I had a great experience - the course was as difficult and beautiful as any you can imagine. I set a goal to beat my amazingly humble PR of 6:08:59, and I did so by 32 minutes (5:36:17 - still on the "very slow" side but a big step for me). The best part of the story is that I was in a group of about 60 people that ran the course alongside running legend Jeff Galloway, which was once-in-a-lifetime coolness.
The best part of course was sprinting to the finish, seeing my parents and friends there cheering like crazy and getting that medal. The second best part was the turkey sandwich and beer I enjoyed afterward. And the potato chips after that. And the burger, fries and shake I had that night. And the beer I had after that. And the pizza I had the next day. And the ice cream after that. And then more chips.
If you want to see lots of different shots of, well, me running and walking, here they are. Not super exciting, but there are a couple that show the feel of the event. If I had known there would be so many I would have tried to look sexier. When you go there, click on a thumbnail, then on the next page click it again to see the bigger version of the proof. I wish I had more shots of the scenery and other runners, but alas - I didn't bring my camera on the run. Couldn't fit it in my fuel belt. Too many gummy bears in there.
Oh yeah. The photos.
http://www.marathonfoto.com/index.cfm?RaceOID=19002008
Enjoy!
