Eugene Marathon

Today I successfully completed my second marathon.  My friend Adele and I signed up for the Eugene Marathon about 5 months ago, started training about 10 weeks ago, and decided we would actually go through with it this week.  Going into the race we weren't sure if we were going to be able to actually finish the whole marathon or if we would end up cutting it short and just running the half marathon.  I have to say, all odds were against me actually being able to pull this off.  I was in Africa on vacation for 2 weeks during what should have been my peak training time; I had a work event 200 miles away in Washington last night meaning I didn't get into Eugene until after 11pm; my lodging situation fell through 3 days before the race; and I only got 2 hours of sleep last night due to anxiety and not sleeping in my own bed.  But we surprised ourselves and ran the whole 26.2 miles without ever stopping to walk and actually having fun and smiling the entire way.

We kept a nice, steady pace the entire time and completed the race in 4:41:58 (with about 7 minutes worth of bathroom breaks).  It was the perfect day for the race in Eugene, OR - aka Track Town, USA.  The sun was shining with temperature starting around 40 and getting into the low 60s with a nice breeze.  The course was wonderful.  We looped through forested areas, ran by the Willamette River on bike paths and started and ended at Hayward Field, home of the University of Oregon track team.  We actually sprinted the last 200 yds on the track in the stadium with people cheering us on in the stand - it was surreal.  There were aid stations at all the right spots serving us water, Gatorade and Goo.  And Alan and Adele's husband Brock rode their bikes along the course and met up with us every few miles to offer us food, drinks, Advil and cheer us on.

I have to say, this marathon was much more enjoyable than the rainy Portland Marathon I ran this past October.  Adele and I had a great time and never felt like we were about to die or wanted to give up.  It was quite miraculous actually!  Thanks Adele for being such an amazing running partner!  What should we train for next?

Adele and I chugging along

post race in front of Hayward Stadium

us with our support crew - thanks guys!