Saturday 24 November 2012

parkrun: living the sub 16 dream....

 24th November 2012 - the date of the last parkrun where I could run with more than one husky.  After an amazing three years, something that I have loved doing was coming to an abrupt end.  Whatever the future holds, this run was always going to be a very special and emotional run…..

I was not supposed to be running parkrun today.  I was supposed to be running in a 100 mile race, without huskies.  I am an ultra-runner by heart, I run parkruns as speed training session and because they are so much fun.  The huskies love running them even more than I do!  Perhaps due to the fact that they are treated as celebrities every time we parkrun, plus I have seen people sneak them cake…

Anyway, courtesy of a very badly sprained ankle, I had to pull out of the 100 mile race.  Running and walking has been extremely painful for the past two weeks. 

Running 5k at speed was always going to hurt, but thankfully I have a brilliant sponsor in Rehband – they provide me with the most amazing ankle supports that allow me to run when otherwise I would be unable to.  I do not recommend others to follow what I do.  For those that do not know my story, I have been managing ankle pain since I was 13 years old.  I sustained an injury that was not treated properly and as a result I have regular problems with my ankle.  Several operations have helped, and my body has become accustomed to coping with the pain.  The recently sustained ankle sprain was on the “bad” ankle therefore my body and mind know what they need to do as they have practised well….
Drinking several Hoegardens and Blue Moons last night, ensured that I was fully carbo-loaded and had some really cool dreams in preparation.  Drinking Hoegardens and Blue Moons the night before also had me nearly sleeping through the alarm clock…

Arriving at parkrun, the plan was very simple.  Run as hard as I could and no matter what, not give up.  Run all the way to the finish as if my feet were on fire. 

Now this agenda may sound rather simple, the reality is that when you are running with dogs it is not usually possible.  There are cows, ponies, loose dogs and poo stops (not me I may add…) to deal with.  Dogs can be unpredictable and sometimes dogs (and their human companion) just cannot be bothered….

Today was not one of those days.  The cows all stayed away, the ponies just stood and watched us and the one loose dog only caused a minor interruption.

Thanks to the amazing support of Anne on a lead bike and Ian with our other two huskies, the course was relatively clear and all other Greenham Common users had been forewarned about a mad lady with huskies that was about to fly past them….

Kroi “floored” it right from the start.  As usual, Kez bounced his little brother a couple of times to try and get him to slow down.  Thankfully Kroi ignored him.  In Kez’s defence, I frequently run ultra-distance events with him and have trained him to run slowly from the start as I don’t think sub 5 minute miles are sustainable for 50 miles of running….
 
The course was full of puddles today, which the dogs loved.  Kez in particular loves to run through puddles, the bigger the better!  I forgave him today for the minor detours off course that he insisted upon as the puddles on the grass were deeper – his delight was clear to see.

Just after one mile we met the ponies.  Anne cycled over to them and I am sure that they listened to her as she asked them to stay where they were.  For the first time ever they did not stampede, which allowed the huskies and I to casually trot past them without any worries. I later learned that Ian had found the ponies huddled on the course itself during his recce of the route. He’d moved them aside to clear the runners’ path.

Round the final bend and Kez started trotting, then Kroi also started trotting.  This is usually when I slow down considerably as the line goes slack and I am not “assisted”.  As long as they are “bounding” they are helping me.  The dream started slipping away as I struggled to maintain the pace that we had been running.  The seconds ticked away and time started moving faster as my legs moved slower.  My ankle hurt and I felt rather unwell.

But I refused to give up.  I refused to accept that this dream was going to slip away from me.  I called to Kez and I called to Kroi.  I asked for their help, pleaded with them.  I even promised Kroi a new Colin Caterpillar….  As my body ached and my lungs burned, they responded.  The picked up the pace and surged forward, but only for a few hundred meters when they spotted the off-lead dog careering towards us.  Thankfully we were able to avoid it by running wide, but the dogs had lost their momentum and were back to trotting.  I asked again and they started to respond, just as I spotted Ian in the distance, running with Lara and Krofti.

