I thought I should write down my marathon experiences while I can still remember them. So, if you're at all interested, here goes...

Cindy, Andrew and I left for Canada Saturday morning. They both hit a new low when I told them we were taking the Tempo (we don't all fit in the Corvette and we can't park the van at the hotel.) The border was backed up because everyone now has to have a passport or birth certificate and photo ID. We checked into the hotel and then walked down to BC Place where you pick up the race packets. They had lots of booths set up selling running related things, but I didn't get anything (the cash machine didn't like my card.) We had an early dinner and then went to see The Scorpion King, which turned our to be a great movie. Cindy has put it on her all time favorite movie list!

I got up at 6:00am Sunday morning and got ready. I put on my new 'toe' socks that were highly recommended by the running shop I go to in Seattle, along with all my other gear. You really have to prepare so that you don't have 'issues' during the race. Chaffing can be a big problem. Thank goodness for spandex and tape. I walked down to the starting area from the hotel in the rain with a couple from Edmonton. I would guess the guy was in his early 50's. His wife was going to see him start and then go to mass (to pray for us). They were originally from Scotland, which was obvious by their accents, and they were very nice people. The half-marathon started 15 minutes before the marathon, so while waiting I started talking with this guy from San Francisco. I didn't get his name, but he was a little younger than me and his best marathon time was 3:39. He was shooting for 3:45, which is about what I was shooting for. Just before our race started, we got talking with a cute gal who was all wrapped up in a garbage bag (runners rain coat). We all agreed that we were nuts, but at least we had company (about 4000 people running the marathon). The rain stopped just as the race started. Perfect running weather. It was just about that time that I realized that I had forgotten my watch which was a bummer. I had no way to time myself, other than when I got to certain points in the race where they called out times. The guy I was talking to realized that he had forgotten his watch too. Even with great planning, things don't always go perfectly.

At the start you spend a lot of time getting past slower people and trying to find others going the pace you want to go. It takes a couple miles to sort that all out. At about the three mile mark, I started talking with this guy named Craig from Edmonton. He is 45 years old and works in the medical equipment field. He told me that a few people from his office had decided to run the marathon, but one by one they all dropped out except for him. We ran together for the next 10 miles and at the half way point, our time was 1:49.

Right after the half way mark there is a major hill and for some reason I motored up that hill like it was flat. At the top of the hill, I caught up with Vince, whom I met at the race last year, and also saw at the Seattle race. Vince wasn't doing so good. He said his back was bothering him, but we started talking and he seemed to pick up his pace. He said his five year old son was waiting near the finish line and he was going to have him run across the finish line with him. When we got to the bridge (18 mile mark) Vince had to drop back. At that point I decided to put on my head phones and 'internalize'. Craig had passed me when I was running with Vince and I could see he was a few blocks ahead. I made sure to drink at every water station and I started using gel packs.

No rain so far, but at about the 20 mile mark, it started hailing. Those little ice pellets hurt, especially when they hit your face. In some ways it was a good distraction and I felt more sorry for the spectators cheering us on. I wasn't feeling too good at this point, but the gel packs seemed to be helping. Vince must have been feeling better because he passed me and I never saw him again. (Cindy said she saw a shorter guy running with a small boy to the finish line just before I finished. That must have been Vince.) The main thing on my mind was the last hill where I had started walking last year. At about the 23rd mile, I passed Craig, who had started to walk. I told him to hang in there.

Coming up to the last major hill, the course goes under the bridge and then winds back around and then over that same bridge. I used my last gel pack when I was directly under the bridge. Then there is one small hill after another, and I just thought about what I did last year at that point, which was to pick something to run to, and when I got to that point, pick another thing to run to (and so on). I made it up to the one end of the bridge, but the worst hill (other than the one in Stanley Park) is up to the middle of the bridge itself. It was at this point last year that I started walking. This year, I had made it this far without walking (except for water stations) and I was very determined not to walk. At this point a course official on a bike rode by and asked if I was ok. I nodded that I was. Seconds later, another race official on a bike asked me the same thing. I must have looked bad. The muscles in my legs were very tight (like they were going to burst) and I was just on the verge of muscle cramps. Just then, Money by Pink Floyd came on the radio. It was a sign. With that song playing in my head, I made it to the crest of the bridge without walking (and passing several people on the way.) The last mile is all down hill with lots of people cheering you on. Near the end I spotted Cindy and Andrew but they didn't see me until I could almost touch them, because they were watching a very pregnant lady who was running the marathon.

With about 20 yards to go, I decided to sprint to the finish. The muscles in my legs had another idea. My first 'sprint' stride resulted in a stabbing cramp in my right leg, and I immediately decided my regular pace would due just fine. At the finish line the people just in front of me stopped, so my finish picture is going to be of me crashing through these numbskulls with my arms raised high. My time wasn't as good as last year (3:49 compared to 3:38), but I think I had a better race.

I'm not sure exactly why I do this. Maybe so I can eat more and have my clothes still fit, or maybe it's a mid- life crisis thing. I really think the best part is the people I meet along the way.

Jim Wilson
5-8-2002