What a dumb idea! Not totally but a little! On February 7th, 2010 I ran the Melbourne & Beaches Music Marathon.[singlepic id=44 w=320 h=240 float=right] It was something my good friend and I decided to do. Of course it was my dumb idea and my easy convincing was due to the fact that we had run 3 Disney Races (the Fall Series of 2009) which consist of Expedition Everest 5k, Race for the Taste 10k, and Tower of Terror 13k. Those were some great races that we really enjoyed for the atmosphere, challenge, and of course bad ass medals. [singlepic id=47 w=320 h=240 float=left] Now this race was more than a challenge to say the least because the day of the race was not just a marathon race, but also a half marathon race. The reason I say this because after running for two hours straight at around mile 12.8 there were probably 25 people that went left to the finish line to finish their 13.1 miles half marathon and only 1 other person that went right to run another 2 hours to complete the 26.2 miles for the full marathon!
That was one of the hardest things to see and be a part of. I never realized how challenging it would be and I envisioned a completely different experience. I knew it was going to be ridiculously hard, but this course was not like just a long run around a city. This was one loop over two cause ways we had to run over 4 times. After that half way point there was no one on the course to cheer us on, that alone hurts and makes things challenging. Then there were some points on the course that ran out of cups for water and drinks. The course was supposed to have bands all along the way, but only two of the bands played some great rockin music to keep us going, while at least 4 bands weren’t playing when I ran by, were small orchestra and playing very melodic music that could have put anyone to sleep. So throughout the course I would just look at the beautiful sky with the sun shinning and the little bit of clouds showing and start to cry wanting the whole experience to be over. I did receive some great support from Team Thompson and Mandy, they all ran with me throughout the last 4-6 miles of the marathon and really helped me keep going.
Despite it all it was a great experience, and would recommend running a marathon to anyone, but the only marathon I would run again would be a Disney Marathon. I’ve seen it twice with Mandy running them and the experience although painful is much more bearable and enjoyable. So if you ever plan to run a marathon, run one of the larger marathons you can, because there will be more people to help you keep going. Here are other photos from previous races of Rowland and I.
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