It was at this point I truly entered the dream world.  I asked the boys to “go for it, just one last time” and they did.  I took a very deep breath and dug deeper than I thought was possible.  I looked at my watch and realised that I was well on target for running sub 16.  I threw everything into those last few hundred yards.  We rapidly caught up with Ian, Lara and Krofti. The husky boys’ inclination is to slow once their pack is reunited, and so they did. For a second or two we slowed to their pace. With the last remaining spare breath in my body I puffed out an order to Ian to “run with us to the finish and don’t slow”. Kez and Kroi relished the company and were immediately refocused.  Our running buddies couldn’t stay alongside but they remained close enough to extinguish any pack-separation anxiety.  Buoyed by the awaiting crowds of marshals at the finish line and shouts of “she’s going to do it”, all three of us gave it everything we had.

Perhaps I was close to blacking out, or perhaps it was something else, but as we flew into the finishing straight and the cheering volunteers I no longer felt pain.  It was a very surreal feeling – a mixture of extreme contentment and exhilaration.  Once we stopped, I was immediately transported back to the real world of pain and extreme breathlessness!!
 
My official time was 15:48.  It was an amazing team performance in so many ways: Ian’s relentless support; the huskies amazing ability and connection with me; the volunteers at Newbury parkrun….
Where do I start in my thank you list?  Rachael Elliot and Andy Tucker have been instrumental in organising support teams for the past few weeks, Ian Greenstreet on lead bike on previous runs and Anne on lead bike today.  All the volunteers and runners at Newbury parkrun are quite simply amazing.  Generous words of support and encouragement and their actions allowing me to achieve the dream.

Thank you Rehband (http://www.rehbandsport.co.uk/ ) and Trion:z (http://www.trionz.co.uk/) for providing my ankle and body with the support that it needs for running and recovery. 
Salomon (http://www.salomon.com/uk/ ) for my favourite non slip shoes (Salomon Speedcross) and the cap to keep the rain from my eyes, allowing me to see where I was going… 
9bar (http://www.9bar.com/ ) for giving me the energy to run this morning. 
Sunwise (http://sunwise.co.uk/ ) for the sunglasses that I normally wear – sadly the rain and fog restricted their use today. 
Zensah for their amazing variety of arm and leg sleeves (http://www.zensah.com/ )
And let’s not forget the huskies – thanks to Sue Hendry (http://www.healthforanimals.co.uk/) for proving their amazing beds and Trion:Z collars.

And finally, thank you parkrun.  Without you this dream may well have never been created, and certainly would never have been lived……


 (photos/ images courtesy of parkrun, Clive Williams, Sonja Kabirschke, Pete Aylward & Ian J Berry)



Wednesday 21 November 2012

Sunday 18 November 2012

Kaliban's Dream: "Lara"

We first met Kenzie late one Sunday evening, in a dark car park somewhere in Wiltshire….

Saved by the amazing Karen O’Connor, this poor little girl had experienced a very sad life on a puppy farm in Ireland.  We will never know how much she suffered, how many babies she loved and lost, we just know that she did and as a result, she was scared, very distrustful of humans and needed our help.

We became involved in her life courtesy of our role as Fosterers for Siberian Husky Club of Great Britain (SHCGB).   We had agreed to help this poor little girl prepare for family life.  A life where she would learn to love and trust humans….

Our experience with Kobi had prepared us for the worst.  I expected a petrified little girl.  The reality was that although she was obviously unsure of humans, I did not sense the fear that I had when I met Kobi  (Copper) for the first time.  She was filthy and smelled terribly, but was curious of all that was around her…

The boys all accepted her very quickly, she was not a threat to them and they trust me if I tell them it is okay….  Krofti was the most hesitant, but he soon accepted the new addition, after letting her know a few rules!

We renamed this lady husky “Lara”, for several reasons.  She did not know her name was Kenzie and we wanted to give her a name that did not begin with the letter “K”.  That is reserved for permanent members of the Huskies Running/ “K” Pack team.  Lara would only be living with us until she was ready to live a normal life.  We also wanted her to be a companion for Krofti when I was out running very long distances with the two brothers, thus the reason why we opted for Lara - “Lara Kroft”…. ;-)

I have never lived with a lady husky and was looking forward to the opportunity to learn how different boy and lady huskies are….

