Worth the hurt is their slogon and not accurate! I was looking at a marathon that was going to be close on five hours and I was hoping for a negative split then all of a sudden my feet came out from under me before mile 13 and I hit my arm and hit my top right part of my head on the steet. I have no idea how it happened but I had blood and as timing would have it a policeman standing there. He wanted me to leave the course and stop the race and called an ambullance. A medical tent was very near and he came over and took me over and cleaned my wound and patched me up and I was able to convince him I was o.k. and I left just before the ambullance reached the fall. I had to go to the VA hospital and get two stitches after the race!
I took off pretty quick and don't remember passing the 13 mile time scanner and I was paranoid I missed it and would not have an offical time. But I told medical I'd take it easy and I needed to so I did a lot of walk and then running and I had lost minutes after the accident. My strength was zapped for at least 10 miles it seemed, but I was able to pick it up and run the last three pretty much and had a nine minute last mile, so I was arobically fit, just unlucky and my time was not a normal one, but not bad considering.
What is important of course is I finished the marathon and I was able to talk my way out of a DNF. Flying into downtown San Francisco is not a cheap thing to do and that time and effort could not be wasted. It was a pretty course, but the first half was a very hilly run, much hillier then RnR Seattle I had just run. My first half was probably going to be around a 2:29 perhaps or a 2:30 so it was going to be a challenge to break five, but then a fall reset my priorities. What was bad was my right shoulder took a hard hit and every time I swung my arm while running it hurt, we're talking another half marathon's worth of hurt (forgive the pun).
Marathoners have a cog loose, we do not stop unless we have a bone sticking out. I have lined up three dozen times now and my goal is to always finish. I have been called hard core since the race and absolutely insane too of course, but to be truthful I am one thing. Obsessive, but it's a healthy one generally and I would have pulled myself off the course if it had been worse injuries. Now I cancel my plans for Bellingham Bay to give me a couple extra weeks to prepare for Portland, New York City and Route 66 this fall. I may cancel my annual Seattle marathon too. You can bet I will ensure all are under five hours. I am in good shape going into the fall.
