Marine Corps Marathon - October 26, 2008 (NEW PHOTOS!)

[groovygirls]

Sorry I did not get a chance to hook up with everyone. The family wanted to do the museums and we had gone to the Expo on Thursday (no crowds).
I can now say I finished a marathon- can't say I ran it. For those who have been following my tale of woe regarding my knee it is nothing short of a miracle.
I kept telling myself one more step. I got in with a great motivating group- the 6:00 pace group. We laughed, giggled, told tales and had a blast. I can't think of when I had a better time! The best part was is we had a great group run most of it with us- the 4 Marines who in 5 days completed 155 miles as a fund raiser for injured Marines.- this was the last leg. They gave me so much encouragement to just keep going!
I had to stop running at 13.2. My knee just quit and I could run no longer. My time was good enough to beat the bridge so I just kept walking. I really wanted to quit at mile 23 (!) but a Marine said- put your head up and go! so I did and I finished with tears streaming down my face. My time was over 6 hours and I am so grateful. I almost didn't even start because of this injury but I was running for my dad and the Alzheimer's Association. I did not feel it would be right to accept the donations with out completing the race.
I am done with full marathons. I lost a big toe nail, gained a huge blister, back to PT ASAP but I had a blast!

 

[keenercam]

As promised, here are pix (I only regret that I never thought to take any before the start, when most of the WISHers were together at bag drop-off):

I am so sorry about all the other WISHers whose pics I did not get on the course. I just couldn't see far enough ahead to see them coming in time to take pictures. UGH! I only recognized Mike by his visor and Howard by the color coimbination of his shirt and cap.

 

[Mouse Skywalker]

Very nice pictures! Thanks for sharing them Cam! Denny, great to see you again. Great job on the marathon!

 

[Cindylou]

Congratulations to everyone for their great runs.

Howard: Congrats on your PR. Nice job.

Joanne: Yea for you for finishing!! You are now a marathoner. Good going for finishing despite your knee pain. Enjoy a good rest, and good luck with the PT.

Cindy

 

[KeenHo]

The Marine Corps Marathon site FINALLY has my splits listed correctly. I thought I'd share them with everyone this morning.

Clock Time 04:14:23
Chip Time 04:10:39
Overall Place 5333 / 18281
Gender Place 3970 / 11129
Division Place 449 / 1356
Age Grade 53.2%
Start 00:03:44
5K 0:27:01
10K 0:53:02
15K 1:19:04
20K 1:45:04
Half 1:51:24
25K 2:14:33
30K 2:46:16
35K 3:19:14
40K 3:55:49

I knew that I just missed my recent Half Marathon PR (1:50:08) during this run. I also knew my 5K time wasn't 37 minutes. I think they had added the difference between clock time and my actual chip time originally. I am glad it has been corrected!

Cindy~ Thanks!

Here are two local news links reporting on the MCM, enjoy!

http://cfc.wjla.com/videoondemand.cfm?id=25944

http://cfc.wjla.com/videoondemand.cfm?id=25937



Howard

 

[aladdinsgirl]

Hi, everybody!!! It was so great seeing you all again this past weekend. I loved scream teaming with Cam, Kathy, and M'Lisse (and Stephen's sister Brenda). I am sorry that we got separated, I never realized how hard it would be to cross the course with a stroller!!

Brenda and I went to mile 15.5 after leaving 10.5 where we saw Mike and Howard, and of course Stephen. I yelled for Mike, but he must have been in the zone and didn't hear me or maybe he just doesn't like me. At least Howard liked me enough to come back for a high 5. After we saw Stephen at 15, we walked over to mile 17 and then 19.75. We left mile 19 and started to walk to the finish and then Brenda thought maybe we could just drive to Arlington. Can you tell Brenda has never been to a marathon before and didn't have any idea how big the crowds would be? I tried to talk her out of it, but she was SURE we could drive over there without any problems. So we walked back to the mall and gave up our awesome parking space off Constitution Ave and drove into Arlington. Where of course we couldn't get off the highway and once we found an exit we could get off on, we couldn't find a parking space. After circling the same block about 3 times and being in near accidents more times than I care to think about, we ended up illegally parked with our flashers on for about 40 minutes waiting for Stephen to call saying that he finished. In the end it worked out great as we were "parked" on the other side of the reunion area and Stephen had a short walk to the car and we were able to jump on 66 and get back to Falls Church, VA where Brenda lives. But we didn't get to see the finish and I didn't get to see Kathy, Cam, and M'Lisse one more time.

