50th Marine Corps Marathon

What an incredibly perfect day to run a marathon! Despite being very nervous about the crowds, the mileage on asphalt, the lack of consistent training, I went in with an attitude of gratitude. I also went in knowing this race wasn’t about me. It was about honoring those that put their lives at risk for our freedom, even when leaders are not doing the same for them. 

I hadn't run over 15 miles since my last marathon in April. Signing up for Marine Corps Marathon was a way for me to have something exciting to look forward to. After a rough summer, a busy back-to-school/dance/life season, and a reflective adventure in Arizona, I actually dreaded the expectation I put on myself to run a crowded road marathon.

Then I flipped my negativity. I was showing up to the track once a week with Tracy for the Detroit Free Press marathon training (which she crushed by the way), this race was going to be Arielle's first marathon, and her training cycle was BEAST! My excitement for Arielle was a great distraction, and I forgot that I had to run it too. 

The week before the race, Arielle and I ran a shorter long run with other friends who were training for MCM. Their excitement helped hype me up. They shared wisdom on the best way to get there, where to park, and helped calm my nerves about the logistical aspects of this HUGE race. This was the 50th year of the race and 40,000 runners were signed up, which made it the 3rd largest race ever in North America and a larger field than the Boston Marathon! The 2018 Army Ten Miler was the only other race that I'd had run that came near that many runners (30,000). My other races were WAY less, which has always been my preference. 

I offered to drive Arielle so she wouldn't have to worry about that part of the race. I booked a SpotHero parking spot in the same garage that our friends had and planned to arrive to the Fashion Centre Pentagon City Garage around the same time (5:30am). That meant we would need to leave Columbia at 4:45am. Not so bad, I've woken up earlier for races in Delaware, Virginia and western Maryland (races of MUCH less people though).

My legs and mind were anxious all week. Taper is the hardest part of training and since I didn't have the confidence of a strong training cycle, I was worried I was ill-prepared. I only ran about 17 miles, calling them all "shake out miles" ... LOL.

On Saturday before the race, I volunteered at Patapsco 50k at the packet pick-up table. It was such a low-key race, runners were showing 5 minutes after the race started to get their bib and just took off from there. 

Turned out that MCM was not that way at all. In fact, later that afternoon I learned quickly just how different it was when Nick, Fiona and I drove to the National Harbor to pick up my packet at the Gaylord. It felt like the most crowded airport, with lines outside the door, winding along the lobby, down an escalator, and then switchbacks through the conference hall. Nick and Fiona couldn't take it and I didn't blame them. They left to go find a restaurant to eat a very late lunch. Eventually, I had my packet, my half-zip up, and took a few photos. 

When I walked out of the Gaylord, the crowds were unreal. I was hoping Nick was able to find a place to eat, which he did. Everyone was walking around with their packets, and the energy was similar to the Big Sur Marathon I ran in 2019. That's when I began to get excited. 

We ate, walked around, had some ice cream, and then headed back to the car. So many people were still driving in to get their packets and the expo closed in less than an hour. I began to feel nervous for all of those runners racing to get their packets. 

As I drove home, my car began to overheat. I'm so grateful that Nick was with me and guided me what to do. Eventually, we got off at a rest stop for him to take a look under the hood. It appeared that temperature gauge wasn't working. However, it still could be dangerous because that meant that if the car were overheating, I may not know. We made it home, but there was no way I was going to drive us to D.C. for the race. 

I texted Tracy and Arielle to let them know we'd need an alternate plan. They both offered to drive, but with a 4:00am alarm, I had to go to bed before knowing what the plan was. I had no problem falling asleep by 8:30pm because I was exhausted from the day volunteering, walking all around the National Harbor, and mostly from white-knuckle-driving on the way home. 

When I woke up, Arielle had texted that she would pick me up at 4:40. I felt bad that she was the one driving, but also happy to be the navigator. We made it down to the Fashion Square Mall parking garage at exactly 5:45am and pulled into a spot right next to our friends - Gretchen, Michelle and Mindy. We walked over to the start together. It felt chilly - perfect weather for a marathon!

Since this was the biggest race I had ever run, it was nearly impossible to comprehend 30,000 people all starting from the same place. We could hear the announcer as we walked closer to the Pentagon, as more and more people just started entering the mass group heading to the start. We got in one of many, many lines of port-a-potties (usually not the case at my other races). As we got closer, everywhere you looked people were shedding their layers - taking off sweatshirts, sweatpants, changing shoes and just leaving it all over this empty parking lot we were walking through. Hopefully all these clothes were collected and handed out to people who could really use them!

We all separated from one another based on what our goal times were. Tracy had planned on running with a friend who would be a more mellow pace than Arielle and I, while Gretchen, Michelle, and Mindy had faster plans. Arielle and I wished everyone good luck and headed to our corral and our goal pace of 4:30.

The sun was just coming up as the race began at 7:20am. We were under the starting arch by 7:36am - not too bad. There were crowds lining the streets right from the beginning! The cheering, hilarious signs, and city streets were so helpfully distracting! 

We were flying the first few miles, following close behind the 4:30 pacer, although eventually we stopped paying attention. We both kept pointing out different sites along the way and we kept thinking about how cool it was to experience a city on foot during a long race, connecting all of the parts of the city through one continuous path. Once we made it to the Potomac River, the crowds had thinned out a bit. It was nice to see some nature. Since it was so cold, you could see everyone's breath rising above them. It looked so cool!

Arielle said, "it must be nice." I didn't know what she was referring to until I looked at what she was looking at and lined up among the trees, across from the river, were a bunch of guys using the small section of woods to relieve themselves. Yeah, it must be nice. We had stopped at a port-a-potty along the route, however, and the line wasn't too bad.

