I’m normally a “hit the snooze a couple times” kind of gal, but not today. I was up and out of bed at 4:15 am, as excited as I could be that early in the morning. While I had the option of riding a shuttle bus from the UW directly to the start line in Two Harbors, I decided to drive to the DECC and take the train. Along with the shuttle buses, there is a train that takes up to 600 runners to that marathon starting line. I got there in time to find a seat on the train, sitting in a quad with three other women I had never met before. We started with small talk – for two of us, this was our first marathon. Two were from Washington state, one who had recently moved to Shakopee. Through the course of our conversation, I discovered that the other first-time marathoner happens to live in Jefferson, Wisconsin, and knows several old college friends of mine who I haven’t seen in years. Small world! I excused myself and walked to the other train car to use the bathroom, overhearing along the way bits and pieces of running experiences, strategies and advise being shared among the riders. Laughter was flowing freely, as were bottles of Gatorade, peanut butter sandwiches and other last minute fuel sources. In the midst of it all were sleeping runners, and those simply gazing out the window, lost in their own thoughts. I took a moment to appreciate the moment and this eclectic collection of people about to embark on this monumental task. I quietly wished us all well…
The train was slow, so we arrived at 7 am, just 45 minutes before the start. The atmosphere was electrifying – music blasting, runners everywhere, and what looked like miles and miles of porta-pottys. Holy moly – I have never seen so many in one place in my life. Not that I was complaining. Just in awe. Porta-potty awe. And even with bazillions of them available, there were still lines. Of course. I was glad I used the bathroom on the train.
I made my way the center of the gathering area and looked in the sea of faces for Cari and others I knew were running. I didn’t see any of them. I took 3 ibuprofen, adjusted my water belt and took out my mile list. I had folded it so the first 13 miles were on one side, the last 13 on the other. It was printed on regular paper but I placed it in a baggie because I knew I would want to write in last minute names and I wanted to protect the names from smearing from my sweat. As I looked at it with my 48-year old eyes, I wished for a moment that I had printed it in just a bit bigger font. Oh well… I just held it out further and all was good. There were mom and dad, ready to start mile one with me. I smiled, looked to the sunny sky and thanked them for all they have been in my life. Before I knew it, the announcement to enter the starting area was made. I went to the road and hovered around the 4:30 (hour) pace runner. (I never saw her again, so am not sure when she passed me. I guess is was just comforting to know I was in the neighborhood, even for a short time.) Despite being crammed in the midst of these thousands of runners, this introvert felt peace. I was ready. I was excited. I wanted to get going. A person started to sing the National Anthem and two runners in front of me who were holding American flags raised them high. The back of their shirts said something about running to remember veterans. Clearly this race was one of deeper meaning for them too. I held it together for about half of the anthem until two fighter jets flew over us. Tears started to flow down my cheeks. I felt blessed.
I didn’t hear a starting gun, but the masses moved forward and started to cheer, so I figured it was time to go. It took me about 5 minutes before I got to the starting line at which time I made sure I stepped solidly on the pads to start my chip, and off I went.
Things that made me smile and even laugh out loud…
- The great spectators. The little kids holding their hands out to give the runners “high-fives!” My friend and colleague Julie Kaatz Hample and her beautiful family at between mile 13 – 14! All of the smiling faces, encouraging shouts and funny signs…
- The signs! My family made beautiful signs, including “Run Paula Run” and other wonderful sentiments. Those are my most favorite signs, but here are a few other random favorites I saw along the route –
- Three signs in a row. 1) “Where are the marching bands?” 2) “We need more floats” 3) “This parade sucks!”
- “Your training lasted longer than Kim Kardashian’s marriage.” (I couldn’t help but think that my long runs lasted longer than her marriage!)
- “Run faster – I farted”
- One that made me laugh out loud - “Humpty Dumpty had wall issues too!”
- There was a group of Elvis impersonators cheering the runners along, some more successful in their impersonations than others, but all were appreciated!
- The bands. There were several bands along the route, again some more successful than others but again, all were appreciated. I liked the tuba player, and my favorite was the ZZ Top-like band playing “Sharp Dressed Man” in front of an old gas station.
- I noticed a sign that said “Obama and Romney – why can’t we be friends.” I didn’t understand what that meant, until I saw two guys standing next to each other – one in a suit and Obama mask, next to him was a guy wearing a Romney mask. Kinda freaky but I waved anyway.
- The woman at mile 16 or 17 (?) standing in the middle of the road holding a big bucket of dum-dum suckers. She was handing them out to the runners and I took one, unwrapped it, and went on my way. It tasted great and provided a welcomed pop of energy. I ran only a few yards before I heard a voice in my head saying “what are you doing, running with a sucker in your mouth?!?” (Was that the voice of my mom, maybe??) At any rate, I bit down hard, trying to break the sucker off the stick. Then I wondered, in all of the defibrillators and medical care teams I heard about at each mile, if there was an emergency dentist on the ready too… Thankfully I didn’t need any of that medical care, including the dentist. Whew!
- A guy shaking his i-phone, shouting “it’s a cow bell app!” (Who knew!?!?)
