I have now officially run the ‘People’s marathon’ (a.k.a. the 34th Marine Corps Marathon in Washington, D.C.). This was my third marathon and by the far the best race I have run to date. There were tough parts, but as a lot of signs said “pain is temporary, pride is forever”. It was not a personal best race for me and I did not beat Oprah’s marathon time (although I kicked Al Gore’s ass) yet none of this seems to matter right now.

Running a marathon has always been an emotional experience for me, but this race was particularly so. There were a lot of individuals running in memory of US military who have died in combat and no matter what your thoughts are on the US’ presence in the Middle East it is still sad to see.

The overall highlight of race was as usual the renewed belief in me and what I can achieve (yes this is the cheesy part of the entry). Running a marathon means you have a lot of time to think things over and by the time you reach the 35 km mark the main thing you are probably thinking is “why did I sign up for this?”. But a strange thing happens when you cross that finish line – you realize that you have accomplished something pretty remarkable which in turn makes you realize that you have the potential to achieve what you put your mind toward. At least this is what I feel.

Other Race highlights:

Running with friends - I have to admit I am a bit of a coward when it comes to running alone. 42.2 km is a long way to go completely alone, so I really enjoyed running the majority of the race with four of my running buddies.

Atmosphere - I have never witnessed that level of support and cheering before. The majority of the course was filled with people yelling and clapping. It was truly an amazing thing to be a part of. Definitely helped numb the pain of being on your feet 4 hours +. Is sad to admit, but I have never seen that level of enthusiasm at any Canadian running event.

Scenery - The Marine Corps Marathon is a beautiful course (apart from that ‘bridge’ at mile 20). You get to run through Georgetown, by the water, the Pentagon, the National Mall.

The Marines - hot marines in uniform handing out water. Enough said.

Working out some personal frustrations between 35km-41km. Was a bit of painful point in the race, but this is when I dig into my pot of things that make my angry and frustrated…Kind of like my own personal punching bag time.

Main Lesson learned:

Name on shirt = a lot of people yelling your name, so next time I’m putting my name on my shirt!

A special shout goes to Booty Camp Fitness for helping me be a lot stronger in this race. I actually think all those lunges and exercises I have done prior to this race has helped me be a better runner!