have over the next year. I'm also
glad your ITB stayed under control.
Thanks,
Layne
-------------------------------------------------------
The rec.running report archives may be found at http://kinder.cis.unf.edu/rec.running
lustig
> >Isn´t the registration in these events usually "strictly
> >non-transferable" (so that any substitution would be
> >"highly inofficial")?
> It still happens. I don't know about MCM, but I know about Chicago.
Sure it does, I´ve been the substitute on two occasions:-)
But I thought that 1) we (obviously) aren´t likely to see
any numbers about this phenomenon, and 2) IMHO most people
probably want to participate _and_ to see their own name
in the result lists, so that only a "select few" would
be willing to merely run even at a big discount.
I´d hazard a guess that the substitutes cannot amount to
more than about 100 runners in an event of this size, or
about 1%.
> I didn't know if I'd be able to run at Chicago until about three days before
> the event and I had a few people keep asking me about my number. Their
> story was, it happens all the time and I believe them now.
Could you have made a small profit?:-)
> The only complaints I've ever heard about somebody else's number being used
> were:
> 1. When the "substitute" runner places in the wrong age group and the one
> that sold the bib is not allowed to be in that race anymore.
IMHO both should be banned for a period.
> 2. When the "substitute" runner, paid someone for their bib number, ended
> up injured and the insurance did not want to cover the claim..
I´d side with the insurance company here:-) If one takes a
known risk, one must be able to live with its consequences
(or take insurance)..
> I know the "Race Directors" can not openly promote bib transfers, but if the
> transfer is because of an injury, it can get the numbers of the starters up
> and quite possibly the numbers of finishers up. In other words, it might
> not be entirely bad.
It definitely isn´t an offense and I fail to see how anyone
could suffer from it.
> In my photo of the finish line, they certainly had a lot of people standing
> there like they were watching for people without bib numbers. Maybe the
> "acquaintances" are just escorted out of the finishing line area without
> being able to get any food.
I wasn´t referring to such "freeloaders" but to the proper
substitute runners - whom I´d imagine to be friends, friends
of friends, acquaintances or relatives rather than complete
strangers who bought their bib nuumbers via press or internet
ads:-)
Anders
Roger 2k
news:<QWuv9.12151$VJ5.7...@bgtnsc05-news.ops.worldnet.att.net>...
before
>> the event and I had a few people keep asking me about my number. Their
>> story was, it happens all the time and I believe them now.
>
>Could you have made a small profit?:-)
Ok, I'll be honest now. My very first race ever was a 25th anniversary race
and I even received a 25th anniversary medallion when I crossed the finish
line. The day after that race I would show people the medallion and tell
people that medal said that "I have courage." Stealing that line from
"Wizard of Oz."
When someone stressed to me that Chicago would fill up fast because it was a
25th anniversary, I sent my application in shortly after that. I was
thinking if my very last race can be a 25th anniversary I'll be happy. BTW
I plan to run a race again, but not right away.
The fact that I did Chicago on Sunday, when I was told I had a Stress
fracture on Thursday shows how much it meant to me. I'm am happy that it
only took about 3 days for the pain to get back where it was before the
race. That reads it might have only set my recovery back 3 days.
>> In my photo of the finish line, they certainly had a lot of people
standing
>> there like they were watching for people without bib numbers. Maybe the
>> "acquaintances" are just escorted out of the finishing line area without
>> being able to get any food.
>
>I wasn´t referring to such "freeloaders" but to the proper
>substitute runners - whom I´d imagine to be friends, friends
>of friends, acquaintances or relatives rather than complete
>strangers who bought their bib numbers via press or internet
>ads:-)
Oh, I wasn't referring to "freeloaders" and I didn't mean to make it sound
like that. When I was at the Chicago Expo, two or three years ago, I was at
one of the meetings where the question of having someone run in with someone
came up. The answer was something about "They just have to finish on the
side" and it sounded like there was nothing at all wrong with it.
As for why all those people were there in the photo, well, they could have
also been looking for people that have trouble the last 2 tenths of a mile.
When I was a spectator 3 years ago, I saw 2 people drop in that short bit.
One was helped out by two other runners, but the girl was way out of it and
only one runner at a time would try to help her out. It took two medics to
carry her to the finish line.