After one month, I can confidently state, boy huskies are far more simple and straightforward than lady huskies.  As long as you meet their basic needs, all will be well.  Lady huskies on the other hand require a little bit more, ermmm “attention”..??   I should perhaps add at this point that I do have nearly 20 years of living with boy huskies….

The first week of Lara living with us was all about trying to get to know her, well that and hiding all our valuable possessions.  Anything not hidden or secured would potentially end up in a muddy hole in the back garden.  Those were the lucky ones, some other items ended up in dozens of little pieces, beyond repair.
We had to leave a collar on Lara, to allow us to be able to “catch” her when we went walking.  She would run away from us and only when cornered could be actually attach a lead to her collar.  Walking her was very stressful as she walked with belly to the floor, spinning around on a regular basis.  It was obvious that she had never been walked.  Cars scared her, people scared her, in fact almost everything scared her.  However, within only few days she started to follow and copy the two brothers.  She developed a “crush” on Kroi, and Kez developed a crush on her.  He was fascinated by her and for the first time in his life, he was influenced by another female (honestly, I was not too upset, well perhaps just a little but I soon got over it…)

Lara was soon following Kroi everywhere, much to Kez’s disbelief.  She followed Kroi as he tried to hide behind me.  At only 17 months, I guess he is not yet ready for female attention…  Kez got grumpy, Kroi got upset and Krofti had to step in and make a few points.  Points well made, Lara then changed her mind and decided that Kez was the boy to chase.  Kez meanwhile had decided that he was not interested in ladies after all and would prefer to be friends with his brother….

The complicated love lives of huskies, thankfully it soon settled - Kroi decided that playing with girls was actually good fun and then Kez decided that it was too – threesome playing around the house has now become a regular feature of daily life…

One thing that I have been very aware of is the similarities in behaviour between Kobi and Lara, the extreme reactions to certain stimuli and the “shut down” mode when a situation is too stressful to deal with.  The one noticeable difference is how quickly Lara overcomes her fears, the most obvious one being the wearing of a harness.

The first time I put a harness on her body, she dashed out to the garden and threw herself to the ground, refusing to move.  Even when I approached her, which usually sent her scampering for cover she did not move.  She completely froze and would not even flinch when I nudged her.  It was a horrible experience and I felt physically sick as I thought of what she had probably endured during her life on the puppy farm.

I quickly removed the harness and she returned to “normal”, bolting for safety as far from me as possible.

Several days later, once I felt that she was beginning to trust me, I tried again.  It was important that she become comfortable wearing a harness as when I was running with her she was pulling (as huskies do) and I did not want her straining her neck.  This time she resisted, but was happy to take food from me as I reassured her.  She happily ran around the house and from that point forth we have had no problems at all when putting her harness on.  If fact it is easier to put a harness on her than all of our other boys!  Interestingly, in my two decades of owning Siberian Huskies the only huskies that have happily allowed me to put a harness on them have been the ones with questionable “working attitude”.  All the “workers” have run away from the harness, but once on they are happy and enthusiastic…

Another time when Lara had a very extreme reaction was when I was walking her with Krofti and she was being particularly stubborn and flighty.  It was late in the evening and I had returned from a stressful day at work.   She struggled to negotiate the numerous kissing gates and kept on barging into Krofti and being generally quite unruly.  She did not trust (or even like me) and so discipline was not an option – she knew no rules and had yet to learn respect and discipline.  It was late in the evening and I had returned from a stressful day at work.  I could feel myself getting more and more frustrated as I fought to remain calm.  She spun around, wrapped the lead around Krofti and I, nearly tripping me up.  Just as I thought I could remain calm no more, this poor little girl grabbed onto my left leg, holding on like a little limpet.  She had obviously sensed my feelings and became fearful of what might happen.  Needless to say, her actions were an instant stress reliever and I was in tears as I held her and felt her relax and loosen her grip around my leg.  This incident was also to prove to be a huge milestone in our relationship as she started trusting me and became fascinated by everything that I did.  Following me around the house like my shadow….

