Ogden Marathon

It was 8 years ago that I ran a marathon in 4 hours and 1 minute.  This was a big deal to me because most amateur runners like me set the goal of running faster than 4 hours.  Try as I might I just couldn't run 1 minute faster.  Two years later I ran the St. George marathon in an attempt to take 1 minute off of my marathon best.  Due to some setbacks, I ran St. George in 4 hours and 16 minutes.

I had given up on marathons. They are extremely hard and they hurt to run.  Plus I discovered half marathons; it's such a great distance and I feel good when I run them. I get a great workout, a nice medal, and I don't feel horrible after crossing the finish line.

This year my running group decided to run the Ogden marathon, and after much thought, I decided to come out of retirement and run my first marathon in 6 years.  One of the biggest motivating factors to try it again was to beat the 4 hour mark, and with the right plan I felt I could do it. The plan was to run 5 minutes then walk 1 minute, inspired by Olympic runner Jeff Galloway.  By run/walking from the very first 5 minutes of the run, it's proven you can run your best marathon time ever. Your body rests during the beginning and there is enough "gas in the tank" at the finish.

We began our "man-cation" on Friday by driving up to the race Expo in Ogden and picked up our running bib, shirt, and other items needed to run the race. We all stayed in the Marriott right next to the finish line and it made getting around the city so nice.  The restaurant in the hotel had an amazing build your own pasta bar with a chef who cooked it all right in front of you.  It was very cool.

Pictured above next to me is Ron Hada, Kevin Yeager, and Nate Smith. Not pictured is Kevin Palmer; his family was spending the night so he didn't join us for the "man-cation" activities. 

We finished dinner and went to see the newest installment of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies. The Junction is a big revitalized part of Downtown Ogden with shops, restaurants, and a new movie theater.  After the movie we headed out to pick up some last minute supplies, and had a hilarious Wal-Mart shopping experience at 11:00 p.m.  After watching Pawn Stars we all went to bed around midnight. 

Sleeping with 4 guys in a room with 2 double beds wasn't the best for sleeping conditions.  I was up at 3:00 a.m. and couldn't sleep again until the alarm went off at 4:00 a.m.  We all got up got ready, picked up Kevin Palmer in the lobby and caught the bus to the starting line.  The loading zone was just outside our hotel, near the finish line.  

We had to wait at the starting line for just over an hour before the race began.  We all had to dress warmly being in the mountains at such an early hour, but by the time the race began at 7:00 a.m. the sun had come out and I shed the sweat shirt, running pants, and cap. 

The funny thing about running 26.2 miles is that most people gear down, run slowly, and hope to finish. So when 3 guys with yellow shirts all stopped running 5 minutes into the race it got a lot of attention.  I would use many of the same jokes really loudly so everyone could hear.   "Come on guys we REALLY should have trained harder!" "We can't finish in 3 hours if we keep walking."  It always brought smiles to the people running around us. 

One first timer said, as we walked and he ran past, "This is the last time you'll pass me".  Something came over me and I yelled back, "That's what you think sucker! By the end you will be eating our dust!" It inspired Kevin and Ron too, and sure enough the very next 5 minutes of running we passed him and teased him again.  In fact some other runners asked us, "Where is the guy in the blue shirt?" The runners liked the comedic relief and I even ran for a while with the man in the blue shirt.  It was his first marathon and sure enough he finished well behind all of us at the end.  

Further along the course a lady branded us "Team Yellow" and asked us about our running technique.  

Most of the race we were within sight of the 4 hour pacer.  The pacer wore a bright orange jersey and carried a sign with 4:00 written on it.  There were also balloons tied to the sign so he would be easy to recognize.

We reached 13.1 (half) at 1:58, so I would need to run exactly the same or slightly faster to finish under 4 hours.  Right at the half was where my brother-in-law Aaron began the half marathon.  There were tons of bathrooms right along the course, so I took advantage of my only bathroom stop. It was a quick stop and I caught up to Ron and Kevin within a couple of minutes. 

