Marine Corps Marathon

Time: 113:00
Distance: 17 mi.

Finally the Marine Corps Marathon is upon us. Jordan and I came up woefully short in our preparations, but we didn't want to miss getting involved by helping out Team MJ. If Meagan and Jilane ran well maybe we could lul them into a false sense of security about a future OJ vs. MJ matchup. (Okay... kidding, kidding.) The plan for the day was to help pace Jilane and Meagan through the first 16 miles of the marathon just around 3:00 (6:52/mile) pace.

Jordan came over to Colin's to drag me out of bed and head down to the start of the marathon, near the Pentagon. We made it down to the start line in enough time to jog a little bit and get a decent spot near the start before a howitzer shot announced the commencement of the race. The race conditions were nearly perfect, but it did take a couple of miles to get warmed up and going (the race is hilly through about the first 10 miles).


The start of the 2008 Marine Corps Marathon

We enjoyed running together through the first 8 miles at which point Meagan (and Jordan) had to make a pit stop. I ran with Jilane through the next few miles from Georgetown out past the halfway mark over by East Patomac Park. We were a bit quick through the half (1:27:30) but Jilane seemed relaxed and I was even trying to pull in the reins a bit after a few miles under 6:30. I let her go at 16 miles with confidence that she was on the right track, but I wouldn't get any update until I saw her finish. She ran a great second half (about 1:30:50) and finished in 10th! Meagan had a rough stomach day, which I can definitely sympathize with, and had to stop around 20 miles.

Splits: 7:03, 7:04, 6:31, 6:25, 6:34, 6:44, 6:55, 6:31, 6:45, 6:23, 6:25, 6:47, 6:34 (1:27:30 half), 6:42, 6:42, 6:32 (1:46:35 at 16 miles)

I was very glad that despite not fulfilling my marathon goal, I could help Jilane out, and her hard work paid off. I felt fine and was having a lot of fun being in the race, despite a bit of hamstring tightness. Once Meagan reached 16 miles Jordan dropped out as well and we walked back to the Iwo Jima memorial for the finish.

For a lot more on the day, see Jilane, Meagan and Jordan's logs, as well as the full race results.