Short version:
I met my goal of running and finishing the race with wife Pam, although it
took a few "miles" to find her at the start, and took a bit longer to finish
than we hoped.
Longer version:
My plan was to hang back in Pam's corral (#14 vs. #7 I was assigned to) for
the start and keep her company for the entire marathon. We had a camera
with us to document all the fun...
Then a BAA volunteer who took his duties very seriously informed me I needed
to leave her corral and get to mine. I tried to "reason" with the fellow,
but only managed to elicit a threat of disqualification if I didn't exit
said corral immediately. I quickly exited with a message to Pam that I'd
wait for her at the first water stop on the right side of the road. (in
retrospect, maybe the mile MARKER would have been a better place - much less
confusion)
As I started shuffling off to my assigned corral, a couple other volunteers
asked if I would kindly enter their corral (#9) as the race was about to
begin and it would help them out if I didn't mind starting behind my proper
corral (sigh). I found myself with a couple other folks in the same
predicament. We decided to just hang by the side of "our" corral and wait
for our friends to come by and join them. Sounded logical to me.....of
course, Pam had no way of knowing my little change in plans.
The gun goes off and the crowd surges. I am in a really good spot, as no
one is running back here - just walking. I watch corral #10 come by, then
the #11, #12 and #13 folks. But as the 14xxx runners come by, the road is
opening up and folks begin running...somehow I miss Pam. Arggghh! Now I'm
in trouble, as I THINK she might be past me, but I don't know for sure. I
decide to get moving slowly, and hope she passes me.
The first mile comes and goes with no sign of Pam. I get to the first water
stop at maybe 1.5 miles; no Pam. I decide she must still be behind me - as
surely she would have waited for me? I stand and watch until folks with
numbers in the 19xxx range start coming by. Now I figure she must be ahead
and start running at tempo pace to try to catch her. I start having very
bad thoughts about jogging/sprinting the entire race without every finding
her. Needless to say, I am seriously doubting my logic and intelligence at
this point (no comments please!). Maybe I THOUGHT I told her the right hand
side of the road, but did I really say left? Did she mis-hear me?
I ran hard all the way to the next water stop at maybe the 3 mile mark. No
sign of Pam. As I start to sprint away, a volunteer runs over to me and
shouts that my wife is "just a little bit ahead" and will wait at the next
water stop for me. Wow, how did he know I was looking for her? How did he
know who we were?
It turns out that Pam had stopped at the water stop and he offered her help
- as he thought she was having trouble. She explained our predicament, and
he offered to help (thank you, thank you, whoever you are!!!). I left the
water stop at faster than Tempo pace...and found her within a half mile.
(smile)
Now the fun could begin. We had a great time chatting through the whole
race. We shared our stories of trying to hook up after getting separated.
We had obligatory conversations about our pace. We talked about other
runners, spectators, and of course, all the sights. I searched out photo
ops and (hopefully) got some nice shots.
But the heat was taking a toll. Pam started to tire at about the 15 mile
mark. At that point, we were on pace to finish comfortably below 4 hours.
We decided to stop for a restroom break at mile 17, near the fire station.
It seemed like a nice place for a rest before we "attacked" the hills. We
did OK for a couple miles, but then we needed to stop at the medical tent
for some "toe maintenance" for Pam (a band-aid did the trick). Whatever
energy she had left at this point was gone by the time we crested heartbreak
hill, although we managed to run the whole thing!. The last five miles were
a slow grind. I would guess we walked close to half of the distance. One
of our miles, almost completely a walk, was a "split" of 14:XX. But at that
point, since our focus was fun, there was no reason to push. All the same,
and to save some dignity, we managed to "run" the entire last mile. And,
most importantly, we finished side by side. Final time on the watch was
4:17:XX.
So all was not smooth at the beginning nor at the end, but we managed to
share a "life experience" that we'll always remember - and for years will
enjoy sharing with our children.
Thank you, Boston.
Kevin Holley
Charlotte, NC