I wanted to do a fall marathon so that I could run a fast one since the hot weather at Boston earlier this year ruined my chances at a PR.  This would be my first fall marathon and fifth marathon overall.  My friend Jarrod is qualifying for Boston in every state and this would be his 15th marathon.  We trained together for my first marathon, Shamrock in Virginia Beach in 2009, and have been training together since him and his wife moved back to North Carolina.  I was looking forward to doing another marathon with him.  His PR is 2:56:09 at the Kiawah Island Marathon on December 10, 2011.  Even though my PR is 2:54:26 I know Jarrod is faster than his PR so I was hoping that doing another race together would help us both improve.

Jarrod found the Marshall University Marathon in Huntington, West Virginia on November 11, 2012 and we decided to do it.  Since the summer was so hot and humid I chose to do a 12 week training plan instead of my usual 16 or 18 week plans.  I started my 12 week plan on August 20th.  I ran 249.0 miles in August, 282.2 miles in September, and 283.6 miles in October.  The 12 week plan went well, giving me confidence I could run a fast marathon.

My plan for this race was to go out at 6:40-6:50 pace and then pick it up and nail the final 10K.  Jarrod and I were going to run together as long as possible but if one of us felt a lot better than the other than we were free to leave and run our own race.  The weather forecast was looking great for race day.  Saturday night's low was in the low 40s and Sunday's high was 70 degrees but that wouldn't come till much later in the day.  The hour by hour looked like it would be 60 degrees at 10am when I expected to be done.

Jarrod, his wife Jen, my Dad, and I arrived at the Marshall University Football stadium shortly after 6 AM for the 7 AM start.  I did my usual dynamic stretching warm-up routine and then did a short jog with some goal pace pick-ups in it.  I felt ready to go.  The weather was chilly and the sun had not come up yet and wouldn't till around 7:20 AM.  I met up with my friend Chris Milano, from East Carolina University, before the start.  Chis was running his first half marathon.  We walked to the staring line and Jarrod and I made our way to the front and lined up next to another friend of mine, Shaun Pottberg.  Shaun now lives in Denver, CO but used to live and run in Greenville, NC.  I was sure he was in for a great race after over a year of altitude training.

The gun went off and Jarrod and I were out fast.  Jarrod and I stayed at our goal pace and ran the first mile in 6:41.  My hands were freezing and turning red.  I opted to leave the gloves in the car.  I was wishing I kept them on and I could have tossed them to my Dad later in the race.  My hands starting warming up after 5K where we entered the David Harris Riverfront Park on the Ohio River.  This was a pretty part of the course even if we had to run on sidewalk through it.  The sidewalk was lined with trees on both sides that had beautiful fall colors on their leaves.  Jarrod and I stayed at 6:40 min/mile pace for the first three miles.

I was still feeling great and Jarrod and I were side by side.  There were not water stops every mile, they were every 1.5 miles.  I took water at every other one most of the race.  The cups were paper, which was great, and made pinching the back of the cup easy to get all of the water in your mouth.  Jarrod and I stayed on pace as we hit our first real hill a little before 6 miles.  It was a little steep but not long and nothing as bad as the Newton Hills in Boston or any hills I've ran in Umstead State Park.

Just after six miles we entered Memorial Park and ran on a trail with fine crushed limestone.  It was nice running surface and the park was shady.  I took my first gel, GU Roctane, a little before the 7 mile mark.  The trail eventually led us to Ritter Park just after 8 miles.  Jarrod and I were still clicking off 6:40 min/mile pace and a few seconds faster.  After running on the trail for three miles we were back on the roads starting with mile 9.  After the park, we ran back to the University but went through the Riverfront Park again.  There were no volunteers there telling us to go in the park on the way back but it was the right thing to do. The race really needs more volunteers on key turns and places like that because there was nothing stopping us from cutting that part of the course off if we wanted to.

We split from the half marathoners and made our way through the Marshall University campus.  They have a pretty campus, small, but nice.  There were no volunteers directing you through the turns of the campus so we had to pay attention to the arrows and green painted "MUM" signs on the sidewalks and paths.  After running through campus and by the football stadium we hit the halfway mark.  The halfway mark was the only point on the course, other than the finish, that had chip timing mats.  There were no chip mats at the start so everyone was on gun time, which sucks for those that lined up in the middle and back of the pack.

I started pulling slightly ahead of Jarrod after the half.  I was still feeling comfortable and decided to run mid 6:30s until mile 20 where I was planning to pick it up to he 6:20s and faster.  I took gel two at mile 14.  I saw my Dad just after 15 miles and asked him what place I was in.  He told me I was 13th.  I wanted a top 10 but knew it was still too early too pick it up too much.

