We did it! Christina and I finished the inaugural Raleigh "City of Oakes" marathon today. It was rough. The first half we did really well, staying on our plan of about 10 minute miles, and then the second half started. The second half of the race must have been designed by the Marquis de Sade, because it was torture. Somehow they figured out how to have us run up every steep hill in Raleigh, without running down any. (only a slight exaggeration) Not sure how that worked, but that's what happened. By the end of the race we should have been on top of a mountain. At the 15 mile marker the race entered Umstead Park and started a three mile up hill stretch that only once flatten out or sloped downhill. That killed me. I developed a cramp in my right calf that stayed with me off and on for the next 6 or 7 miles and really slowed me down to a limping shuffle. Christina was doing much better, but refused to leave me so we could finish together. And we did. We crossed the finish line together, running, holding hands, raised in victory.
Christina made us custom shirts and at least 10 people commented on how much they liked them. Not sure if you can read the back but mine says "I'm with shorty" and hers says, "I'm with old." See the "a Team" patch on the shoulder?
We completed the race in about 5 and 1/2 hours. We'd hoped to finish under 5 hours, but that was not to be. By the time we got there we really didn't care we were so miserable. One participant with 13 other marathons to his credit said that this was the most difficult course he'd ever seen.
My prediction is they'll have to flatten it out a bit in the future or people won't come. I'm open to running another marathon, but not this one with the course as it is.
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