My mile list…
1) Mom and Dad, Joanne and Louie
2) Grandmas and Grandpas Gregerson and Gajewski
3) All beloved family members
4) Roger Mickelson
5) Gene Averill
6) Lee Perish; Martee and Larry Swabey (Laurie’s mom and dad)
7) Jackie Gravrok’s mom and dad
8) Mary Catherine’s dad;
9) Cindy Norton’s dad, Ed Gundaker; Janet Anderson (Heidi’s mom)
10) Jan Radatz’s beloved family members
11) Freida and Lenard Bauch (Julie’s tenacious German in laws J)
12) Marie Wigern (Laurie Meyer’s mom); Jill (Laura P)
13) Richard’s dad, Clement; A.J. McFarlin (Nancy’s mom)
14) Arlene Hillmer, Lisa and Sue’s mom
15) Lana Phan, Steve’s mom
16) Alyce Roberts, Lauri’s mom
17) Ella Mae Zylstra, Sara’s grandma; Larry Sanford (Mari’s dad)
18) Russ Connors
19) David Boris; Ed and Donna Robinson (Joanie’s parents)
20) Don and Marie Mortwedt (Kathy Hanson’s parents); Memory Keepers (Tia); Eileen Hammond (Joan)
22) Michael Finken
23) Ceil Mickelson
24) Honor of all Hospice Volunteers, including my sister, Sue
25) Honor of the Deaf Hospice Program, especially Anita Buel
26) Mom and dad, Joanne and Louie
.2 – YOU!
Each mile of the marathon was well marked with huge yellow helium balloons on the end of long colorful ropes. Many mile markers, especially the later ones, also had aid stations with volunteers handing out water, Powerade, and later ice cubes and cold, refreshing sponges. After walking through the station taking whatever I needed, I pulled my list out and read the names of the people joining me on the next mile. My routine was to call back memories of them - times we spoke, things we did together - and to thank them for the lasting presence they have in my life, either personally or through their loved ones. For those who I didn’t know personally, I recalled their family member(s) who asked me to remember them. I thought about the amazing impact their loved one has had in my life as a treasured colleague and friend. And at the end of the mile, I thanked them for their part in bringing such amazing human beings into my life.
There were some miles when I needed to call upon my mile-partner a bit more. For instance, at mile 14 I got a side-stitch. Despite my efforts to breathe rhythmically and through it, it wasn’t working. So I asked for assistance from Arlene, mom of my dear friends Sue and Lisa. Just two years ago, Arlene fought cancer mightily until it ended her life in October, 2010. I recalled her strength and fight, and asked her to share that with me through the stitch. She did and it worked.
I strategically placed Russ, David, Michael and Ceil on the book-end miles of “the wall,” knowing I’d need extra energy at that time in the run. Each of these people, like so many on the list, fought cancer with strength and grace, and were taken from their loved ones far too soon. They left behind so many people who miss them terribly and love them even more. Those were the thoughts that pulled me through those miles… Those thoughts, and Miss B.
“The Wall…”
My niece Brady is a Runner (note the capital “R”) and has run several marathons. Knowing the process, she offered to run a few miles with me. Brady, her mom Becky and sister Brooke set up their cheering station at mile 23, so Brady tracked my progress and ran back to meet me at mile 19 so we could run a few miles together. What a blessing. Brady, with a smile on her face, matched my pace (which must have felt like a crawl to her), talked to me and shared her infectious energy with me during the infamous “wall” miles. Her presence, plus those on my list at each mile during this time, pulled me forward. I tried not to be rude as I pulled out my list and ran silently several times as we were together, but she understood. She ran with me over Lemon Drop Hill, and then we saw Becky and Brooke, yelling and waving their “Run Paula Run” sign. What a shot of energy! I made a quick stop for hugs, thanked Brady with a high-five, and went on my way. I feel incredibly fortunate that “the wall” for me, that day in that moment in time, wasn’t much of a wall at all. I am not discounting the experience for others, nor do I think that I would be as fortunate during another race. My theory is that the combination of my training PLUS all the wonderful people supporting me from near and far, all those on my list, and Brady pulled me through any wall that was meant to be there for me that day. I am thankful!
Finish strong...
At the beginning of the race, the mile markers seemed to come quicker than those toward the end. But these miles were downtown Duluth, where the crowds were thicker and more vocal (could there be a correlation between the volume of the cheers and the beers in hand? Perhaps…) That helped. My friend Holly was working the station at mile 24, so she walked a bit with me while I drank my water and Powerade, which was fun. I gave her a high-five and went on my way. Running downtown is tough. The street is brick and I felt compelled to watch the ground more closely, thinking it would not be too cool to trip and fall so close to the end. It would certainly suck to fall down and not be able to get up! J So I watched the ground carefully and before I knew it, I was making the turn toward Canal Park, my final mile.
By this time I was really feeling the fatigue. I ran down the hill, up a small incline, then down again toward the lake. And just as I let out a deep breath, there was my brother-in-law, Mike, shouting “hey, Paula!!!” I ran toward him for a high-five and saw Molly, who joined me for the final mile. What a blessing! We were running along the ship (which, I understand, many runners curse mightily because it is a very big reminder that they are oh, so close to the finish, but not quite close enough.) I totally understood that sentiment, and let out a huge sigh. Ugh…. Molly asked me what was wrong – I just shook my head. Then some random runner came up behind me and said “finish strong!” I looked him in the eyes and knew he knew what that sigh meant. I just said “okay” and continued on.
As we approached the corner, Molly kept saying “you’re so close” and “the family is just around the corner – on the right.” I was so looking forward to seeing them! We came around the corner, I combed the crowd and THERE THEY WERE! Paul (with the camera), Jake, my sister Sue and niece Jenna, my sister-in-law Jill and my nieces Gretchen and Emily, and nephew Nate, and Mike (I’m not sure how he got back there so fast!) I waved and hollered, gave each of them a high-five, and headed toward the finish. I made sure to step firmly on each pad to record my chip. The race was done.
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