After 15 miles the course repeats itself because it is a double loop course.  I wasn't thrilled about doing a double loop course but it was nice knowing what was ahead of myself the rest of the way.  I was holding onto my mid 6:30s pace as I ran back through Riverfront Park for the third time.  I picked off one runner just before 18 miles.  I hit the same, short hill again at 18.5 miles or so.  I saw a runner at the top reach back and grab his hamstring.  I passed him and offered some words of encouragement to hang in there.  I was still feeling comfortable and had to keep telling myself to hold back till 20.  I wanted to go but knew it was still too soon.

I was on the trail again around 19.3 miles.  I looked up on the road and Jarrod wasn't too far behind me.  The park was very nice the second time through as well.  The trees kept the sun off us but the temperature was still nice and we did have a little breeze as well.  I passed another runner on the trail and moved into 10th place.  I could not see anyone else ahead of me but I was still picking the pace up.  I hit mile 20 feeling good and started picking up the pace for the final 10K.  I took my third and final gel at mile 21.

I started feeling bad in my stomach and thought this could not be happening to me now.  I've never had stomach issues during a race.  I used the same gels I've always used and didn't eat anything different all weekend.  Anyways, my stomach was in distress and I had to back off my pace so I wouldn't have an accident.  It got bad enough at one point I thought about stopping and finding a bush or something because there were not portable toilets in sight.  This was frustrating.  I felt good enough leg, muscle, and cardio wise to run faster.  I slowed my pace to the mid 6:40s for miles 22-24.  That helped alleviate the pain some.

I was back on the roads for the final four miles.  I was praying that I would hold on and not have to stop for my stomach.  I ran through the Riverfront Park for the fourth and final time before heading back to campus.  Miles 25 and 26 were the hardest on my stomach.  I thought backing off for 22-24 would allow me to pick it up for the final 2.2 miles.  That was not the case.  I had to back off even more and ran mile 25 and 26 in 7:00 and 7:08.

Entering the stadium was brutal.  It was a very steep downhill paved ramp to get on the football field where the race finished.  Balancing is not at its finest at this point in the race and a steep downhill is not fun.  Their field is fake grass and I swear it was harder than the roads.  I ran down the field before looping back and heading for the end-zone at the ramp we entered the stadium on.  I was trying to kick hard and managed to run the final 0.2 miles at 5:42 pace.  I finished in 10th place overall, 2nd in age group, in 2:54:29, three freaking seconds slower than my PR of 2:54:26 at Boston in 2011.

Jarrod came in 11th place overall, 1st in his age group with a new PR of 2:55:09.  Jarrod ran the ECU No Quarter flag into the stadium as he finished the marathon.  Marshall is a Conference USA rival for ECU.  We also took pictures of the ECU flag on the John Marshall statue on their campus.

Shaun finished in 3:00:27, an amazing 18 minute PR for him and Boston Qualifier.  Chris Milano finished his first half in 1:27:43 and took 3rd in his age group.  Mike Freemont broke the world record for 90+ by running the marathon in 6:35:47.  Jarrod and I met Mike at the expo and he's a nice, funny guy.  Most people don't live to 90 and yet he's still running marathons!

Overall I was happy with my placing and time considering I only did a 12 week plan.  Missing a PR by 3 seconds was painful though but not as painful as my stomach.  I think if my stomach had not acted up I would have ran 1-2 minutes faster.  My whole body felt good minus the stomach so I know I had more in me.  The weather was great, so much better than Boston earlier this year.

The marathon as a whole is good and I would recommend it.  The course is flat and fast.  The tech shirt is nice and you also get a Brooks jacket if you register early enough.  The jacket alone costs more than the $60 registration fee.  The finishing medal is also nice.  The expo was in the student rec center and consisted of one vendor.  They do offer a free pasta dinner the night before at the rec center.  The post race food was not good if you ran the race.  It was burgers, hot dogs, and grilled food.  I don't feel like eating that kind of food immediately after finishing a race.  West Virginia is one of the unhealthiest states in the country so their food choices for a marathon should not have been a surprise.  They did have water but no Gatorade or sports drink at the finishing area.  The spectator support is not good, not even through campus.  Some students clearly had no idea a race was going right through their campus as a few volunteers had to yell at them to move for the runners on my second time through the campus.  For the money though you can't beat a USATF certified flat and fast course for $60.

I wasn't planning on racing again before the Marshall University Marathon on November 11th in Huntington, West VA but I was asked to be on the Capital Run Walk four person relay team for the The City of Oaks Marathon in Raleigh on November 4th.  I debated doing it because I did not want to push it too hard a week before a marathon.  I decided to run and to run my leg at tempo or half marathon pace instead of regular 10K pace.  I knew it would be hard to hold back in a race but I had to look at the bigger picture of the marathon a week later.  I was honored to be asked to be on a fast team.  The team's goal was a top three finish.

