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.
- 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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GOOD LUCK!
- 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?
I just got chills reading this!! That is awesome. I think my most memorable so far would be running MCM, my first marathon last year. I was so overcome by emotion I started balling at the finish line even though I wasn’t happy with my time. The fact that I ran a marathon was enough 🙂
Sue @ This Mama Runs for Cupcakes recently posted…MCM Training Week 16 Recap
Thanks, Sue! I remember your recap of your first marathon, and your tribute to the wounded veterans and wheelchair participants, well.
Aw reading that gave me chills for you! What a great memory to have. Haven’t heard of this link up yet-fun
Deborah @ Confessions of a Mother Runner recently posted…Let Blow Dry Taxi come to you
Thanks, Deborah! It’s a monthly linkup (21st of every month) called Runners Tell All. Next month’s prompt is “Who Is Your #1 Running Fan?”
You had such an awesome race that day – in the rain, no less! I remember you saying Steamtown was a net downhill (at least, I think you said that) but I do not remember you saying it had a steep hill at the finish. That’s tough! I love how you wouldn’t let the tears spill out until you found a moment to be alone. That’s how I am, too.
My most memorable racing experience is when I ran a PR half at Richmond in 2012. My second most is my very first trail race this past March, which also happened to be a half, that was run in 4 inches of snow and ice and slush. It’s a wonder I signed up for another trail race! But neither of those are the story I used for this month’s link up. I used one from a training run back in 2007 when I was training for my very first race 🙂
Meagan recently posted…Runners Tell All: Most Memorable Running Experience
Apparently my body likes running in the rain better than my brain does! Actually, I don’t mind running in the rain, it’s the standing around before and after a race in the rain that’s tough. AND until I get a different camera, I don’t like that I can’t take pictures when it’s raining! 🙂
Can’t wait to pop over and read about your most memorable race experience!
Congrats on your sub-3:30 PR! That feeling of elation when you’ve reached your dream time is almost inexplicable, isn’t it? So much so we, speechless, hug strangers at the completion of a race well run.
Thank you, Kari!
I got goosebumps reading this! So awesome that you can think back and remember all those sights, sounds, and feelings. I get choked up a lot once I can see the finish line, but I always have to push that feeling aside because I’m afraid that if I start crying I won’t be able to breathe!
Tracy recently posted…Crazy 8s: Hokie Half Marathon Recap
Thank you, Tracy! Yeah, being able to breath is pretty important when finishing up a race! 😉
That’s an awesome PR! I love that it is so vivid in your mind even today. These are the memories that we all hold onto dearly!
misszippy1 recently posted…Fitness Magazine #Fitblognyc
Thanks, Amanda! I remember lots of details from many races over the years, but not this many from any other single race.
That is a great memory 🙂 To run that great of a race in the rain is very impressive. I have never had a gait analysis, I feel I need one.
Karen recently posted…All Out
This was a mid-September race and it could have been very hot. I’m sure the rain helped me run faster because I didn’t get too hot.
This was such a great memorable run. I’m glad you can so vividly remember the details of that day. I have never found money on my run. It my husband always seems to find a coin here and there wherever we go. Thanks for sharing your story with us.
Thanks for providing the linkup!
What a lovely post – had me tearing up!
Jennifer recently posted…Running and Racing Potpourri
Thank you, Jenny.
That is a great running moment! I think my best running moments are more the races I did not think I would finish and I did than my PR races. I’m a little weird like that, I guess?
Amy recently posted…My Birthday
My most memorable running experiences were a toss up between this race, and my point-to-point long training runs from my marathon days (I loved those run). I decided to share that story in a post about how to survive your long run. Stay tuned!
I just recently came upon the Steamtown Marathon! I must have missed your recap on it so I’ll be reading that next!
Accomplishing running goals is the greatest!! 🙂
Becky recently posted…What Happen at 23!
If/when you start running marathons, Steamtown would be a great one to add to your “realistic” bucket list! It’s not too terribly far away, they do an amazing job pulling it all together, and it’s a fast course!
Once I found a few dimes and a nickel, and I made twenty-something cents! It was fun 🙂 That is an amazing time! It’s great to think about all those things and take yourself back to the moment. And that picture you got at the finish is awesome! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Amanda recently posted…Runners Tell All: Tough Mudder Recap
Thanks for the linkup!