Mile 14 was our only uphill section.  It was roughly a mile and wasn't terribly hard, however the 4 hour pacer was getting further and further ahead of us.  By mile 16 I asked Kevin if he was going to make it under 4 hours. His leg was hurting again and he didn't think he was going to make it.  Ron stopped at the Honey Bucket, so I took off on my own hoping to break 4 hours.

I didn't know how far Nate Smith was ahead of me, this was his first marathon and he thought he could run it faster than we would with our run/walk method.  Coming down Ogden canyon was so beautiful, I was running strong and feeling great.  In fact a David Cook song came on the ipod at about mile 18 called "Time of my Life".  I just smiled and laughed from mile 16-20 because I felt so good at such a late part of the race.  In other marathons by mile 18, doubt kicks in, negative self talk begins, and the last 6-8 miles are so miserable I've never wanted to run another marathon again.  This was different, I felt great, smiled, and passed a lot of people along the way. 

I had left my watch in the hotel room on accident.  I never run with a watch, but after leaving the others I couldn't continue the 5/1 ratios.  The program worked so well I didn't want to jeapordize the plan.   So when I felt like I had ran for 5 minutes, I would walk, count to 60, then run again. 

By mile 22 the course moved from the road to a parkway trail by the Ogden Dinosaur Park.  It was also beautiful, however the course got very congested.  It was shortly after being on the parkway trail that I came around a corner and saw the yellow shirt of Nate Smith.  I caught up to him and put my arm around him and said, "Congratulations you just ran a sub 4 hour marathon!" He put his weight on me and with my weakened legs I almost fell over.  "We haven't done it yet," he responded.  He and I ran/ walked for a couple of miles and as we made the last turn I looked behind me and saw the 4 hour pacer!  "Oh no!" I thought to myself.  It was just the motivation I needed to push the last 5 blocks.  

I ran the entire race with these gloves.

I would like to point out that unlike other marathons when I'm mostly walking, I can be seen here running .... mostly.

The 4 hour pacer can be seen eating my dust.

This is a great view of the finish line, and all those who came out and supported the runners.

Here are some of my best supporters.  It was so nice to see them at the end.

Nate and I ran the last few miles together it was nice to have him to finish with after so many hours of training together.

Here is "Team Yellow".  The shirts all came from the Riverton Half Marathon that we had ran earlier in the year. It worked very nicely for our supporters to spot us in the crowd.

We found Kevin Palmer at the finish line laying in the fetal position.  He took off, hoping to come in under 3:30 and took off way too fast (rookie mistake).  He was at the half way point in a personal record (1:37) and it cost him dearly in the end.  Come to find out he only finished a minute before me and because of his starting position, I actually beat him with my chip time!

Jill is my number one supporter, she goes to a lot of trouble to get everyone ready at an early hour to see my crazy races.  Alyssa is excited about the medal,  maybe one day she can earn her own. 

By far the Odgen Marathon is the most beautiful of the Utah marathons that I have ran.  It's the most fun I've ever had at a marathon, and I ran it with some terrific people.  I may just be inspired to run it again one day, but need to wait a couple of weeks before I make that decision.

After the race Jill and the boys stayed an extra night in Ogden and they swam for 3 straight hours!  They love swimming and Logan even got to the point he could dive in and retrieve something in the deepest part (6 feet).  We had an amazing dinner at a local Italian restaurant that had live entertainment, great food, and no line to wait in.

We slept in until 7:15 Sunday morning, yes that is sleeping in for us, and drove the marathon course Sunday morning before coming home. 

The marathon festivities actually began on Thursday when I went to the dentist to get a new crown.

I am on record for saying I would never get a tattoo.  But I really didn't have a choice here.  Kevin is one of my best running partners and also my dentist. After this new crown he is also my tattoo artist. 

When I had the need for this crown, he said, "Great we can put the 26.2 on your new tooth." 26.2 of course, is the distance of a marathon. While I didn't get a choice, it is pretty cool. 

I'm not sure I'll tell the Bishop, or even my children, but it is pretty cool. 

Kevin is the the man who gave me my one and only tattoo, and the running coach who made my goal of a sub 4 hour marathon a reality.  Now all those stories of "stick with it," "you can accomplish any goal you set your mind to," and "endure to the end" have a very personal meaning to me.