It was so sad watching the girl because we had just seen the guy have
problems and two runners stopped and helped him in. I'm sure people were
hoping the same thing would happen with the girl and the spectators kept
yelling "Help her" "help her". I doubt if I'll ever forget that scene.
Roger
Rico
Don't know if that's true at MCM, be easy enough to find out though if the
issue ever comes up.
Rico
>
>"Rico" <rico...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
> news:urtfk75...@corp.supernews.com...
>
>> Does anyone on the DC area know how to make a decent bowl of grits?
>
>No. Northern Virginia isn't really the south. While we've heard of grits
> here,
>nobody actually eats the damned things. Same goes for moon pies.
Well I know they know how in Virginia, my mother is from Saltville and all
the cooks in her family made fantastic breakfasts. Best salt cured ham
comes from around that area. Oh well... <g>
>
>As for the temperature, high-50's sounds about right.
Must have been me, it just felt hotter then that to me. A really nice fall
day mind, just a bit warmer then I was mentally prepped for.
> I wasn't running the
> race
>(I'm doing New York)
GOOD LUCK, I'm mixed about that one. I understand not putting chips on the
elites, but us slow pokes can only get a fair measure off the chip. I was
10 minutes behind the gun in DC getting to the start. If they think so
little of me and those like me, I'm willing to invest my time and money in
other marathons where I'm more welcome.
Rico
I was sitting with some friends right next to the 4:00 pacers and they
announced before the gun that they would be going the first 3 miles
regardless of time at a run to avoid crowd problems. Seemed to work IMO, at
least in front of me. I don't remember having to break my slow pace but
twice in the race due to others in front. Funny how a few yards or miles
difference can change your experience in these things.
Chris Smith
and friends for their effort and finishes at MCM. I had a quick-turnaround
business trip to New Orleans this week immediately following the race, but
am happy to report that the first, no-running phase of my recovery has
been the smoothest I've yet experienced after a marathon--right now, I
honestly don't feel like I did a marathon just over three days ago. Short
slow run planned tomorrow so that may be a different story.
I've thought a lot (naturally) about my fading finish and have concluded
that, although I was adequately hydrated throughout, I made a mistake by
not taking one final gel at mile 20 as planned. I just felt too full at
the time, and continued with Ultima another aid station before switching
to water only. However, it had to be a conditioning and strength and
mental toughness issue, I think, that left me with so little for the last
three miles. Live and learn (and run) as they say.
I've also concluded that, as a pretty heavy coffee drinker, I can't have
my last caffeine at 5:30 a.m. on marathon day and not be negatively
affected by late in a 4+ hour race. I will begin trying caffeinated gels
in long runs to make sure I am OK with those for the marathon in Feb.
If you and yours are at MCM again next year, I'll try to be more
determined to meet you there. Cheers.
chris
Chris Smith
the warmer than expected air taking its toll. As for grits, no, in my experience most of DC
is definitely above the "grits line," with a few exceptions. Knowing this in advance, I
actually took my own instant grits packets and made them with microwaved boiling water in
my hotel room that morning to go with my bagel. Forgot a fork or spoon and had to eat the
grits with a knife, something just wrong about that. ;-)
Congrats on your first MCM!
Chris
Chris Smith
chris
Chris Smith
as I crossed the start line (10 minutes after the gun), I was as you said right
on my target pace with virtually no congestion. Glad to know you came back to
the race, it's a great one.
chris
lustig
> Oh, I wasn't referring to "freeloaders" and I didn't mean to make it sound
> like that. When I was at the Chicago Expo, two or three years ago, I was at
> one of the meetings where the question of having someone run in with someone
> came up. The answer was something about "They just have to finish on the
> side" and it sounded like there was nothing at all wrong with it.
In the marathons I´ve witnessed the last few hundred meters
have already been within the "for runners only"-zone which
encompassed the entire finish area. Family and friends could
either sit in the stands or be met beyond the finish area.
I can fully support the policy - and any policing that is
required to make it stick:-) In a German city (which we
mercifully leave unnamed) marathon, there was such chaos
and, indeed, freeloading that not only most snacks but
medals run out!
Anders