It was several weeks before we could bath Lara.  She had to endure an emergency spaying operation the day after we took responsibility for her life.  Imminently due in season and living with entire males was not a situation we could live with.  It was horrible sending her to the vet as a very scared little girl, knowing she would awaken in fear and in pain.

When I picked her up from the vet in the evening I was advised she had reacted strongly to the surgery and the anaesthetic resulting in a very sleepy and depressed dog, and to expect a very subdued dog for 48 hours….

Approximately 48 minutes later I realised that this was not going to be the case.  Back home with her new friends she came alive again.  Bouncing around at 100 miles per hour, this was not a dog that let something like surgery slow her down…..  She never looked back and it was with complete disbelief I would look at her over the coming days and admire her phenomenal recovery.

Once her wound was healed, she had a bath.  And what a difference, transformed from a smelly dirty dog that made our hands and all our clothes smell, into a fluffy beautifully smelling little girl that I just wanted to cuddle.  However, it would be several weeks before she was comfortable with cuddles….

Lara has been with us for less than one month and in that time I have been amazed with her transformation.  Whilst there are similarities between her behaviour and what we experienced with Kobi, it is obvious that her issues are very minor in comparison.  Scared and untrusting of humans, poorly socialised and badly treated by her previous “owner”, I truly believe that over time this brave little girl will make 100% recovery and will make a fabulous addition to a deserving family.  Kobi had clearly suffered all of those points, plus starvation and severe abuse.

Lara learned to feel comfortable using the dog door within minutes.  It took Kobi 6 months.  Lara walked through a doorway where a human stood within days of moving in.  I was the only person that Kobi trusted enough to do this in all the time we shared with him.  Lara ran up the stairs the first day she arrived.  Kobi never went upstairs unless I walked with him, reassuring him on every step.

One thing I have noticed is that both dogs appear to show gratitude, far more than the dogs we have raised since pups and have been “spoiled” their entire lives….  Kobi was always very vocal when he greeted me, his big smile and soft “whoo, whoo” every time I returned home was a delight to hear.  It brought tears to my eyes on a regular basis and I miss his “whoo, whooing” terribly.

This week I returned home and was greeted enthusiastically by Lara and without any prompting, she “whoo, whooed” in delight at seeing me.  As you can imagine, the tears free flowed and I reminded myself of why we are fostering Lara.  Since that day I have trained Lara to “speak” on command, taking advantage of her natural desire to do it.

All our dogs raised from pups are KC registered and so have “posh” registration/ official names.  Kobi was not KC registered and therefore had no such name.  I gave him the name “Olympic Spirit” for several reasons and as I reminisced about them this week I realised that Lara had not yet been bestowed another name.

She is not ours to keep, but there is no reason why she cannot have a special name…

Therefore, this week I decided that “Kaliban’s Dream” would be a very fitting name indeed.  The only problem is that I keep on calling her “LaLa” instead of “Lara”!!

For anyone that does not understand the significance…. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mec8GZkEpD4

Friday 16 November 2012

New York 2012: the experience of a lifetime..?


Landing in Newark airport, very tired after a late night flight, we were greeted with the news….  Ian answered his cell phone as I jabbered exciting thoughts about our upcoming New York Marathon adventure.  From the look on Ian’s face I could tell that the call brought bad news.  My heart sunk and I felt physically sick.  I immediately assumed that one of my worst ever fears had been realised…..

Going back 13 hours in time, as we left for our house to begin our journey to America, I had been in floods of tears.  Leaving the huskies behind had ripped at my heart.  Kez and Kroi had sensed my apprehension all morning as I packed.  They had followed me all around the house with questions in their eyes.  Very tuned into my emotional well-being, they sensed that something was “not right”.

We were scheduled to be away for 6 days - I have never previously left them for this long.  In fact you have to go back 19 years to find a time when I left home for more than a few days.  It was a very long time since I had experienced a “holiday”.

We were also leaving our new foster husky Lara in the care of our boy huskies and humans that she did not know.  A little girl only just adjusting to family life and learning about the rules of the pack and the house….

Kroft just slept as we packed.  I know that it is actually him that suffers most when we are not all together as a human/ dog pack.  We have shared our lives for over 11 years and I know him very well.  He silently deals with the stress and does not openly welcome our return in the way that the younger dogs do, in fact we have to go to him and request his permission to be a happy pack again!