I won't give away Stephen's time since he hasn't been on here yet, but it was very good. He didn't PR the marathon, but he didn't intend to PR as he's training for Goofy right now and ran MCM for "fun". Stephen loved the course, but said it was tough. Of course he is already making plans to run it next year and is ready to sign up both up in April.

I have lots of great pictures, but I haven't loaded the pics on my computer yet. I'll try to do that tonight so I can post them.

A huge congrats to Stephen, Mike, Howard, Denny, Cindy, and Matt. I am so proud of all you guys!!

 

[skfulkers]

Hey everyone! Just wanted to post that I'm still alive! We made it back home from DC last night around 5:30pm. What a great weekend! We had a blast meeting up with a lot of the WISHers! We got to spend some time (not enough time, but that's ok ) with Cam and Howard at the expo and then I met up with Kathy, Mike, Cam, Howard, Matt and Cindy at the pre-race runner's village. Matt and Cindy--it was great to meet you both for the first time! I feel bad that we didn't get to see Denny and M'Lisse. And I feel really bad that we didn't get to hook up with everyone after the race. It was a little nuts at the finish and my sister ended up driving over to the finish area and picking me up right by the Rossyln metro station, so I didn't even make it over to the "W" tent.

The race was phenomenal. A great course, superb organization. I can't say enough about it. I finished with a 4:38:32 overall time, and I felt good about it. It's 11 minutes off my marathon PR, but I wasn't shooting for a fast race and hadn't trained that way, so I was happy with the results. I think Krista was jealous of the race and she told me on the way home that she's thinking about signing up for the race next year. So we may be back in DC next October if anyone's up for a mini-WISH meet again.

I need to go back and catch up with this thread as it looks like it's taken off the past couple of days. Congrats to everyone who finished!

Steve

 

[postesf]

Good job you guys! Thanks for the pics Cam!!!

Stacie

 

[CynthiaCindy]

I yelled for Mike, but he must have been in the zone and didn't hear me or maybe he just doesn't like me.

Don't feel too bad, he apparently doesn't like me either (at least at mile 26!)

Krista - I'm sorry that I didn't get to meet you (and Carter) this weekend - hopefully in January!

Cam - Great photos! I wish it would have occurred to me to bring a camera (I say this every time and yet, it never sinks in )

Steve - Congratulations!

 

[Honeibee]

Hubba hubba!!

Great pics! Thanks Cam!!

 

[KeenHo]

I found two websites with some great MCM photos... no WISHers in them (that I can spot), but worth a look. It certainly shows the Marines and how they supported us runners.

http://www.pbase.com/jboard/marine_corps_marathon

http://www.smugmug.com/gallery/6388725_6LVgb#404113250_x9hYE

 

[Honeibee]

Wow, this really does look like a great race. Guess we have to wait until April 1st to sign Charlie up.

 

[momoftwogirls]

Congrats to Steve, Howard, Denny, Mike, Cindy and Matt - you all did AWESOME!

Krista, Carter, M'Lisse, and Cam - thanks for hanging out with me during the race - it was fun to be able to spend some time with all of you.

Some more MCM pictures - most of the pictures I took look exactly like Cam's - here are a few that are just slightly different.

The starting line of MCM

Howard, Mike and Steve just after crossing the start

Steve looking great at mile 10.5 ----- Cam and I realized that somehow Howard and Mike ran past us at this point and we never saw them. The street wasn't that wide - I still can't believe that we missed them.

Mike at 17.5

Mike at 19.5

Mike just a few yards from the finish

Howard just a few yards from a PR

As I said, most of my pictures are duplicates of Cam's. I also wish we would have taken a picture before the start when everyone was together. Next year we'll remember.

