I'm sure for a lot of first-time marathoners, one of the race-day goals is to finish without walking. It certainly was for me Saturday as I attempted my first 26.2-mile test of endurance at the Traverse City State Bank Bayshore Marathon.
In my training, there seemed to be a point of pride to running the entire course. I'm not saying anything negative about the walkers, without question every runner has to go at their own pace and slow down when need be.
But that wasn't going to be me.
Sometimes, though, things don't go as planned.
After what seemed like a great start, I hit the wall at the halfway point. No problem, I thought. Just keep pushing through the pain like I had on so many training runs.
But by the 18th mile, my legs locked up completely and I was forced to either slow down or bow out of the race.
And so the walking began.
Hank Risley, who was last year's masters champion and finished second Saturday, said this week that one of the challenges of the race is dealing with what your body throws at you. There is no way to predict if you're going to get hit with leg cramps, stomach pains, fatigue, or a clean bill of health.
I guess it's true, because leg cramps hadn't been a problem in my training, but became a huge obstacle Saturday.
At first, it was frustrating. By having to walk, I wasn't going to turn the time I thought I would and the thought crossed my mind a few times that all my months of training had been wasted.
But as I continued towards the finish line, I noticed more and more runners slowing it down for either a short stretch or shutting it down completely.
There is no shame in walking.
Early in my training, I was told that running a marathon was easy because all you do is "put one foot in front of the other."
If that's true, what does it matter if it's done in a walk or a stride?
Fact remains that for the majority of the 1,700 runners in the marathon, the objective wasn't to compete the marathon, but complete it. Everyone pushed through pain, endured and moved closer and closer to the end with every step.
And some walked.
I gained a newfound respect for the athletes who ran for a set amount of time and then would walk for a minute or two. Their strategy kept them fresh and seemed to work as they continued at a steady pace the entire way.
There were even a few "race walkers" on the course, pushing hard with their arms and keeping pace with plenty of runners.
At the end of the day, there wasn't a right or a wrong strategy for all of us outside of the elite pace. Any one who crossed the finish line was successful.
Even me, regardless if I had to walk more than I had originally planned. I adapted to the obstacle put in front of me and crossed the finish line.
I guess it's true. The marathon was easy -- at least in concept. It's one foot in front of the other, in the quickest stride, glide, walk or crawl you can muster.
Print this story
E-mail this story
