By the time I reached the starting line, I knew that I had my work cut out for me, as it was raining and extremely cold. Many of the runners remained on the bus to keep warm and I was amongst them, but depart I did, I knew my mission. You don't drive three hours, get a hotel room and pay the registration costs to remain a spectator. I had run three marathons in the previous ten months before Napa Valley and had properly trained, but nothing can prepare you for the weather conditions we faced in Napa, California that day. I wanted to run this marathon because of its great reputation from the many runners I had spoken with and for the beauty of the course. I didn't get a chance to enjoy any thing even resembling beauty. The weather conditions were horrendous, with a steady hard downpour and hail, with 40 mile an hour headwinds in your face the final ten miles. A rainstorm that you need to be sitting by a nice fire to watch, not run in. Nearly every step of the marathon I kept on thinking, "If I can just get around the next corner maybe I'll be shielded from those God-awful winds", but it never happened.
I'm not an advanced runner and started running at 39 as a mid-life crisis kind of thing and got hooked, but generally finish events 45 minutes under the qualifying time. If this had been my first marathon I really don't know if I could have completed Napa Valley that day; it was that bad. Generally runners hit a mental and physical wall around miles 18-20, but thanks to Mother Nature my wall hit me at mile 16. I ran through it, the only normal feeling I had that day, but thereafter miles 17-21 were just unbelievably painful as I struggled against the wind. Under normal conditions the battle is mentally won by this point if you have the legs and the aerobic ability to get to the finish line, and it's generally a very good feeling, but again, nothing was certain this day. I ran along with my head down and thankful for my running hat which at least kept the rain from hitting my eyes. Occasionally I would glance up and see that it would have been a very pretty run if I could keep my head up long enough, or I would speak with others who echoed my shock at what we were experiencing. There were so many brave runners that day that simply would not quit. One man’s teeth were clattering loudly from the cold, but he ran on, willing himself to finish.
I was recovering from the flu and was amazed that I still had running strength at mile 23. At that point, I knew I would actually finish this marathon from hell (amusingly I was the 666th male to cross the finish line.) There were many volunteers along the way, all duty bound, fighting the elements to hand us drinks, bananas and oranges and I would comment, "This is crazy", and they would all laugh and agree. The last half-mile was like crossing a river as I found myself splashing through puddles and when I did mercifully hit the finish line, I did not think of the incredible achievement I had just endured, but only of how I could escape those treacherous weather conditions. I did stop to have my finisher's medal placed around my neck and was happy of such, but no one would achieve a personal best this day. For the record, I was 30 seconds a mile slower than my PR four months earlier at the Silicon Valley marathon, but this run was so much more special due to its difficulty. The Big Sur Marathon (rated the 10th hardest North American Marathon by "Marathon and Beyond"), which I completed, seemed like a fond memory, a pleasant walk in the park compared to the 2001 Sutter Home Napa Valley Marathon.
Into our own elements we ran that day, but truly for those who completed the race that day it was a personal chance to shine in a brutal rainstorm. By the time I had limped up to my car for my return trip home I realized I couldn't feel my thumbs and it had typically quit raining and I wondered why I had put myself through nearly five hours of torture. I could only come up with one reason...........I wanted to see if I had it in me to become a true marathon runner. Thanks to God and smart training I think I passed the test!
