Cleveland Marathon Race Report - That was a Doozy!

This year's Cleveland Marathon was bittersweet. It was a fun running weekend of seeing so many friends (my fellow Cleveland Marathon Ambassadors, Skirt Sports Ambassadors, Akron folks, etc) before and after the race. I kicked off the weekend festivities with the Cleveland Marathon VIP dinner at the Arcade. This is always a great event and this year was no exception!

Sunday I met up with the ambassadors for a pre-race photo by the start line. We had a nice group running both the half and full this year. Everyone was excited and there was a lot of energy. I also ran into some old friends and made some new ones while we waited in the corral for the race to start.

This year's marathon was a tough race with many people including myself falling short of our goals. The heat was relentless. According to my garmin data it was 75 at the start, reaching 91. Some said it only got up to the mid 80s but either way it felt like a million degrees out there - especially the last 8-10 miles!

While I've been training this year for a 3:30 full I decided to go out a little easier with the 3:35 group and just go for my BQ (3:40). I knew with the weather it was not going to be a good day to try for my A goal. I hydrated as best as I could and carried a bottle with me along with some salt tabs. Still, by mile 8 or so I was struggling to keep the pace. I had debated dropping down to the half but I needed the long run anyways since I have a 100K in a few weeks. So, I reluctantly drudged on in the heat for some more miles.

I stopped at all the aid stations to fill my bottle, took in gels maybe every 5 miles but I could not hit my goal pace and around mile 16 I really started to fade. Around mile 17 or 18 my husband passed me (he was passing the 3:45 group). I ran into my friend Connie Gardner from Akron and just tried to keep up with her. As an elite ultrarunner, Connie knows how to run a smart race. So we ran, chatted, walked the hills and aid stations to keep our heart rates down and counted down the miles. I was hoping to break 4 and we were close - coming in at 4:01.

Post race w/ Akron peeps

I was elated to hit the beer garden where the Great Lakes Brewing IPA was flowing! That may have been the best tasting beer ever...so refreshing after such a long, hot run! It was fun to hang out with our running friends and my fellow Cleveland Marathon ambassadors post race and we also stopped at Masthead Brewing on the way home for some more beer and tasty Pizza.

While I am a little disappointed in my time, on a hot, miserable day like that it was a win just finishing in one piece. I can recall seeing a lot of people getting medical attention during the race from mile 8 on. Upon finishing we learned that a young woman Taylor Ceepo had lost her life near the finish. That was so sad to hear and my heart aches for her family. I can't imagine what they must be going through and I am keeping them in my thoughts this week.

More friends & ambassadors hanging post race 

I'm recovering this week and need to get in a back-to back long run this weekend as well as nest in preparation for the Eagle Up 100K on June 8th. My goal is to get to the starting line healthy and just do my best that day. Last year I ran the 50 miler and did pretty well so will see how I do in the 100k. I sure hope that it is not as hot as Cleveland was!