Today was only a two loop course. Of course, that made each loop 13.1 miles but still…
There’s a noticeable difference between the multi-day series loops and this two loop race. As is conmon at city races with multiple loops, the second loop becomes sparsely run as half marathoners finish their loop, and it gets progressively less supported as the time drags on. The volunteers remain committed and provide aid and support as ever. But the random strangers cheering on runners are fewer and farther between. There are still some hardy souls out there holding their funny signs (“you paid money to run 26.2 miles?!” and “you’re running better than the government!” were popular ones in the first state.)
This is a marked contrast to the Mainly Marathons or Savage Racing or any other multi-day event series. You see the same faces on those many, many loops. You cheer each other on, celebrate the victories, and encourage the struggling. As quiet as it may seem for a hundred souls trudging round and round the same loops 10, 12, 18 times, there’s an earned camaraderie and respect for the boldly crazy.
It’s a different mindset in those many looped courses. I typically ignore mileage counts in those races and instead focus on the number of rubber bands I’ve gotten or the number I still need to complete the course.
So it was that after four days of Mainly Marathoning, I was a bit sore, tired, and mentally unfocused for a city race. Funnily enough, I bumped into 7 or 8 other Independence Series participants who pulled the rip cord on day 5 and opted to run Wilmington, Delaware, instead. It’s a small, small world.
Lining up at the starting line, I had forgotten somewhat the nervous energy and more competitive spirit of time corrals loading before the proverbial gunshot sets us off. At a multiday series there’s a nervous energy at the start inherent in any race, but there’s also an electricity at striving to cover distances in successive days. It really is as much about the journey as it is about the clock time… And while that’s true to a “normal” marathon weekend, it’s a different overall vibe. One isn’t necessarily better than the other but they appeal to different parts of the brain.
As such, there was a real mental challenge to today’s race on top of the physical challenges of my 8th marathon this month. Stiff legs, cramped calves, blistered feet. All markings of battle and victory… But marks that added weight to any attempts to smoothly glide through the course.
I had run Delaware a few years back and imploded, watching my time slip away as I walked, crawled, and cursed my way to the finish. As I ran today, certain elements of the course were familiar beyond all reason. The race starts and heads out to an open air mall/riverfront restaurant Boardwalk. We then looped through some neighborhoods before beginning a long climb near the Brandywine Zoo. A bridge or two, a detour through Little Italy, and a long downhill also produced a sense of Deja vu… Albeit unlike Deja vu, I actually KNOW I had been here before.
This was all just as I knew once I was running it that the long incline back up to the train station in the final mile of the loop was where I distinctly recalling breaking down in my earlier run of the city. And since this was a two loop course, I had all of these things to look forward to a second time today.
Round and round I go. Where I stop–
… to be continued.