The dogs’ care in our absence is entrusted to a fabulous lady.  I still miss them and fear what could happen if I am not there with them.  They will have 6 days of exceptionally good care and lots of attention, but they will not run for 6 days.  I know the impact that this has on them, Kez in particular – it is not dissimilar to how I react to not being able to run….

Knowing this I have entered Kez and I into an ultra-race the day after we return from New York.  An ultra that just happens to cover the first 33 miles of The Ridgeway…

Back to Newark airport and the news that Ian was receiving on his cell phone, I assumed that something very bad had happened to one of the huskies.  Bad enough that an emergency call was required….

When Ian then shared the news of the New York Marathon being cancelled, I actually felt relieved.  Huge immense relief – my “boys” were safe, that was all that mattered…

My feeling of disbelief soon took over.  It had been a very hard decision for us to come to New York in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy.  Our original flights had been cancelled and we knew that we would arrive in a City hugely affected by a natural tragedy.  Earlier in the week when the marathon was in doubt, we came close to cancelling our trip, but confirmation that it was definitely going ahead left us in no doubt as to what decision to make.  We had been invited to New York as pacemakers for the marathon, we had a job to do and if the city was able to host the marathon, then we would be there to support our pace team leaders.

Hearing of the cancelled marathon, my first thought was to return home on the first available flight.  Ian managed to persuade me otherwise and we began our onward journey to Manhattan from the airport.  The train line was operational albeit with a very limited service and after a very apprehensive wait we managed to get a train into New York City.

While some areas of New York were still without power, our hotel was fine as were all the areas we walked through between station and hotel.  I was surprised at how busy the streets were – 10:30pm local time, we had quite a battle trying to negotiate the crowds with two trailing suitcases….

Arriving at the Sheraton, to be greeted by Star was when the tears finally started flowing.  They were tears of relief at arriving safely; tears of sadness at the devastation of Storm Sandy; and tears of frustration at how the decision to cancel the marathon was made.

The infrastructure was firmly in place to ensure that the relief effort to cope with the aftermath of Sandy would be unaffected by the marathon taking place.  The decision to run the marathon and show the world the fighting and determined spirit of the city was overturned as a result of some mindless individuals.

Some people, unhappy with the decision to hold the marathon had made threats towards any runners that took part.  Threats of serious violence were impossible to disregard by officials and the safety of any runner taking part was in serious jeopardy.  This is the reason why the marathon was cancelled and that in many ways I find very hard to accept.  A storm does not have a soul or have a conscious mind to decide whether to attack or not….

Ian, forever the resourceful and intrepid entrepreneur, ably assisted by his “friend” Google went on a search for an alternative marathon as Star and I discussed Western States 100 and other 100 mile races for 2013 and 2014….

Ian was successful in his mission, by 5am (UK time) and after nearly 24 hours of travel and stress we fell into bed with a marathon in North Carolina to get to later in the day….

En route to North Carolina we visited the New York Marathon Expo in lower Manhattan to collect our “souvenir” marathon number and t-shirt.  I also purchased a yellow running top with a design that foretold of how we could describe our “holiday” to New York – if Ian and I were negative minded people…

Walking round the stalls in the expo I was overcome with emotion.  Overwhelming sadness at what was happening around us, lost lives, people without homes and the huge clean-up operation.  This sadness was intertwined with intense guilt at the fact that we were abandoning this city to run another marathon in another state.  While others suffered without their basic needs, we would selfishly satisfy our luxurious “need” to run….

I fought the conflict in my mind for several hours and by the time we arrived in North Carolina I was excited about our little adventure.  This was only my second ever visit to the US and never before had I travelled outside of New York.  The area is surrounded by trees, quite beautiful and I also heard a rumour that there were some hills…..

We reached the City of Oaks Marathon expo with an hour before closing.  The doors had a big sign saying “marathon closed” slightly concerned we walked inside and asked to speak with the Race Director, whom Ian had emailed the day before….

We were introduced to the RD and advised that the race had been flooded by people that had entered New York Marathon and their maximum limit for entries had already been exceeded.

