CMM 2004

With so many of my friends wanting to do the Country Music Marathon, I just had to go. Sharon wanted to do it as well, so we made the trip out on Friday. Nashville is a long ride just for a short stay, but in a marathon you do the ultimate sightseeing trip.

Saturday morning found the rain falling. A far cry from the heat we had all worried about. I don’t mind running in the rain, but I hate starting in it. After meeting Wayne, Tommy and Roger in the lobby, we all headed out for the short walk to the starting line. However, we never got there. The start was delayed until a thunderstorm passed. No one knew how long the delay would be so we just went back to the hotel for a while. Eventually, we noticed people moving in the distance and this time we were not turned back. It was still raining, but no thunder and lightning.

Sharon was starting in corral # 15 so she had quite a long walk just to get there. Wayne and I were in different corrals than Tommy and Roger but we went into their corral, #7, just so we could all start together. Steve B. and Rob Prom were up ahead of us, (but we never found them during the race). Rob was running his first marathon and is quite fast. Starting behind Steve, I figured that the only way we’d ever see him was if he had a problem. Looking towards the starting line I could tell that this year’s marathon had many more people in it than when I did it in 2001. According to what I was told, there were 30% more entries in this year’s event. In the marathon were 5,000 people and the half marathon had 11,000 people. This year’s course was new. They had made it flatter and faster. I only hoped they took out that hill around mile 17.

The gun sounded. The crowd surged forward and we all stood a little closer together. It took a little over three minutes to get to the starting line, but we were away and running. The course offered some magnificent views as it drops a couple of times and gives those in back a good look at what was ahead. All I could see was a mass of people taking up all the lanes on Broadway. The rain was very light, but it was very humid. Before the end of the first mile, I had to take my hat off as I was just too hot. Wayne, Roger, Tommy and I were running close to one another, occasionally getting cut off by other runners. I tried to find a nice rhythm and just be patient. As we made our way out of downtown and into a residential section, a quick check of my watch told me we were going slow. I told Wayne that for as hard as I was working and how slow I was moving did not indicate that a good day was in store. The crowd was great, much more than I expected and remembered from 2001. At about mile 2 some guy yells “you’d better enjoy the rain and clouds because the sun is coming out!” Yeah right, I thought. Half way between the aid stations we found people handing out orange slices. It’s the only time I eat orange slices and man are they good. This one guy in front of me must have grabbed 4 slices. After he ate 3, he hollered, “I have an extra one, anyone want it”. Some girl back to my left, said “give it to me”. To which he simply threw it over his head in her direction and she caught on the run with one hand. “Nice catch,” he said. “Nice throw,” she said back. Everyone around us laughed. You never know what you’ll experience in a marathon. You’ll also do things you’d never ever do anywhere or anytime else.

About mile 3, the leaders came cruising by. They make it look so easy. As we continued heading out I soon found I had lost the guys. They could not be far behind me, but I could not see them simply by taking a quick glance back. Just past mile 5, I knew if I was going to take a bathroom break that I had better do so now. As I returned to the course, Tommy hollered at me and I was back with the guys. At about mile 6, I started looking for Sharon headed the other way. I took out my little camera and took a couple of picture of Wayne, Roger and Tommy while running. I never saw Sharon. (She told me afterwards that she saw me and she knew I was looking for her because I had my camera out.) I may not have seen Sharon, but just then over on the side of the road, I saw a familiar face. It was Coach Bob. He’s a TNT coach from Virginia and I had helped him with the runners at Disney this year. A quick handshake and hello and back to running I went.

At mile 7, as we were coming back into the city, Tommy started to pull away from us. He must be feeling pretty good. Wayne and Roger disappeared as well or so I thought. All of a sudden, Wayne was beside me offering me a full 20 oz Gatorade bottle. “Where did you get that”, I asked. He tried telling me that he stopped at the store and bought it, but I did not believe him. Eventually he told me that he had gotten it at an aid station. By now Tommy had pulled about a 100 yards ahead of us and was starting to get lost in the crowd. Wayne said, “Why don’t you take this up to Tommy and tell him he owes me $1.50 plus tax”! I don’t know why I did it, but I grabbed the bottle, picked up the pace and caught up to Tommy before mile 9.

