Ogden Marathon (with strep throat)

Backstory

A year ago, my sister Rachael ran the Ogden Marathon. I went to support her and as I watched her cross the finish line I was so impressed at all the hard work she had put in to be able to run a marathon. Read her marathon story here, and her inspiring life-changing story here. I was 35 pounds overweight at the time and running a mile sounded difficult, so I was in awe that Rach had just done 26.2! I just thought to myself "I want to do that someday!"

Rachael, her husband Tyler, my sister Karli, and I ran the Disneyland Half Marathon last September (story) and when I got done, the first thing that popped into my head was "That was awesome! I want to do Ogden!" In the months following, my dear wife has put up with nightly hour-long runs and 3-4 hour weekend long-runs so that I could prepare for the big day. I'm so thankful for her patience and support, especially the last 6 weeks since Priya was born.

The Thursday before the Marathon, Porter and Meghann both came down with strep throat. Since I'm super susceptible to strep throat, Meghann had me go to my parents Thursday and Friday night to try to keep me healthy. I felt like a traitor leaving my sick family home, but Meghann insisted because she was invested in this whole thing, too, and was going to be super angry if I wasn't able to run.

The Marathon

I woke up at 4am and drove up to Ogden to catch the shuttle to the starting line. The farther we drove, the more I kept thinking "Am I really going to run this far?", but it also just made me excited. The starting line area was cold and muddy because of all the rain we've been getting lately. Luckily, they had fire pits set up to help stay warm. After what seemed like forever, they finally told us it was time to line up!

{View right before the start}

The first half of the race was great! Beautiful country, quaint little towns, and some great views of Pineview Reservoir. The best part was seeing Meghann, Rachael, Tyler, and Karli at the halfway point. They made signs and it was great motivation to start the second half with.

{Thanks for coming all the way to Eden to cheer me on!}

{Feeling good, half way there!}

At about mile 15, there's a decent uphill stretch for about a mile. Normally, this kind of hill wouldn't bother me, but I could feel fatigue starting to set in towards the top. I brushed it off and continued on. At mile 17, the course started down Ogden Canyon and lasts until mile 23. I was excited for the long downhill, but again was a little concerned when my legs still felt like they were pushing me uphill. Again I pushed on. At mile 23, we exited the canyon and started going down a running path. I started walking for a minute at one of the water stops and started getting dizzy like I was going to pass out. What is going on? I WILL finish and I WILL meet my goal! I pushed on.

The last mile and a half is a straight stretch right down Grant Avenue to the finish line. I felt like a zombie, but I could see the finish line way off in the distance. I can do this! I've done lots of training runs and never had such a hard time, what's wrong! My mental and physical state had deteriorated to the point that I was running on pure instinct and determination. All that mattered was crossing that line. I had dreamed of the "basking in the glory" of crossing the finish line happy and proud, with people cheering me on, but that will have to wait for another day. I kept my eyes on the finish line banner and put one foot in front of the other, willing my body to take me just a little farther.

Finally, I crossed the finish line with the clock reading 4:00:36. I was devastated. All of this pain and exhaustion and I hadn't met my goal of finishing in less than 4 hours! (I had forgotten in that moment that my time hadn't started until I crossed the starting line, and my official time ended up being 3:58:01!) As I started walking after the finish, I could feel myself staggering around, and I didn't know if I could stay on my feet for long. A volunteer saw me and caught me just as I felt myself heading to the floor. She helped me over to the grass and I sat there disoriented for a few minutes. At that point, Meghann hopped the fence and took over. I soon found myself in the medical tent with my feet in the air. After about 30 minutes, with the help of Meg and my dad, and some nice medical volunteers, my body regulated itself and I was able to meet my family that had come to support me.

{Obviously not doing great anymore}

{Yes, finally done!}

{Meg knew immediately that something wasn't right}

{Hug from Mom after the medical tent}

{Thanks for being there to help me, Dad!}

{I got a hug right after a punch in the shoulder for scaring her}

{Yay! Where have you been, Dad?}

{Tim, Megan, and Ava}

{Mom, Dad, and Porter}

{Rach and Tyler}

Later that evening, my throat started to get scratchy and everything became clear. I JUST RAN A MARATHON WITH STREP THROAT! No wonder it had been so much more difficult than expected! No wonder I almost passed out a few times during and after the race!

Regardless, I finished my first marathon and even met my goal, so I can't complain! Big thanks need to go out to my super patient wife for putting up with a sick cripple for 3 days until I returned to the living!

If you had asked me right after the marathon if I ever want to run one again, I would have given you a quick "No!", but now that I know the reason for the extra difficulty, I'm already itching to find out what kind of time I can get when healthy! I'm also starting to think that the endorphins and adrenaline released while running have the same amnesia affect as women have during labor. Otherwise, no one would do it more than once! Don't worry, Meg, I'll wait awhile before training again.