I do not like saying negative things about others, and I do not like to judge people on first appearances.  However I was slightly surprised by the RD’s strange behaviour when we spoke to him and also how he interacted with others around him.

Apparently our email had not been read, and probably no one’s email sent that week, the same goes for any enquiries via the website.  Not because of Hurricane Sandy, but because the IT person involved in organising the race was on holiday…..

We could not get an entry into the marathon, but we could enter the half marathon.  I told the race director that I was happy to enter the half marathon, but I would also like to run the full marathon distance.  I was not interested in an official time or any recognition for running the race.  I just wanted the emotional experience of a long training run in a city that I have never visited.  He did not tell me that I could not do that….

After we signed up for the half marathon, we spoke to the Race Director of the Tobacco Road Marathon who had a stall at the Expo.  Brilliant guy called Kaz and he soon had us wanting to run his marathon in 2013 – yes it is a trail marathon!  Ian the Kent Roadrunner Marathon Race Director and Kaz the Tobacco Road Marathon Race Director were soon deep in discussion about organising events.  By the time we begrudgingly walked away from this fabulous guy, we had discovered that Kaz was the original RD for City of Oaks Marathon. He also offered us his hospitality if we chose to enter his race next year and was interested in running the Kent RR marathon – email and phone numbers were exchanged….

We headed away from the centre of Raleigh towards our hotel for the night, but not before I had my first experience of a Kmart store – so many choices of non-healthy food, I am so glad that I have strong will power!


Race morning and a very early race start of 7am for all distances – 10k, half marathon & full marathon.  Still dark as we approached the start line, the atmosphere was fantastic, 80’s music playing, lots of happy people and then the traditional singing rendition of the American National Anthem.  I love this part of American sports culture, to play “Star Spangled Banner” before all sporting events…

I bade farewell to Ian as he shot of in pursuit of his half marathon goal and I began my journey round the City of Oaks….

I had no time goal in my mind, but happened to be alongside the 3:30 pace team for the first few miles as I jogged along.  It was nice to have a chat with them, reminiscing about my pacing job at last year’s New York Marathon.  Running at a comfortable pace gives one a chance to really absorb the surroundings.  American streets and buildings, roads closed to traffic, strange high pitched whining coming from the traffic lights….?  People cheering us on from the sidewalk, people with cell phones taking photographs….

There was talk of suburban raccoons raiding bins in the area – I went on a racoon spotting mission, which sadly was unsuccessful, although I did spot some squirrels that looked like they were on steroids!

“Don’t drink the Gatorade” were the parting words from Ian as we left the start line – he had experience of what happens when you drink it and you are not used to it…..  Guess what Sandra did at the first two feeding stations… in my defence, I thought that it was water…..

As I exited from my own little private cubicle as provided by the race organisers, a voice beside me enquired as to what “Centurion Running” was.  I remembered that I was wearing my hard earned Thames Path 100 t-shirt, which happens to have Centurion Running written in large letters on the back.  I explained the brilliant race events that Centurion Running in the UK offer and before long I was deep in conversation with a fellow ultra-runner called Will that hailed from only a few miles down the road from Raleigh…

We ran together for nearly 16 miles, sharing stories of UK and American running.  Rather unusual for me to run with another person, I felt myself struggling as we jogged along.  Perhaps talking and breathing is more difficult than I thought, or perhaps I was just in unfamiliar territory as someone was inside my “special running place”….

From the centre of the city we entered suburbia where all around us we were reminded of the Presidential Election due to happen in two days’ time.  Judging by the number of banners and campaign placards with Obama’s picture, I think there is a clear favourite in the Raleigh area of North Carolina….

As we reached 8.5 miles, the route split – the half marathon returned to the City, the full marathon headed away from the city and along the *Greenway.
* The Capital Area Greenway System is a network of public open spaces and recreational trails which provides for activities such as walking, jogging, hiking, bird watching, nature study, fishing, picnicking and outdoor fun. The trails connect many of Raleigh's parks and in many cases provide a complement to the recreational activities at the parks. Many of the city's major ecological features can be experienced in their natural state along the Greenway.   A major goal of the Greenway Program is to establish a closed network of interconnected trails. (An extract from http://www.raleighnc.gov)
As I headed down the Greenway, with 18 miles of running ahead, I wondered if Ian was nearly at the finish of his race….
The Greenway was a delightful discovery.  There were hills, streams, lovely wooden bridges and lots of trees!  The ground upon which I ran was still paved with asphalt, but hey I cannot have everything!

