To end a crazy year of running, I ran the St. Jude Memphis Marathon on Dec. 2^nd. It was my third marathon in 90 days, and when I finished I earned my entry into the Marathon Maniacs club at the Bronze level. It was a goal I had never thought of until my running buddy completed three marathons in 90 days earlier in the year.

 

By the time I got around to seriously thinking about running St. Jude, I realized I was SO tired! Running to qualify for Boston during Freakin’ Fast in September and Peak to Creak in October meant training on top of training, and by the time I recovered from P2C, I wasn’t sure what goal to set for St. Jude. I signed up for St. Jude in early May as a St. Jude Hero, and for months I tried to raise as much money as I could. That aspect, along with just getting across the finish line to earn my Marathon Maniacs status, were all I could focus on in early November.

 

With only about a month in between P2C and St. Jude, I took a few days off and loosely followed some of the Hansons Marathon Method training I had been doing since the middle of summer. This involved some strength and tempo runs, as well as quite a few easy days. I never made it back to a 16 mile long run, but I think my legs had enough distance on them to finish the race strong.

 

In order to get a hotel room in Memphis for the marathon weekend, I had to reserve two nights. Two friends and I decided to stay Friday night, and my husband planned to drive to Memphis on Saturday and we would stay in the hotel the second night. I tagged along on the ride to Memphis with a fellow Little Rock runner, Allison, who was planning to run her first Boston qualifying time (3:40 or better) on the Memphis course. She had been training for months, and told me that one of her regular running buddies was planning to pace her. Because I didn’t have a time goal in mind for myself, I asked her if I could tag along and she said yes!

 

We arrived in Memphis and went straight to the expo, and then had a delicious pizza dinner (and a few glasses of wine) at Aldo’s Pizza Pies. I agreed to meet Allison and her “pacer,” Scott, at the 3:25 pace corral the next morning. It was a chilly start, and I was scared that I would get cold waiting in the corral but I didn’t want to overdress and be miserable during the race, either. I brought some disposable hand warmers and braved the cold as we waited for the race to start. I knew Allison’s plan was to run at a sub-8 pace for as long as she could, which was a little scary to think about, but based on my two previous times I didn’t think I would struggle to keep up.

 

The first half of the race flew by. There were so many spectators cheering on the runners and it was really motivating to run through the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital campus and see a lot of kids, families and medical professionals. I gave out more high fives during this race than any other race I’ve ever done. There were a couple of hills in the first half, but nothing too intimidating. I was expecting a course with rolling hills, and I told myself that I would have to tackle each one as it came.

 

Allison and Scott stayed strong through the first twenty miles, and I did my best to offer support and conversation when I could. I had my Garmin set to “expected finish time” and I tried to monitor where we were going to finish if we kept up our pace. For most of the race, we were looking at a sub 3:30 finish. After around twenty miles, though, Allison started to feel dizzy and fatigued. Although she never stopped running, she slowed her pace. I briefly considered keeping up our faster pace and breaking away from the group (an unplanned third BQ in a row would have been great), but I wanted to stick with the group and offer whatever support I could until the end. Knowing that I was going to start training for Boston in two weeks made it a little easier to justify not pushing myself too hard.

 

Our pace slowed through the last few miles, and we ended the race in a really long chute that ended it AutoZone Park. The ballpark was full of runners, some spread out on the grassy field and many others sitting in the stands. So many refreshments were offered after the race, and I was disappointed that I couldn’t hold a slice of pizza, a donut, and a beer at the same time! The Heroes lounge was awesome. There were hot food options, nice restrooms, and freezers full of ice cream. I didn’t get a chance to explore everything because I needed to head back to the hotel to find Matthew, but I definitely recommend signing up for this race as a hero. You raise money for St. Jude, and you get some pretty great perks at the event.

 

Matthew and I headed to Beale Street to eat lunch and watch the Christmas parade. After, we had a glass on wine at the rooftop bar of our hotel, and then we headed to the Cannon Center to watch The Avett Brothers perform. Their show was amazing, and the fact that they donated their time to raise money for St. Jude made it even better.

 

I’m definitely going to sign up for the St. Jude Memphis Marathon in the future. It’s a great course and a well-supported race. I’ll sign up again as a Hero, and maybe one year I’ll be able to pace a group for the marathon. For now, I’ll continue training for the Boston Marathon, and the only races I have planned before then (100 days left!) are the 10k and half marathon at the Little Rock Marathon. Lots and lots of running to do!