Saturday, June 07, 2008

San Diego Marathon Notes

As previously noted, my marathon finishing times continue ending in different hours.

2008 San Diego: 7:28

2005 Honolulu: 6:01

2007 Chicago: 5:48

2007 Phoenix: 4:21

2008 Eugene: 3:59

17,828 runners and walkers started the marathon and 16,372 finished.

Average finishing time was 5:01:08.

Many junior high and high school cheerleaders lined the course. While most groups remained upbeat even to the bitter end, a few were sullen as if present under threat of a beating. Trying cheering under duress and see what comes out. Inspiring to others? Not a 100 percent, I'm thinking.

Teammates agreed that the latter miles of the marathon were made unneccesarily grim by the terrain — concrete freeway underpasses and smelly tidal inlets. Interestingly, the same company (Elite Racing) that hosts San Diego puts on the Phoenix Marathon. There also the crucial final miles wended through a bleak industrial district that looked like the terrain you see in movies where zombies attack. I suggested that Elite Racing worked with a psychologist who designed the courses to mirror the inner make-up of runners. They've certainly got beyond 20 miles down cold.

2 comments:

ilovesteaks said...

Well it looks like you need to run your next marathon in under 3hrs! =) I was good running into you guys before the race. What are the odds with so many purple clad TNTers? I was able to finally break 5hrs but I was really going after Oprah's time of 4:29. I'll beat her in my next marathon. =)

JP Mac said...

Congrats.

Perhaps your next marathon will be Pasadena?

That's shaping up to be a huge TNT alumni run.

Featured Post

John P. McCann Sizzle Page

'Twas suggested I post a few episodes of my work in a pleasant spot. I've chosen here. Sadly, not everything I've written has y...