The Little Rock Marathon was held on Sunday March 6th and drew in approximately 3,700 half marathoners and 2,100 marathon runners. My group of Sole Sisters totaled 14 participants. Four of which did the half marathon, and ten did the full marathon-many for the first time. Little Rock offers the largest medal for the marathon and many of my teammates thought that if they were going to do this, they were going to do the hardest course with the largest reward. And they did. Everyone did so amazing. I am so happy and proud of everyone who completed the race and who is now able to call themselves a marathoner. It's an amazing title that so few can claim.
I personally had a great run. Mile #8 is usually my wall when I start to second guess why I am even running, but for this race, I made it to mile 10 before the pain set in. My 10K time was 59:43 and I felt stronger than ever. But slightly after mile 10, I got a side stitch in my right side, then the left, then my foot started hurting. So holding both sides and slightly changing my gate, I completed the last three miles of the race. Not only did I finish, but I set a personal record at 2:08:51. I know that I am never going to win a race, but I try to set a goal for myself to beat my own time. This gives me something to work toward and to look forward to.
One of my favorite things about Little Rock was the variety in participants. Some large, some small, and so many were physically challenged. Some were in regular wheelchairs, some were using hand pedaled bikes. I saw several with one limb, one gentleman who was deaf, and even one man who was blind. The blind man had another guy on his left side as his guide.
This is one of the first races that I have become emotional. I was just so happy to be able to run after having to set out two big races in the fall and I think to the times when my legs hurt, or when my feet get heavy and start to drag and never think about the wonderful ability that I have even to be able to run. The feeling of the pavement beneath me or the fact that I can see each step I am taking or the beauty of my surroundings, and I surely can't imagine not being able to listen to my ipod while I'm running - not only does it help drown out the pain, it helps me create a rhythm of my steps.
Not only were the participants inspiring, but the thousands of volunteers, friends, and family members that were lined up alongside the race route holding water, gatorade, orange slices, encouraging signs, etc. were so motivational. Our race bibs had our names on them, and it was so wonderful to hear complete strangers shouting out to you from the sides, especially as the miles started piling up behind me and the pain started setting in. There was one more new feature, "Marathon Tracks," which teamed LR with social media on facebook and twitter. I entered my facebook information and it automatically updated my facebook page as I was running. It updated at the start, 10K, and finish. So I knew that my friends and family back home were keeping up with my time, and as always, I wanted to make them proud.
LR was a great race and I was so happy to participate and to be a part of something so special. Thank you Little Rock for putting on such a great race and congratulations to my Sole Sisters and all of the other participants who complete the half marathon or full marathon.
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