The Washington National Cathedral on the other side of the river looked like a castle. I mentioned wanting to figure out exactly what it was, because it looked more like a campus than a church. This is also where I noticed how much Gu and fuel 30,000 people go through. It was all over the streets. You have to dodge the Gu!

Once we entered Georgetown, it was so neat to see where I grew up going with my dad. We saw the steps from The Exorcist and the Doc Marten store, both places I visited as a child. Then we heard music, "Soldier Boy," outside of the Lululemon store. I'll now always think of MCM when I hear that song...although I don't hear that song too often (thankfully).

As we left Georgetown, Arielle said, "the miles are going by way too fast!" I wanted her to hold on to that feeling, and I didn't have the heart to tell her that it won't feel that way for the entire duration. So we continued to talk and point out more funny signs, including my favorite signs that had any mention of "bitch!" Haha. 

"Momma didn't raise no bitches!"

"You didn't train to be a little bitch. Keep running!"

"Move it bitches."

"You run better than the government."

"Real, live Kudos!"

"Pain is temporary, Strava is forever."

"Don't poop your pants."

There were also some incredible costumes, like a hot dog, a bunch of bananas (lol), Forest Gump, and eagles. 

Then we got to the blue mile (12) at Haines Point. There were pictures of those who have served and sacrificed their lives for our country. During this mile, runners are supposed to respect them and their families in silence. Most runners honored that, took off their headphones, and though the route narrowed a bit, everyone just fell into the pack and didn't try to pass anyone. However, all of a sudden behind we hear two guys yelling at each other about one pushing the other and not letting the other pass. It was such an inappropriate time to be acting that way. All of the runners looked at them as they tried to push their way through. Ugh. 

We continued on to the Washington Monument, along the Mall, towards the Capital, and then along the museums. The water and NUUN stops were great and nearly every 2 miles, However, Untapped was the only fuel and it was pretty disgusting - to eat and dodge as it was dropped after each fuel stop. The streets were just covered in maple syrup and the sound of it on everyone's shoes was pretty gross too. The flavors got worse as we went on. It started with Salted Cocoa, then Coffee, then Mint (ewww!) and Salted Citrus. 

It's no wonder that when one of us saw a table full of different fuel, including a sticky substance on a small spoon that it was picked up and eaten ... before realizing it was Vaseline. (Now I'm suddenly reminded of this song. :)

 At about mile 20, Arielle began to meet "the wall." She told me that she felt overwhelmed by how long we've been talking and running and surrounded by so many people. In not so many words, she said she needed to put on her headphones and zone out/tune in to get to the finish line. I completely understand that feeling and told her she needed to run her own race. 

If I had known that the next 6.2 miles would have been as grueling as they were, I would have tried to keep her within eyesight. The long stretches of road, a bridge, looping around a parking lot, hearing the announcer at the finish line but still having THREE miles to go was so daunting. However, the lowest part of this section was definitely that sign at mile 23 that read "FOOD" and had a fork on it. I got so excited, SO excited. When I turned the corner, it was just a table of more ... damn Untapped. No fork needed.

The last 3 miles were a blur. I really just wanted it to be over, so I kicked it into high gear. I hadn't seen a pacing group in a while, so I wasn't really sure what to expect, but my watch said I was just under 4 hours. I don't run with music, so I had nothing to listen to, so I repeated my new mantra: "Momma didn't raise no bitches!" the entire last 3 miles. 

Running through the start had me very turned around and I could tell everyone around me was wanting it to be over. There weren't crowds cheering anymore, the announcer was getting louder, and I began hearing whispers of a final hill to the finish line. Yikes.

As I turned the corner, I looked at my watch hit 26 miles. When I looked up, there was the hill. I wanted it to be over too, so I just took off. As I crossed the finish line, I had a smile on my face. I took a selfie to send to Nick. He wrote me back that everyone behind me looked miserable. 

Shortly after, I saw a friend and then a couple minutes later Arielle came through the finish line and I had the pleasure of watching a Marine put her medal on her. We did it!!! She did it!!!

Strolling through the finisher's village, picking up our "food," blanket, poncho, and free beer was fun! We knew we had time as we waited for Tracy, so we got pictures, and enjoyed some watermelon. 

After we left the Finisher's Village, we were very grateful for the blankets - it was cold! We walked around, used the bathroom, got some coffee, tried to figure out how we would get back to Arielle's car, and watched the masses flock to the Metro and then the shuttle bus. Arielle and I laughed at the Vaseline story, especially as we heard some other spectators waiting for their friends telling a story about how "some people eat it" and that's "why they need to have signs that say 'DO NOT EAT! THIS IS VASELINE!'" 

When Tracy and Matt walked up were so happy to see them! Eventually, we made it back to Arielle's car and then Matt back to his car and made it home. It was a long day full of a lot of emotions and I'm super proud of Arielle. I'm also super proud of myself. I ran way faster than I thought I would and felt GREAT and GRATEFUL!

I’m grateful for the opportunity to run. 

I’m grateful for my health. 

I’m grateful to have the means to show up on race day. 

I’m grateful for the crowds, spectators, signs, cheer squads and strangers with their signs (esp the signs that made me LOL). 

I’m grateful for the fallen soldiers and their families who allowed us to honor them during the blue mile 💙 

I’m so so grateful for family and friends who encourage and support me!

Last but not least, I’m INCREDIBLY grateful for Arielle who put up with me talking for 20 miles and with a smile! It was an honor to run with her for so long during her first marathon!! When she needed to tune in to zone out to fly, she did!! 

So much to be grateful for. I have it good.