Normally I would write out a lengthy race report and detail everything in meticulous fashion, all of the splits, what I ate, how I felt and spin it into a clever tale; but not today. Looking back, for me this was just another race. It was not a goal race or anything that I specifically trained for. I went into it trying to do something amazing on just an endurance fitness base, so when I fell apart at mile 16 after running 2:49 pace, I was not surprised, nor was I disappointed. I went into maintenance mode and did what I could to hang on to a sub 3 hour marathon finish. This doesn't mean that I didn't try as hard as I could and gave it everything I had, because I did. I will never 'mail it in' when it comes to a race. When the gun goes off, no matter what kind of shape I am in, I will try as hard as I can to do the best that I can, no matter what. I just was not properly conditioned to run a road marathon but that has never stopped me before because you never know when you are going to have a surprising performance.
Looking back, this race was really less about me and more about a few people that I had helped along the way with training and coaching advice. One of those people is Chris Brahm. Chris is 16 years old and an outstanding triathlete who attends Grissom High School in Huntsville, Alabama. Chris sought me out in 2008 to help him train for the Monte Sano 15km and again in 2009 when he decided he was going to chase Dink Taylor's Alabama marathon stage age record of 2:56 at Rocket City Marathon. I helped him out with a customized training plan and tried to be available for any questions that he had during the months leading into the race. I believed that he was a genuinely nice kid who had a bright future, and was willing to work hard to achieve his goals which is something I admire.
On Marathon day, his plan was to stay with me for as long as he could. We ended up running together for 16 miles before I had to back off and Chris stayed strong and ran on ahead.
Here is Chris in red running just off my shoulder at the half marathon mark, in which we split at 1:24:00, well on our way to a sub 2:50 finish with a second half tail wind just a few miles ahead.
Nearing mile 24, surprisingly, I caught back up to Chris. He was being attended to by a HEMSI volunteer and not doing so well. He started to run again and I convinced him to run with me to the finish. I tried every encouraging word I knew, and told him that I'd done the math and we could ease back to 7:45 pace and still finish under 3 hours. I told him that if he could manage that pace, though slower than I was running at the time, that I would stay with him until the end. Despite having thrown up (I think) before I saw him, he held on for another 1/2 mile before having to stop. He started to walk again and told me to leave him behind. I really struggled with this, and slowed down, trying to get him to go with me, but I could tell that he physically could not run at that point. So regretfully, I pushed ahead.
At the time, I thought that by finishing on his own, it would be a tremendous character building moment. Now having read his marathon race report, I see that he didn't need any help; he is not a kid, but a genuinely good young man that discovered a lot about himself out there on Saturday morning. He found out that through shear will and determination, that anything is possible if you are willing to try.
While his 3:01 28 marathon time is not a state age record, it is still utterly amazing for a 16 year old running his first distance event. If he chooses to run another one, I am sure he will build off of this experience, use his intelligence to alter his training and finish what he started.
So I ask that if you normally follow me, that you read the first hand account of Chris' marathon debut directly from him on his blog. If I had not told you that he was 16, you would never know it. He writes better than most adults that I know and accurately captures his emotions during the race. As I try to do, he makes you almost feel like you were there with him. I am fortunate enough to have been there with him for most of it and I will never forget that.