Sticking the Gatorade bottle in front of Tommy, I surprised him. Just like me, he asked the same question to me that I had to Wayne. When I responded that it was a gift from Wayne, Tommy about tripped over his own feet. Sensing that Tommy was about to cry from Wayne’s good gesture, I quickly informed him that he owed Wayne “$1.50 plus tax”. “Now that’s more like the Wayne I know!” Tommy said. We continued on share the Gatorade bottle much like a couple of drunks would share a liquor bottle. There had not been any Gatorade on the course so far, so it was a welcome treat. Tommy and I stayed together as we made our way up through town. Right after the half marathoner’s split off from the full course, we could see the leading woman heading down towards mile 18. She was all alone. Right behind her was something that I am not used to seeing. Three of the elite men were walking. Someone hollered at them to which one of them just gave a thumb’s down. I told Tommy that was not a good sign and some lady beside us agreed.

Just past mile 11, we came upon our support crew which consisted of Wayne’s wife, Paula, Wayne’s daughter, Trish, Tommy’s wife Cathy and Roger’s wife Gilda. We quickly grabbed some orange slices and continued running. It’s always nice to see your support crew! Tommy and I were still together although I knew he was pushing me a bit. Ever once in a while I could see the sun trying to shine through the clouds. If that happens, I’m in trouble.

We hit mile 13 in 2 hours. I told Tommy that if we fall apart, I’m pretty sure we can still run a 4:30. Tommy said he wanted to shoot for 4:15. It’s still possible. The biggest change of the course was just ahead, after a short little hill we found ourselves running on a paved trail overlooking the river. Really nice! I started talking to a guy named Brian. Turns out we had a common friend. You don’t know these things unless you talk to people. I lost him when we turned off the river, but I was really only looking for water. I found it just past the 15 mile marker. While drinking my water, I looked back and was surprised to see Wayne, not Tommy. Wayne and I headed off in search of mile 16 and he told me that Tommy had slowed, but Roger was right behind us.

As we headed up past a Honda dealership, Wayne started to pull away. He was running good and obviously felt better than me. Soon, I found myself running on the opposite side of those still headed to mile 12. I started looking for Sharon again and this time I found her. She had even picked up a friend. I took a couple of quick pictures and when I turned around there was Roger.

In about a minute, we found ourselves with our support crew again. I stopped to get some accelerate from Trish and she said, “come on keep moving, I’ll move with you.” She understood! Man, Wayne taught his daughter right! Roger and I continued on and as we approached downtown again, I stopped to take a gel and all of a sudden there was Tommy. Roger was slightly ahead of us and we stayed behind him for about a mile. At about 19.5 miles, the unthinkable happened. The sun popped out. That guy at mile 2 had been right. The clouds were gone and it was a beautiful day. I very warm day. A quick check of my watch told me that today was not going to be a recrd setting day no matter how I ran the last 10K. Somehow I had lost Tommy, so I just stopped and waited. Tommy was wearing a red shirt and I could see him coming. As he approached I asked him how he felt. Not good was his only statement. I told him that I was not going to fight the sun. “Let’s finish this thing together”, I said. He agreed.

Less than two miles later we encountered other runners less than a mile to the finish. It was so hard to turn left and head away in the other direction. The course was rather flat and you could tell by looking at people that we were not the only ones suffering today. Unlike the first part of the race Tommy and I just could not stay together. I’d go ahead and then he’d go ahead. After 2 miles of this, I told Tommy that whoever gets to mile 26 first just wait on the other. Just before mile 25, I saw Coach Bob again. We high fived each other as we passed. I had my doubts that I’d see Sharon this time.

We could see the stadium getting closer. I told Tommy that soon all our fun would be ending. He seemed to be as eager as me to finish this day. Both my hands were tingling. This was a sensation that I had never experienced while running. They were not turning blue like they did on Pikes Peak.

Soon Tommy and I ran past mile 26 and we could see the last turn. The crowd was just like it had been in 2001, cheering people on and lining the last 2/10’s of a mile. We crossed the finish line together in 4:31 (4:28 chiptime). I headed straight for a sprinkler that was set up. Not being my usual bashful self, I stepped right between those already there and enjoyed myself. After Tommy and I got our medals, someone tapped me on the shoulder, it was Karen Bingham. What a pleasant surprise. It’s always nice to find someone that understands your pain. It’s even better to see a smiling face. Thanks Karen.