My girlfriend Jamie was already planning on running the Old Reliable 10K that would start at the same time as the marathon, half marathon, and marathon relay.  It turns out, the Old Reliable 10K is not the same as the original Old Reliable 10K.  The original Old Reliable 10K is now known as the Raleigh Fall Festival 5K and 10K and it is organized by the same people that started the Old Reliable 10K.  Apparently the Old Reliable 10K name was given to a new course and incorporated by the marathon. Anyways, this was going to be Jamie's first 10K race.  She has ran 1 mile races, 5Ks, 8Ks, 10 milers, half marathons, a marathon, and even a 50K ultra marathon but hadn't done a 10K.   Jamie was coming off the Myrtle Beach Mini Marathon on October 21st.   Mass Start
I felt great going into the relay.  I was on my second taper week so I was more rested than usual for a race.  I was looking forward to doing something new and fun.  I was going to be running the final leg. I was concerned about running anchor because I knew if we were close to winning the race or my performance depended on us getting top three I was going be more likely to run too fast because I'm competitive and I didn't want to let the team down.

Jamie and I arrived at Cameron Village a little after 6am for the 7am start.  The weather was great for a race.  It was cloudy, just a little breeze, and the temperature was in the low to mid 40s.  I had awhile to wait to run the anchor leg.  My friend and teammate Pat Price was going to pick me up at 7:30 to drive out to the relay exchange zone we shared.

The crowds gathered at the North Carolina State University Bell Tower for the start of the race.  Jamie was feeling good and knew the course was going to be hilly but she's a good hill runner.  I watched Jamie and the others start and then made my way back to Cameron Village because the 10K finishes there and the other races keep going.  I was hoping see some of the leaders go by before I had to leave for my relay leg.

Just before I left, Bobby Mack hit the top of the hill on Peace St, just before the 10K mark.  He was leading everyone and looking comfortable.  Bobby is a two time USATF National Champion and Assistant Manager at Capital Run Walk.  He's a great guy and very humble.  Bobby Mack won the half marathon in 1:04:19, 4:55 min/mile pace on a hilly course!

Pat and I left and drove out to the exchange zone for legs three and four of the relay.  Pat was running leg three which was an out and back from behind Crabtree Valley Mall to Shelly Lake.  Pat's leg was 6.4 miles. Pat and I parked and did a warm-up run together before he got ready for his leg.

Tim Brock started things off for us by running leg one.  He ran his 6.2 miles leg in 35:36 and we were in second place.  Greg Dame ran the second leg for us.  Greg's leg was the longest at 7.4 miles.  Greg was awesome and ran his leg in 38:36.  Pat was tying his shoes as Greg neared for the exchange of the timing chip.  We didn't expect to be leading and now we had to hold it.  Pat took off on his leg as Greg and I talked and waited.  We kept waiting for the second place team to come.  We finally saw Raleigh Running Outfitters in second place and over six minutes behind us.  That was a big lead, much larger than any of us expected.

I talked to Tim Meigs and Tim Pierce who were on the Inside Out Sports team.  Tim Meigs was running anchor for them.  I was hoping Pat would hold onto the big lead we had because I was worried Tim would run me down on the final leg.  Tim placed third in his age group at Boston and at the Chicago Marathon this year   When I grow up I want to be fast like him!

I did another short warm-up jog and some strides before getting in the exchange zone.  Pat was there before I expected.  I tightened the ankle strap with the chip on it and took off down the greenway.  We still had a big lead but I did not want Tim to run me down.  I started my leg just before 9am.

I felt great as I started.  I was trying to hold back but was loving the cold weather and light breeze.  The Temperature was still in the mid 40s.  The only person ahead of me was the overall leader of the marathon, Tim Surface.  The spectators and volunteers thought I was in second place overall and trying to catch the marathon leader.  They kept cheering hard for me and it was hard to not get caught up in it and go after Tim.

I went out at 6:15 avg pace for the first three miles.  I had some parts that were faster and slower because I had some short steep hills the first three miles.  The people coming towards me on the greenway as I was heading the opposite way were moving over for me.  That was nice of them to move and I appreciated it.  The crowd support was pretty good and I loved hearing "Go CapRun" or "Go Capital Run".

In the back of my mind was Tim Meigs.  I didn't want him to catch me so I picked it up for the final three miles.  The course flattened out the final three miles.  I ran the final three miles under 6:00 min/mile pace.  The crowd support really picked up once I hit Hillsborough St and neared the finish line.  I could see Tim Surface, the overall marathon leader, ahead of me.  I wasn't going to catch him unless I really ran faster than I needed to.  Our team won the City of Oaks Marathon Relay in 2:34:22, 5:54 min/mile pace.  Second place was Raleigh Running Outfitters, 3:30 behind us.  Waiting for me at the finish line was Jamie, Bobby, Pat, Tim, and Greg.  We were all excited that we won.  It was a great team effort.

Jamie finished her first 10K in 1:01:16 on a very tough uphill finish.  The overall pace for my leg was 6:03.  It was faster than I needed to run but I wasn't going to let us lose the lead.  It felt easy though and I have felt fine since and haven't had any soreness.  It was a good final tempo before my marathon.  I had a lot of fun running on the relay with Capital Run Walk.  I'm happy to be on their team and I look forward to representing the store in more races.