And then the most delightful sight at 11.5 miles was a feeding station offering beer!  Disguised as an official station, I later discovered that it was in actual fact just some very well meaning fellow runners.  It would have been rude to refuse…  I wasn’t too greedy and was still clear headed enough to register that I passed half way in 1:45:48.
Another amazing discovery was the feeding station about 5 miles later.  Bananas, pretzels, chocolate, doughnuts, chocolate energy gels…. and M&Ms!  Brown bag M&Ms, i.e. the chocolate ones and my long term favourite.  There were hundreds of little bags sitting quietly in a massive cardboard box.  I am a hunter, gatherer type person and the temptation was too much…  First time I have finished a marathon carrying more in my “pouch” than what I started with!

17 (and a bit) miles marked the further “out” point, where we turned around and headed back along the Greenway, retracing our steps along the same path.   I sensed my new running friend was having a bad patch as he had stopped talking, his breathing had become more laboured and we had slowed considerably in the past few miles.  He stopped just before the M&M station and sadly I never saw him again.

I picked up the pace as I left the M&M station, now in the part of a marathon where I am glad that I am an ultra-runner.  As people slowed, even resorted to walking I felt strong knowing that I had loads of running still within me.  I was now faced with a decision, which caused some turmoil in my mind…

If I slowed down, I could finish in 3:50 which was my allocated pace time for the New York Marathon that did not happen.  Or I could speed up and aim for 3:30, which was the time Ian and I had discussed when we flew from New York to Raleigh with plans to run the City of Oaks marathon together…

I opted for the faster time.  The faster the time, the harder the effort and therefore the greater the reward – more M&Ms at the finish without fear of needing a bigger size of jeans…

I pushed on and soon spotted the 3:30 pacers way in the distance, a target for me to chase.  As I caught up with them at 24.5 miles I had a little chat with them, they were both in top form and still had a few runners beside them.  I recognised several from the start of the marathon – the pacers had done their job and helped them all the way round the course.

I picked up the pace a little for no other reason than I could and it felt good!  Wide open roads and city surroundings, not normally within my comfort zone, plus the missing huskies would normally bring gloom to my mind.  But not this day, I had a spring in my step as I headed towards the finish.

I was rewarded as I crossed the finish line with the presentation of a marathon medal (this size of a small dinner plate!) and beaming smiles from the lovely volunteers at the finish line.

Meeting up with Ian, we headed to the beer and pizza tents – oh yes, you also get free beer, pizza, fruit smoothies and cake once you finish.  Plus Ian was presented with a very special prize for finishing 2nd Male 40 in the half marathon race.  And he was interviewed by WRAL5 for a TV broadcast later in the day.  They had heard that he had come all the way from Ireland to run the NYC marathon and when it was cancelled had travelled to North Caroline to fulfil his dream to run a marathon in America…  not quite sure why they though he was Irish, to be sure!
City of Oaks marathon was won by Tim Surface in a time of 2:33, the half was won by Bobby Mack in 1:04.
A potentially disastrous trip, turned out to be a very enjoyable adventure in the end.  We drove from the City of Raleigh back to the airport, pleased that we had taken the risk to travel outside of New York.  As we passed Umstead State Park, thoughts of 100 mile races suddenly appeared in my mind, as if “by magic”…..

At airport security I carefully placed my medal, belt, money etc. safely into the box to go through the security scanner as I confidently walked through the new deluxe airport scanner…

Alarm bells went off as the Security Guards carefully led me aside to ask me to explain why I was displaying “areas of concern” on my neck, wrists and ankle….
Moments later we realised that the on screen image was highlighting all my magnetic Trion:z sports bands, not areas of concern, but the reasons for my “magic powers”….. ;-)

(Photo courtesy of Ian J Berry - taken during post race celebrations in Raleigh-Durham Airport...)