Have you ever run in the rain with 8,000 of your closest friends? It's not a bad way to spend a Sunday morning, which is exactly what we (I'm including my 8,000 friends) did in the Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon this Sunday. Well, I just did the half marathon and like the shirt that I was proudly wearing said, meant I was only half crazy. Because another 2,500 oh so happy people did the entire 26.2 miles. It wasn't so much the rain or the wind or the thunder that delayed the start of the race 30 minutes, it was the lightning that had us all ooohhing and ahwwwing each time it flashed across the sky.
I would guesstimate that half of the 13,000 runners were wearing some sort of rain protection, either a store-bought poncho or a trash bag with arm and leg holes, making the whole lot of us sound like thousands of sacks stuck in trees every time the north wind picked up, which was pretty much the entire time. The rain poured hard, I swore it was sleeting and the aroma coming off of our bodies was intoxicating at an inhuman level.
The OKC Memorial Marathon is run each year to remember the 168 people who died in the bombing at the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building on April 19, 1995. Around mile 2 of the race, banners are reverently hung off of light poles with individual names of the deceased. I ran from pole to pole in honor of each name. "Here's to you, Linda..." "Please be with Richard's family today....", "Thinking of you Antonio...", "I'm sure Carol had a great smile..." and so on. The rain was beginning to pound, so it was hard to distinguish if that was sweat, rain or tears. Definitely tears, as they were hot on my face.
Approaching the state capitol, the Native American "Guardian" statue is visible on the dome. And watch over us he did. I wasn't hallucinating (yet), but I did imagine his baritone voice boomed out, "You go, girl!"
And on the race went. There was Gorilla Hill, where a gigantic blue blow-up gorilla greeted us, with people dancing in full-body banana costumes. And the hundreds of spectators, smiling/cringing as their umbrellas turned inside out at horrible gusts. Some kids were holding the sign, "Hurry up and run faster so that we can go home!" Amen to that!
Mile 9 was when my IT band had had enough. I looked like I was skipping for about a quarter mile. My paced slowed, so that I was still technically jogging, but in all honesty, it was a fast walk. I was moving so slow for a while that I thought, "Please let there be somebody else behind me!" The last couple of miles were endured as my mantra of "strong mind, tough body" rattled through my head. I did not set a PR, but I made it, all in one piece and I received a medal just the same. The cruel joke was walking back to my car for another 6 blocks (still in the cold rain) and not being able to find my spot in the parking garage. It was the only time I wanted to sit down and cry. Alas, all hope was not lost, as I made it home (on heated seats).
And so now that I've showered, lunched and napped, I reflect on the race and all that it means to OKC. All Oklahomans should be impressed with the quality of the race and the level to which it has been taken. The bar is set for professionalism. This was my tenth half marathon to complete, and I'm so proud that my hometown offers something so fantastic. I've raced in Dallas, Houston, Denver and Las Vegas. OKC beats them all, hands down, and then some. I cannot say enough about the crowd support and organization. And Okies are of genuine caliber. Politely pushing my way through the crowd to get to the start line, my poncho became wedged between several people, pulling back on the hood, and choking me out. As I stopped dead in my tracks, several women reached over to "free" me. And they all called me "sweetie" while doing it. Gotta love it!
And I have to give a big shout out to my friends who persevered through the entire marathon. It hailed on them for crying out loud! And they still put one foot in front of another, completing life-long goals while running to remember.
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