I’m linking up again this month with Amanda at The Lady Okie and Becka at Sunshine To The Square Inch for their Runner’s Tell All monthly linkup.  Be sure to pop over to their blogs to see what they are up to, and to see who else is linking up.

This month, Amanda and Becka’s cue was Most Memorable Running Experience – crazy, sad, awesome, surprising, or anywhere in between (can be from a race or just a training run)…

 

 

When I saw the prompt Most Memorable Running Experience, I had to stop and think a while about just what my answer would be.

A memorable running experience could either be bad or good.  While running, I’ve never been bitten by an animal, almost hit by a car, had something thrown at me, or anything unpleasant like that, so I guess I’m pretty fortunate.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, I’ve had many pleasant running experiences.  While running, I’ve made lifetime friends, spent countless hours with the love of my life, and even found money (coins – but still, I returned home richer than when I left)!

As I think back, the most memorable experience was running my marathon PR at Steamtown.  Two years after my first marathon, I ran a 3:29:04 in 1999, and was never able to beat that time.  I was so overcome with emotion when I met my sub-3:30 goal, that I cried.

DebSteamtownFinish
 Remembering back to that day and that moment:

  • I remember the excitement as I toed the starting line for what I hoped would be a PR race
  • I can still feel the rain hitting my shoulders hard for 26.2 miles
  • I can still hear people calling my name, and cheering me on as I ran by
  • I can still feel the pain in my quads as I climbed that last steep hill to the finish line
  • I can still remember hugging a complete stranger at the finish line who had paced me while I paced him the last six miles of the race
  • I can still feel the tears welling up, but holding them in, until I found a moment to be alone
  • I can still feel the pain of my legs being kneaded in the massage tent that one-and-only time I took the time for a post-race massage
  • I can still hear Bill’s excitement when I called him from a pay phone to tell him my marathon time
  • I can still smell the pizza from the little shop where my friends and I stopped to grab a bite to eat after the race
  • I can still remember how stiff my legs were when I attempted to get out of the car after a four hour ride home from the race

So many detailed memories spring up when I think of this race, and all of them are good, even if some are painful!  But you can’t expect to PR at a marathon without a little pain!

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Don’t forget to enter my giveaway for a chance to win one of two George Mason University SMART Lab 3-D Gait Analyses.  Complete rules can be found in Monday’s post.

To enter for a chance to win a GMU SMART Lab 3-D Gait Analysis,
please use the Rafflecopter app below.

GOOD LUCK!

a Rafflecopter giveaway
 

  • Questions:
  • What is your most memorable running experience?
  • Do you ever find money while on a run? ~ It’s usually a penny for me, but one time I found several coins in a pile that totaled about 27 cents!
  • Have you entered for a chance to win a 3-D Gait Analysis from GMU’s SMART Lab?