Krista, it probably worked out better for you that you and Brenda drove over to pick up Steve. The metro was very crowded. The people that had strollers had an extremely difficult time managing the escalators that weren't moving and the big crowds. Cam and I even commented about how hard it would be for you to manage the stroller on the Metro. The finish line was also not stroller friendly. You would not have been able to see Steve finish unless you ditched the stroller. It was packed in the finish area.

It was fun seeing everyone again. Even though I didn't run in the MCM, Cam and I did put in over 9 miles chasing the guys around. I'm looking forward to seeing WISHers again in Philly next month.

 

[keenercam]

Kathy -- Thank you so much for sharing the race experience with me as a fellow scream teamer. I loved every minute we trekked all over DC and Virginia. It certainly helped me justify that burger and fries lunch. LOL!

Krista -- It was so awesome seeing you and spending time with you and Brenda and Carter.

M'Lisse -- I am so glad you came and found us at the beginning of the race and at the end. It was so much fun scream-teaming with you!

Denny -- what an awesome race you had! I can't believe you pulled that off with your knee issues, but I am so glad you went back to your hotel that morning for your brace. How are your knees feeling now? Better, I hope! Thank you and M'Lisse for joining Howard and me for dinner Saturday night -- that was such a delicious dinner and the company was awesome!

Stephen -- You looked great everytime I saw you and Howard and I really appreciated you spending time with us at the expo. Even though Carter got your wife's gorgeous smile, yours still makes everyone around you smile. It was so great to see you at mile 10.5. How awesome that Carter and his mom got some attention from Daddy/hubby in the middle of a marathon.

Mike -- It was so great to see the Optimator machine at work. You are truly amazing. I've been impressed over time by your athleticism and your discipline and your awesome sense of humor, but I truly enjoyed getting to know what a wonderful, truly "nice guy" you are, too. Thank you for supporting Howard so much, too, and for helping to bring out the best of his athletic self in that race too. I'm sure he was thrilled to be close to on pace with you for various parts of the race.

Matt and Cindy -- It was great to see you guys again! Looking forward to seeing you both Philly weekend!

 

[Theta]

It was fun seeing everyone again. Even though I didn't run in the MCM, Cam and I did put in over 9 miles chasing the guys around. I'm looking forward to seeing WISHers again in Philly next month.

Kathy and Cam, thank you for the pics! They are great. Sounds like you two had a great time together.

Congratulations to all the guys. It looked like a beautiful day to run a marathon. Wish I was there!

 

[Maherae]

FANTASTIC JOB!!!!

WOW!!! Way to go!!

Thanks so much for the pictures with your new bling!!

 

[Tiger Lily 03]

Way to go it seems like a fine event. Great job!

 

[Optimator]

I yelled for Mike, but he must have been in the zone and didn't hear me or maybe he just doesn't like me.

Krista - Man!! I've obviously got to get my head out of my a$$ when I run! I'm really sorry I didn't see or hear you. I promise I didn't ignore you on purpose.

Steve and Howard - Did you see the group wearing Steelers garb and waving Terrible Towels (I think around mile 2, but I could be WAY wrong)? Bunch of idiots!

Oh, and you guys are really making me look bad (not that I need any help). Y'all stop and give your wives hugs and kisses and stuff and I just cruise on by, wave, and yell something like "Feeling good!" or "I'm dying!". Kathy definitely deserves much better (although I'm not so sure she would classify a stinky, sweaty, salty hug and kiss "better").

Joanne - Great job finishing under difficult circumstances.

Denny - I hope you made it home alright. How are you feeling?

Kathy -


I can see now that I'm going to be in a difficult spot come next April. I'm not planning to run MCM next year but knowing that so many of you are talking about repeating... It is a great event and would be hard to pass up.

 

[escape]

CONGRATULATIONS to everyone for a job well done. You are in inspiration to us all!

 

[Optimator]

I forgot to add:

Wow, we were lucky with the weather Sunday weren't we?

It rained a bunch on Saturday. Monday and today were cold, windy, damp, overall yucky.

Sunday was pretty much a picture perfect day to run. A little cool to start maybe and the sun was tough in a few spots, but hard to complain about all in all.